Cool jazz and hot barbecue—the perfect combination for a warm summer night. The Jazz Standard at Blue Smoke combines both ingredients for anyone who loves good music and delicious food. Jazz Standard, located downstairs from Blue Smoke on East 27th Street, boasts a large comfortable room with excellent acoustics. While guests often sit side-by-side at long tables, the chairs are arranged far enough apart to give everyone elbow room. The club’s clientele loves music in general and jazz specifically, so striking up a conversation and making friends with neighboring fans happens frequently.
The menu at Jazz Standard is the same as Blue Smoke’s; guests never leave hungry. Blue Smoke was one of the first restaurants to bring pit barbecue to New York from the best regional barbecue areas of the U.S., including St. Louis, Kansas City, Memphis, North Carolina, and Texas. Blue Smoke’s ribs are prepared in several styles with various spices. Choose one or a combination. Other items include applewood smoked organic chicken and pulled pork. Besides tasty barbecue, the menu offers specialty cocktails, beers, and wines, seasonal sides (an incredible macaroni and cheese) and decadent desserts. Request extra forks for the chocolate layer cake. No one at the table will be able to resist.
As wonderful as the food, the main attraction at Jazz Standard is the entertainment. The club showcases world-class artists who bring their “A” game for every performance. Open seven days a week, Jazz Standard offers two sets each night at 7:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m., and an additional 11:30 p.m. show on weekends. The cover charge is $30 per person. Reservations are required.
The first weekend in August audiences were treated to the cool sound of the Freddy Cole Quartet. Cole’s bona fides are well established. He is the younger brother of Eddie, Ike, and Nat King Cole, the father of Lionel Cole, and the uncle of Natalie Cole. He studied at Julliard and has a master’s degree from the New England Conservatory of Music. Growing up in Chicago, frequent visitors to his home included Duke Ellington, Lionel Hampton, and Count Basie.
Cole, piano and vocals, was backed up by a group of accomplished musicians: Harry Allen, tenor saxophone; Randy Napoleon, guitar; Elias Bailey, bass; and Curtis Boyd, drums. The set opened with the Cole Porter classic, “You’re Sensational,” moving into a Nat King Cole standard, “You’re Bringing Out the Dreamer in Me.” Cole lives up to his reviews. The New York Times praised his “impeccable sense of swing,” and called him “the most maturely expressive male jazz singer of his generation, if not the best alive.” People magazine cited his “pitch-perfect feel for jazz standards.” His relaxed delivery, never rushed, gave each song an intimate feel. The group regularly tours around the world and their comfort with each other was obvious—smiles, nods, and gestures of “well done” when a solo elicited applause from the audience.
“It Was So God While It Lasted,” another Nat King Cole favorite, allowed Allen and Napoleon room to display their considerable talents. Virtually every member of the audience kept time with these interludes, tapping feet, nodding heads, clapping hands. A special bonus was a performance by Cole’s son, Lionel, who wowed the crowd with a soulful rendition of “My Romance.”
August promises to deliver the hot, sultry weather we have so far avoided. Jazz Standard has the escape plan: a full month of fresh, breezy jazz. Enjoy!
Photos of Freddy Cole by Clay Walker
Jazz Standard, downstairs
Blue Smoke, upstairs
116 East 27th Street
212-576-2232
For the full calendar of performances, go to www.jazzstandard.net
For information on Blue Smoke, go to www.bluesmoke.com
