By James Raiswell
As the After Eight Jazz Club prepares to celebrate its second anniversary in June, owner Shawn Dawson believes there is a solid base of jazz fans in Ottawa to support his club.
“We’re dedicated to jazz at the After Eight,” he says. “And now that fans are coming out to support us, we’re heading into our third year of business stronger than ever.”
The club opened in June 1996, offering a mix of live jazz and open jam sessions every night from Thursday to Saturday.
While many other jazz clubs in this city have failed shortly after opening, the Take Five Jazz Cafe being one example, Dawson says the future for After Eight looks bright in many respects.
In the first place, he says the club is financially stronger than ever and people are coming out to support the venue.
Dawson also contends that the club is beginning to develop a reputation across the country as one of the premier jazz clubs in Canada.
“Our reputation now is such that some of the big name jazz acts like the Shuffle Demons and the Dave Turner Quartet are actually stopping off to play unscheduled gigs in our club,” Dawson says.
“That says something if they’re stopping to play here while en route to another city.”
But while Dawson loves it when big-name acts come to his club, he recognizes that local talent is also essential in order to attract crowds.
For this reason, After Eight maintains a rule of 25 per cent local talent, meaning that one of the four live bands per month is from the Ottawa area.
The bands play four shows per weekend-two on Friday night and two on Saturday night.
Aside from the traditional live act setup, After Eight features another important difference.
Every third Thursday of each month, the club stages an open jam session. This is an ideal venue for local musicians to perform with other musicians in an impromptu environment.
The jam sessions are set up so musicians of all abilities can get up on stage and play.
Dave Jones, a club regular, says there is only one rule, “it has to be jazz.”
Jones has been coming to After Eight since the club opened and has nothing but good things to say about it.
“The club itself is great in that it knows what market it’s catering to,” says Jones. “People come here expecting to hear jazz and jazz only. And for that reason, you see a wide range of people here-all ages and all different kinds.
“Music is the common focal point for these people and that’s great that this club can bring all these different people together.”
Sharon Correia, a server at After Eight, says that the open jam sessions are the equivalent to an amateur night at any other club.
“But the talent here is far from being amateur,” Correia says.
Jones echoes this sentiment.
After Eight also presents monthly themes in the acts it stages.
Dawson says that this offers people who ordinarily wouldn’t come to the club the chance to experience all different kinds of jazz.
January’s theme featured the Ladies of Jazz, a collection of female vocalists.
February’s theme is a Tribute to Mardi Gras and New Orleans, featuring acts like The New Orleans J & B Express, who specialize in New Orleans jazz.
March features a collection of jazz drummers.
The club is located at 101 Sparks Street, between Metcalfe and O’Connor Streets. Live shows begin at 9p.m. with a second show at 11p.m. On Friday and Saturday nights, there is a cover charge of $5.