Allen Lowe & The All-Stars Turn Best Video Into A Jazz Club

Allen Lowe & The All-Stars host a monthly Jazz Night at Best Video Film & Cultural Center starting at 7:00 p.m. The next show will be Wednesday September 17.

The sporadic hiss of a coffee machine whirled over friendly greetings and the scraping of chair legs being pulled and pushed into place. In front of a wall of VHS tapes and a red velvet curtain, the closing clicks of a saxophone case and tuning of a guitar signalled the show was about to begin.

“Welcome to our version of a jazz club, without the smoke,” announced a voice at the front of the room.

That sound filled August’s monthly jazz night at Best Video Film & Cultural Center, as Allen Lowe & The All-Stars turned a quiet corner of Whitney Avenue into a musical dreamscape. Performing a medley of jazz standards with vibrant riffs and improvisations, the quartet transformed the evening into a vibe, making the Hamden nonprofit feel like an intimate and lively club.

“This is our 24th show—the end of our second year,” said Lowe, who began these monthly performances in September of 2023. The quartet, in its current iteration, includes musicians Allen Lowe on tenor sax, Gary Grippo on guitar, Barry Ries on drums and trumpet, and Jeff Fuller on bass. Mark Caplan often also appears on tenor saxophone, Lowe said in an email afterwards, but was out of town this month. 

In their two years, Lowe and his bandmates have captured Best Video’s spirit as a beloved community hub, one that also surfaces through weekly film screenings, karaoke nights, artist markets, bakery pop-ups and collaborations across Hamden and greater New Haven.

Even as they set up, the warm lighting and screening area turned Best Video into one big living room, lulling patrons towards the front. Attendees, eager to listen, took seats where they were available, sharing  tables with strangers and feeling the floor shake as those around tap their feet to the rhythm arising from those performing.

Since starting to play saxophone as a kid growing up in New York—he joined his first jazz group at just 15—Lowe has grown and evolved many times over as a musician, writer, and scholar, and he works to share that music and his knowledge through monthly jazz nights like these. For him, jazz isn’t static or cemented somewhere in history: it’s alive and well, even if New Haven’s ostensible peak has long passed. 

Those attending last week were able to hear that in real time. As dusk fell outside, the smooth notes of Lowe’s sax flowed out like the inside of a lava lamp let loose. They blended into the seamless thump of Fuller’s bass during their rendition of songs like “Somebody Loves Me” by Lester Young and “Doxy” by Sonny Rollins. 

In between songs, a warm sense of camaraderie was on display. “This place has done so much for the community, especially during COVID,” someone said. Elsewhere in the audience, Hamden mayoral candidate Adam Sendroff listened intently, soaking in the community vibe. 

“Before our next song I’d like to introduce a special guest in our audience,” Lowe said, pointing out Sendroff. He reminded those to vote in Hamden's upcoming mayoral primary election on September 9.

As for the other half of the quartet, listeners could hear the combination of strumming and sharp riffs as Grippo played guitar, sometimes surprising the audience with rising bursts of sound. From Ries, it was a toss-up —whether he would hold the rhythm with a steady back and forth of snare and cymbal or if a brassy, soulful sound of a trumpet would project from behind the drum kit.

There was a structured framework of jazz vibrating around the space that allowed each musician to spotlight their individual skills. As Lowe took a step offstage (which is to say, into the small audience), the other three traded off solos. Grippo’s guitar brought an almost folksy element with quick picking that flowed into Fuller’s innovative bass playing.

Fuller plunked at the thick strings, eyes closed meditatively as he put his palm to the upright bass, and tapped out a resonant rhythm. It was time for Ries’ solo, which he performed on trumpet before quickly picking up his stick and brush and continuing on drums.

Then, with silently communicated cues, all four were once again playing as a unit, threads of music weaving together to form a cohesive tune. Lowe came back to stage like a lead singer, the voice metallic as his saxophone belted into the microphone. 

Allen Lowe & The All-Stars Jazz Nights provided a sweet and mellifluous escape with their music. They created an environment where one was no longer just in one of the last video stores left standing, but rather at the center of community.

Allen Lowe & The All-Stars host a monthly Jazz Night at Best Video Film & Cultural Center starting at 7:00 p.m. The next show will be Wednesday September 17. More information is available here.