Cafe Nine | Jazz | Music | Arts & Culture | New Haven Jazz Underground
Shaunda Holloway Photos.
On Tuesday evening at Cafe 9, the beat was undeniable. Horns staked their claim as they blared out hypnotic tunes. Drums and bass filled the air. Keys made it known that this is a place where musicians come to jam. On the corner of State and Crown, the spirit of jazz was very much alive.
That sound came to Cafe 9 last Tuesday, as the New Haven Jazz Underground held its second Tuesday night jazz jam session of the month with Brooklyn-based artist Michael O'Callaghan and several artists who came for O'Callaghan and stayed to play together afterward. Throughout the night, a warm ambiance in varied tones of blue and red gave the space a cozy feel.
As musicians took the stage, clusters of people gathered at tables, some dressed casually and others in semi-formal attire, blazers and buttoned-down shirts with faded blue denim. In the case of one musician, the entire family came to support.
From the stage, the clean notes rushed the room. This was not “smooth jazz” but the essence of purity in our modern times. Horns, keyboard, drums, bass, and vocals agreed to be seen and heard collectively and in solo performances. Boom. Bam! Blare! Musicians held their horns for dear life and the wind from their lungs gave the audience what it needed—good music. It was all there.
At the center of it all, New Haven Jazz Underground organizer Nick Di Maria watched the scene unfold, completely enchanted.
“I have a deep connection with New Haven,” said Di Maria, a trumpeter who began playing in 1995, and has since become a force in the city’s jazz scene. From the time he was young, “I spent a lot of time down here,” delighting in the work of an uncle who brought scallops into the city’s harbor, and later learning New Haven’s rich history and legacy of jazz.
His teachers include Eddie Henderson, who captivated Cafe 9 earlier this year when he came to play, and left the audience spellbound.
For him, the jazz nights are part of celebrating that history. When Di Maria graduated from Western Connecticut State University in 2006, the country was headed into a recession. The young artist looked around, and saw that “there was not a lot happening at that time.” So he began putting concerts on himself, in both Connecticut and nearby New York.
Years in, it led him to the New Haven Jazz Festival, which he began to produce in 2016. That, in turn, led to his work with the New Haven Jazz Underground, through which he has organized semi-weekly shows at Cafe 9, Nolo, Cave à Vin and Three Sheets among other venues.
Tuesday at the intimate Crown Street venue—which isn’t a jazz club, but might as well have been with its low lighting, quiet chatter, and reverence for the instruments and artists onstage—promised to disrupt routine in the best possible way. During the jam session, a drummer switched from the congas to the drum set. A horn player swapped trumpet for keyboard. Even the most subdued musician started to scat and bebop a sweet melody right before the audience’s eyes.
At some point in the evening, singer and percussionist Mark Masksoud snapped his fingers and flowed right into “Straighten Up and Fly Right,” channeling the legendary Nat King Cole. His velvety tone was liquid-smooth and easy on the ears. Mic in hand, soul in sync with melody, the crooner made it look effortless. He sparked the audience’s curiosity about the original version and gave it due justice at the same time. There was no straining nor struggling; a listener could hear and feel the lyrics.
At 67, Masksoud has been performing for over five decades, since a rock band captured his heart in high school. Tuesday, the bones of his artistry were strong, and traveled beyond boundaries.
Outside, the night cooled, and Crown Street quieted. Inside, the language of music was vast. There were hand gestures and nods; a language of understanding and respect amongst performers. It was clear in the way one quickly stepped to the side to let the other shine that the love of music was everywhere—and not going away anytime soon.