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February 2006
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NEW YORK - AND VICINITY - |
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by MARGEY PETERS
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  Scotland Yard 72 Hudson St Hoboken, NJ 07030-5629 (201) 222-9273                 "New York Really Has The Blues Stars!" Not the same, but a TRIBUTE to two GREAT ARTISTS and unforgotten FRIENDS, "Victoria and Lenny." (BluesArtStudio) |
 Of course, Big Ed Sullivan is from New York. Brooklyn, to be exact. For the last 11 years he’s been leading the best blues jam session in the New York area. It just so happens that this jam is in Hoboken, New Jersey, at a little pub called Scotland Yard. It has been said that “The best blues bar in New York is in New Jersey,” and you’ll be hard pressed to find anyone in the area who’ll argue. Big Ed’s Monday Night Blues Jam has been running at Scotland Yard since late 1994, and on January 30th it celebrated its anniversary. This might be an appropriate time to share this “secret”. Visitors will be taken at once with the intimacy of the setting. Scotland Yard is a few steps below street level. There is no stage. The band plays on a tiny, undefined area of the tile floor. Those wanting to sign up to play — “I don’t care who you are. If you wanna play you hafta sign up. I’m not a mind reader!.” — must squeeze in between the players and the crowd to sign the illuminated board. It may be crowded, but no one is out of sorts. Everyone is bathed in the warm glow of the wooden surroundings — and whatever blues groove is being played. A huge stack of guitars, and sometimes several upright basses fit somehow next to the jukebox. The musicians know that the instruments will rest there undisturbed. Visitors are welcome and have come from as far away as Australia, Japan, and all over Europe. The several reasons why this blues jam is so very good are jam-master Big Ed Sullivan himself, the wonderful house band, the dazzling regular players, the community of “civilians,” — as Big Ed calls the bar’s patrons — and co-hostess Christine Santelli.Rockabilly Madman (and Dixie Frog recording artist) Big Ed Sullivan is the New York area’s preeminent jam leader. He previously ran the legendary blues jam at the long-gone Dan Lynch bar. He followed this with a popular jam session at the also now-defunct Manny’s Car Wash — as well as running several shorter-lived sessions at other NY City clubs. The demise of all of these venues provides a clue as to why the scene now takes place every Monday night in Hoboken, NJ. As Big Ed laments: “People have to recognize the importance of the performing arts, whether it’s dance, theater, music, whatever. We need to have the arts in public performance. I personally—obviously—would love to see more venues open up for blues artists. As you know, we’ve lost a lot of our clubs in the New York area, to the point where it’s ludicrous. We’ve lost between 20 and 30 of them, and that’s no exaggeration. There’s so much joy to live music. Live performance is very, very important, and we have to try to maintain it at any cost.” Big Ed is not only a talented guitarist and showman, but he is also able to put together units of players in a way that insures a high level of music throughout the evening. If anything, the quality of the music that one can expect to hear at Scotland Yard on a Monday night has improved over time. As Big Ed puts it: “What I love about the jam session is that it’s like an old-fashioned rock ‘n’ roll show. Where else can you go into a bar, not have to pay a cover, buy a beer or a soda, and get to see thirty or forty incredible musicians — many of whom have never played with each other — create art on the spot. You can’t go anywhere else and find that!”  A big part of the jam’s popularity is the wonderful house band. Big Ed is, of course, on guitar. With him is ace guitarist Arthur Neilson, who in his time off as guitarist for Shemekia Copeland’s band, indulges his alter-ego on the doghouse bass. When Arthur is touring, his duties are taken over by Copeland-alum bassist Eric King. Then, there is one of the most sought-after drummers around, Matt Mousseau. Matt also happens to be the husband of the club’s manager and artistic director, Christine Santelli. Finally, the house band is usually rounded-out by the extraordinary “Downtown Jersey City” Larry Cappoli — or any other of a group of great guitarists whom Big Ed might tap into service. One testament to the extraordinary quality of this jam session is the fact that Arthur Neilson will actually come right off a plane from touring, and travel to Scotland Yard just to participate. Here’s Arthur’s explanation of why that is: “Cause it’s the most fun gig. It’s just fun to be here with all my friends and play. I get to play upright [bass] first of all, and it keeps me in touch with everybody—which I love.” One of the weekly rituals is the special set where Arthur and Larry play guitar and trade riffs. The fire and skill with which they play, and the grace of their weekly pas-de-deux makes this the hallmark of the jam. Here’s what Arthur and Larry have to say about the experience: Arthur: “It’s totally a blast. Larry is so good it pisses me off sometimes. It makes me have to play harder. And that’s really a lot of fun when you have somebody who inspires you to play more. That’s definitely what he does for me, and I hope I do it for him, too. It’s really fun cause he’s such a great player and it just raises the level of what you can do when you play with someone like that. It’s fun.” Larry: “It’s more than just facility on your instrument. It comes down to its being a personal relationship. Arthur’s such a good guy. Playing with him is so profound. My whole mood for the week can depend on how I played, because it’s just such a moving experience.”  Big Ed’s Monday Night Blues Jam at Scotland Yard is frequented by a dedicated community of terrific musicians - many of them professionals- who enjoy coming together, hanging out, and playing in sometimes-unexpected combinations. Besides the Arthur Neilson/Larry Cappoli pairing, there are regular fireworks provided by any number of stellar combinations like Popa Chubby/Dave Gross or Hiro Suzuki/Mike Torres. The high degree of artistic expertise and the great fellowship guaranteed at the Monday night gatherings have attracted wonderful players and produced some extraordinary musical moments. Visitors to the jam are likely to enjoy the music of any number of great musicians. Among the regulars are guitarist Popa Chubby. He doubles on drums, and is sometimes joined on bass and vocals by his wife and fellow recording artist, the fabulous Galea. Both talented guitarists and comedic songwriters, V.D. King and Don Kenny of the band “Better Off Dead” are almost always on hand. Besides faithful jam attendance and their regularly scheduled appearances, they also perform on most holidays. Their Halloween show has become a special tradition. Other guitarists include Hiro Suzuki (of the Deborah Coleman Band), Sean Daly, Jason Green (ex-Big Jack Johnson), Mike Torres (leader of the band MT Pockets), Pete Pantelis, Mike Flynn (of Night Train), Mike Fagan, Arne Englund (ex-Debbie Davies) — who travels weekly from the Pennsylvania border — Bernie Brausewetter (of BB & The Stingers), and Dave Gross.Just 21, Dave “went to school” at Scotland Yard. He listened and learned, and in a very few years has developed into a first-rate guitarist and performer. Dave’s second, soon-to-be-released CD was recently produced by Duke Robillard. “I’ve been nicknamed “The Sponge” because I watch people play and basically absorb what they do. A lot of my influences come form the Monday night jam. There are just so many significant, heavy, players that come out here. Everything I have basically stems from Scotland Yard. All the players, and everyone who comes down here, are incredibly genuine, and look out for each other. Some of the best players in the world — national acts — come here just because it’s about the music and about having fun. There isn’t another jam out there that even comes close to what I’ve seen at the Monday night jam.” Vocalist/harmonica player Kevin Kiley (leader of The Out-patients) is a regular, occasionally joined by his wife, W.C. Handy award winner, soul diva Bettye Lavette. Recently young vocalist Gina Sicilia has joined the regulars. Felix Cabrera can also be found on vocals and harmonica, as can Jerry Scaringe, leader of The Slippery Chickens, who sings, plays upright bass, and the harmonica simultaneously. Singer/Songwriter Karan Serafin (who is married to Arthur Neilson) is another dedicated regular. She has this to say about the Monday night jam: “The thing that’s important to me is that there’s such love and support when you come down to the jam, that you can actually step outside of yourself and try something different. And you know that even if you fall flat on your face, you’re going to have the support of the musicians around you to help you to make it better the next time. The friendship and camaraderie make me want to come time after time and try things that I would never, ever try in front of an audience in any other situation.”  Ace bassist Tim Tindall lives nearby and stops by between tours with guitarist/singer Bill Perry — another visitor. Other bassists include Dave Post (Swingadelic), and Brian Hess, A.J. Hager (Debbie Davies,) and yours truly, Margey Peters (Big Frank & The Healers.)Amidst busy gig schedules on the scene, these fine drummers find time to join Matt Mousseau: Darcy Macrae, Tom Papadatos, Steve Pozzilanti, Barry Harrison, and Dan Hickey.  Right now, there are no keyboard players in attendance. Nor is there a house piano. In the course of the jam’s history, however, there have been some extraordinary pianists. The great boogie-woogie specialist and vocalist Doña Oxford, and the dazzling Mike Lattrell — who also plays a mean mandolin, trombone, bass, and just about any other instrument — were dedicated jam regulars, as was blues violinist Li’l Mama Heather Hardy, before each of them relocated.Big Ed has always welcomed and supported younger artists. Possibly his most cited quality is the way he encourages and mentors newer players. He has jokingly said that he’s taught half the guitarists in New York to play. Here’s what Big Ed has to say about the up-and-coming generation: “I try to be a supportive musician; the way people have been supportive to me over the years. When I was starting to go to jams 20 and 30 years ago, a lot of the older cats were very supportive.  "The late Bill Dicey, the harmonica player who originated the jam at Dan Lynch’s, was very, very nice to me. I was a little young cat. It was in the late ‘70s, or early ‘80s. I was just starting out and I didn’t know what I was doing. I didn’t know about playing with other musicians on stage or sharing solos or anything like that. He was very encouraging, and I always appreciated it. I’ve always appreciated that and I try to pass it on. I think being a musician; you have to be that kind of a personality. You can’t be selfish, and must try to be supportive of the next generation; otherwise, you’re not a true musician. To me, there means more to being a musician than just to be able to play music.”Scotland Yard’s manager and artistic director is Christine Santelli. The blues jam and the club’s other musical programs are the product her vision. She is a professional musician who runs the establishment as well as tending her own career, which includes performing (she’s toured in the US and internationally), recording and writing. Without her support and enthusiasm, this unique scene would literally not exist. She has built the club’s music program up to where one can find live music there six days a week — and the music presented is of a certain quality. Often the acts are the pet projects of some of the jam’s regulars — professionals performing at “The Yard” between tours. Though she does occasionally book a “visiting” act — Jason Ricci or Nick Moss, for example --- one of Ms. Santelli’s aims is to provide a place for local musicians to play. When asked about her booking philosophy, here is what Christine had to say: “The mission is to bring quality music to people. There’s not a lot of clubs left, and there’s not a lot of places to see live blues acts. I’ve been fortunate to get some touring acts who come through to call me for a pick-up gig. It’s a small club, and we can’t pay [much] because we don’t do a cover-charge kind of thing. And I get sent a lot of packages from bands around the country. People from New Orleans, and from Nashville, California, and Colorado who are known — you read about them in the blues magazines — and I have to pick and choose, because there’s only so many days in a week, and I want to have quality music in here. And, I want to make sure that the musicians in the area have a chance to play here also. That’s really important.” Christine’s own band can be seen performing each month. Some of the other fine locally based artists on Scotland Yard’s calendar are “guitarist’s guitarist” Bobby Radcliff, resonator specialist Hugh Pool, Todd Wolfe, and talented guitarist/vocalists Slam Allen and Jr. Mack. There is a “sister” jam at Scotland Yard on Saturday afternoons, hosted by Joe Taino. Big Ed calls him “A fabulous guitar player, he is one of the best blues-rock guitar players in the country, in my opinion. He’s an incredible player.” The Saturday jam is different in that there are fewer professional participants. It is more for the “weekend warrior”. Scotland Yard really is a community. When the tragedies of the Tsunami and the 2005 hurricanes struck, the musicians and “civilians” came together and held two extraordinary benefit concerts. Because of the gravity of these catastrophes, and because, in part, of Christine Santelli’s standing in the musical community, special guests joined some of the roster acts to raise money and provide some relief. As Christine tells it: “For the Tsunami benefit we had [Rockablilly star] Robert Gordon. That was a big highlight. Robert joined us via [guitarist] Barry Ryan, who plays with him. And [guitarist from the Conan O’Brien TV show] Jimmy Vivino, was great. I gave him a little bit longer time slot because he likes to bring everybody up. The highlight of the night was when he started bringing other musicians up to play with him. Everybody was on board. The Tsunami benefit ran for 11 or 12 hours. People didn’t worry about preferred time slots. I had an 8-pc. band in at 12 o’clock noon. They came in, and played to a small crowd, but they were raring to go for the next benefit, if we’d had the space for them. The musicians were right there.” For years people have wished some of these great musical moments could have been preserved. Now, finally there is such a project under way. A team from Plus Nine Productions is recording some of the jam sessions. Each week their mobile recording studio is housed in the British phone booth that is part of Scotland Yard’s entry way. The aim is to produce a “highlights” recording, which is to be released on Rapid Records. So far, the unofficial results sound terrific! With some luck, they’ll be able to capture and preserve this very special scene. MARGEY PETERS |
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Websites:
SCOTLAND YARD BAR http://www.scotlandyardbar.com/ BIG ED SULLIVAN http://www.bigedsullivan.com/ CHRISTINE SANTELLI http://www.christinesantelli.com/ ARTHUR NEILSON http://www.arthurneilson.com/ BETTER OFF DEAD http://www.betteroffdead.com/ POPA CHUBBY http://www.popachubby.com/ DIXIE FROG RECORDS http://www.dixiefrog.com/ DAVE GROSS http://www.davegrossband.com/ JOE TAINO http://www.joetaino.com/ HIRO SUZUKI http://www.hirosuzuki.com/ JASON GREEN http://www.jasongreenguitar.com/jasongreen/ BILL PERRY http://www.billperry.com/ BOBBY RADCLIFF http://www.bobbyradcliff.com/ HUGH POOL http://www.hughpool.com/ SLAM ALLEN http://www.soulworkingband.com/ JR. MACK http://www.jrmack.com/ TOM PAPADATOS http://www.tompapadatos.com/ MT POCKETS http://www.mtpockets.org/ TIM TINDALL http://www.bassisbodacious.com/ PLUS NINE PRODUCTIONS http://www.plusnineproductions.com/ KEVIN KILEY http://www.kevinkiley.com/ BETTYE LAVETTE http://www.bettyelavette.com/ DARCY MACRAE http://www.darcymacrae.com/ STEVE POZZELANTI http://www.stevepozzelanti.com/ GINA SICILIA http://www.betarecords.com/openframeset.php?content=/gina.sicilia THE SLIPPERY CHICKENS http://hometown.aol.com/slipperychickens/ B.B. & THE STINGERS http://www.badweb.com/bb/ FELIX CABRERA http://www.felixcabrera.com/ TODD WOLFE http://www.toddwolfe.com/ BIG FRANK & THE HEALERS: http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/bigfrankhealers2 DONA OXFORD http://www.donaoxford.com/ MIKE LATTRELL http://www.mikelattrell.com/ HEATHER HARDY http://www.heatherhardy.com/ |
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Copyright of all photos ctsy. by the artists, marked Dragan Tasic (CH) and BluesArtStudio-archive
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