Jazz Standard 116 East 27th Street New York, NY 10016
 212-447-7733 | Jazz 212-576-2232

The Village Vanguard may be the most venerable jazz club in town, but how can history be expected to compete with Danny Meyer's baby back ribs? Jazz Standard, which Meyer reopened last year with the launch of his BBQ restaurant Blue Smoke, can afford the hubris of not bothering with a minimum food-and-drink order. That's how certain they are that you won't be able to sit there and watch the other customers tuck into steaming plates of pulled-pork sandwiches, pan-fried catfish, and beef brisket without giving in. After you've placed your order, you'll be better able to appreciate the club's superlative booking, stellar sightlines, and crystalline sound. Afterward, hang at the bar and chat with musicians between sets.

The now smoke-free Smoke Jazz (www.smokejazz.com/) is located on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. I stopped by on a no-cover night in April 2003 to catch regular performers "The Hot Pants Funk Sextet." The Hotpants' front line was a little weak, but drummer Joe Strasser was solid-fonky and a wild Wurlitzer solo by Jeremy Manasia made the night worthwhile for me. Manasia lives in a world where Bud Powell plays fuzzed-out wah-wah fusion, and I'd like to spend more time in that place.

Smoke is your standard dark, cramped little jazz spot. It was pretty crowded the night I was there but, fortunately, the people-watching was occasionally hilarious. We spotted a rather sullen young woman who looked like she'd been dragged there. There were, in fact, two of these grim-faced girls with their arms crossed, and a third who was subtly bobbing her head up and down, apparently the guilty party who'd forced the other two to come along. They left in short order, hopefully to find some hot guys at a fun, wild bar. Like, with body shots and stuff. I was told that on earlier visits our companions had spotted Yoko Ono and Kareem Abdul-Jabar. I was hoping to have some kind of celebrity encounter of my own, but my wish never came true, even though New York is crawling with celebrities (and sewer-rats).

On Memorial Day weekend 2003, I visited midtown Manhattan's Iridium (www.iridiumjazzclub.com) and had an amazing meal: a pepper-crusted yellow fin tuna with an orange sauce that was surprisingly mild (it didn't overpower the fish with sweetness). My partner in crime enjoyed the salmon which was wrapped in potato straws, like hashbrowns, with a buttery sauce. We shared a baked brie that was good but suffered from its poor vehicle: two little bits of dry toast. The cocktails were great, though, so overall we gave the food at Iridium high marks. The real reason we were there, however, was to see the McCoy Tyner trio with Bobby Hutcherson. McCoy Tyner has been to the Twin Cities many times over the past few years but I'd never managed to go see him. What a fool I was! Tyner, best known for his work in Coltrane's famous '60s quartet, really lived up to the title "living legend." His sound ranged from lightning-fast Tatum-like runs to big, complex chords in the tradition of Rachmaninoff. It was just stunning. Hutcherson, meanwhile, is my all-time favorite jazz musician. I'd never had an opporunity to see him before, so I was both excited and nervous, because you never know how these old guys are going to sound. Fortunately, he was amazing. I've never seen a jazz combo improvise so fully and successfully before, and certainly not a group who looked like they were having so much fun while they were doing it.

I was lucky enough to hear them play "African Village," from Tyner's 1968 Blue Note LP "Time For Tyner," which featured Hutcherson. "African Village" is one of those great, stretched out, driving modal numbers that grabs hold of you and doesn't let go. Live it was even better, in part because the bass solo was significantly improved upon. It was simple but more effective than the off-key bowed bass solo by Herbie Lewis on the original recording. They also played a great tune called "Festival in Bahia" which I'd never heard before (available on Tyner's 1999 Telarc release "McCoy Tyner and the Latin All-Stars"). I would've loved to have stayed for another set, but they were sold out and our bill was already skyrocketing. Fortunately we got a concession prize in the form of two umbrellas left by the father/daughter pair sitting next to us. Protection from the rain! We really needed it, and crept off into the night like the thieves we were.

In April of 2003 I visited the legendary Birdland (http://www.birdlandjazz.com/) to take in the Chico O'Farrill Afro-Cuban Jazz Big Band. Arturo "Chico" O'Farrill is a Cuban music legend and led this very band up until his death in 2001. Arturo Jr. has since taken the reins, although someone else was filling in for him the night I saw the group. No matter, they're a tight unit with a great feel for latin jazz. Staff at Birdland were friendly and helpful, and the bartender makes an excellent sidecar. Venue and group both come highly recommended.