The first night I ever set foot on the soil of NYC, a Sunday in October 2014, as soon as the taxi brought me from La Guardia to the Washington Square Hotel, I dumped my bags and raced over to the Blue Note on West 3rd Street. I loved jazz, and I’d heard of this club, mostly because of its name-sharing with Blue Note Records (no connection, I learned much later during a talk at the Blue Note hosted by Village Preservation).
But on October 26, 2014, I was devastated to eagerly walk up to the entrance just before midnight and be told they were closing. Oww!!! New York closes down at midnight on a Sunday night? For real?? Luckily I discovered Groove at the end of the block and danced to live funk music with NYC students for a few hours before grabbing a slice at Ben’s (with cauliflower and broccoli on it!) and heading back to the hotel. I remember sitting at a window overlooking an airwell on the fourth floor in the hotel and eating the pizza and marvelling that I was really in New York.
I didn’t realize at the time that the Blue Note is more of a formal venue for well-established stars, with the set format of two shows nightly and no lounging around after that, thank you very much. I later discovered Smalls, which I wrote about in a story called Bringing Up the Jazzcats—open until 4 am with the true New York soul of jazz—late night jams and talented young hopefuls onstage nightly.
I actually went back to the Blue Note the next night—for the 8 PM set—and saw the amazing Bebel Gilberto. I met some lovely folks on line (New York speak for “in line” which is what we say in Vancouver) who took me to see Trevor McQueen at Birdland that night for the late show. Now this is what I expected of New York! The next night was Mötley Crüe at MSG, and I was completely besotted with the city.
Finding Hip Hop
Thanks for indulging my little trip down memory lane. As you may have read in Throw Your X Up, I went to a nine-hour hip hop concert in the Bronx in the summer of 2021, as part of Mayor de Blasio’s New York City Homecoming concert series.
I think of myself as a latecomer to rap and hip hop, but in September 2020 New York Magazine printed “The City and the Beats: 100 songs that tell the story of New York rap.” It took me a few months to listen to all 100 songs. I was sorry when I got to the end of the list. Hip hop had become part of my soul. I made this KQS NYC Beats playlist of my favorite hip hop songs, and I also listen to this chill Hip Hop 1995 XIII Instrumentals playlist by Jimmy Eden Moon all the time.
Flash Forward to February 7, 2023
So when I saw that Talib Kweli was at the Blue Note for a week in February 2023, I jumped at the chance to see more of this artistic life form.
I went to the Blue Note aiming to dance (this was hip hop after all) and sat at a side table where the server said I could get up and dance whenever I wanted to. Talib Kweli and DMC (Darryl McDaniels), as well as Bob James, gave us some of the best, most iconic hip hop, backed up with a trippy lineup of bass, drums, guitar, keyboard, and sax. Having this full back-beat meant some of the arrangements were different than the original recordings, bringing an undiluted aliveness and freshness. Once they started, I never sat down again.
These bells was beautiful! This music is so exciting and significant. I couldn’t help dancing a bit while recording so these vids are a bit wobbly. This is history happening right here!
- Talib Kweli at the Blue Note ft. DMC – Walk This Way & Peter Piper
- Talib Kweli at the Blue Note ft. Bob James – On writing Nautilus
Being able to learn about the history from these musical masters is such a privilege. There it is!!