I planned to spend a quiet New Year’s Eve with my friends Sally and Bill. They live nearby on West 10th Street, and I love hanging out with them. Sally made a fantastic salmon dinner, seasoned with cumin and coriander, spinach on the side. My favorite kind of meal. We drank Kir Royales and played Scrabble until it was time for the ball drop. We were all impressed that we made it until midnight, and after wishing each other a Happy New Year, I headed home.
Or so I thought. I walked along West 10th Street towards Sixth Avenue, but instead of turning right, I kept going straight ahead, to the legendary jazz club Smalls, so close to home, tucked into a cellar just past Seventh Avenue. My feet remembered traversing this path just about every New Year’s Eve that I’ve been in New York, and it was like a homing device suddenly clicked on.
I asked the guy at the door if there was room for me, and he said, “There’s a $25 cover.” He gave me a little slip of paper and I slipped in and sat at the end of a row of folding chairs.
The young woman two chairs over was drinking something pink, so I asked her what it was. “Aperol Spritz.” Perfect. I ordered the same, and settled in.
The vibe was mellow. I think the 10:30 show had just wrapped up when I arrived around 12:30, and now it was time for the classic Smalls jam session. For the next two hours some beautiful human beings took the stage in an ebb and flow of creativity, giving and taking, now in the spotlight, then grooving to the next soloist, then coming together in harmony and dissonance.
A charming chap in a red suit was one of the cats who held it together, and a woman in a kimono who was on piano nudged the collective’s direction now and then from stage left.
Last New Year’s Eve all the jazz clubs were closed. This year, after a few glorious months, some like the Vanguard (maybe it should be called the Old Guard by now) abruptly cancelled their shows in mid-December as Omicron surged. How lucky we are that Smalls’s owner, the pianist Spike Wilner, created this haven in the world for jazz. And that’s no exaggeration—he livestreams every performance from the club around the world. He’s created a home for jazz where everyone knows what to do.
The vibe was relaxed, laid back, warm, and friendly. The players chatted with the audience, and the audience with each other. It was everything a New Year’s Eve should be.