by Ken Shapero » Thu May 17, 2007 12:33 pm
Hi... Ken Shapero here. I'm the managing partner of The Jazz Factory. I've been very impressed with the thoughtful discussion here. I think it validates the concept that my wife Dianne, my partners Sam Rechter and Mary Morrow, and the staff of The Jazz Factory have been trying to perfect over the last four years: A world class venue for live jazz in Louisville.
A couple of thoughts:
1) Many great jazz clubs in the U.S. serve food and still enforce no-talking policies during some shows: The Blue Note, Jazz Standard, Iridium and Dizzy's Club Coca Cola in New York; The Dakota in Minneapolis; Jazz Alley and Triple Door in Seattle; Yoshi's in Oakland; Blues Alley in Wash. D.C.; The Jazz Kitchen in Indianapolis to name a few.
2) Ultimately the amount of talking that is tolerated varies depending on the audience and the artists. Many artists such as Harry Pickens, Mulgrew Miller, Kenny Barron, Avishai Cohen, Jean-Michel Pilc, Kenny Werner, Tierney Sutton, Bobby Broom, Chuck Marohnic and others, really require a quiet room. The audience that comes to hear these people really want to hear every nuance.... And the artists who perform it need that quiet space to develop and improvise the performance. This does not mean that you have to fold your hands and hold your breath. Exclamations of joy, or support or surprise or awe from the audience are an important part of the show and add to the energy in the room. But the attention of the people on the room is on the music and not on a conversation about something else. Other artists such as Jamey Aebersold, The West Market Street Stompers, Brian Auger, Bennet Higgins, etc., are more tolerant of conversation in the room. But at The Jazz Factory, no matter who is playing, or what the artist's noise tolerance level, we expect that patrons will respect the the aritist and their fellow patrons enough to be aware of their conversations and not to create a disturbance for others.
3) After reading these posts, we agree that we should do more to provide advance notice when a no-talking policy will be in effect. In addition to making an announcement at the start of the show and putting reminder cards on the tables, as we currently do, we will begin to put a no-talking notice on the website calendar item for that particular show and we will ask our host staff to remind folks of the policy when they come in. Whether or not a strict no-talking policy is in effect or not, we will reserve the right to remind patrons to be mindful of their conversations if they are are disturbing other patrons or disrupting the artists with their level of talk during a show. I hope folks won't take this personally.... it's just a reminder ...not an attempt to embarass. I'll be the first to admit, I've had to be reminded myself from time to time. And we continually remind the wait and kitchen staff..... (just ask them!!!) And we still love them.
4) Ultimately, the quality of a jazz club is determined by the artists who perform there and the audience who come to see them. The Jazz Factory's stated goal is to provide a world-class venue for live jazz performance combined with a first-class restaurant and bar. We strive every day to improve what we're doing to meet those goals. We benchmark ourselves against other venues around the country and the world, not just in Louisville. More and more we hear from jazz musicians and their agents that The Jazz Factory has developed a reputation of having really thoughtful audiences and of being an important stop on the national jazz circuit. Musicians enjoy playing the room.
Ultimately that will continue if our patrons enjoy their experience and continue to return. Discussions such as these help us refine what we do.... So thanks for participating in this thread. And don't hesitate to let us know what you think. We can talk before the show!
Ken Shapero, The Jazz Factory
