Hep-cats unite

The busboy has schlepped dirty dishes for only three days when he asks the quartet if he can sit in for one more tune. Why not? It’s a late Saturday night in Chico’s newest nightclub—a business with enough panache to put the word “jazz” on the door—and, after all, this is what improvisation is all about.

Local guitar legend Charlie Robinson encourages the 24-year-old Jon Kelly with a wink and a nod. Band leader Derek Binyon plops charts from the jazz standard “Fake Book” on the piano. Lew Langworthy, first-call jazz drummer for any combo in town, cranes his neck to check out the newcomer.

The collective experience of the be-bop veterans on stage is about 200 years. Undaunted, the rookie rips off a tasty solo on a Miles Davis classic. Bass player Joe Gardner widens his eyes and grins a non-verbal, “Hey … this guy’s a player.”

The band urges Kelly through more turns of the changes; each time, the piano sings with more intensity. Groups of newfound friends cluster around tables—a mix of older jazz fanatics and young people discovering the music for the first time. Members of the crowd sip martinis and beers and become part of the show. They applaud worthy solos and ignore others.

Tyler and Lisa Cooke, the owners of the club, are appreciating the busboy’s chops, which are apparently better than his aptitude for cleaning dirty dishes. Lisa mixes drinks and Tyler adds receipts; with a discreet hug, the partners steal a rare moment together to enjoy the show.

If these two have another home, they’re almost never there. This restaurant is the Cookes’ living room, and we’re all their guests. When Lisa’s not keeping jazz alive in downtown Chico, she’s working the 24-hour shift as an EMT, saving lives in an ambulance. There’s time for a nap, and then back to her passion.

But in the end, the hard work pays off for the couple.

“Nights like this, everything is working,” Tyler said. “There’s talent in the kitchen; there’s talent on stage. We’re pouring a few drinks. Somebody’s re-discovering Charlie Robinson or hearing Lew Langworthy for the first time.”

This is what Tyler envisioned when he opened the establishment.

The formula for the restaurant is all in the name: 33 Steaks, Booze & Jazz. The “33” is for the prohibition era theme of the décor. Customers can figure out the rest.

“I put the word ‘jazz’ on the door because I wanted the legends of the music scene to finally get a club of their own to shine,” Tyler said. “Yet, the most common comment I get from the patrons is, ‘I forgot I was in Chico.’ Well, it’s not Outback Steak House or Olive Garden. That’s not Chico. It’s not safe, like Logan’s and Applebee’s.”

Not safe, and a bit of a risk, if one looks back at the history of live music venues that have come and gone in downtown Chico. But it’s all part of the marketing plan for Cooke, who has degrees in both business and culinary arts.

The concept is to offer something unique to our town: The bar menu features 33 original recipes for martinis designed by the Cookes and bar manager Nick Goad. And the cuisine reflects a big-city flair from a creative chef in Tom Scammell. But, in the end, it would just be another downtown restaurant without the owners’ love of the music.

While the Cookes appreciate the musicians, the feeling goes both ways.

Langworthy, who pays the bills with road trips to Reno, Tahoe and Sacramento, echoes the sentiments of other local jazz pros, saying, “It’s nice I don’t have to drive two hours for a gig.”

Historically, Chico jazz gigs have been of the, “Play ‘Girl from Ipanema’ quietly please, and don’t bother the dinner crowd” ambient background variety. And though Langworthy says, “There’s nothing wrong with a little discipline; you can still play great music in that kind of environment,” it’s clear that the local players appreciate the opportunity to perform instead of to provide a live variation of Muzak.

Vocalists, especially, seem to appreciate the jazz-first vibe. The first-rate duet of guitarist Eric Peter and Holly Taylor are regular favorites. As Taylor, a superb scat-singer puts it, “We love that place; people are listening to us. It’s becoming more of a jazz club kind of feel instead of just a dinner-hour gig.”

Jazz guitarist Dave Elke, another regular performer, thinks it’s part of a bigger trend.

“The local scene has changed a lot. It’s kind of bizarre for Chico. Suddenly, there’s work for jazz players,” Elke said. “And, there’s more jazz bands than I realized. Where did all these musicians come from? The Black Crow has jazz four Tuesdays a month, and more than 10 bands wanting each date. If anything, Tyler’s helped jazz gain respect locally. That’s good for everybody.”

Good for excellent players such as Greg D’Augelli, Mike Newman, Jeff Daub, Christine LaPado, Jim Schmidt and others who could play on any stage in the country, but prefer to live in Chico.

Most locals are still finding the downtown club, which resides underneath a cowboy bar on Main Street between Third and Fourth Streets, in the space occupied for decades by a restaurant called Gina Marie’s. In fact, even some of the musicians haven’t discovered it yet.

“I had no idea where it was the first time I went looking for it,” Charlie Robinson muses. “I walked right past it with my guitar, and suddenly I was standing in front of Duffy’s bar.”

But a loyal crowd of regulars has been keeping the new bar lively in between semesters, and Cooke expects even better business when the students return. The clientele includes undergrads studying music theory. And, of course, they lure their friends in for a refreshing change of pace to pre-recorded DJ music.

“This place could be like a local version of Yoshi’s (the legendary Oakland jazz club) if they keep it up,” said Chico State jazz band director Rocky Winslow.

Winslow is a frequent visitor with and without his horn in hand. He comes to dote on students, including members of the Midnight Six, an excellent group of youngsters and the most frequently booked group in the house. Winslow keeps a special eye on star pupils such as saxophonist Adam Morgan and stellar keyboardist Shigemi Minetaka. The superb rhythm section of brothers Nate and Dave Strock (bass and drums respectively) is also on his radar.

Winslow also brings guest artists who happen to be in town for a clinic at Chico State to sit in with the student combos. These musicians would normally headline a club like Yoshi’s, and Winslow suggests other nationally acclaimed acts would consider playing here. The acoustics of the club inspire great performances, and Winslow himself is considering recording a live CD in the room.

As Eric Peter put it, “I think Tyler’s timing and location is perfect. I think he’ll pull it off.”

It remains to be seen if enough patrons will support the live jazz scene to make Peter’s prediction come true—but, for now, the Chico jazz scene is healthy and alive.

As the last few customers filter out near 1:30 in the morning, a few remember to tip the busboy. Lisa locks the door, but the couple—together since they were high school sweethearts—have a few more hours of “togetherness” that involves mopping, scrubbing, wiping and counting.

But the long hours don’t seem to faze either one of them.

“We’ll get to bed at 4 in the morning, look at each other, laugh, and say, ‘We open again in 12 hours.'” Tyler said. “But, it’s all worth it—especially if we can create something unique for Chico.”