Your guide to Philly’s jazz jams

No one knows exactly when the concept of a “jazz jam session” was born, but the history books say that the idea came about in the 1920s, when musicians gathered after their regular paying jobs with cornball “Mickey Mouse” dance bands to play the “hot music” they truly loved. Today, you can find plenty of these sessions in the Philly area.

There were several historic American sessions through the years, including one in Kansas City in 1937 when a young and inexperienced Charlie “Yardbird” Parker fudged the chord changes to “Body and Soul” and was gonged off the stage by drummer Jo Jones. Jones threw a cymbal at Bird’s feet — a tale immortalized inaccurately in the film Whiplash.

Then there were the sessions in the early and mid-1940s at Minton’s Playhouse in Harlem where be-bop was born and youngsters like Parker and Dizzy Gillespie played alongside veterans like Lester Young and Coleman Hawkins. Then, as now, these get-togethers gave the youngsters a chance to learn from their elders, and gave the elder statesman a chance to absorb what was happening in new music.

World Café Live and Northwest jams

Jazz jam sessions live on, and our region has a number of them. Many feature the top up-and-coming players and singers from the jazz departments of Temple, Rowan, and University of the Arts. This partial list represents some of the best of them.

The longest-lived local session was founded by amateur bassist/architect Herman DeYoung circa 1989, first at the Boathouse Row Bar within the Rittenhouse Hotel. Shortly after, it moved to the 23rd Street Café in Center City, and stayed for the next 25 years. DeYoung wanted the stage to be shared by seasoned pros and young wannabes, all in attendance for one reason: to have fun. With the demolition of the Café last year, the 23rd Street jazz spirit lives on each and every Tuesday from 7:30 to 11pm at the Manayunk Brewing Company.

We don’t hear much about the Monday jams at World Café Live in Philadelphia (happening from 5:30-7pm), but those players and singers — including world-class artists like pianist Mike Frank, who often run these swinging evenings — have been gathering in droves there for years.

The volcanic drummer Rob Henderson is at the helm of two always-rocking evenings. On Sundays, he presides at Mt. Airy’s Alma Mater from 6 to 10pm, and at Germantown’s LaRose on Wednesdays from 7pm to 10pm. Often in attendance is veteran alto man Tony Williams, still swinging hard at the age of 85.

Suburbs, Center City, South Philly, and South

Vocalist Michelle Lordi presides over a Wednesday night jazz confab from 9pm until 2am at Abington’s Vintage Bar & Grill. Vintage attracts a group of superior players, many of them regulars, including saxophonist Larry McKenna, guitarist Sonny Troy, and bassist Jason Fraticelli. (Check out Stacia Friedman's review of Lordi' shows here.)

The Philadelphia Clef Club of Jazz & Performing Arts at Broad and Fitzwater is the locale of a long-running Monday night jam session that runs from 7pm to 11pm. As the club describes it, “The Clef Club carries on the legacy of traditional jams that were for young musicians to hone their talent and have the opportunity perform with seasoned musicians.”

Tim Brey is one of the busiest pianists in the jazz community, and for good reason. Brey runs a session he calls the "Midtown Jazz Jam" on Sundays nights from 8pm until midnight at Time restaurant on Sansom Street. Often joining Brey as the “house rhythm” section are bassist Brian Howell and drummer Anwar Marshall.

Philadelphia’s newest full-time jazz club, South, is the home of a popular Tuesday night jam, hosted by pianist Luke Carlos O’Reilly and WRTI radio’s Michael Tozzi. The swinging begins at 7pm.