Words and photos by Ken Valenti

WESTPORT–The Thursday jazz night started at the VFW Post 399 in Westport thanks to a number of factors, including the COVID pandemic and a 1937 Steinway piano that had been played by the likes of Thelonious Monk and Nina Simone.

But its genesis came years earlier, in 2013, when Rabbi Greg Wall, a professional saxophonist, came to town to become the religious leader at Beit Chaverim Synagogue.

Upon arrival, he found the town’s nightlife was virtually nonexistent.

“Everything was closed by 9 o’clock,” he said.

Wall did something about it. Embedded in the New York jazz scene – he had established the Center for Jewish Arts and Literacy at the Sixth Street Community Synagogue as the rabbi there – he pulled together combos to play locally.

Their first venue was the Spotted Horse Tavern on Church Street, where they played during a kosher jazz brunch. They then moved to 323, the place that had been Bogey’s Grille & Taproom and now is Hudson Malone, 323 Main St.

“After a while, jazz night was the busiest night of the week,” Wall said.

Later, they played at the Pearl at Longshore, but that restaurant closed during the pandemic.

It was after that when Wall struck up a partnership with the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 399 to play weekly at the venue, 465 Riverside Ave. Since April 2022, live jazz has been played weekly in the space past the bar, with windows looking out on the Saugatuck River.

“They draw tremendous talent…like, Blue Note quality,” said Westport resident Janis Spring on a recent Thursday, comparing the acts to those at the legendary Manhattan jazz club. 

Guitarist Rale Micic was the star that night, having just returned from two months playing in France, mainland Spain and the Canary Islands.

“I see friendly faces every time I come here.”

“I feel that, especially after COVID, people love to come out to hear live music, which is really the way to listen to jazz.”

And the piano?

Back when they were playing at 323, their piano was in such bad shape that their tuner had to be on hand to adjust the strings between songs. He let them know about the Steinway, which had once held a starring role at the Village Gate, another legendary Manhattan jazz club. Played by many of the greats, it had become the possession of a family in New Canaan, Conn.

“Their kids grew up playing chopsticks on it.” Wall said. It was time for them to downsize.

They formed the Jazz Society of Fairfield County to be the official owner of the piano. It’s now the JazzFC that presents the Jazz at the Post series. The organization’s mission has two planks: to offer jazz performances free or at a low cost and to spread jazz education and performances to the underserved.

To reach the underserved, they give free performances at schools, community centers, healthcare centers and other venues. This year has been their most successful on that front, Wall said. They have given 22 free performances, supported with a $13,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Arts.

On Thursdays at the Post, the early show costs $20, with a $5 discount for students and veterans, and the later show costs $10.

Fans come, many of them weekly, not only for the music, but for their friendships they make, like Ruth Ann Meyer, who has come to the VFW hall weekly with her husband since he noticed the sign advertising it about a year and a half ago.

“You hear people that you would have to go on a (jazz) cruise or into New York to hear,” said the Wilton resident, who has taken five such cruises.

Wall calls on friends and others he has played with to get them to Westport.

“Some of them I’ve been playing with for over 40 years,” he said. “These are the cream of the crop folks,” Wall said. “If we were a commercial establishment and calling up and speaking to everybody’s manager, we couldn’t afford to have a jazz club here.”

Ken Valenti

^{_{A career journalist and lifelong resident of the New York City region, Ken Valenti has enjoyed decades of reporting local, regional and national news in New York and Connecticut. Topics of special interest are development, the environment, Long Island Sound and transportation. When not reporting, he’s always on the lookout for the perfect coffee shop or used book sale.}}