Boiler Room hosted their first ever Jazz broadcast the other night at New York City’s Le Poisson Rouge, a phenomenal venue that is always hosting boundary-pushing shows. The show was billed as Supreme Sonacy, which is the name of a new compilation released by Revive Music in conjunction with the legendary Blue Note Records. Boiler Room, LPR, Revive, Blue Note…the night had all the makings to be a unique musical experience, and it totally delivered.
The night played out like this: a group of musicians would come out and play a composition from the album, and then switch out while the DJ played some groovy beats. The set-changes only took about 5 minutes, allowing just enough time to talk about how great the last song was.
The cast of musicians were set up smack-dab in the center of the venue, allowing patrons to gather around the instruments and hone in on the sounds. Le Poisson Rouge is an intimate venue, and with the stage taking up a large portion of the dance-floor, it felt almost like they were set up in our living room. That’s the kind of intimate vibe LPR is capable of conveying in their iconic, Greenwich Village venue.
There were some well-known cats like Igmar Thomas and Cory Henry that popped in for a song, but for the most part, the musicians were lesser-known members of New York’s soul/jazz scene. That doesn’t mean we were treated to an amateur level of musicianship, however, and each member of the band came correct in their craft.
The revolving-door concept was fresh, a staple of Boiler Room’s craft. Throughout the two-hour show, the band played the entire compilation from start to finish, celebrating its release through funky improv and top-tier musicianship. Above all, it was something completely different; something really fresh. Here’s to hoping that Boiler Room continues to broadcast jazz events and pushes the envelope in a scene that is as exciting as anything else happening in modern music.