During the 1920s, rent parties were considered the hipper happenings of Harlem. It was a way for folks living in brownstones and at addresses such as 555 Edgecombe Ave. to pay their rent.
They gave out invitations to the cool people. There was a cover charge, and drinks and food such as fried chicken, potato salad and chitterlings were extra.
The tenants usually hired a live band. During those early days, jazz musicians such as James P. Johnson, Fats Waller and Willie “the Lion” Smith were regular performers at those rent parties. In Chester Himes’ novel “Pinktoes” (G.P. Putnam’s sons /Stein and Day, 1961), he details those high falutin’ bourgeois negroes who gave “parlor parties” in Harlem where the politicians and wannabe intellectuals hung out dancing and talking stuff.
As the years danced into the 1950s and 60s, the rent parties transformed into Harlem salons with live bands, and of course food and drink were still served. Roy Haynes once told me, “Musicians couldn’t wait to get uptown after their downtown gigs at the Five Spot and other clubs, so they could hang out at the parties, have some good food and jam until dawn.”
The parlor scene is still a mainstay in Harlem, driven by the pianist and playwright Marjorie Eliot, who has been running a swinging gig at her apartment every Sunday from 3:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. at 555 Edgecombe Ave., Apartment 3F.
This marks Eliot’s 25th year running her Parlor Jazz Series, which features her longtime committed band of pianist/vocalist, Rudel Drears; saxophonist and reed player, Sedric Choukroun; and trumpeter Koichi Yoshiharo. The party also includes readings from her plays by such actors as Arthur French, Eric Coleman, Cooki Winborn and Choukroun.
The weekly live music and refreshments are free.
Eliot explained, “We have managed to get by on the donations we receive each week.” Over the years Eliot has received a wealth of awards. “It is not about any awards it’s about the amazing people that attend every week, they are my family,” she said. “I do this in honor of my children and the love and jazz.”
There isn’t a history of jazz parlors in New Rochelle, N.Y., but the jazz enthusiast Pauline Smith has changed that concept. For the past four years, she has been presenting live jazz in her house (28 Watkins Place) at an admission price of $15 per person that includes food and drinks.
At the end of the set, a large tip jar is passed around. “I don’t make any money,” said Smith. ‘All the money from admissions and tips go directly to the musicians. I like to bring people together who may not ever come together. I get great pleasure from doing this—pure joy.”
Her expenses for each concert include renting chairs, buying food and making flyers. She usually presents live music six to seven times per year from March through June and in the fall from September to November.
Smith does not try to book her performers through managers or agents, but speaks directly with the specific artists. As an avid jazz fan, she attends a lot of jazz concerts and clubs where she gets an opportunity to meet a host of musicians.
Some of the many musicians who have performed at her house or jazz soiree include her first performer and friend, the vocalist Glenda Davenport, the legendary bassist/composer/educator Reggie Workman, the vocalist Cyrille Aimee, Patience Higgins and the Sugar Hill Band, Curtis Lundy, Allan Harris and Danny Mixon, and last month she presented the spirited Latino trombonist Papo Vasquez.
The final concert until the fall will be June 11 from 3 p.m. to 5:30 p.m., featuring the impassioned vocalist Antoinette Montague with her zealous trio, pianist Danny Mixon, bassist Melissa Slocum and drummer Winard Harper.
For more information, email psclafanismith28@yahoo.com or call 914-235-6398.
La Lupe’s fiery passion caught me from the very beginning. The singer, who earned her reputation singing salsa and bolera songs, died in February 1992 at the early age of 52. She was my favorite Afro-Cuban singer, especially the albums she made with Eddie Palmieri.
Her boundless energy and stage presence in the 1960s and ’70s helped popularize the New York Latin sound, earning her the title of “Queen of Latin Soul.”
She brought another perspective to the Afro-Cuban vocal style, like her mentor and fellow Cuban sister Celia Cruz did when she made her mark after arriving in New York.
June 9, La Lupe (born Lupe Victoria Yolí Raymond) “La Diva—La Lupe,” will be honored at City College Center for the Arts, Aaron Davis Hall (West 135th Street and Convent Avenue) at 7:30 p.m.
Special guests for the evening to evoke the spirit of La Lupe will be the singers Caridad de la Luz (“La Bruja”), Nina Rodriguez, Calma Carmona and special guest Johnny “Dandy” Rodriguez, a mambo icon and member of the Tito Puente Orchestra.
La Lupe will be honored by three New York City institutions: City College Center for the Arts, Pregones Theater/Puerto Rican Traveling Theater and the Caribbean Cultural Center African Diaspora Institute.
For ticket information, visit the website
citycollegeforthearts.org.
The West Village’s celebrated Blue Note jazz club (131 W. Third St.) hosts its annual jazz festival during the month of June. June 8-11, the energetic pianist and composer Hiromi, who takes your breath away, and keeps moving ahead will be joined by the charming sounds of the Columbian harpist Edmar Castaneda. No telling where this intriguing duet will travel, but it is well worth the ride to reach their destination.
June 13-18, with pianist/composer Danilo Perez, bassist and composer John Patitucci and drummer/composer Brian Blade, you have the embodiment of three exemplified musicians who make up the Children of the Light Trio.
The Hot Sardines are in the midst of their Blue Note residency June 12, 19 and 26 (consecutive Mondays). The artistic director, singer and writer Elizabeth Bougerol and artistic director, actor and pianist Evan Palazzo formed this eight-piece ensemble here in the big apple. Their musical journey is extensive with stops in Dixieland, swing, stride and hot jazz.
The astounding poet, playwright and activist Ntozake Shange will inspire us with her historical cultural words of rhythms June 24 at 4 p.m. Be there.
For reservations and complete schedule, call 212-475-8592 or visit the website bluenotejazz.com.