We are excited to feature the wonderful Jerome Sabbagh, saxophonist and curator of the Wednesday night series at Bar Bayeux.
Born in Paris in 73', Jerome first encountered jazz during middle school education.
I was fortunate to have a great music teacher at my local middle school. Annick Chartreux. I discovered my love of music through her and started buying jazz records: Miles, Dexter, Sonny, Trane etc. Those records were my main influences, as well as some players in Paris, who I either studied with or just would go hear play: Philippe Chagne, Eric Barret, Jean-Louis Chautemps, Eric Le Lann. There certainly was a scene in Paris but, although there were great players, it overall felt pretty closed and small to me at the time. I sensed that there was more and that sparked my interest in studying in the US. I don’t come from a familial jazz background so I sought out everything I could, borrowing jazz records at the local library and going to as many shows as I could.
Jerome went to Berklee to study music but felt that he wasn't done with east coast living.
"I thought my time in the US might be limited. I wanted to experience New York before I moved back. I had no idea I would end up staying. When I came to New York, in 1995, you could still hear some of the greats in clubs. The connection to the tradition felt strong and there were also many younger players who were making their mark and inspired others. Hearing Elvin, Roy, Paul Motian or Joe Henderson was a privilege, and some of the Smalls residencies of Kurt Rosenwinkel and Guillermo Klein really inspired me to write music and create my own bands. New York just felt like the place to be to learn about this music and seriously pursue it."
As one of his many ongoing projects, Jerome curates the music on Wednesday nights at Bar Bayeux in Prospect Lefferts Gardens, Brooklyn - a staple that's built a reputation for great cocktails and an intimate atmosphere conducive to hearing great music. It was Jerome's knowledge of wine, rather than his music, which led him there.
"I used to play with Jeremy Stratton, the bassist, and manager at Bar Bayeux, every week at Grassroots, in the East Village, with Adam Kolker and Rodney Green or George Schuller, mostly. Because I used to bring nice bottles of wine for the band when we played Grassroots, when Jeremy opened Bar Bayeux, he actually asked me to do the wine list first! My involvement in the booking of music happened later. After a while, I volunteered to help book the Wednesday jazz night, the success of which led to more nights of music at the bar. I just thought I knew a lot of musicians and bands through being on the scene in New York and could book good music relatively easily. I also thought it would be good for the scene to have another viable venue. I make a point of being there and introducing the bands myself, so as to try to foster a listening vibe, which I think is very important, and not always a given."
"It’s been interesting to try to put something together that reflects the diversity of musical outlooks and the creativity of the jazz musicians of this city. There is no shortage of great music and it’s been inspiring to me to try to present it appropriately. Some of the shows have really been special, either some of the live ones, or the streaming ones we did during lockdown: Joel Ross, Immanuel Wilkins, Chris Potter etc. I have tried to feature the masters as often as I am able to and it’s been encouraging to have the support and participation of legends such as Billy Hart, Victor Lewis or Jeff Watts. However, I also want to feature and support younger musicians. I feel like I am giving something back to the music that I love by trying to feature other people and get a nice scene going. I just wish I could give more people gigs, but choices have to be made. I only book the Wednesday series, Jeremy handles the other days himself."
Jerome is appreciative of the efforts that people made to adjust during the pandemic, but concedes there is no replacement for live music.
"Streaming has had a moment and allowed us to keep a connection to music. It was certainly interesting to get it going at Bar Bayeux. I credit the Village Vanguard for the inspiration. Their first stream with the Billy Hart Quartet was a breath of fresh air at a pretty bleak time. To me, the Vanguard streams were also the benchmark for how to do this properly. We tried to follow their lead as best we could at Bar Bayeux.As for myself, I kept practicing, but I really missed playing, as all of us did. As helpful as streaming was and is, there is no substitute for live music with an audience and I hope that going forward, we can make enough progress as a society that things like that become possible and normal again."
So what's on the record player for Jerome at the moment?
"I’ve been revisiting some older albums by Steve Coleman (“The Tao of Mad Phat”) , Michel Petrucciani (“Music" and "Michel Plays Petrucciani”) and John Scofield ("Hand Jive"). It’s music that I’ve known since it came out in the eighties or nineties and I connect to it just as much today."
And finally, Jerome speaks about the importance of KEYEDUP! to NYC and beyond
"Rob Duguay introduced me to the work of KEYEDUP!. Rob and I have known each other for a while and we have played together over the years. When I got involved with the booking at Bar Bayeux, I reached out. KU’s support has been absolutely crucial to the music at Bar Bayeux. There is no way we could do what we do without it. But more than that, the fact that KU! supports so many places has really left an important mark on the scene. At this point, it’s hard to imagine what would become of a lot of venues without KU!'s support. KEYEDUP! has kept the scene alive throughout tough times, and has become a seminal part of the very fabric of the city. It has allowed many musicians to keep working and creating."
Jerome recently recorded a quartet album with Kenny Barron, Joe Martin and Johnathan Blake - due to be released next year. You can also catch him on Sep 29 at Bar Bayeux with Joe Martin and Al Foster on drums.
