Jazz clubs remain sanctuaries across Philadelphia. Filled with soulful improvisation and connection, these timeless venues invite audiences to lose themselves in the unpredictable magic of live jazz.
Yes, this city has a history of dynamic jazz spaces — Pep’s, Showboat, Zanzibar Blue, Chris’, Solar Myth, South, Nostalgia, Not So Latin — and now, there are two new hotspots on the scene.
Fishtown’s Black Squirrel Club and Center City’s Cellar Dog are ready to share their love of jazz among other local legends.
Black Squirrel Club
“Every piece here comes with a story,” says Black Squirrel executive director Gabor S. Antalics of his club’s design. “The charm of the Black Squirrel Club is that there really isn’t any place quite like it. It wasn’t created by a group, designed by an architectural firm, with some huge financial backer, with a theme or a look. It is what it is.
“What happened was my Kevin Costner, ‘If you build it, they will come, moment,” continues Antalics with a laugh. “I built it. Now, if you asked me what the thought process behind it was, I would make as much sense building a tower in the dining room from boxwoods I’d yanked out of the front yard.”
Located at 1045 Sarah Street in Fishtown, Black Squirrel showcases a stunning working bar and stage that matches the vibe of the space. There is also a Warren Muller chandelier, old piano and unique church pews for theater style seating. Black Squirrel started as a private club, where Antalics and booker Ben Orlock hosted early music gigs of rock (Foxycotin) and classical (No-Name Pops).
“The debut of our weekly Monday Night Jam session was an immediate success on many levels and really set the stage for things to come,” says Orlock of attracting young jazz heads to Black Squirrel.
Though eclectic events still occur at the venue — Antalics promises a speaker series, a makers’ market and shows touching on Irish and chamber music — for most who pass through its doors, Black Squirrel is a revolutionary jazz space beyond its jam sessions dedicated to epic live jazz.
“Jazz is steeped in tradition, idiom, language, community – it’s constantly evolving,” says Orlock. “The music and development of the musicians is a process. There’s lots of musicians in Philly who get that, and those are the ones who get us.”
Orlock and Antalics are quick to acknowledge that “there’s no shortage of talent in Philly.” The booker intends to follow up on recent Black Squirrel shows with jazz lions Jeff ‘Tain’ Watts, William Parker, Don Byron, Nick Waterhouse and the guys from Snarky Puppy with even more music from outside this city.
“I’d like inject some new ideas and voices into the conversation at Black Squirrel,” states Orlock. “We’ve got a good reputation with musicians, word is spreading beyond Philly, and people want to play here. It’s a matter of building up our promotional machine, working on getting more of a built-in crowd we can count on for any show, and making the numbers work for this kind of expansion.”
Cellar Dog
The expansion of Black Squirrel is also good for the just-opened Cellar Dog, a multi-use casual dining concept that Orlock calls “crazy, but it works.” That’s because along with booking cool jazz, the team behind the Dog – Arthur Backal, owner of Cellar Dog and CEO of Backal Hospitality Group together with Ehud Asherie, music director, live talent curator and a respected jazz pianist – additionally bring pool tables, ping pong, shuffleboard, chess, and vintage arcade games to 258 S. 15th Street. Oh, and fried Twinkies, Smash Burgers and short rib Sloppy Joes, too.
“I have a love of live music and supporting different musical communities, past and present,” says Backal whose West Village, NYC Cellar Dog and its vivid mix of modern jazz, bop, funk, swing and Brazilian presage the Philly Dog. “Philadelphia has a huge tradition, too, for jazz – titans such as John Coltrane, McCoy Tyner to start — as does Greenwich Village.”
Talent booker and working jazz musician Asherie is quick to add that, “as gigging artists travel between New York and Philly to play, the two Cellar Dog locations create a great bridge between the two cities for the jazz community.”
Along with offering its incoming jazz musicians, national and local — such as its opening night’s impromptu sextet featuring vocalist Stephan Burse, vibraphonist Behn Gillece, saxophonist Nick Hempton, organist Lucas Brown, drummer Wayne Smith Jr. and guitarist Ben Turner — great hit food and high ceilings vibes, Cellar Dog Philly has a great set up for its live players. It boasts a collection of rare instruments, including a vintage 1945 Steinway piano and an a-100 organ circa 1978.
“This Cellar Dog space is curated to have a certain feeling,” says Asherie of including “unwinding and relaxing” with hearing great jazz and knocking around ping pong balls.
“The dream for Cellar Dog is that the space has an atmosphere comfortable for all,” states Backal. “Yes, we’re a music venue, but we are something else. There’s immense attention to detail. The jazz stage has the highest end instruments. The food menu is well thought out and locally sourced. And, the options of activities are endless. You can come for amazing live jazz, but you also can be in the back of the bar playing billiards and arcade games hearing the music. There’s nowhere else like it.”
