It’s Tuesday night at High Street Caffe, a Cajun fusion restaurant in the borough of West Chester that transforms into Vudu Lounge, a nighttime bar and venue with dark purple tablecloths and colorful accent lighting. Boasting one of the best beer selections in the area, Vudu’s décor of sequined theater masks, metal tassel chandeliers and an alligator window display all conjure the southern flavor of New Orleans.
Photo By: Marc Manley
Shortly after I arrive, three members of an ensemble take their places in front of a wall-sized mural of 1920’s swing dancers. Tonight is the weekly jam session that draws a ready crowd of jazz enthusiasts–both local and those from surrounding areas–who come to hear Philadelphia guitarist Dave Manley, a regular among a rotating trio of jazz musicians. Tonight’s cast features Philadelphia legend Mike Boon. “I’ve been basically hiring guys from the Ortlieb’s Philly crew,” Dave tells me later between sets [Ortlieb’s is a Philadelphia musical staple that over the years has hosted jazz giants like drummer Mickey Roker, organist Shirley Scott, and owner Pete Souders.] Manley’s regular gig at Vudu on Sunday nights during which he still plays a mixture of Brazilian and Spanish solo guitar, goes back to 1998. Of the weekly trio nights, which came later in 2010, Manley says, “Even though it’s a jam session, it’s like communion for us. We break jazz bread.” And Manley is known to make space onstage for budding musicians in the audience, often lending them his guitar. For “these young cats,” as he calls them, the chance to step up and learn from seasoned players is invaluable.
Growing up in Detroit, absorbed in the sounds of Van Halen and Santana, Dave describes his own early years in a metal band alongside an inherited exposure to jazz music–he has an uncle who once “lent” his trumpet to Miles Davis. Manley says moving to Philadelphia was “stepping into the deep jazz history of John Coltrane, Bootsie Barnes, Charles Fambro, Mike Boone, Orrin Evans and so many others whose legacy runs right through the city. I was infected by the Phili and New York scenes.” And Manley was busy during his years in these two cities, playing and touring with jazz and rhythm/blues artists from Jill Scott, to The Roots; Herbie Hancock to R&B artist Musiq Soulchild with Jazzy Jeff. “The soul [of jazz] is transitional,” he says, “it’s reinvention in the moment and playing from your center.” He adds, “It was this [Tuesday night] session that gave me that focus.”
During their set I am struck by the dynamic arc of this music: how the momentum of the trio in full swing builds and then dissipates with a bass solo from Boone that moves forward for a while in its own direction. Then, after several choruses, guitar and drums thicken with the sound of applause. The varying levels of intensity are what make the “reinvention” of a given tune so thrilling. “Jazz is boxing, a kinetic conversation,” Manley offers, “you have to be ready to jump. You have to get out of your own way. It’s also a sense of trust, and every musician’s goal is to step into that flow.”
Manley’s love for jazz transcends the level of a chosen genre of interest, and he is full of metaphors when it comes to his music: “Jazz is sitting down to a good meal” and, “it’s going to the gym.” When I ask about the “death of jazz” that is allegedly inevitable and upon us, Manley doesn’t seem phased. “Swing is the main line of jazz and it will come back.” In the meantime, with gigs like Tuesday nights in West Chester, Manley continues to further his craft. “I’m just glad I live close to the source and that I pay attention to it,” he says, adding that, “jazz is a very visceral full contact music—best when it’s felt.” In this sense, jazz will always be a testament to the potency of live music, and the pulse of relentless improvisation is proof of its vitality.
Written by: Susanna Young
