Noir @Rose Live Music, July 21st

Last Friday met up with Hannah and John Sid at Rose Live Music, this great new bar in Williamsburg that features an eclectic concert calendar focused primarily on jazz and world music. Hannah invited a few of us from Temple to check out her friends, Noir, a jazz quartet lead by a trumpet backed by keyboard, electric bass and drums.

The venue was very intimate allowing us to see the band nicely, which I feel is important especially when it comes to jazz since there are generally no vocals or verbal communication. When I do catch jazz, I am always reminded of James Baldwin's excellent short story, "Sonny's Blues," which did a beautiful job of detailing the silent interactions during a jazz gig. There were about twenty people there to support this tight band, which played psychadelic/experimental/funk sounds for about an hour. All the band members were great, but I was particularly impressed by the guy on keys, who coaxed out so many interesting sounds. Between him and the trumpeter, they definitely more than made up for any absence of guitar.

Apparently Noir plays every Sunday at the Surf Bar in Williamsburg. Looks like I'll have to check them out again soon!

After Noir finished, John and I retired to the sidewalk in front of the bar. We chatted with one of the owners for a bit who mentioned that Meshell Ndegeocello stops in frequently. I'm thinking I'll be stopping in Williamsburg more frequently myself now, too.