Why name it Jazz at the Ballroom?
JATB was inspired by Norman Granz and Jazz At The Philharmonic (JATP). A jazz concert promoter beginning in the 1940s, Granz knew that a profound connection existed between music and people. Added to that was his belief that the space where the music was presented mattered as well.
Generations of jazz legends of the Great American Songbook were able to share their talent with the larger public because of Granz: Ella Fitzgerald, Oscar Peterson, Nat Cole, Billy Holiday, Sarah Vaughan, Louis Armstrong, Lester Young, Bud Powell, Charlie Parker, Art Tatum… you get the idea.
(Setting up for Jane Monheit's concert)
As for the "Ballroom" part: we began as a salon series in the Northern California home that once belonged to Bing Crosby. The home had been credited with a lot of old stories and memories of performers and entertainers who would show up for drinks and an impromptu jam session.
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It was a history we wanted to re-live and decided the very large living room (a.k.a. the ballroom) would make the perfect spot for a salon series. The goal was to take a space that had been out of commission for a couple decades and recreate an aura of a time when people dressed up to go out and great cocktails were kept company by great music.
We wanted evenings of music that were intimate and world class, letting the people feel as if they were taking part in something one-of-a-kind and memorable. In a way, we didn’t create Jazz at the Ballroom as much as we resurrected it.
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