Singing the Praises of an Era Gone By

 

Being a woman can be joyful and taxing at the same time. After my nurse visit at University of Cincinnati Medical Center on Wednesday, I relaxed and reflected on my life so far. Then, I went to an On the Road Meetup hosted by Walnut Hills Historical Society at the Greenwich, one of the very few true and iconic jazz clubs in Cincinnati. The meetup began with a discussion of Cincinnati's jazz history.

Cincinnati is very rich in jazz history, yet it was not held in very high regard. Jazz musicians weren't recognized, and many of them were lost due to drug addictions.

Cincinnati was a well positioned city for the Great Migration, and slowly jazz began to increase in popularity here. During the early 1900s, many jazz performances were recitals held in churches, community clubs and lawn fetes, and local radio stations began to broadcast jazz music. Among the radio stations was WCKY, which broadcasted in the Alms Hotel in 1924. Also, Fats Waller was a resident musician at WLW.

As the century progressed, a plethora of jazz clubs began to open in Cincinnati, many of them in Walnut Hills and Over The Rhine. Along with that growth came issues with liquor licenses and constant run ins with police, as was the case of Mother's Cafe on 1905 E McMillan St. As a result, there was a slow decrease in jazz clubs until many of them began to close as early as the 1970s. Some still remain today such as The Viking Lounge and The Greenwich.

After the talk, the group was treated to a Brazilian jazz performance by the Emily Grace Jordan Trio, which was a refreshing end to a long and full day!