By Eric Lyttle
Published: Wednesday, February 17, 2010 5:31 PM ESTJeff Mathes always wanted to establish a dinner-club atmosphere at one of his restaurants, with piano chords and smoky horns being accompanied by the sound of tinkling silverware on porcelain and ice-filled cocktail glasses.
But those 1950s-style jazz-club scenes are easier conceived than executed—especially, it seems, in Columbus, Ohio.
“In Columbus, it’s hard to blend food and nightlife,” said Mathes, owner of two Downtown eateries, Due Amici and Barrio Tapas & Lounge. “People don’t tend to eat late here. It’s usually eat, and then go out.”
“It’s been something I’ve always hoped to do, but it’s been hard to create that blend.”
Fortunately for Mathes, the four members of a hot, local band—the Liquid Crystal Project—dig the food at Barrio.
The Liquid Crystal Project formed in 2006 and began creating a unique mix of hip-hop and jazz. The resulting sound—which its members dubbed, logically enough, “jazz hop”—has garnered some attention. The band has already made two tours of Europe and, locally, headlined the Jazz Stage at last summer’s Comfest.
Consisting of deejay/producer J. Rawls, keyboard player Brandon “B-Jazz” Scott, drummer Rob Riley and saxophonist Eddie Bayard, the band recently was hired to perform at an after-hours Barrio event called Accent.
“I liked what they did,” said Mathes. “I thought it was really cool. I’d seen similar scenes in New York City, and wanted to try and get something regular going here.”
The feeling was mutual.
“First of all, we love their food,” said Donna Marbury, the band’s public relations person. “It’s this great Latin mix that’s really bold and in your face. We talked to Jeff, and he was looking for a bustling, jumping band that’s in your face. We thought it would be a great blend.”
Blend Thursdays, featuring the Liquid Crystal Project and guest artists, will take place from 9 p.m. to midnight Thursdays at Barrio Tapas & Lounge, 185 N. High St. 614-220-9141. No cover.
Thus, Barrio created Blend Thursdays, a sort of jazz night with the Liquid Crystal Project serving as a house band and inviting a number of guests to share the stage. It kicks off tonight with featured vocalists Tia Stewart and Talisha Holmes.
Other acts scheduled for subsequent Thursdays include Speak Williams (March 4); Hot Sax on a Platter, with Bayard and Steve Lomax (March 11); and a Talisha Holmes Birthday Celebration (March 18).
Blend Thursdays will take place on the first floor, with the band setting up in the front of the restaurant, by the window facing High Street. Some of the 30 to 40 tables will be moved around to create a little space in front of the band, should anyone feel like jumping up.
“I don’t think there’s a plan to turn it into a hip-hop dance party, but we’re not going to hate on anyone who feels like getting up and dancing a bit,” said Mathes.
The music, however, probably will lend itself more to what Marbury calls the “head-nod element.”
“It’s that hip-hop, head-nod sound,” she said. “But added in, there’s some serious jazz being played, too.”
http://theotherpaper.com/articles/2010/02/17/arts/doc4b7c5a109fe4d058606682.txt
