Monday, September 14, 2009

Fat Cat


Been a while since I've done a post, mainly because I've been waiting for more of my jazzy friends to step forward with answers to my "two questions." (Hmmph!) As a result, my blog has been idle for too long. Therefore, I decided to do my latest post on a strange but interesting venue I've started going to when I want to hear good jazz but not break the bank, Fat Cat.

Fat Cat is located at 75 Christopher Street near 7th Avenue in NYC. Once I go down the stairs, the first one to greet me is a guy who takes the $3 cover (cash only). I pass the bar area, then head over to a small section filled with couches near what you might call the "stage." Meanwhile behind me are dozens of pool tables, ping pong tables, foosball tables, tables with chessboards and checkerboards on top, etc., as well as people loudly involved in the different activities. All this makes for an interesting non-musical accompaniment to the jazz, which bands of various sizes are attempting to play for whoever is seated on the couches and trying to listen.

The gigs I generally check out at Fat Cat are those with reed man extraordinaire Peter Brainin on tenor and soprano. One of the most memorable also included Mark Soskin on piano, Boris Koslov on bass and Mike Clark on drums. Great music played by some of the greatest musicians on the planet--it doesn't get any better than this! (Definitely not an upscale kind of club like Blue Note or Birdland, but with jazz of this caliber at wallet-friendly prices, who cares? Plus I kinda dig the weird atmosphere of the place!)