For hip jazz diggers nothing beats a set so off-the-path that only musicians and a very few aficionados know about it.
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In a long, dark upstairs room where horizontal blinds screen out most of the street light bouncing off the hotel wall across King Drive, the crowd is small but way attentive. Dark silhouettes form the classic grouping: bass, trumpet, sax, drums. Almost featureless archetypes speak the ritual sounds–take a tune as far out in their esoteric language as ideas and skill allow, with no fear of leaving the uninitiated behind. Communication between the players and the silent, committed audience is at its peak–there’s no limit to the experimental possibilities and no place to hide musical shortcomings. Everybody’s tuned in.
The set hits about 8 PM every Monday at Roberts Penthouse, above the skating rink at 6624 S. Martin Luther King Drive. Park right out front; there’s a $5 cover. Call 349-2561 or 955-1000 for info.
