Thu 8/29 @ 7-10PM
When she’s not playing locally or nationally with some of the biggest names in jazz, Jackie Warren can often be found tickling the ivories late night in the piano room after the Nighttown headliner has finished their set.
It turns out this gig is anything but an afterthought as Northeast Ohio’s “First Lady of Jazz” has been known to do more than provide background music for the bar. Instead, Warren continues the party with an improv-friendly, head-turning set.
Now after years of requests, Warren has finally captured all of her late-night favorites for her new studio effort After Hours.
“The afterhours Nighttown crowd keep asking me for a recording, because they want to take home that vibe,” Warren said. “So I made the album with that in mind — playing those type of tunes, but I don’t really have a set list. Whatever the energy of the people in the room, whatever is sort of happening, I play off of that. So it’s a bunch of favorites from the last few years.”
Ranging from jazz standards to Latin tunes, the nine-track album is dedicated to Warren’s mother. Not only was she her first teacher, but growing up she used to play “When You and I Were Young, Maggie.” Now as a tribute, Warren cut the 19thcentury song naturally with a jazz feel.
“One thing I play when everybody needs to get the hell out of the bar is ‘Show Me the Way to go Home,’” Warren said. “I play it in quite a drunken, bluesy manner. It’s kind of hilarious one. That’s the last track on the album.”
Another album highlight that truly captures that Nighttown afterhours vibe is her cover of Billy Strayhorn’s “Lush Life.”
“There’s always a bunch of very savvy people, as well as regular people, who seem to know the words of what I’m playing,” Warren said. “Like, I was playing ‘Lush Life’ and everybody was singing it. That’s an inspiration from the vibe in the room late-night where I’m sitting in that window with that piano. ‘Lush Life’ is one of the tunes that I always play. It’s always been one of my favorite songs. Everybody is drinking and everybody is trying to be chill, so we’re living a lush life.”
In case you’re missing the point, Nighttown during, as well as after the show, is the place to be with Warren acting as the master of ceremonies.
“I’m supposed to be playing alone, but half the time whoever is playing that night will sit in with me,” Warren said. “I’ve gotten to play with all kinds of great, great people over the years like Larry Coryell, Diego Figueiredo and Brian Auger.
“It happens all of the time, and it’s fun because then it does lead to gigs with those same people. Like when Benito Gonzalez came to Nighttown, he sat down and we played some duets together. We hit it off so much that now we do an annual duo gig at Nighttown. We plan on recording too.”
Considering Warren cut After Hours at the BOP STOP at The Music Settlement, that’s where she’s returning for her album release show August 29 at the Detroit Avenue venue.
“The album is just me on the piano,” Warren said. “It was weird because I actually recorded it at noon, and normally I’m playing at the other 12 o’clock — midnight. It was kind of surreal, there was nobody there. It was a real mind bender.”
That won’t be the case for Warren’s album release show, which features opener Sebastian Albornoz. The Colombian guitarist is set to release music this November.
“I like Sebastian so much I plan on playing a song with him before I perform with my trio (bassist Peter Dominguez and drummer Jim Rupp),” Warren said. “We’re going to play a jazz set with people probably sitting in. It’s going to turn into an afterhours set with that same ‘After Hours’ vibe.”
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