Jazz past is alive in B'klyn by Marissa Matozzo
Brownstone venue like a trip back to 1940's scene
Step inside his Bed-stuy brownstone and you will swear you have been whisked back to a jazz venue in 1940's Brooklyn.
Housed in 19th-century home with floral drapes, moody lamps and live music, intimate Victorian, parlor revives the boroughs Storied musical roots - no time machine required.
Welcome to Brownstone JAZZ, the romantic, toe-tapping hot spot that's putting Brooklyn back on the Jazz map - picking up a new generation of fans on Instagram and TikTok in the process. The venue at 107 Macon st. - founded by newly crowned "Jazz hero Debbie Mclain" and co-owner and music director Eric Lemons - is part speakeasy, part stage, part black history museum. And every weekend it transform into a swinging tribute to the boroughs deep jazz legacy. "Most people who live here in Bed-stuy don't know what once here",
Lemons told the Post. "There were major recordings and performances in this neighborhood that impacted the whole musical world". Inside the performance room, a trio of glowing lamps - one purple, one orange, on e green - bathe the "ballroom", as Mcclain calls it, in mesmerizing, ethereal glow. Ornate white floral molding lines the walls, flanked by vintage mirrors, tasseled paisley scones, angel footed lamps and a framed black and white, shot of Billie Holiday mid-performance in 1947. With an upright grand piano, double bass, drum set and vinyl records from Scott Joplin to John Coltrane on display, the whole space feels like a jazz lover's dream frozen in time - just how McClain planned it. "This venue is so unique and special because when you enter it, you feel as if you're stepping back in time", singer and Brownstone JAZZ performer Kathryn Farmer told the post.
Planned and Improv'
On a recent steamy Saturday night, Farmer took the mike alongside a lineup of local legends, which rotate every week - Patience Higgins on Sax, Bruce Cox on drums, YoYanne Pierre piano and Lemons on bass - for a soul-stirring set that had the audience swaying, snapping and erupting into applause after every tune. Farmer dazzled with a riveting take on George Gershwin's "Summertime" while singer and violinist Mimi Block later scatted and bowed her way through the blues classic "I'd Rather Drink Muddy Water" while backed by the band. "Our performances are a combination of planned songs and improv," Higgings, who played with Aretha Franklin and Stevie Wonder, told The Post, "Sometimes we even take audience requests. That spontaneity paired with the parlor's ambiance, creates a spellbinding effect - one that has been taking place for 16 years. Born in Harlem and raised in Brooklyn, McClain grew up tickling the ivories and belting out ballads- performing in Brooklyn Academy of Music and singing with the All-City schools choir.
Brownstone JAZZ came to life in 2010 after McClain turned the family home into a bed and breakfast called Sankofa Aban. A year after opening the B&F, she transformed the backyard of the home into a jazz haven, known as Jazz Under the Stars, to honor her and her family's love of the genre. "Music has always been so important to our family, and so has the brownstone," said McClain's brother Arnold McDonald, who helps check tickets and greet guests at each show.
Bring your own bag
McClain met her friend and co-owner Lemons, when she hired him to play bass for those early backyard sets. "He actually convinced me to bring the music into the parlor, and 16 years later, here we are", she told the Post. Now called the Brownstone JAZZ Weekend Concert Series, McClain and Lemons usually sell out four shows a weekend: Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30p.m and 9:30p.m,. and Sunday "after brunch" sets at 4pm and 6p.m.- with tickets priced at $55.30. It's dress-to-impress" but far from stuffy. The venue doesn't serve alcohol or food, so guests BYOBB - that's bring your own brown bag" - and sip discreetly while the band plays.
What began as a modest open mike has grown into a tightly curated concert room - with McClain and Lemons now booking genre heavy-hitters on the regular like Higgins, saxophonist and flutist James Spaulding and nine-time Grammy-nominated percussionist Bobby Sanabria. After a pandemic pause Brownstone JAZZ experienced a major resurgence in 2023, thanks to viral buzz and a growing Gen Z fan base. Each night Lemons delivers a monologue full of jazz history and Bed-Stuy pride. "When they actually listen, put their phones down and focus on our music, it's so special," he said.