DCist Interview: Bossa's Rob Coltun
There are several layers to D.C.'s jazz scene, and each boasts its own set of musicians and strengths. National acts generally play at the larger halls, such as the Kennedy Center, or Blues Alley, if they choose to play a club date. As far as the local scene, the older musicians tend to play the same rooms, or places where the crowd is generally older as well, such as Jazz Night in Southwest. The most exciting aspect of the local scene, however, is the explosion of young talent that has developed over the past five to ten years. These musicians tend to concentrate along the corridors of U Street, or 18th Street in Adams Morgan. Though only blocks apart, there are subtle variations between the two destinations that give the jazz listener in the nation's capital a surprising number of musical options.
On U Street, one can find the best music at Twins Jazz, the historic Bohemian Caverns, and small restaurants like Jojo's and Utopia. The music at these clubs is rooted firmly in the African American experience and is at the core of the city's musical heritage. On 18th Street however, the music has a much more international flair. Bars such as Bukom Cafe, Ghana Cafe, and Rumba Cafe offer among the city's best in traditional Latin, reggae, and African music, and the strip's jazz life is concentrated in one of two places, Columbia Station and the Bossa Bistro & Lounge.
While Columbia Station favors a more traditional sound, one of the most interesting developments in D.C. jazz is the scene for which Bossa acts as a hub. Some of the most innovative music coming out of the city is played there on a nightly basis by a growing group of highly trained musicians who have studied musical tradition, but also embrace a forward looking ethos.
Plus, the food ain't bad either.
DCist interviewed Rob Coltun, an owner and frequent performer at Bossa, in what is hopefully the first in a series of interviews with those responsible for presenting the fine talent we have here in the District.
How did Bossa come about and what was your original concept for the space, specifically with respect to music?
Bossa came about with the vision of creating a Washington, D.C. venue with an essence similar to a number of the venues in New York and New Orleans that have influenced me most musically.
The New Orleans and downtown New York, and now Brooklyn, music scenes are both pretty amazing. They are similar, both now and historically, in that people from all over the world will blend musical styles including jazz, classical, folk melodies and rhythms and come up with something sounding new. Both are pushing the edge in different ways. Perhaps you can say New York pushes the edge sonically and conceptually while New Orleans continues to grow branches from the original tree of jazz.
When my band would play in these places we would learn so much about music by feeling the way people would hear the music. So equally important in a venue is that both the folks currently on the stage and off the stage have “big ears”. Also, Bossa has that feeling of a jazz bar and bistro versus a more formal jazz club, which is more suitable for trying out new ideas and a place to hang out and absorb them.
The Adam’s Morgan area reminds me most of what I love about New Orleans and New York in that it has this great sense of cultural mix. My partner Wagner is from Brazil. At the core much Brazilian music has the same musical open-ness.
Tell us a little bit about the space itself? Is there any interesting history there?
It turns out that the site of Bossa was a music venue in the 40s and 50s. It was called the Madrillon Club featuring Latin music and jazz. I have met musicians that have played and coincidently have friends whose relatives have played at the Madrillon Club. Apparently Artie Shaw heard one of the singers that he hired at the Madrillon Club. Besides for playing in his band, Helen Forrest went on to sing with Benny Goodman and Harry James. She was one of the most famous singers of the big band era. So we have history.
You feature DJs in your upstairs space and live bands in your downstairs space. What do you look for in artists that you invite to perform and how do you go about choosing them?
We like DJs that bring world vibe and danceable music. We have live music upstairs from time to time as well. Mostly we have a core of musicians who spearhead different projects – some of the players in those projects have their own projects. I trust musicians that associate with the musicians that I associate with. D.C. has a pretty connected music scene. But sometimes someone will just walk in and introduce themselves and their project and we give it a try.
Who are some of your favorite artists that perform at Bossa?
Quite honestly, I like all of the artists that play at Bossa, if I don’t they don’t come back. There is a growing core of musicians that play at Bossa working on each other’s projects – they then bring in someone new who has their own ideas and the core grows.
You also lead a group that performs at Bossa, tell us about the group and what you hope to accomplish with the band?
I have a few projects I’m working on. Touch Acoustra, Improviso, ICU, Tell Your Story. I like to compose. Some of the projects focus on spontaneous composition and with the other projects the compositions are refined over time. I keep these projects in rotation with everyone else that performs at Bossa. My plans for these are to continue to refine them, record, and do a bit of touring with them because feeling how different audiences in different cities hear your music helps you to grow.
How does your approach to music as a player affect your outlook as a club owner, if at all? How much consideration do you have to give to the bottom line when you are booking talent?
The essence of my music and the music that I want to have at Bossa are fundamentally the same. I like to hear original approaches to music; original songs, songs done in an original way. I like approachable melody, rhythm and form and tend to keep away from anything that is an imitation of well-known style or beyond the ability of non-musicians to feel what is going on. The music has to be pushing the edge in one way or another.
I want the musicians that play at Bossa to be able to play their instruments well, create a harmonious statement with their band and think in terms of musical concepts. This doesn’t mean necessarily being a virtuosic player, but expressing what they hear musically both through their own instruments and through the collective of instruments. When musicians are exposed to many styles their ears allow for many approaches to soloing within the music. It’s all about the blend of musical cultures.
As a club owner, what advice can you offer to up-and-coming musicians who are trying to find gigs at Bossa or other places in town?
Well, we’re pretty anti “do that standard-jazz or cover band thing” and I can’t really talk about what other folks look for. But I do look and listen for musicians that put the work in to try to define their own voices and will spread the word to friends to have them check it out. In talking with new musicians, you can tell if they are really enthusiastic about what they are doing. Maybe our musical criteria are not the best from a short-term monetary perspective but promoting our vision takes precedence.
The short version: come early, come prepared, play well and leave before closing time, the folks that work at the venues need to get to sleep.
You've featured out-of-town acts, such as guitarist Leni Stern. Is your focus going to remain on local talent or do you hope to become a destination for regional and national acts?
Well of course there are many musicians that live in the D.C. area that play at Bossa that tour with regional and national acts. Leni and the few international artists that come through Bossa share our vision. Leni is one of the artists that really influenced the Downtown NY music scene. She’s really a warrior for the cause of music that says something musically and socially and is constantly exploring different musical cultures. She’s also very socially aware and articulate. She and the awesome guitarist/songwriter Adam Levy, who’s played with Norah Jones, Tracy Chapman, Sex Mob, and Killer Joey, come through regularly every few months. Karina Zeviani and her band plays at Bossa from time to time. For me they represent a really vibrant scene at Neu Blue in NYC.
What are your short and long term goals for the club?
Our main focus is to promote live music. We want to continue to get the word out, so thank you for this opportunity. We’ve started having some video artists produce images along with the music. We want to continue have the music support the fundraising events we have which include international peace initiatives and events for people in distress in our multicultural community.
Our long term goal is to grow Bossa Project beyond the venue and to develop more of a multi-city and international connection.
You've also started a record label. Who are the artists you want to feature on this label and what do you aim to accomplish with it?
Needless to say we focus on bands that play at Bossa. Recording a CD gives a project a focal point to organize the music and deepens an artists understanding of their own music, it really helps to move the music forward.
Everyone we’ve recorded composes his or her own music. So far we’ve released sax player Matt Rippetoe’s CD. Vocalist Heidi Martin’s CD is coming out, soon to be followed with projects by keyboardist Dan Roberts and drummer Charles Ostle. I’m really happy with them all.
The goal is to spread their music and to and get the word out about what’s going on at Bossa. We’ll also be releasing a compilation CD this year.
Photo by m hoek