When the biggest names in jazz come to D.C., they generally play Blues Alley or the Kennedy Center, choosing the sterility of Georgetown or the concert hall setting and thereby only increasing the separation between jazz and the community from which it originated. But back in jazz's heyday, if you wanted to hear the best jazz in the District, you had to go to U Street. Unfortunately, with the death of Dr. King and the riots that followed, U Street's jazz scene burned along with the rest of the once vibrant community. Over the past decade, things have changed and U Street is once again abuzz with the sound of live jazz. One club above all reflects the ups and downs of U Street as a whole, and that club is Bohemian Caverns.

Founded in 1926 as Club Caverns, the historic venue was home to Duke Ellington's music before he made his way to New York, and was a favorite of Cab Calloway. During the '50s, the club changed its name to Crystal Caverns before settling on the now familiar Bohemian Caverns by the end of the decade. In 1959, Tony Taylor and Angelo Alvino bought the Caverns and over the next ten years, it was the jazz room in D.C. Legends such as Miles Davis, John Coltrane, and Sonny Rollins all made regular appearances at the club, as did local legends Buck Hill and Shirley Horn.

That era of Bohemian Caverns came to a close when it shut down after the '68 riots. Like the surrounding neighborhood, the building fell into decay and became home to a series of nightclub operations, some more seedy than others. As U Street began its turnaround in the mid-to-late '90s, the club re-opened as a jazz venue in 1998. While ownership and management has changed in the past 10 years, it has steadily regained its reputation as a great jazz room. In its current incarnation, the storied building at 11th and U houses three operations, the Bohemian Caverns jazz club in the basement, a restaurant, Mahogany, at ground level, and Līv, a dance club, located upstairs.

Omrao Brown is one of the current owners of Bohemian Caverns and is also responsible for booking the artists who come through the jazz club and Līv. This is the second installment in a series of interviews with those responsible for presenting D.C.'s fine jazz scene.

Photo by LaTur

You feature DJs in your upstairs space at Līv and live music in your basement space. What do you look for in artists that you invite to perform and how do you go about choosing them?

Eventually we would like to be doing jazz and blues 6-7 nights a week in the Caverns. The Caverns currently hosts jazz Monday, Tuesday, Friday, Saturday and occasionally on Sundays. Līv is much more designed and programmed for popular music and DJs. As we get closer to that full week of jazz programming, the popular music that we do midweek will move up to Līv.

As far as artists, I am looking for good music in general. It sounds like a cliché, but I am really concerned about making sure that we are presenting quality music, whatever the genre may be. In addition to that, people who have a following and understand what makes this whole business of live music work. We are not in the business of presenting the biggest names in any music genre, so the promotion is going to be a big piece of what we do. We would like to think of ourselves as part of a bigger picture that breaks artists into the mainstream and provides a stage for those who may never move to that level.

What are your thought's on D.C.'s music scene, specifically with respect to the dance and jazz scenes?

It's pretty healthy. Lots of great musicians and DJs, and many people who enjoy what is put on. The international community that D.C. is leaves room for all kinds of music presentations. We try to take advantage of that diversity in musical tastes and cultures.

Who are some of your favorite artists that perform at Bohemian Caverns?

David Sanchez, Antonio Hart, The Young Lions, Antoine Roney, Thad Wilson's Jazz Orchestra

Who are some local artists that you enjoy but who also might be flying under the radar?

Brian Settles, Kenny Rittenhouse, Nasar Abadey, Allyn Johnson and James King. One of our best talents in the area is Gary Thomas, who leads the jazz programs studies at Peabody up in Baltimore. It's always a treat to get to hear him. I can't leave out the a cappella ensemble up at Howard, Afro Blue. They are a real treat. I'm hoping to present them in the Caverns at some point in the not too distant future.

Your father is an accomplished musician. How does that 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?

I would imagine it has a great effect as my love and appreciation for jazz as an art form is shared with my brother and my other partner, and is one of the main reasons we decided on this as part of our business venture to begin with. Growing up with a father who is both an accomplished musician and music educator is a very unique experience and the biggest influence on my musical taste and appreciation by far. We see the club as a part of the music, if it's operated correctly. Meaning it should add to the health of every aspect of the music, its existence, its development from the standpoint of musicians and fans, its health in terms of a musician being able to make a living as an artist, as well as fans' and potential fans' ability to experience the music. In many instances, clubs have been at odds with the people who perform there. We hope that we are creating a new type of operation in many ways.

With respect to booking, I unfortunately have to pay attention to the bottom line. It is not my only factor obviously, but it is a necessary consideration if we want to be here in the future.

As a club operator, what advice can you offer to up-and-coming musicians who are trying to find gigs at Bohemian Caverns or other places in town?

I would suggest that perseverance, working towards mastering your art form, professionalism, and learning the business end of things are all equally important in securing gigs, regardless of where you may be looking.

You have a mix of local talent and out of town acts. Do you hope Bohemian Caverns will become a destination for regional and national acts? If so, how are you going to go about achieving your goals?

Over time we will be moving to present more national and international acts. As we continue to grow we would always like to have a mix. The regional and local musicians that play here are an integral part of the music community we actually reside in. They also are of a very high caliber musician and allow us to present great music at very reasonable rates. While we do and will continue to present national and international acts, in many cases the higher cost of talent naturally requires a higher cover charge. Some segments of the population are not able to afford these shows and we always like to be accessible to everyone as this is a music for everyone.

What are your short and long term goals for the club?

Short term, I am working towards continuing to build support for the slower nights, i.e., Monday nights with Thad Wilson's Jazz Orchestra, while continuing to provide a lineup that is both rewarding and exciting in all respects.

Long term, we hope to build our operation back towards the great reputation that Bohemian Caverns has in the history of this music, both here in D.C. as well as on a global scale. We have some big shoes to fill.