D.C. saxophonist Brian Settles performs with his band, Central Union, at Bohemian Caverns in February. (photo by Sriram Gopal)

The Washington City Paper‘s Michael J. West has delivered some devastating news to D.C.’s jazz community, and the local music scene in general: Bohemian Caverns, the historic jazz club located at 11th and U Streets NW, will be closing its doors at the end of March.

The shutdown is the result of a series of unfortunate events. Mahogany, LLC, the entity that owns Bohemian Caverns, Tap & Parlour on the ground floor, and Liv Night Club on the top floor of 2001 11th Street NW, is on the receiving end of a lawsuit involving an assault that took place in December 2012. In October 2013, a car crashed through the restaurant’s kitchen wall, necessitating the closure of all three businesses for six weeks. Finally, the relationship between Mahogany and the building’s owner, Al Afshar, has deteriorated to the point where matters must be resolved in court.

The City Paper article has a well-researched history of the club and a play-by-play of the recent turmoil, so there’s no need to re-hash that here. Instead, I offer this appreciation of Omrao Brown, the driving force behind the Caverns. One of three partners in Mahogany, LLC, he was the most visible of the owners and the ethos behind the establishments came largely from him.

The author with Omrao Brown (right) at Brown’s 40th birthday celebration in December 2014. (photo by Sriram Gopal)

I first met Omrao in December 2007, when I was working as an organizer for Subcontinental Drift, a District-based, South Asian community arts collective. Sub Drift, as it’s often called, started using Liv for its monthly open mic and the partnership would last for over seven years. The Caverns and Liv were also home to other open mics, arts events, and fundraisers, serving as strong testimony to the commitment Brown had to the local arts community.

DCist interviewed Omrao in June of the following year. At that point, the Caverns had been running for two years and we gained some insight into his plans for the cave.

“Over time we will be moving to present more national and international acts,” he said in 2008. “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.”

The Caverns succeeded in spades. Jazz legends such as Ron Carter and Jimmy Heath performed at the club, but local artists also had a home there. Omrao started an artist-in-residence program that would give the stage to area musicians for a month’s worth of Tuesday nights. The Bohemian Caverns Jazz Orchestra assembled seventeen of the area’s best musicians into one band every Monday for a very reasonable price. The club served as a hub for the DC Jazz Festival and, in turn, the festival recognized Omrao with its John Conyers, Jr. Jazz Advocacy Award in 2012.

Just this past Monday, I was speaking with local bassist Kris Funn, a world class musician who played the Caverns dozens, if not hundreds, of times. While neither of us had received any official news of the club’s closing, both of us had inklings. Funn was quick to note that none of the jazz clubs in D.C. treated artists with the same respect that Omrao did at the Caverns. Even though he was ultimately unsuccessful, the man, whose father is a jazz saxophonist and music professor, was always seeking the balance between art and commerce.

On a personal note, I’ve interacted with Omrao on multiple levels: as a journalist, an event organizer/producer, and as a musician who performed at the club. Most importantly, I’ve come to regard him has a true friend over the past eight-and-a-half years. There is no doubt in my mind that a person of his integrity and dedication will land on his feet. As for the jazz community at-large, losing the Caverns is a serious blow. I, for one, am absolutely gutted. But I have no doubt that we will weather this storm; there is simply too much talent here for D.C. jazz to just whither away after the loss of one venue. I’m also certain that Omrao will have a role to play in the recovery.