I’M OF THAT AGE WHERE I feel like I missed out on the era of the low-lit, hole in the wall, smoky neighborhood jazz club.
It’s really quite unfortunate.
I often daydream about walking off the city streets into that dark, low-ceilinged, unassuming dive, dotted with two-top tables and booths tucked away in nooks. Bartenders mixing cocktails under the neon glow. A laid-back jazz ensemble set up on a small stage in the corner, providing the evening’s soundtrack like they’ve been doing it for their entire lives. The singer seated at a baby grand with a cocktail glass on one side and an ash tray on the other, taking sips and drags between movements in the music, wearing a far-away stare, not really performing for an audience, more performing for the song itself.
The audience gently applauds between songs.
Times change. Many of those joints are long gone. But you can still find echoes of that thing here and there around Kitsap with the right eyes. This town is full of incredibly talented blues and jazz musicians. And the history here is thick. I used to catch the vibe every now and then back in the day at the Whiskey Creek Steakhouse on weeknights in Keyport. Nowadays, I catch glimpses in my mind sometimes while staring at the brickwall backdrop behind the band, waiting for the ferry at the Owl & Thistle. Sometimes, you can catch it on quiet evenings at the jazz and blues nights at Brother Don’s. Local jazzman Mark Lewis has been doing his thing weekly at a pizza place in Kingston and Weave Presents has been doing some jazzy things over at Rolling Bay Hall on Bainbridge.
But one night last month, you could find echoes of that whole, low-lit, hole-in-the-wall jazz thing all through downtown Poulsbo.
TAKING NOTE FROM festivals like SXSW which scatter music festival acts throughout various clubs within a walking distance radius, the inaugural Poulsbo Blues & Jazz Festival re-envisioned four downtown Poulsbo bars, restaurants and breweries as jazz clubs for the evening and filled them with more than a dozen jazz and blues acts over six hours.
Just the idea of the event was so popular, the festival’s 500 tickets sold out months in advance of the February event.
The festival’s roster featured local acts like bluesman Raphael Tranquilino and Poulsbo’s Front Street Revue to Seattle blues/soul/funk/gospel singer Lady A, 2023 Jazz Hero Award-winner Eugenie Jones and a decorated Washington Blues Society artist, The Stacy Jones Band. Venues included the Brass Kraken, the One Ten Lounge, the Slippery Pig and Western Red Brewing.
The whole thing was spearheaded by longtime jazz-and-blues-lovers, music-festival goers and first time organizers, Poulsbo residents Joe Hulsey and Mary Gorman. Inspired by an extended vacation in New Orleans, they said, the duo returned with time on their hands and decided why not bring the New Orleans thing to Poulsbo.
They pitched the idea of the festival to the Poulsbo Rotary, garnered community support, got the mayor on board and advertised the event across the region and through Seattle’s jazz and blues public radio station KNKX. The response was tremendous, they said. They’re already selling tickets for next year. The day after this year’s festival, 300 early bird tickets went up for sale before they even had a line up for 2025. They’re hoping to increase capacity for up to 1,000 tickets next year.
In the meantime, they’ve partnered with the Slippery Pig to keep their blues and jazz flowing through the year. They’re planning to bring regional and national talent to the Pig for special shows. The first will feature Sacremento gospel/soul singer Marcel Smith in April, then Portland blues band Ben Rice & The PDX Shuffle in June and multiple-time Grammy nominee, blues legend and former bandleader and guitarist for Muddy Roots, John Primer in August.
And if you’re into jazz, and Poulsbo things, check out local gypsy jazz band Ranger & The Re-Arrangers, who’ve been doing that jazz thing in the north end for many years, March 24 at the Jewel Box Theatre. // JAMES MUNK
CHECK OUT MORE on the Poulsbo Blues & Jazz Fest plus tickets for upcoming events at poulsborotary.org/poulsbo-blues-jazz and find more on the Ranger & The Rearrangers’ show at jewelboxpoulsbo.org
