chris wong in sync

Just seven months ago Cory Weeds and Don Guthro began running the Cellar. Now is a good time to acknowledge how much the venue, under their ownership, has contributed to Vancouver's jazz scene. It's also useful to realistically assess how Weeds and Guthro are faring with the challenging economics of running a jazz joint.

The revitalized Cellar, which they purchased from Steve Liapis, has given the scene a huge boost. Weeds and his partner have created a comfortable environment for listening to real jazz. Real is the key word. You won't hear hip-hop or smooth jazz at the Cellar. Weeds books musicians who understand and play squarely within the rich jazz tradition, but he also gives them the freedom to interpret that tradition with original music.

The Cellar mainly deserves praise for consistently presenting the best local players. Two of the city's top jazz musicians have regular nights: Mike Allen on Tuesdays and Brad Turner on Wednesdays. A host of other fine instrumentalists - Chris Tarry, Bruce Nielsen and Ross Taggart to name a few - perform at the place. The Cellar also features veterans like Oliver Gannon and young lions such as James Danderfer.

Weeds has brought in some strong artists based in New York, Toronto and elsewhere. These include Brian Lynch, Seamus Blake, Michael Occhipinti, Dave Young and Marilyn Lerner. Ex-Vancouverite Phil Dwyer will play at the Cellar Mar. 17. Weeds just confirmed his most exciting booking to date: saxophonist Gary Bartz, who will perform with Allen's trio May 15 and Turner's quartet May 16.

The 27-year-old Cellar co-owner wants to seriously pursue more artists like Bartz, who play in Seattle but often don't make it here. Weeds is also collaborating with Coastal Jazz & Blues Society, which presents a monthly concert at the Cellar. The next one will be Mar. 15, when the Bruce Freedman Quartet will perform.

Other strengths of the Cellar include having a Hammond B-3 organ and a noise policy that encourages people to listen instead of yak. As for weaknesses, at first the line-up wasn't varied enough. Certain musicians played there a lot. There has specifically been a lack of singers. Weeds says he intentionally went with musicians he's familiar with during the initial months when the new Cellar was establishing itself. But he's branching out now. Weeds is also booking more singers, including Denzal Sinclaire Mar. 9-10 and Kate Hammett-Vaughan Mar. 23-24.

So are Weeds and Guthro making money? Weeds puts it this way: "We're still in business." During the first three months he was "discouraged and scared" by the slow nights. More recently, the place has been packed most Fridays and Saturdays. While weeknights can still be quiet, business has picked up somewhat on those evenings. Word is spreading that, on any given night, the Cellar offers high-level music.

While that reputation certainly helps, it won't pay the bills. So the 70-seat Cellar, at 3611 W. Broadway, has to maintain a cover charge and minimum. As well, Weeds often works as the bartender (on top of being the soundman and emcee), which cuts costs. The partners are also enhancing the restaurant side of the business, which is Guthro's expertise. They'll introduce a new menu with an emphasis on Creole cuisine. Guthro and Weeds know that getting the place to flourish as a restaurant will be key to the Cellar's long-term survival.

Meanwhile, Weeds just started Sunday Services, an Internet jazz show on mycityradio.com. The show broadcasts Sundays, 6-9 p.m. He also continues to host Chasin' The Trane on CFRO, Wednesdays, 9-10:30 a.m. Finally Weeds, an alto saxophonist, still plays with his band Crash. As Kate Hammett-Vaughan aptly put it, Weeds is the hardest working man in jazz business.

To find out about the Cellar's line-up, go to cellarjazz.com or call 738-1959.

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I'll probably watch the Juno Awards tonight (Mar. 4). No, I'm not eager to find out if *NSYNC or Britney Spears will win the best selling album (foreign or domestic) category. But I am interested in seeing which jazz and world music artists, who live in B.C. or come from here, will pick up Junos.

Those nominees include:

· Denzal Sinclaire for I Found Love (nominated for best vocal jazz album).
· Metalwood for Metalwood 3 and Michael Kaeshammer for No Strings Attached (best contemporary jazz album - instrumental).
· Ingrid Jensen for Higher Grounds and Brad Turner Quartet featuring Seamus Blake for Live at the Cellar (best traditional jazz album - instrumental).
· Tom Landa and the Paperboys for Postcards and Zubot and Dawson for Tractor Parts: Further Adventures in Strang (best roots and traditional album - group).
· Puentes Brothers for Morumba Cubana (best global album).

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A unique event takes place Mar. 9 at 7:30 p.m. in the Britannia Auditorium (1001 Cotton Drive). It's the launch of a triple-CD: How Music Came to the World and Other Stories. The CDs feature 12 stories about musical instruments from around the world. Each selection, based on a folk tale or original story, pairs a storyteller with a world music artist. On an advance copy of one of the CDs that I've been listening to, the performers combine words and music in an imaginatively engaging way.

Storytellers such as Leon Bibb, and musicians including Pepe Danza, will perform seven stories at Britannia. Tickets are at Highlife Records (1317 Commercial Drive). For more information, go to www.internetstore.bc.ca/storytelling or call 876-2272.

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