The Creole Cookin’ Jazz Band
Arthur's Tavern57 Grove Street, New York 10014
The Creole Cookin’ Jazz Band brings its standing Sunday engagement at Arthur’s Tavern to the West Village on November 22. This is a six-piece Dixieland and swing set led by Barry Bryson on trumpet, with Joe Licari on clarinet, Dick Dreiwitz on trombone, Steve Elmer on piano, John Beal on bass, and Ed Bonoff on drums. Expect a program rooted in jazz from the 1920s through the 1940s, played by a working band whose members balance this group with freelance work across multiple projects.
The band has performed at Arthur’s Tavern every Sunday since 1986, making it one of the club’s longest-running fixtures. Its repertoire draws on several facets of what the venue calls America’s original music, jazz, with Dixieland and swing as the focus. The lineup brings together trumpet, clarinet and trombone with piano, bass and drums, a classic small-band configuration for this material. Arthur’s describes the group’s approach as marked by “musical enthusiasm and professionalism,” while its long residence suggests a durable commitment to the early-jazz and swing canon.
Arthur's Tavern is a basement club in the West Village where jazz, Latin, and blues are played with deep roots and modern energy. The stage is small, the room intimate, and the audience sits close to the musicians, often with a few people standing near the back. Shows start around 5 PM and go late, with some sets extending into the early hours. The club has a history of hosting top-tier performers since 2001, including regular appearances by Yuichi Hirakawa Jazz Group. It's a place where music is the center, and conversation flows naturally between the audience and the performers.