The Grove Street Stompers
Arthur's Tavern57 Grove Street, New York 10014
The Grove Street Stompers play their long-running Monday-night engagement at Arthur’s Tavern, bringing a traditional jazz set shaped by Dixieland and swing. The listing does not confirm the personnel for this date, but the band has maintained a sit-in policy that welcomes both professional and amateur musicians. This is a continuation of a weekly Arthur’s tradition that began in 1962, with only one missed Monday recorded before the pandemic closure.
The New York City band was founded by pianist Bill Dunham, its last original member, who died in 2016. Trombonist Peter Ballance, with the group since the 1970s, leads the current band and describes its approach as “sort of the Eddie Condon style.” The repertoire has drawn on New Orleans and Dixieland material, 1920s Chicago jazz, early Louis Armstrong, standards and swing. Musicians including Pete Fountain, Wild Bill Davison, Tony Parenti and Bob Wilbur have sat in, alongside singers Barbara Lea and Laurel Watson. A 1986 New York Times review heard “the loose, relaxed swing of a jamming group” alongside ensemble playing “surprisingly crisp.”
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.