By Gregory Burrus | Posted Thursday, January 27, 2022
Looking for someplace nice to go, have a great meal, some affordable drinks, and listen to some wonderful jazz music? Well, while everyone else is sitting at home on a Monday night, you can head on over to Jersey City and check out the Jazz Jam. It's run by drummer Noel Sagerman with a whole host of professional musicians at The Brightside Tavern.
The Brightside Tavern
The Brightside Tavern was opened nine years ago, and the goal was to create an atmosphere similar to that of Cheers. And, as it turned out, Brightside is even more cheerful than Cheers.
The Brightside Tavern, 141 Bright St., Jersey City, NJ 07302. (201) 435-1234
In a recent interview, “Brightside Tavern: Jersey City’s ‘Best-Kept Secret’”, I found this great description of Brightside restaurant:
“I love entertaining people and making them happy,” Tommy [Parisi aka Tommy 2 Scoops as patrons love to call him] told Hoboken Girl. In fact, he seems to have unlimited time and energy for everyone, whether he has known that person for five minutes or fifteen years […] The bar has become the center of gravity of a large community. In fact, it is one of Jersey City’s go-to spots for parties and events as the tavern is set up for large gatherings.”
Well, having chatted with Tommy, it's all true and I believe him when he says, “The tavern is not a gold mine… It’s a soul mine.” And yes, Monday is for jazz, for which more than a dozen local musicians are brought in to perform every week. And yes, I have been there to witness Tommy hopping on stage to render a “What a Wonderful World” to a roaring audience. “I was on National TV. I sang at [the] Apollo theater. The entire Louis Armstrong song. Think about it” said Tommy.
So yes, good times are guaranteed when the venue owner joins in the fun and the jam is jammin’. After all, Tommy has been very supportive and has kept the jam happening throughout the pandemic.
About Your Monday Jazz Jam Hosts
That’s right, at The Brightside Tavern you can jam your cares away with a host of professional musicians. Check them out below.
Jamming with Noel Sagerman and Friends
2nd and 4th Mondays
Jam leader Noel Sagerman is a jazz jam drummer from New Jersey and is proficient in all sorts of live music genres and settings from late-night jazz to early morning religious services. Noel Sagerman has been playing drums since elementary school in West Orange, NJ and started playing professionally at the University of Vermont. He then spent a year playing in Japan. Later, he returned to NJ and furthered his studies with teachers Bobby Thomas, Billy Higgins, and Tim Horner.
Noel Sagerman at Jersey City Jazz Festival
Some of the artists he has worked with include Irene Reid, Pharoah Sanders, "Big" John Patton, David "Fathead" Newman, Oliver Lake, Bruce Williams, Dave Stryker, Pat Tandy, Freddie Hendrix, Brandon McCune, and Pete Rodriguez, along with gospel singer/pianist Joshua Nelson on tour, and at Hopewell Baptist Church.
A regular in-demand drummer, Noel has played numerous venues and programs around New York and New Jersey such as 125st Showmans, Smalls, Smoke Jazz Club, Shanghai Jazz Restaurant & Bar, Rutgers Clements Place Jazz, Groove on Grove, McGinley Square Pub, Van Gogh's Ear Cafe, Englewood Ideal Lodge, New Brunswick Tavern on George, Jersey City Jazz Festival, Fox and Crow, South Orange Jazz On Sloan and many more. Noel is known as one of the hardest working drummers around and now is leading the killer jam at The Brightside Tavern in Jersey City. Come join Noel Sagerman and Friends on the 2nd and 4th Mondays of the Month.
King James Gibbs lll
3rd Monday
“King James Gibbs III who currently tours with 8 time Grammy nominated singer/songwriter Joe Thomas was born in Newark, and raised in Irvington, New Jersey. He began playing the trumpet at the age of 14 and began his jazz training at The New Brunswick Jazz Institute, under instructor and legendary organist Radam Schwartz.”
James has performed with many notable musicians and organizations i.e. “the annual WBGO Jazz membership party and Gala at The Five Spot jazz club in New York City, […] studied with Betty [Carter] at Brooklyn Academy of Music and The Kennedy Center,” and in many other venues and festivals.
“James performs in multiple music genres: Jazz, Rock, R&B, Gospel, Latin, Reggae, Classical, Brazilian, and many other ethnic styles.”
James has shared the stage with many greats such as: Duke Ellington’s Orchestra bassist John Lamb, Rufus Reid, Buster Cooper, Mark Whitfield, Sean Jones, John Lee, Kenny Drew Jr, Terrence Blanchard of Spike Lee films, 8 time grammy nominated singer/songwriter Joe Thomas, Broadway actor Jerry Stiller, Eric Roberson (grammy nominated singer/songwriter), Smokin’ Joe Frazier, Roy Hargrove (trumpeter), Wynton Marsalis, Cecil Brooks III, Cyrus Chestnut, TS Monk, amongst many others. (Read more at www.rsberkeley.com/james-gibbs-iii.)
Come join King James Gibbs lll on the 3rd Monday of the Month.
Steve Malski Miles
1st Monday
According to the bio on his website:
“Steve Malski Niles is a pianist, vocalist, multimedia artist, writer, and educator currently living in New Jersey.
Steve began his musical career at the very early age of five years old with accordion and piano lessons, and had his first professional job at the age of twelve. The home of Steve’s upbringing was constantly filled with music, as his father and sister also played, and all listened to music constantly. He later went on to receive a Bachelor of Fine arts in Jazz Piano and Voice, graduating Summa Cum Laude from Long Island University. “
And, oh yeah, Steve has a book out on art as an alternate healing source. Check out The Power of Art in Healing and Transformation.
Come join Steve Niles on the 1st Monday of the Month.
About the Monday Jazz Jam
There is a house band, but personnel varies. A number of swinging musicians have come through and joined in such as Jordan Piper, who was the house pianist and, more recently, Motoki Mihara as bassist, plus others like William Gorman, Nick Masters, Jonathan Kirschner, Tim Hegarty, Larry Pollack, and of course the house favorite, singer Mary Aiken.
As you can see, the jams are jumpin’ with something for everyone. You can have a great time every Monday as the jam has been running for 9 years since March 2013. The jams run from 7:30-11:30 pm and the house band plays a set to start, and then the Jam is open to the public. No special invite is needed, all you have to do is show up and have some fun.
What Can You Do? Support the Cause
The music will be slamming — a guaranteed good time when you attend. However, as you can imagine, the coronavirus pandemic has brought huge disruption to daily life and to many around the world. Concert halls are closed and many, if not most, Jazz venus have closed and some will never reopen.
According to The Washington Post:
“Jazz venues have been hit particularly hard by the pandemic. They are hoping the worst is over […] jazz clubs were the hardest hit of all types of music venues, according to Audrey Fix Schaefer, the head of communications at the National Independent Venue Association.”
Needless to say, with gatherings being stopped or socially distanced, large sectors of the economy are still paralyzed and many members of the jazz community have still not recovered, so any help will be greatly appreciated. So what can you do to support the cause?
Donate
“KEYED UP! has quickly become NYC's favorite entity for musicians, audiences, and venues alike! Operating simultaneously in over 25 partner venues spanning from Jersey City, NJ to Sag Harbor, Long Island, we are proud to keep hundreds of musicians working and over a thousand hungry jazz listeners happy each week at no extra cost to our partner venues.” — jazzgeneration.org/keyed-up
You can donate to KEYED UP! here.
Attend A Jam
The program time is Monday evenings from 7:30 to 11:00 pm with no cover. We hope you attend the Jam, cheer, clap and have a great time.
Stay Up To Date. Contact:
Noel Sagerman at noelsagerman@hotmail.com with any questions.
https://www.facebook.com/TheBrightsideTavern
https://www.thebrightsidetavernnj.com
Show Some Love to the Tip Bucket
Become friendly with the Tip Bucket. Believe me, your support is highly appreciated by the musicians.
Final Thoughts
Please Support Jazz Music. I urge you to explore and click the links above. Don’t hesitate to call for more info and make some time in your schedule to visit The Brightside Tavern this year and say hi to everybody.
Don’t forget to let me know how your visit went. Tag @gregoryburrus or message me directly via text or FB msg, and of course enjoy the live jazz entertainment.
About the Author
Gregory Burrus books bands, produces, promotes, captures, and records live music events along with various other community and private activities.
I love writing about it all. My mission is to help community groups, live music bands, and local nonprofits, reach their goals and accomplish their missions while enjoying the day-to-day process of life.
Get Featured
So as you can see, these are some pretty cool places with awesome support groups and more importantly, supportive venue owners, all hoping and helping to keep the Jazz Alive for a long, long time. If you want your favorite Jazz venue listed, let me know and I'll get you in on the next scheduled post.