Dan's Papers - May 8, 2009 - Jam Sessions at Bay Burger Liven Up the Spring

Bay Burger was a Mecca of sorts last Thursday evening, a brightly lit building with a packed parking lot and musical strains heard from outside, standing apart from the surrounding dark woods. Emerging from the long winter, those who attended Bay Burger's Thursday night jam session were clearly ready to start shaking off the dust.

My friends and I entered Bay Burger to a live, laid back jazz jam and exited shortly after a fast paced rap with full band backup. Yes, the jams feature a wide range of musical genres. Throughout the course of one hour and a half, we heard blues, ragtime, rap, and many types of jazz.

Speaking of the tremendous variety, Claes Brondal, the drummer responsible for the evening, said that this spring's series had just begun, and that the intention, for the moment, was to draw musicians "out of the woodwork." The idea is to have different people from different backgrounds play together in a lot of different ways, have fun and feel each other out as musicians. Once the event is more established and more musicians have ventured out, Brondal may propose weekly themes.

The evening lacked some of the formalities of a traditional mic, where a sign-up clipboard can sometimes be difficult to track down. Open invitations to come up and play were made between songs by the musicians. The crowd was casually attentive - polite and encouraging. But the pressure for the musicians to perform perfectly wasn't on and the guilt of disrupting a live performance by the audience was off.

In this early stage of the jam series, there was only one bassist who played and little turnover on the other instruments. My guitarist boyfriend's frequent obligation to fudge his way on the bass in local rehearsals had previously alerted me to the veritable bassist drought on the East End, but there's got to be more than two guitarists. All the players were very good which might seem intimidating to an amateur or someone who's not used to playing out, but this group is by no means exclusive. Their appeals for any musicians in the audience to join in seemed in earnest.

The full crowd at this event speaks to the hunger East Enders feel for a musical counterpart to the area's vibrant visual art scene. Audience members ranged from babes in arms, to kids and young adults, to the more experienced community members. The venue was great for this kind of gathering: informal, friendly and equipped with inexpensive food and beer. There was plenty of space for everyone to eat and/or enjoy the performances.

This is a weekly event well worth checking out as an audience member or a performer. If you're an emerging artist this is a great way to ease into performing live and playing with others. The jams could only benefit from new voices from all different backgrounds, skill levels, and interests.

Thursday night jam sessions: 7 to 9 p.m, Bay Burger, 1742 Bridgehampton Sag Harbor Turnpike, Sag Harbor. 631-899-3915.