Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, February 24, 1993 TAG: 9302240058
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MARK MORRISON STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
JAZZIN' IT UP
The Regents never had a problem drawing listeners into the Regency Room at the old Hotel Roanoke. The guests always provided a ready audience.But the players - resigned to fielding requests and providing diners with easy-listening cocktail music - never got to break loose.
While walking through sleepers like "Moon River" or "Strangers in the Night," inside they were hearing the call of Charlie Parker, Dizzie Gillespie, Miles Davis and Thelonius Monk.
Jazz. Improvisation.
Well, now the hotel is closed, and the former members of The Regents no longer have their ready cocktail set to sleepwalk for.
Now, they can jam. And they do every Thursday night at the Los Amigos Cafe in downtown Roanoke - joined by whomever wants to sit in.
They play their beloved jazz, cutting loose whenever the groove feels right.
"It's liberating. We get to play what we like to play most," said Joe Corne, the longtime leader of The Regents, during a break between sets one recent Thursday.
The only problem: Now there isn't the ready audience, like back at the Regency Room.
Sure, there are the unsuspectting diners who come in looking for a hot plate of enchiladas. For them, the music is a nice accompaniment, but they are there primarily to eat, not for the love of jazz.
There isn't a hard-core audience that comes in maybe for a drink and a weekly fix of Parker and Monk.
Maybe that's Roanoke, which isn't exactly a jazz kind of town. But a more likely explanation for this lack of listeners, Corne believes, is that few people know about the Thursday night jazz sessions, which started last summer.
Back in the hotel days, Corne and company were easy to find. Everyone knew that every night - seven days a week - The Regents would be performing at the The Regency Room, where the band was a hotel fixture for 17 years.
The new jazz-flavored Regents have yet to become that same kind of landmark. "It's a shame," Corne said, "because we have a lot talent to offer here."
Plus, it gives people an alternative. Only one other Roanoke nightspot, Paulo's on Sunday evenings, offers regular live jazz.
Los Amigos owner Cesar DoMinguez explained: "Roanoke needs a good variety of music besides rock 'n' roll and country. Why not offer something else?"
The Thursday jazz was DoMinguez's idea, and he has been pleased with the results. He just wishes more people would come in for a listen.
When they do, he and Corne believe they will be hooked. "I think once we get the people coming in here, they will want to come back," Corne said.
But Corne and DoMinguez are not only after an audience, although that is always nice to have.
They are equally interested in providing an outlet for local musicians - or would-be musicians - who want to test their chops out on jazz. "It's sort of like a jazz karaoke," Corne said.
Anyone is welcome to sit with the core band, all of them former Regents. Corne plays bass, joined by Tony Haworth on piano and Ronnie Law on drums. Other former Regents also fill out the trio from time to time.
The format makes for lively and sometimes unpredictable outings, depending on who shows up. Typically, about half a dozen people will join in over the course of a night.
A regular lately has been guitarist Chris Spencer, 24, of Floyd County, who jumped at the chance to sit in when he first heard about the impromptu sessions through a friend.
"This is a great place because anybody who walks through the door who has the guts to stand up on stage is welcome. That's rare," he said.
Not that Spencer is just anybody. He is a graduate of the Berklee College of Music in Boston and has added a real spark to the proceedings of late.
Owner DoMinguez wonders how many other talented players might be around just waiting for the same opportunity.
Musicians need not be so accomplished, though. Corne means it when he says anybody is welcome. People can bring their own instruments or use what's already there. "We've sort of made it like a clinic," Corne said.
On this particular Thursday night, one man served up an entertainingly awful rendition of Whitney Houston's "The Greatest Love."
Corne also will indulge those who want to try such non-jazz traditions and he is good-natured and encouraging in their efforts, no matter how amateurish they might be.
Bob Hale, 68, who normally mans the piano bar at La Maison restaurant, tries to come by on a regular basis.
Hale said he is drawn to the freedom, which most working musicians don't often get.
"Here, you can stretch out a little bit," he said. "You get to just let go and play for yourself."
JAZZ NIGHT: Thursday, 8-11 p.m., Los Amigos Cafe. 505 S. Jefferson St., Roanoke. 343-7786.