Tucked away on a narrow street in Providence, Rhode Island, is a quaint and unassuming building wedged between two classic multi-family homes.
From a distance, it could be mistaken as someone鈥檚 house, with a big closed-in patio. But as you get closer, you can hear music pulsating inside: melodic saxophones, the heartbeat of a bass and the soul and energy of drums, piano, flute and guitar.
Welcome to the Courtland Club.
It鈥檚 a performance venue, social club, restaurant and bar. Inside, you鈥檒l find a full house filled with a loyal community of musicians and jazz lovers. They pack the venue on Courtland Street each week to take in an energetic performance session called 鈥淪unday Jazz.鈥濃��
For music lovers in Providence, the club is a spot for musicians to come together in music and community. It鈥檚 also a showcase for some of the area鈥檚 top jazz talent.
This year, several musicians from the Courtland Club were invited to perform at the internationally-acclaimed Newport Jazz Festival, one of the largest jazz festivals in the country.
Celebrating its 70th year, the prestigious festival is the premier event for jazz musicians and jazz lovers. Famous musicians have performed through the decades 鈥� people like Duke Ellington, Billie Holiday and Nina Simone.
In early August, Courtland Club musicians joined star-studded headliners like Andr茅 3000 and Carlos Ni帽o, Brittany Howard, Nile Rodgers and Chic, Laufey, Noname and more. The Courtland Club musicians wanted to bring the essence of their Sunday Jazz jam sessions to the festival鈥檚 stage.
The group put together for the festival was fashioned in the tradition of an old school 鈥渁ll-star鈥� band, said Jason Shechtman, owner, founder and director of the Courtland Club.
鈥淲e want to put together something dynamic that feels like a big sound,鈥� he said. 鈥淒rums, bass, guitar, keys, two saxophones, flute, and vocals. And that's the band we came up with.鈥�
The all-star Sunday Jazz team included Leland Baker, Dan Liparini, Noah Campbell, Marcus Grant, Kweku Aggrey, Alexandria DeWalt and Michael Carabello. They all have a history of playing at the Courtland Club, as well as playing as standalone artists across New England.
Individually, the musicians have been preparing for Newport for over a year.
But they only had a few sessions together this summer to get ready.
Getting to the stage meant a lot for the musicians: not only to represent jazz, but also New England, the jazz culture within the region and the community they鈥檝e brought to life throughout Providence.
鈥淛azz means community,鈥� DeWalt said. 鈥淛azz means empathy. Jazz means 鈥業 dare you.鈥� Like, for me, it challenges me to think beyond what I believe to be true.鈥�
'My Rhode Island family鈥�
The Sunday Jazz musicians鈥� first rehearsal for the Newport festival was, naturally, on a Sunday morning at Courtland Club. They started playing promptly at 11 a.m.
They were just two weeks away from their big performance.
As they rehearsed, Courtland Club workers were prepping the restaurant quietly for the day.
The musicians formed a circle, immersed with one another, trying to figure out the different notes and placements of a tune.
With the way the group was seamlessly riffing, collaborating and improvising solos, you would have never guessed that this was their first festival practice.
鈥淚t鈥檚 like a family reunion,鈥� Grant said.
鈥淵eah, it鈥檚 like family,鈥� DeWalt said. 鈥淵ou feel seen, you feel heard, everyone鈥檚 listening intensely. You get to know each other by playing, like I鈥檓 getting to know Michael more by just hearing him play.鈥�
Carabello added: 鈥淚 feel like I become better friends every time we play together. It鈥檚 like playing in the park or playing on the playscape. Like we get to play and share smiles and food.鈥�
Grant chimed in: 鈥淎nd we get a little deeper every time.鈥�
鈥淵eah and I always look forward to that,鈥� Carabello continued. 鈥淟ike this is my Rhode Island family.鈥�
There鈥檚 a lot of pressure as they prepare for Newport. This is everyone鈥檚 first time playing on a main stage.
鈥淚t鈥檚 kind of so overwhelming that I haven鈥檛 even really thought about it,鈥� Aggrey said. 鈥淭here鈥檚 just so much history in the festival and I think that so much of the music that we play is about kind of celebrating history and thinking about it really carefully.鈥�
DeWalt admitted she was nervous.
鈥淢y parents are coming!鈥� she said. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e flying from Houston to come to the festival and be a part of it.鈥�
A final sendoff
The night before the start of the jazz festival, the Courtland Club hosted a special last-minute Thursday Jazz Jam as a way to celebrate 鈥� and as sort of a send-off for the musicians. It featured live music from the Sunday Jazz group, along with a DJ set.
The venue was filled. Tables were filled with longtime fans and new ones, too, as well as the musicians鈥� family members.
The Courtland Club is a reflection of the past, present and future of jazz. And it fills the gap left from the Acacia Club, a popular jazz social club that burned down in 2020.
After the fire, and as people emerged from COVID-19 lockdowns, the Courtland Club worked with saxophonist Leland Baker to launch regular weekly jazz sessions.
鈥淚t feels like Black church, not exclusive just to Black people, but Black meaning like a way of expressing something,鈥� said DeMarcus Pruitt, a regular attendee and former DJ set performer.
Courtland Club has been able to attract prominent hip-hop and rhythm-and-blues musicians like Large Professor and Ishmael Butler.
The band and audience feed off each other, creating a lot of energy in the venue, said Kayla Campbell, manager, server and bartender at the Courtland Club.
鈥淭here have been some really wonderful nights here where people will get up and start dancing, and I think it really spurs the band on,鈥� she said. 鈥淧eople will look around and see one person kind of getting up and moving, and then more people will do it, and it gets more and more people out of their seats. And I think that's really cool.鈥�
At the send-off event, members of the Sunday Jazz group performed songs they were going to play at the festival.
The audience included musicians鈥� family members 鈥� like DeWalt鈥檚 mom, father, aunt and uncle.
Dan Liparini said he鈥檚 been attending the Newport Jazz Festival since he was a teenager.
鈥淚t鈥檚 been something that has always been a huge, huge goal of mine and dream of mine to play,鈥� he said.
And it鈥檚 especially meaningful because he's going to Newport with this group of musicians, including Baker, who he鈥檚 known since he was 13.
鈥淛ust honored to be a part of the history of the festival and honored to do it with this fine group of people,鈥� Liparini said.
Time to perform: 鈥楻eady to preach鈥�
On a Sunday morning in early August, the Sunday Jazz musicians gathered on the festival grounds in Newport. They held a final rehearsal and fine-tuned their instruments.
Golf carts escorted the musicians to a trailer. Inside, they were giddy. Michael Carabello said he was excited to be in sync with the other musicians.
鈥淲e should name our band NSYNC,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 a great band name!鈥�
Baker said he was feeling inspired.
鈥淩eady to fellowship as we always say,鈥� he said. 鈥淩eady to preach. It鈥檚 what we do. We bring another thing into existence that鈥檚 not normally felt on a daily basis as humans. Music is a gift.鈥�
It wasn鈥檛 until moments before the show that the mood started to change. The musicians got quiet. Campbell practiced his soprano saxophone outside the trailer, alone.
Then it was time to head to the stage.
Attendees began to pour in, snapping pictures. Family members approached a barricade to talk and send well-wishes.
With family in the front rows, and concertgoers wearing 鈥淪unday Jazz鈥� shirts scattered in an overflowing crowd, Sunday Jazz performed.
For 50 minutes, the musicians performed 鈥� all original music, filling the stage with passionate tunes. So much was said with each note, with each face scrunch, with each passing glance 鈥� moments for only the musicians to know.
Offstage, Shechtman, the owner of the Courtland club, was recording as if he were a proud father. In the crowd, various members of the Sunday Jazz family were doing the same
At the end of their performance, the crowd offered up a roar of applause and a standing ovation.
After the show, several of the musicians seemed to be in disbelief 鈥� a look of "what just happened?" seemed to flash across their faces.
Still on stage as he packed up his equipment, Grant let out a high-pitched 鈥淎HHHH!鈥� when asked about how he felt playing the festival.
鈥淚 just blacked out for 50 minutes!鈥� he said.
Aggrey said: 鈥淚鈥檓 still buffering.鈥�
Musicians greeted loved ones and friends with hugs, taking in the moment.
鈥淚 am so proud!鈥� Noah Campbell鈥檚 mother, Araina, told him.
Campbell said it felt surreal to be part of the festival.
"Not only just the rich musical space, but the history, the dynamics that shape the music for as long as the festival has been running,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t does feel really powerful that we鈥檙e all able to represent not only just New England talent, but what the sound is of this community and the sound that we鈥檝e all produced coming out of our various backgrounds.鈥�
Meet the musicians
Here's a look at some of the Sunday Jazz members:
