A century ago, during the Jazz Age (aka the Roaring Twenties), priests, pastors and ministers across the country railed against the popular new genre, calling it the devil’s music.
At a performance I attended of the monthly live music series Jazz at the UU, organizers had to put out extra chairs to accommodate the crowd.
UU refers to the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of the Hudson Valley in Croton-on-Hudson and, like the Elks Club hall in Ossining, it offers another offbeat venue to catch live jazz.
“I know that it’s strange to find jazz in a church, but it’s a way to reach out to the community and have a good time,” said UU board member Betsy Tomic. About half the attendees, when I was there, consisted of visitors, she said.
The property, located just west of Route 9 on Route 9A, is easy to miss. Trees obscure the white building on a hill, especially going northbound on 9A, but a bend in the road and its elevated location also hide the place well from the other direction.
Built in 1926, the cozy sanctuary doubles as an art gallery featuring a colorful still life from Judith Stone, an arresting sculpture by Pat Krugman and Ted Berkowitz’s portraits of musicians, including one of Ossining legend KJ Denhert.
Reverend Sarah Lenzi introduced a Jazz Vespers service in 2015, which lasted through 2018. “It included candles, poetry and meditation interspersed with jazz,” said Tomic.
In 2018, the event transformed into an evening called Jazz and Poetry. Covid pulled the plug, but in September 2023 they revived the jazz series every second Friday.
This is a musicians’ audience that paid rapt attention and clapped after deserving solos. At the end of one tune, they held off applauding for several seconds as the final note melted into the air. Many attendees closed their eyes to better hear the music.
Gunnar Andersen, who leads the house band, takes a soft, deft approach on piano – nothing fancy here. The trio’s repertoire ranges wide and guest performers helped steer the proceedings in different directions.
Eleanor Carney performed “A Nightingale Sang in Barkley Square” as the band supplied background vocals. Cynthia Andersen, Gunnar’s wife, read poetry. The first line of her original work evoked local references: “We go boatin’ in Croton and we sing in Ossining.”
The band achieved a grooving bebop bounce with the Charlie Parker chestnut “Scrapple in the Apple” as Barbara Bootz’s fingers danced across the neck of her electric bass.
Then, Andersen joined the audience as Doug Smith took over on piano. He played atmospheric mood music as Charley Krachi assembled his tenor saxophone and attached it to a holder dangling around his neck.
Showcasing their chemistry, they exchanged a subtle signal as Smith hit a chord and the loose introduction instantly transitioned into an impressionistic version of the standard “Young at Heart.”
Another song familiar to jazzers, “All of Me,” featured a soaring sax solo and interesting interplay between the bass and piano.
Throughout the evening, drummer Joe O’Hagan dusted the snare drum and cymbals with brushes, providing an understated underpinning. But during the rousing finale, a blues number based on “Stormy Monday,” he pulled out the drumsticks and hit with some punch.
“We’re just trying to bring some post-pandemic joy and increase our profile in the community,” said Tomic. “It’s a way to give back and maybe people will check out who we are.”
- uuchudsonvalley.org/jazz
Marc Ferris is a regular contributor to River Journal.
