The Brown Street Club

I have been frequenting a new spot in Greenville, South Carolina. Being a jazz and blues aficionado (freelance writer) I love the opportunity to hear live entertainment on a regular basis and travel the eastern sea board often to fulfill that need. Brown Street Club is a newer edition to the Greenville, SC area and a welcomed one because they actually feature two bands per night especially on the weekends. The food ranges from seafood, duck, pork and more, so there is not a lack of selection. The food quality does have a tendency to vary each time I have visited. The one thing that hasn���t varied is the unfriendliness of the hostess interaction which is the first thing you encounter when you arrive. Quickly get over that experience because the server���s are much more delightful and competent.



The wine selections are delightful, a full range of colors, tastes and aroma���s are the main reason I continue to keep coming back, except for the entertainment of course. The blues acts are really solid and it is always a pleasure to hear them. The jazz ensembles do vary in quality and delivery. From a vocal standpoint I can definitely recommend that you stay home on the nights that vocalist Zita Foster appears. She squalls through each selection like a bad foreign vocalist with a soprano screech that grinds my ear to the nub; another offbeat choice has been Celine Berman, though a better voice quality than Zita, the cheese factor is very high. Recently it was a surprise to see Kari Gaffney in Greenville, I have caught her in New York, San Francisco and oddly enough Santa Fe New Mexico where each time this dainty redhead shows the power she can belt into a song and the versatility and agility her voice commands. I know she is a national touring artist, and those are hard to come by but that is the type of talent Brown Street needs in there, not half-baked beginner jazz vocalists.



The solo pianist Keith Davis is truly an artist and a joy to see during the week when you just need that glass of wine to wind down after a long day, not to say that Davis is a lounge lizard he is far from that with intricate voicings and rich harmonic choices in his playing he is truly a jazz treat. Another true treat was when Clay Ross came through, an articulate and talented young player that was backed by a truly talented ensemble. Again, the dilemma is even though Ross is a South Carolina native he lives in NY and like Gaffney you can only see them when they come through town.



Overall, Brown Street is a good addition to the Greenville, SC area they just need to get rid of the rude hostess at the front and be a bit more consistent on the food and most importantly do some house cleaning on the entertainment. Each venue goes through their growing pains but if Brown Street can get it worked out I think they can attract more touring groups through the area which would really boost the jazz appreciation in the area.