Before Rose Live, a cozy jazz club just off the Brooklyn Queens Expressway, came along, Williamsburg had barely established itself in Brooklyn’s jazz renaissance. It’s only been eight months since it opened, but over 700 musicians have passed through the venue, according to owner Carlo Vutera.
“I’ve been in New York for many years. I’ve experienced many neighborhoods, and I think Williamsburg is a good neighborhood to start a place,” said Vutera. A Sicilian vocalist who has lived in Italy, Belgium, Cuba and New York City, Vutera built the place from scratch and opened it earlier this year with his sister, Gina Vutera. “We named the venue after our mother. She was a music-lover, so this is our tribute to her. We think of this as her last creation,” said Carlo Vutera.
“A lot of the early booking involved friends who were musicians, like [saxophonist] Yosvany Terry and [pianist] Jason Lindner. Now we’re starting to get more people from outside calling me,” he explained. Sets rarely have covers exceeding $5.
“We try not to put a cover, because that’s a barrier on the musical experience,” Gina Vutera explained. In addition to drawing in local residents and musicians, Rose Live caters to people from all five boroughs, with a sizable amount of hipsters coming from Park Slope, Williamsburg’s artsy cousin. “People are happy to come, because they feel like they’re part of the performance here. There are not that many places in New York that do that,” said Gina Vutera.
The décor of the venue also lends itself to this intimate relationship between the musicians and the audience. Red, sinking velvet couches are strategically placed around the foyer, where people can sit around a coffee table before shows. A hallway stretches across the venue, connecting the waiting area to the stage where the performances take place. The foyer gives way to a sleek bar that touts an extensive collection of reasonably priced vintage rums, beer on tap and the house drink, the Rose Martini ($7). The friendly bartenders constantly polish its glossy mahogany counter while conversing with patrons.
Past the bar, the performance space is arranged like a cabaret spot. A chain of candle-lit two-seater tables lie just in front of the stage, which can comfortably fit six people, a piano and a drum set. Another row of tables and a long, cushioned bench line the wall opposite the stage. The venue is rather spacious, fitting about 120 people, but beyond the stage, there is still more to see. Behind the building, musicians can perform in the large outdoor plaza during the summer, and the Vuteras also like to put on music documentaries and conduct readings there.
While candles light up the concert area, tetragonal lanterns illuminate not only the bar but also the venue’s crimson and burgundy tones. The walls also enhance this color palette, as they are plastered with vibrant floral patterns. “They’re all vintage wallpaper that I brought from Belgium. It makes the place feel like an old-fashioned home in Europe,” said Carlo Vutera.
“It’s so nice that you almost don’t feel comfortable,” saxophonist Jackson Moore said with a chuckle. This past September, Moore performed at Rose Live with a double trio for his 30th birthday celebration as well as to kick off the New Languages concert season.
Moore co-founded New Languages, a non-profit organization dedicated to improvised music, with fellow saxophonist Aaron Ali Shaikh two years ago, and since Rose Live’s birth, the duo has declared the venue as its base of operations. “New Languages is a moniker that developed with our series at Rose Live,” said Moore. This fall, New Languages holds monthly concerts there in preparation for its 3rd annual music festival, which will likely occur in June of next year.
“We were just waiting for Rose Live to appear,” said Moore. “It’s a place where we can go and play our music in our way and be ourselves with all our idiosyncrasies on full display�”where we don’t feel like we have to live up to somebody else. Everything is better at Rose,” he declared.
Shaikh, who performed with his trio last month on Saturday, November 18, agrees. “The energy that pours into this place at a nightly basis is just stunning. There’s been a lot of music series in small rooms that aren’t very clean, don’t have bars and where people talk. Here, it’s accessible, it’s clean and the owners are great,” he said.
Without a doubt, Rose Live is first and foremost a music venue. During performances, the bar is often swarming with people, but the chatter seldom causes a problem. The musicians always attract the audience’s utmost attention. “This place was built to feature music and musicians, and also to optimize the relationship between the public and the performer. People feel welcome immediately,” said Gina Vutera.
“[New Languages] is probably one of the first jazz series that I’ve been to in New York City where it’s not just filled with friends of the musicians. When the band is done playing, people don’t leave all at once. They’re sticking around for the second set. It’s a real audience,” said Shaikh.
“The audience here is better. They’re the people who can really fall in love with the music,” said Moore.
In accordance with Rose Live’s dedication to the quality of its music and its listeners, Carlo Vutera pays minute attention to the technical aspects of the performance. “Acoustically, it’s a good room. I handle the sound, and a lot of musicians like to play here, because there’s a stage, a PA system, a house piano and a drum set,” he said.
Still in its infancy, Rose Live cooks up new events every month. In October 2006, for example, comedy night was held on Mondays, and an indie rock series called Rocktober ran on Wednesdays. On weekends, DJs are invited to play late into the night. “We keep it fresh. We’re still developing. We have African, Cuban, Brazilian music…we also did a jam series led by [trombonist] Rick Parker for about five months every Sunday night. Now we’re looking to move it to another night,” said Carlo Vutera. In the near future, the Vuteras also plan to reopen their kitchen with a tapas menu.
This month, Rose Live guarantees another exciting lineup of performances. On Saturday, December 2, Cuban percussionist Dafnis Prieto plays with a quintet. Rose Live’s major event of the month, however, will be the New Languages concerts on Saturday, December 16. The Taylor Ho Bynum Sextet and John Hebert’s Byzantine Monkey are set to perform. “We turn the tables,” Shaikh boasts. “The old guys are the sidemen now and the younger musicians are the stars.”
“A good portion of what I’ve seen here is pretty much the younger generations,” he noted. “But Rose Live also has some killing salsa bands and people from Europe who are older.”
With a sleek bar, a delightfully homey atmosphere and a growing fan base of both performers and customers, Rose Live promises to be a forerunner in the Williamsburg jazz scene. Said Gina Vutera, “The mission is to broaden the music experience of the city. Every event we have, the place gets more and more its identity.”
~ Ivana Ng
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