Jazz at The 606 Club in Chelsea

London Event Reviews by May B

With Fulham/Chelsea being where I grew up (and where, incidentially, my father was born) I was intrigued to go and visit this venue in Lots Road, which, when I was a kid was a rather run-down area that never really recovered from the war time bomb damage.

It was tricky to find - Lots Road has two ends (with a bend in the middle) and I knew that whichever end I choose it would be wrong. I tried the Fulham end and walked past numerous upmarket shops and then I came to the pub on the corner and the entrance to Chelsea Harbour. Still no joy. So I kept going into what appeared to be a desolate stretch of road...

Finally I arrived at the club. It felt a bit like one of those movies where a door appears out of nowhere - in the middle of a eerily misty clearing - tempting you to open the door when the audience are saying "Don't enter"...I was broken from my daydream (nightmare?)by the arrival of one of my chums in a taxi - and I certainly recommend this mode of transport to the club if you either a) hate walking down dodgy looking roads on your own or b) wear scarily high heels (see my previous blog about Manolo Blahniks).

Anyway. We pressed a buzzer in a steel grid door and entered what looked like a cage and walked down some dark and dodgy steps. So we are right on track for an appropriately moody and mysterious jazz club venue...

I was joining some friends for an (early) private party in a cosy bar to the back of the cellar-like main room. The lighting was intimate, the walls bare brick and the tables functional rather than pretty. The staff were super friendly and attentive enough. I don't remember the background music before the band started playing but I sure as hell heard the band once it started.

I am afraid I like structured music but I am told by my connoisseurs of jazz friends that the music was sublime. A blind chap called Reg Webb was supported by a dreadlocked bass player and a peroxide blond hair eyebrow-pierced drummer who looked like an escapee from the punk scene. I have to say that my admiration for that drummer grew through the evening - how on earth did he know what to drum and when during what appeared to be a number of very creative jamming sessions? He did some amazing solos that even I - as a relative jazz novice - had to appreciate as musical genius. The main man himself was pretty nifty on the keyboards and managed to sound - at various points - like Van Morrison, Stevie Wonder and a host of other great singers.

The food was pleasant - two courses for £32 and I had goats cheese to start and vegetarian linguine as a main. My colleagues appeared to have chosen better with fish and meat mains.

Anyway. It was an interesting evening for me. My jazz fiend friends thought it was an awesome night. The music was VERY loud. And you were frowned on if you tried to talk during the sets. They sure take their music seriously in these parts.

So this is one for serious jazz folk only. If you want a more accessible (both in terms of getting there and back by public transport and in terms of some more middle of the road jazz) then I would suggest Dover Street Wine Bar instead. But for serious jazz players this is, apparently, the bees knees...

:cool:

Posted Date
Apr 7, 2008 in London Event Reviews by May B by May B