5 min read · Nov 19, 2023
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Jazz music, Black expression, and southern comfort food at a Black-owned neighborhood establishment in Boston.
Jazz. A mix of ragtime, bebop, swing and the blues. Where the sounds of various Black cultures met within the tunnels of brass horns and created a genre. Historically, early jazz originated throughout the South where it gained notoriety in New Orleans. Musicians packed their instruments and took to northern states in the 1920’s and 1930’s. Dimly lit speakeasies and hole-in-the-wall style nightclubs from Harlem to Chicago were staple venues during the Black renaissance. Community members from all backgrounds would sit in bars and lounges to see Black Musicians like Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Ethel Waters, and local talents that made up the underground sectors. Jazz brought integrated crowds together in segregated cities and had politicians sitting in the same lounges as organized crime members — everyone wanted in on the jazz experience.
Under the blue and pink lights that illuminated from above, the silhouette of the bartender, Ms. Denise, could be seen. Her all-black attire and matching top hat were framed by the glossy hexagon tiled bar window. As she placed two co*cktail glasses side by side, grabbing a bottle of platinum white rum she stated, “This place is like family to me.” With a presence that exuded familiarity like someone that you just met but felt like you’ve known for a while, she pridefully spoke about tending the bar at Darryl’s Corner Bar & Kitchen for the last 15 years. Being employed at a Black-owned establishment that’s a hub for musical creativity and cultural expression was something she took pride in. Her regulars that she’s built relationships with over the years took just as much pride in her. She reminisced on being one of the only Black-woman faces on the bartending scene when she first started out in Boston’s Seaport district.
The trumpeter performing for the evening, Darren Barrett, spoke into the mic in a deep debonair tone fit for jazz and the radio, “Shoutout to Ms. Denise behind the bar!” She lifted her hand, nodded, and smirked in acknowledgement.
Ms. Denise then gave me a brief history of the location.
604 Columbus Avenue in Boston’s Roxbury/South End neighborhood was originally home to Bob the Chef, founded in 1957. Dubbed the Best Soul Food in Boston by Boston Magazine and known for their “all-you-can-eat Sunday Jazz and Gospel Brunch”. Once acquired by Darryl Settles and transitioning into Darryl’s Corner Bar & Kitchen, the cultural ode that held the corner for generations — comfort southern food and jazz, remained. Ms. Denise noted that both Bob and Darryl had ancestral roots in the South. The current owner, Nia Grace, whom just opened the restaurant Grace by Nia where “Soul meets Seaport”, took on the torch and kept the theme of extending soul through food and jazz. Aware of the esteem that the name Darryl’s Corner Bar & Kitchen had, she let it remain the same.
It was a quiet Wednesday evening when Barrett introduced the close-knit crowd to eight new never-heard-before compositions. Perfecting and finding the rhythms with his band he stood at the microphone with a trumpet in hand as he spoke directly to the crowd in between his notes, guiding us through his performance. The electric bass, keyboard, and drums joined him in the improvisational and unpredictable style of his bebop style. The closing of each song was met with claps and woos from the patrons that were basking in the intimate performance.
Between brick walls adorned with nostalgic oil paintings of what jazz looks like on canvas, we sat at a candlelit table. With sweet alcoholic co*cktails crafted by Ms. Denise at our reach we strained our voices in true jazz club fashion to talk to one another over the music’s volume. We sat next to a couple in their 30’s enjoying the performance through romantic whispers to one another, across from a group of local college students rocking in their chairs, and next to a group of men that were complimented by their salt and peppered beards. An example of what jazz has always done, bring in a diverse crowd.
During a brief intermission the manager, Adezna, talked to me about their live entertainment. Highlighting how the music director keeps the feeling of community alive by maintaining a relationship with longstanding local musicians that have been performing at the venue for years. A place where they have rooted themselves. She detailed how Darryl’s has connections to the local college scene that Boston is well-known for. Two of the bandmembers that accompanied Barrett told me that they were students at the Berklee College of Music, expressing their appreciation to be able to get gigs at a place like Darryl’s to practice their craft in front of an audience. Informing me that Barrett was also a music professor at the same school.
Music venues aren’t far and few between in a city like Boston. Cozy community ones like Darryl’s Corner Bar & Kitchen that have decades of neighborhood history held together by people like Ms. Denise, Darren Barrett, the longtime staff members, and owners that commit to the experience it gives customers are the real neighborhood gems. Especially one that embraces the art of jazz and its roots. A place with an atmosphere of soul, community, and comfort.
