Jimmy’s Jazz & Blues Club “First Shows Announced” Include Legendary Jazz and Blues Musicians and 4 GRAMMY® Award Winners!
PORTSMOUTH, N.H., Aug. 14, 2021 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ — The Labrie Group announced today their newest venue – Jimmy’s Jazz & Blues Club – will open its doors on Thursday September 30, 2021. Jimmy’s Jazz & Blues Club is housed within the Larbrie Group’s meticulously restored multi-story 1905 YMCA building located at 135 Congress Street in the heart of historic downtown Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Architectural design and historical restoration enthusiasts will place Jimmy’s Jazz & Blues Club as a “must see” venue on their visit to Portsmouth, New Hampshire to appreciate the results of 4 plus years of impressive and detailed building restoration work.
Jimmy’s Jazz & Blues Club will offer its guests a visually breathtaking environment featuring leading-edge acoustical design and state-of-the-art production, sound and lighting technologies; a memorable southern-inspired culinary experience paired with an impressive wine and cocktail list; and most importantly – inspired and highly talented jazz and blues musicians who are excited to perform at a club engineered to deliver the “ultimate sensory experience.”
Co-owners of the Labrie Group – brothers Michael and Peter Labrie – are motivated both by their passion for the music and their vision to enrich the community they love by creating a one-of-a-kind space for extraordinary musical, cultural and culinary experiences. “We want to make a valuable contribution to jazz and blues music and felt the best way to accomplish this was to create one of the best jazz and blues clubs in the world — right here in the Greater Portsmouth NH Seacoast community my brother and I love so much,” said Michael Labrie. He went on to say, “Jimmy’s Jazz & Blues Club will help sustain the valuable contribution of jazz and blues music to our communities – and to our society. We also want Jimmy’s to help expand the audience base for jazz and blues music because we feel this is the best way to keep live performances of jazz and blues music available for future generations.”
The Labries describe Jimmy’s Jazz & Blues Club as an intimate, state-of-the-art venue that nods to the classic jazz clubs of the past and forges new terrain with cutting-edge recording and live-streaming capabilities. The goal is to welcome top-tier jazz and blues artists and fans to a wholly original, multi-level “listening room environment” where all the conditions are in place for that special connection between artist and audience to truly come alive.
“Our vision is for Jimmy’s Jazz & Blues Club to represent the highest standard of excellence for a jazz and blues club,” said Labrie Group co-founder Peter Labrie. “We want to provide our guests a one-of-a-kind world-class experience where we deliver the highest quality music, food, and service – within a magnificent environment – for them to enjoy. We want to create the most positive and memorable live music experiences for every guest who comes through the door at Jimmy’s.” He continued, “We are extremely excited about the first performances booked here at Jimmy’s because jazz and blues music enthusiasts will be thrilled.”
LEGENDARY JAZZ & BLUES ARTISTS ANNOUNCED INCLUDING 4 GRAMMY® AWARD WINNERS!
The recently announced first round of shows at Jimmy’s Jazz & Blues Club can be found on Jimmy’s Online Event Calendar and feature multiple GRAMMY® Award Winners and an extensive list of Multi-GRAMMY® Award Nominees, including such household names as:
- 5x-GRAMMY® Award Nominee and Multi-Instrumentalist JOEY DEFRANCESCO who is performing on September 30;
- 7x- GRAMMY® Award Winning Jazz Bassist CHRISTIAN MCBRIDE who is performing on October 1 and 2;
- GRAMMY® Award Winning Producer and Vocalist STEVE TYRELL who is performing on October 7;
- GRAMMY® Award Winning and Master Harmonica Player CHARLIE MUSSELWHITE playing with Multi-GRAMMY® Award Nominee and Blues Hall of Fame Guitarist ELVIN BISHOP on October 13;
- 2x-GRAMMY® Award Winning and Blues Hall of Fame Singer MAVIS STAPLES who is performing on October 23;
- NEA Jazz Master and Master Saxophonist CHARLES LLOYD playing with 6x-GRAMMY® Award Nominated Pianist GERALD CLAYTON and Multi-GRAMMY® Award Nominated Drummer ERIC HARLAND on October 29, 30, and 31;
- 2x-GRAMMY® Award Nominated Drummer NATE SMITH who is performing on November 5; and
- BRUBECK BROTHERS QUARTET which includes two sons of the famous Dave Brubeck – both of which have GRAMMY® Award Nominations – and who are performing on December 10.
“Michael and Peter have built a venue that jazz and blues musicians will love because few jazz and blues clubs in the world have the quality of production, sound and lighting technologies we have at Jimmy’s,” said Suzanne Bresette, Managing Director, Programming at Jimmy’s Jazz & Blues Club. “The Labrie Group made stellar acoustical design and engineering a top priority in the beautiful historic restoration of the 1905 YMCA building at 135 Congress Street. This makes Jimmy’s Jazz & Blues Club the best possible live music venue for fans of jazz and blues music – and for the talented jazz and blues musicians who play here.”
‘A GEM IN NEED OF POLISHING…RETURNED TO ITS GLORY’
Michael Labrie also commented on the Labrie Group’s painstaking efforts to create a vibrant and historic “cultural icon” at 135 Congress Street. “We saw a gem in need of polishing and a space to be returned to its glory,” says Michael. “No detail has been overlooked. We devoted over 4 years doing first-class building restoration and architectural development work to obtain the desired high-quality results.”
In discussing some of the highlights of the building restoration and architectural development work Michael stated, “The front of the building had deteriorated over time but we saw the strong character and beauty it had when it was first built. We employed Andrew Sidford Architects to do a full re-creation of the front of the building to match 1905 conditions as seen in photographs and newspaper articles of the era. This includes bay windows with custom decorative molding and copper roofs; marble windowsills, keystones and belt courses; Pennsylvania brick coursing and quoins; and faceted shop front windows with divided lite transoms. They did an outstanding job. It looks remarkable.”
Andrew Sidford Architects also designed a dynamic two-story glass addition in the rear of the building that expands the building and washes the space in natural light – and also showcases the original and iconic YMCA stained-glass windows. Furthermore, the performance and function hall at Jimmy’s Jazz & Blues Club is a full restoration of the original YMCA gym/theater/civic center, whose highlights include exposed, first-of-their-kind riveted steel trusses and a dramatic upper-level mezzanine that is fully handicapped accessible. Visitors will discover an architectural treasure that is a blend of lovingly preserved historic details and new meticulous construction, complete with the original wooden beams and trusses, brick walls and fireplaces.
Tickets for Jimmy’s Jazz & Blues Club shows go on sale Monday August 16th at 12 PM on the club website – http://jimmysoncongress.com – and through Ticketmaster – http://www.ticketmaster.com. In addition, Jimmy’s Club Memberships allowing for advanced purchasing of tickets are now available on the club website or by calling 603-888-5299.
ABOUT JIMMY’S JAZZ & BLUES CLUB
The mission of Jimmy’s Jazz & Blues Club is to provide guests a one-of-a-kind, world-class experience featuring serious jazz and blues music served with exceptional southern-inspired cuisine. Jimmy’s Jazz & Blues Club features a spectacular and visually breathtaking environment designed to deliver the highest quality acoustics while utilizing state-of-the-art production, sound and lighting technologies. Jimmy’s is located within a beautifully restored 1905 building at 135 Congress Street in the heart of historic downtown Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Visit Jimmy’s Online Event Calendar for more information and to see the first round of outstanding jazz & blues musicians set to perform who have 49 GRAMMY® Award Nominations and 4 GRAMMY® Award Winners amongst them. The second round of shows will go out soon so don’t forget to sign-up for Jimmy’s Email Newsletter to stay informed on new jazz and blues artist announcements, tickets, special offers, Jimmy’s Sunday Jazz Brunch, and much more!
Media Contact
Suzanne Bresette, Jimmy’s Jazz & Blues Club, 6038885299, suzanne@jimmysoncongress.com
Yahoo Finance article is available here as well: https://finance.yahoo.com/news/labrie-group-announces-opening-newest-214000050.html
