Windown Your Wednesday

For most of the week, Centennial Olympic Park sits neatly tucked away in the middle of Atlanta’s busy tourism hub. Drivers weaving in and out of traffic pass it by everyday rushing to get to their destinations. However, once a week from April to the end of September, Centennial Olympic Park transforms from a quiet and serene park into what looks like a lively outdoor nightclub.

“WindDown Wednesday’s” as it is appropriately titled, is recognized by some as one of Atlanta’s best-kept secrets. The summer jazz concert series takes place every Wednesday evening at 5:30 p.m. inside of the park’s Southern Company Amphitheater. The small and intimate venue size is large enough to hold a crowd of about 350 people, yet small enough to make the audience feel that personal connection with the performers on stage. The space is so dynamic that it makes a crowd of 350 people seem like 1000!

The featured musician of the evening is world renowned trumpet player Melvin Miller. Miller has performer at WindDown Wednesday’s in the past and has also been a known to perform at other live jazz functions around Atlanta, including popular sporting events such as the Atlanta Hawks and Atlanta Falcon's games. Miller has played in front of crowds large and small all over the world. He has been trained in the area of classical music, but he prefers to write and perform jazz music.

That evening, Miller was accompanied by six other musicians. His band consisted of one drummer, one bass guitarist, one keyboard player, one trombone player, and two other trumpet players. Melvin opened his set with cuts from his latest album which is entitled, “In the Moment.” The seven-man band rocked the crowd that evening as they played more adult contemporary jazz. The band certainly swooned audience members as they switched back and forth from original cuts from Millers album to more familiar cuts like, ”Reasons” by Earth, Wind, and Fire.

By 7:30 p.m., the small crowd has grown to what seems like 700 people. Men and women dressed in office attire, walking home from work, stop and listen to the sounds of the talented trumpet player. They also stop to take a look at the eccentric crowd. By 8:00 p.m. the show slowly comes to an end. The sun begins to set and the temperature drops. The musicians ended the show with a tribute to the late Michael Jackson as they perform the cut, Pretty Young Thing from the classic album Thriller. Suddenly, before you know it 2 and 1/2 hours seems to have flown by. As the band exits the stage, the only noise that is left to hear is the sound of the crowd applauding for an encore.

One of Atlanta's Best Kept Secrets

On Saturday evening, I had the privilege of attending a live jazz performance at one of the Atlanta’s most entertaining jazz cafés, Café 290. The small and intimate venue was filled with couples young and old who seemed to need a break from the typical Atlanta social scene. The dimly candle lit room set the mood for hand holding and eye gazing. The smooth jazz sounds that erupted from the instruments on stage, set the atmosphere for one romantic evening.

The band that night consisted of four very talented musicians. The supporting band members included drummer David Potter, saxophonist Chad Eddy, and pianist Earnet Turner. The bandleader that evening was bassist Will Globe; a young man with great charisma and a comedic personality who made the listening even more enjoyable.

Even though the band looked as if they had met an hour before the show, they looked very comfortable on stage in their casual dress shirts and black slacks. The quartet began the first set of the evening with an original piece written by Will Globe himself entitled, “The Dark Knight”. The tune is filled with low notes that kind of saturate the song and makes the mood change from honky-dory to dark and dreadful. The piece was very loud and filled with a variety of dark overtones.

Throughout the course of the night the quartet serenaded the small crowd with songs from the past like Billie Holiday’s 1964,”Good Morning Heart Ache,” and Bessie Smith’s 1920's,” Nobody Knows You When Your Down and Out”. Globe also dazzled the audience with his own original tunes like, “A Little Blue Circle” and “Catch 22.”

I’m definitely more of a smooth jazz kinda gal, but this jazz event was great. The venue, atmosphere, and waiting staff all get two thumbs up!