The Brightside Tavern located in 141 Bright Street in the neighborhood of Jersey City offers fantastic night events throughout the week. On Monday nights Jazz Jam sessions are offered by over 15 musicians. Tuesdays and Wednesdays are karaoke nights. Open mic nights of course are hosted on Thursdays. The remaining of the week is open for group reservations, business meetings and walk-ins. They also offer a good variety of daily specials for brunch and dinner. Shuttle services from the light rail and back are also offered which are very convenient not only for students but also for people that work around the area.
The atmosphere of the place was beautiful. The dark wood dining room is filled with soft, filtered sunlight, and everyone sitting at the bar is having a good time. The Piano room can accommodate an average of 40 to 50 people. Great food and drinks are served by wonderful personnel. My experience was wonderful since I went for the first time to a place in Jersey City where I can enjoy my friends company in a comfortable, homey place and enjoy Monday night’s jazz live performers and singers.
As soon as I walked into the tavern, I came across Tom Parisi the owner of the place; we held a conversation until the performers were ready to start playing. He gave me the option to seat down in the center of the hall or in the booster seats with the whole view of the place. The starting performers were Jordan Pipel who played the drums, Sam Trapchak who played the Bass and Noah who played the piano. When I asked for their group name they smiled and shared an insider saying they call each other the “Brightside trio ?.
Once they started playing the very first song, everyone from the bar came to sit down and watch the trio play “Come rain or Come shine ?. This song was a much faster, up beat rhythmic feel. The drummer had a solo in the middle of the performance. The other two instruments smoothly joined him after his solo. While enjoying a glass of pomegranate cocktail the band played their second song for the night, which was “cedar blues ?; this performance had multiple solos in it.
It felt like the piano was playing a bit faster trying to catch up the beat with the drums and bass. The drum had multiple solos and the bass had a short one before the song to an end. This song actually caught my attention, just how much emotion both the drummer and the piano player was putting into. I was amazed on how smooth and warm the place felt after the trio started playing. The following song sounded very familiar, it made me pay more attention to the sounds and wondering where I heard it from.
The third song played by the Brightside trio was “summer love ? which incorporated soft Latin sounds into the song. Smooth rhythmic throughout the entire performance which had the whole place turning into a different environment because of the warm smooth sounds. I loved how they shifted from one instrument to another without messing up the melody. This performance also had multiple solos which allowed the drummer to shine 3 times, the piano player once and the bass once as well.
As the night continued the Trio played “full house ? by West Montgomery, and “just you, just me ?. I loved both versions of the songs. My night ended early at the Brightside tavern but I promised Tom Parisi I will bring my friends one of this Mondays coming up to show them a good time while enjoying the trio play. I like the music with the syncopated rhythms such as jazz, reggae, funk, Afro-Cuban because it is an upbeat and optimistic, never dreary or oppressive to me. We can’t go wrong with a night out with friends and drinks listening to the smooth sounds of jazz.
