Meriden jazz club a reality soon?....a followup story

I have been interested in the progress of the Essence Lounge jazz club since reading a Record-Journal story last Spring. After a lengthy period of silence, I dropped a note to the reporter asking for a followup; apparently others did also and the news is encouraging:

The buzz on Colony - Record-Journal editorial 12/15/05

The Cotton Club is one of the most lasting legends of jazz. It’s where Duke Ellington and his orchestra rose to fame in the late 1920s and early 1930s. Ellington’s show featured singers, dancers, comedy acts and more at the club, which was initially in Harlem. Director Francis Ford Coppola made a movie about it in the 1980s. Thanks to weekly radio broadcasts, Ellington’s music reached a nationwide audience and earned him, and the Cotton Club, a distinct place in American history.

Capturing the spirit of those days is the aim of Meriden resident Floresia Allen, who is working to open a jazz club on Colony Street, above Fischer’s Fine Foods. If all goes according to plan, the Essence Lounge will be in full swing in about two months. Allen, who recently applied for a liquor permit for the club, has been talking with arts organizations and musicians about her plans. Ideally, the club will feature live music every night, providing a relaxed, entertaining atmosphere for a mature audience, sophisticated fare for a sophisticated clientele.

Whenever there’s talk of revitalizing downtown, it invariably leads to discussion about why people would want to go there. A new façade won’t do the trick alone; there needs to be a destination, a lure of some kind. It could be any number of things, a school, a sports complex, an arts center, and it doesn’t have to be just one thing. A jazz club fits that vision nicely because it can be a draw all its own but also one that works well in concert with others.

Allen’s vision seems to have already generated the necessary buzz. People are asking about the club, and when it will open. Newly elected City Councilor Dave Salafia, who owns Fischer’s, plans to feature Allen and her New Orleans cuisine in one of his upcoming Thursday night dinners. All this is very promising for Colony Street in particular and downtown Meriden in general. It’s exciting to consider that something as lively as a jazz club could soon be a city staple.

Previous post about the Essence Lounge project - here -

Cotton Club from PBS website