Jazz Sessions hosted by Sax Great Kenny Blake

Kenny Blake is back at Steamworks Creative Community Center on Monday, October 26, for another installment of the jazz sessions he hosts there. It's part of a regular thing: Blake leads these sessions on the last Monday of every month, so if you miss this one, there's usually another one coming around a few weeks later.

Steamworks is a small room, with a maximum capacity of 50 seats, and it's set up for solo, duo, and small-band performances. It's got a high-quality sound system and stage lighting, and they describe it as a listening room where original music is encouraged, though not required. That's a good way to think about it—it's a place where you're meant to actually listen rather than talk over the music, and where new work gets as much room as the standards.

Since Blake hosts the series, he's the one you'll see on the bill. The session runs from 7 PM to 9 PM, and it's a Monday night, so it's an early start and an early finish. If you're used to jazz clubs that run until 2 AM, this is a different pace—you're in and out well before midnight.

For context on how they do things there, weeknight shows typically start at 7:30 PM and weekend shows at 8 PM, with everything wrapping up by 10:30 or 11 PM. Artists play for a maximum of one hour, with at least a 20-minute break for the audience. The venue splits performance income 50/50 with the performer, and artists keep 100% of their CD and merch sales. This particular session, however, is a bit earlier than the usual weeknight start: 7 PM to 9 PM on Monday, October 26, with Kenny Blake on saxophone.