Settle down folks, it’s not what you’re thinking! Although they take it pretty damn seriously, the folks at The Ellington have not taken their pursuit of jazz authenticity to the extreme of harking back to the racial segregation prevalent in America during the genre’s golden age, so you can rest easy now. I’ll explain exactly what I mean a little later on. What I will say now is that Perth finally having a dedicated jazz venue is something that I was pretty darned excited about and had been planning on a visit ever since I got back from overseas. For me, jazz bars/clubs are one of the markers of a truly civilized environment and I sincerely believe that no city can make any real claim to being properly cosmopolitan without one. Thus, with such lofty expectations in place, some friends and I descended upon The Ellington last friday evening hoping for a night of sophisticated nocturnal entertainment.
The Ellington: Mood Lighting Anyone?
The segregation mentioned in the title, as I explained above, refers not to an exceptionally non-PC racial separation policy, but rather that the layout of the place is divided into two distinct areas; downstairs for sitting and listening to the music being played on stage and upstairs for sipping on cocktails and chatting to other hep cats. If you do wish to sit down and watch the performers on stage you need to book a table well in advance, and not having done so (and also desiring a bit of a chat amongst ourselves), we headed upstairs for a few drinks and some food. In terms of decor and ambiance, it’s exactly what you’d expect from an upmarket jazz bar; stylish and modern with dark tones and dimmed lighting all round and patronised by a generally chic, late-20′s-to-early-30′s crowd. Cocktail wise things were very good and the bar staff knowledgeable and professional, but then again when you’re charging near enough to $20 per cocktail you’d expect them to be. I started with a nice tart Tom Collins, followed with a tasty CC & Ginger and finished off
There's No School Like The Old School: Bourbon Old-Fashioned With Basil Hayden's Bourbon.
with an excellent bourbon old-fashioned (upgrading to Basil Hayden’s bourbon at the barman’s suggestion). Food wise we went for the Tuscan pizza ($17) and selection of four antipasto bites with bread ($29) with grilled cacciatore on onion jam, mushroom and verjuice pate, stuffed bell peppers and grilled roast duck and mushroom agnolotti. The antipasto was great, very tasty and decent sized portions, however the pizza was another story. Quite small and with a base that appeared to be a bit of toasted pita bread, it was also overly salty and generally lacking in flavour. Very unimpressive!
Finger Lickin' Good: Tasty Antipasto
Now that I’ve covered the nuts and bolts, let me enlighten you on my overall verdict. For starters I’m not a fan of the whole separation of music and drinking/chatter. Everyone downstairs seemed very serious when we walked in and I almost felt like I was intruding or causing offence by entering. Beyond that, apparently everyone was under strict instructions not to talk during the performance and obliged to sit there in stony silence and appreciate the performance whether they liked it or not! In my view, this is more than a little too anal. For me the clink of glasses and the rise and fall of bar-room chatter is part of the soundtrack to live jazz, and while I do love it I don’t think I could sit there for hours and give it my undivided attention, especially seeing as the performance that night was good but fell well short of mind-blowing. They do show the action on CCTV upstairs and pipe the music up though the sound system, but watching it all through a screen greatly detracts from the experience as far as I’m concerned. Beyond that it is nice, but a little too nice. I like my jazz bars with a little bit of edge, you know, a bit quirky and with a few rough edges, and The Ellington’s brand-spanking-new, polished feel left me a little wanting in this regard.
So if you’re a serious fanatic that enjoys sitting in silence for hours just “feeling the jazz, daddio”, or want a drink and some decent food in a posh, by-the-numbers jazz club then The Ellington is for you. Those of you looking for something a bit more relaxed and edgy (not to mention much cheaper), my recommendation would be to head to the Moon Cafe in Northbridge on a thursday night. They have a great instrumental jazz group on in their funky back room, and you’re free to eat, drink and chatter away without fear of incurring the wrath of someone wearing a black beret and turtle-neck.
Tried out Ellingtons and was EXTREMELY disappointed. Ellingtons is not a special or feel good place to enjoy jazz like I thought but just a typical commercialised bar. In fact, these people just have no respect for their artists or their customers.
The problem is that they will take your money at the door and squeeze you in regardless. To me, that was the absolute insult to their artists. I didn’t enjoy the music – because there was only standing room at the end of the bar and serving staff walked past every 2 seconds with empty and full glasses in front of me. This killed the brilliance of any music. Then at the end of the set, the person behind the bar told me I couldn’t stand in that area. Where else did they want me to stand (and why take my money and let me in?) – the place was totally full with no other standing room anywhere else. I had to leave because there was nowhere else I could stand after being shooed away from the bar. I felt cheated. People in Perth should know the kind of attitude they have at Ellingtons.
I totally agree with you. The place has the completely wrong feel for a jazz club and, on reflection, is really nothing special. I love going to see live jazz performances and therefore I think it’s very telling that i’ve not been back since I reviewed it. Fingers crossed we get a proper jazz venue some time soon.
Yes, I’m hoping that in time to come we will get a proper jazz bar! As for live music…I love the Universal Bar on William St. Unfortunately, I think live music is only on certain days of the week. But minus the horrible bouncers being petty about people’s footwear, Universal is actually an excellent place to enjoy live music. In fact, you can let your hair down here, talk or shout hehe, dance… (unlike the stuffy, concert hall atmosphere at Ellingtons). Universal Bar sometimes makes me think I could be anywhere in the world as with the right crowd, it has a really easy-going, international bar feel to it.
Speaking of international bars… I wonder if you have been to the cluster of bars on St George’s Terrace and what you think… The service is surprisingly very good on a packed Friday when I went to check it out. My favourite was the Bobèche bar. Very international…good service (friendly),…and different! Check out the teapot drinks there…!
I’ve not been to universal bar, but have walked past it a million times and it normally seems like it has a good vibe. Was just down at Mojos in Fremantle tonight and that’s always good for live music any day of the week. Not been to any of the new joints on the terrace, but am planning an excursion some time in the near future for sure.