Monday, August 15, 2011

Jazz Pianos at the Jazz Depot

The Tulsa railroad depot was built in 1931 by the Public Works Administration  and was considered "the single best PWA symbol of hope for economic recovery during the bleak days of the depression. The Depot was the first central station in the city of Tulsa, and it unified the small Frisco, Katy, and Santa Fe depots. Upon its completion, a crowd of over 60,000 people came to see the opening ceremonies, which included speeches, singing, dancing, and Indian stomp dancing. The event was even broadcast on radio. A new locomotive was unveiled, and the locomotive said to have brought the first passenger train into the city (Frisco's "Old 94") was showcased. The depot opened "Tulsa's important front door." At its peak, the depot served 36 trains a day

It is now the home of the Tulsa Symphony and the venue for a weekly Sunday night jazz performance. It is known as The Tulsa Jazz Depot. We attend as often as we can. Sunday evening it featured performances by four jazz pianists.



The organizer and first soloist was Scott                 Next was Amy Cottingham
McQuaid.         


The third artist was Jeff Newsome.                        Last but not least was Adam Ledbetter.


Jeff introduced a surprise guest he introduced as his girlfriend but I didn't catch her name.  She was quite good. Scott played a duet with Adam after his set, and did the same with Amy after her set.  The quality of the music was excellent.

The interior of the depot houses a collection of photographs, awards, and various memorabilia associated with the Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame. This is a great place to visit and there is a performance almost every Sunday evening at 5:00, and other events are scheduled during the week.  For more information visit their web site at http://www.okjazz.org/

Since I was sitting near the back of the hall and got my "close-ups" by virtue of a 20X lens it seemed fitting to consider these macros of a sort.  That's my story and I'm sticking to it.


more Macro Monday

4 comments:

EMily said... [Reply to comment]

That looks like a wonderful place!

Callahan said... [Reply to comment]

Looks like a great place to visit.

DrillerAA said... [Reply to comment]

This is a place that I spent many hours as a child. My dad worked for the Frisco and I've ridden many of those 36 trains. I'm glad that the building is still in use, I just wish it were more closely related to it's glorious past.

Leora said... [Reply to comment]

The architecture of the depot is so much friendlier than that of the steely glass structure across the street.

Love the jazzy sculpture at the end of your post.