It’s been almost a week since I first stepped onto the south and we at the Goldring Program have been working hard. I felt a bit burned out and I was ready to kick back and relax. What better way than with a little jazz, an art form close to the heart of Charleston.

Scanning through the Piccolo program, I happened to see the words “paintings” and “musical improvisations” in one sentence. I was sold. I was going to John Street Jazz in Gallery Chuma.

The hour-long event was well worth my time, not just for the heavy hors d’oeuvres and my first taste of shrimp and grits, but for the cool rhythms that hung inside the gallery like a welcome fog.

It was an intimate venue. I ended up seated beside Charleston natives Stephanie and John. Ms. Ann Caldwell handled the crowd expertly, interspersing quips with lovely renditions of jazz favorites like Grover Washington Jr.’s “Just the Two of Us” and Nat King Cole’s “Straighten Up and Fly Right.” She even got us into the act with “Iko Iko.”

On keyboard, Richard Harris White, Jr. played the cool cat, his fingers moving lightly over the keys. On bass and bass guitar, Vince Rivers’ notes were the perfect bed for Caldwell’s vocals. On drums, David Patterson, Jr. kept the beat moving onward and upward.

Unlike the less than enthusiastic response to the Norma Winstone concert, John Street Jazz is an a musical alchemy gone right. Before you know it, you’ll find yourself eyes closed, feet tapping and head a swayin’ just like you should be.

Catch a glimpse of Ms. Caldwell and a snippet of John Street Jazz in my video below: