The music was blissfully good at the Lenox Lounge last Friday. The downtown clubs are more dictatorial. They tell you who they want to have in your band, and it cuts off the spirit of the art . I feel freer playing uptown, and I cherish feeling that way when I play. That's the atmosphere the music had when it started, which drew everyone to it.
People go to the downtown clubs now, and they're bored.
When those same people come uptown, you ca n't get them to go home. Still, his bookings are good enough to compete with the bigger clubs downtown. What the Lenox Lounge needs now is an audience. If jazz is to continue its return to Harlem, it needs boosters and missionaries. Berta Alloway is one of those.