New Music Hall in Town JC jazz club near opening

http://www.pressconnects.com/friday/news/stories/ne030405s151964.shtml

JOHNSON CITY -- After months of renovating, decorating and securing the necessary permits, Joseph Roma Jr.'s The New Arlington is about to take off as the area's newest venue for jazz and live music.


Joseph A. Roma Jr. stands in front of posters of John Coltrane and Frank Sinatra in the former Joe's Drum Shop. Roma will revive the store as a jazz club called The New Arlington, which opens this month.
DIOGENES AGCAOILI JR. / Press & Sun-BulletinWith an anxious smile, Roma said he plans a March 11 grand opening.
The storefront nightclub is at Main and Arch streets. It's taken the 51-year-old Whitney Point man nearly a year to open the club.
"It's really going to be more than just jazz," he said. "It's going to be good music, more like an 'unplugged' music format where people come to hear good music, talk and enjoy yourself."
And he plans to draw on the talents of local musicians and singers.
"Already," he said, "there is buzz around town about the place."
The long, narrow room, which has a neon sign in the front window, features a small center stage, complete with theatrical lighting and a sound system. The new nightclub is the latest incarnation of Joe's Drum Shop, which Roma closed last year.
Looking about the room, Roma said his club can accommodate about 80 people, either seated at the 17 cafe tables or at the bar. He plans to have beer, wine, desserts and coffee for his music lovers.
Posters of musicians like John Coltrane, Pat Metheny and Tony Bennett hang next to Joni Mitchell and Luciano Pavarotti. There's even an autographed picture of Duke Ellington from when the jazz great appeared in Owego in the 1970s.
"These are all the artists and the music I like," Roma said.
The New Arlington joins Curley's Coffee House at 252 Main St., which offers live music throughout the week, and SOZO at 261 Main St., a Christian-based coffeehouse that also features live music.
"It will be great to have a place with live jazz as a regular venue, especially if it felt like a jazz joint," said longtime jazz aficionado Jeffery K. Davis of the Town of Binghamton. For him, visiting the new club is a priority.
"At one time in the 1980s, there was quite a bit of jazz here," Davis said. Establishments included clubs like Tawni's and Bourbon Street in Binghamton, and the Music Box in Johnson City.
But, he added, "it's a tough business. It has been a long time since the area had any real jazz clubs."
Veteran musician Donald Godfrey of Binghamton said he, too, will check out the new club. "There's really no place here to hear good jazz," he said.
Roma plans to be open from 6 p.m. to 12 a.m. Fridays and Saturdays with a $3 cover charge.
"I want to feature local talent," he said, as well as his own band, which consists of Roma on drums, Gene Cothran of Union on piano and Andrew Williams of Owego on upright bass.
"We'll invite singers to come in, and at the end of the night we'll have an open jam when anyone can come who wants to play," Roma said. "It's really going to be fun."