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The Firefly Flies South

nn Arbor’s only jazz club, the Firefly Club, is moving three blocks south, from 207 South Ashley to the corner of Main Street and Mosley. This was once the location of the Ark, but it had occupied the top floor of this relatively large building at 637 South Main Street. The Firefly will start out in the upstairs location, but will eventually move downstairs after renovations have been made. The move took place the last days of July and opening day for the new location is scheduled for Friday, August 3.

Opening up will be the club’s hottest act, the Easy Street Jazz Band, led by cornetist Paul Klinger. They will be followed by another regular at the club, pianist Jim Dapogny, who will lead his Chicago Jazz Band in shows at 9:00 and 11:00 p.m. It is rumored that some time in late August the club will feature Cedar Walton, the veteran modern pianist. This would indicate that the club is intent on continuing its tradition of featuring high quality national and local jazz acts.

One real advantage of the new location is that there will be free parking across Main Street; on the other hand, walk-ins will probably be less common. The Ashley Street location was earlier occupied by the Bird of Paradise, which opened in 1985. The immediate reason for the move of the Firefly Club is the expansion of a fitness center located on the second floor of the Ashley building. To find out more about the lineup at the new Firefly, go to their website or call 734-665-9090.

photographs by Lars Bjorn

Veteran tenorist Arno Marsh (right) was the featured soloist with the Paul Keller Orchestra at the Firefly on July 9. A veteran of the Woody Herman orchestra, Marsh was a delightful soloist with a muscular tone.

The Cool Moose Orchestra is a band of high school students formed 2 ½ years ago by the very talented Glenn Tucker. It hasa regular gig every third Tuesday at the Firefly Club. The band recently released a CD, The Cool Moose Orchestra, on PKO Records. This picture was taken at the Firefly on July 17 and Tucker is the tenorist shown. He will be a freshman in the UM Jazz Program this fall.