No one remembers Allary—a smoky, dusky jazz nightclub on South Main Street in Providence, Rhode Island back in the late 1970s. I only heard about it and went by invitation through my music instructor in high school as a learning experience.
I was only seventeen when I’d drive my dad’s mint green station wagon with the wood panels there on Monday nights. A lone streetlight illuminated the rear parking lot. I had to walk around to the front, making my way uphill along a narrow, shady side street to get there.
The recessed entrance was flanked by large, curtained windows. Dim lighting above fell upon old furniture: a couch, a couple of easy chairs… assorted hardwood tables and chairs stood close about the room.
A twelve-piece jazz ensemble was set up against the long wall opposite an old oak bar. Saxophones dominated the front row, trumpets and trombones behind. A drum set and bass player provided a fat beat. It truly had a big band feel.
My favorite song then was Birdland. Hearing it today stirs up memories of those nights when I sat alone at a table with an ice-cold cola, listening with an ear to the jazz played there.
Bob Dosdourian holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in art studio from the University of Rhode Island. He draws inspiration for his poetry from his forays through nature and his observations of the natural world, and that love of art carries into his writing. He shares his work in seminars and open-microphone readings through the Words on Fire program at the Cranston Public Library, and is a lifelong resident of Cranston, Rhode Island.
Robert Dosdourian has a talent of transporting the reader to places we haven’t physically been. We are able visit these places through his words. He is a very talented writer and look forward to more of his work.