Dan Brunell Emerald
Drummer Kenny Reed (above), percussionist Rick
Cobian (above center) and harmonica player Ty
Cobb (above right) jam at Theo’s Jazz Club on Tues
day night. With performances every Tuesday,
Theo’s provides a setting for a relaxing night out
and for Eugene’s jazz musicians.
Located in the downtown mall, Theo’s Jazz Club
offers a unique mix of music and atmosphere for
an all-age audience
By Josh Ryneal
Oregon Daily Emerald
This ain’t your dad’s jazz
club. No drinks, no booths,
no dim lighting, no dirty
floors and no smoky haze
wafting throughout the room.
Theo’s Jazz Club, a tiny storefront
in Eugene’s downtown mall, has
created an upscale, stylish venue
where jazz aficionados can gather
and, if they want, even get up and
perform.
From the unique tables imprint
ed with classic album labels to the
striking paintings of famous jazz
artists, Theo’s looks like a fancy
coffee bar. But when the lights go
down, one quickly realizes that
here, it’s all about the music.
“Jazz is passed down from gener
ation to generation,” Brian Logan,
manager and partner in the club,
said. “Younger players can come
and play with older players and
foster a sense of community.”
He pointed to the chairs. “Look
at the chairs. They all face the stage,
and you can see it from any place
in the room,” he said.
Logan, who admits that he “nev
er listened to jazz” before opening
the club, counts himself as a con
vert to the music after six months.
“It’s all I listen to now,” he said.
His love for jazz shows in the ef
fort he — and the other 17 partners
who collectively own not only the
club but the adjacent bookstore and
coffeehouse — put into making
Theo’s a true jazz venue.
“Other places in Eugene have
live jazz, especially Jo Federigo’s,
but we offer exclusively live jazz,”
Logan said. “We have something
unusual here; I tell the musicians
no dinner music, but push the
boundaries and do what you
want.”
Unlike Jo Fed’s, Theo’s doesn’t
serve food except for pastries,
desserts and specialty coffee
drinks. It’s also a non-smoking,
non-alcoholic venue, which was a
decision Logan says was made in
order to attract a younger-than-21
crowd and to avoid the hassles of
an Oregon Liquor Control Commis
sion license.
“I would really like to see some
thing eclectic happen In regards to
our clientele,” he said. “Young peo
ple, old people, everybody.”
The club is still a work in
progress. Theo’s is open Friday and
Saturday nights for regular per
formances by noted artists, and
Tuesday night offers a jam session
hosted by a different performer
each week.
Logan urges local jazz musicians
to attend the jam sessions. “We’ve
gotten a good response to the jam
nights. We even get some high
school students who are proficient
enough to play here,” he said.
Jake Svendsen, a local high
school student who heads the Jake
Svendsen Trio, has attended jam
nights at Theo’s numerous times
and has begun playing regular
dates at the club.
“People definitely pay more at
tention to you here,” he said. “Plus,
it’s nice because I can breathe.”
Julie Bounds, a University stu
dent and the trio’s vibraphone — a
percussion instrument like a xylo
phone — player, described the club
as “one of the few places where it’s
all about the band.
“Everything, from the manage
ment to the audience, is really
great,” she said.
Jeremiah Harris, the band’s
bassist, likes the all-ages atmos
phere and calls it a “nice, intimate
venue.”
Tuesday performances at Theo’s
are $2, and weekends are usually
$3. Doors open at 8 p.m. The club,
located at 126 W. Broadway, is a
treasure-trove of local jazz waiting
to be discovered.