WOULD YOU LIKE THE CRAWFORD GRILL REOPENED AND WHY?

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Comment by Grant on April 15, 2009 at 8:00am

The Grill is not just a street address and building; to my mind it is a spiritual resevoir for the energy of the performers and patrons that have worked, played, and LIVED important chunks of their lives in that building. It certainly should be reopened, if only as a tangible memorial to the spiritual talent, hope and joy that it's prior inhabitents have vested it with. Much more important than memorials to politicians or single public figures .. Lets Get Er Done! Grant W Stapleton

Comment by Dr. Nelson Harrison on April 15, 2009 at 6:41am

I first played the Grill in 1956 when I sat in with Harold and Jerry Betters. Over the years I have played all over the Tri-State area, the country and internationally. The Grill remains my favorite stage to play in the entire world. The memories are some of my most treasured of all. It is a shrine to our great Pittsburgh Jazz Legacy and the spirits are still whispering within its walls and through all of us who remember.

Comment by Greg on December 6, 2008 at 6:30pm

It’s interesting reading thru these posts… as most of you have experienced Crawford Grill in a very personal way – and the venue seems to have left you all with memories that will last a lifetime.
I unfortunately never attended a show there – given I was born in 84.
I have however been lucky enough to stumble upon AVA on a Monday night… and have attended several performances there since then. One of which was with my brother when he was home just recently for Thanksgiving break. I tried explaining to him that the music there is like nothing else he or I have experienced (the intimacy of the venue, the improvisation, the talent, etc.)… and naturally it didn’t sink in until he witnessed it personally. There is no doubt in my mind he and I will remember that show for the rest of our lives.

So as a young jazz fan, I would naturally love to see the Crawford Grill reopen – assuming it could flourish and live up to expectations. However, is it possible to recreate what once was? Can a venue flourish in that location? And if it were to open as a non-profit would a place that small be able to support big name acts, as it once did in the past?
The reason I bring up my time spent at AVA is because I think there are new opportunities – that the pgh jazz community are really beginning to embrace – to create the same type of atmosphere that Crawford Grill once had… and I find that to be very exciting. So if the ultimate goal is to produce a new wave of musical memories that will last a lifetime… it seems there are already highly feasible opportunities to do so and we should all take full advantage of them. Potentially by doing so we create something special that folks are discussing many years from now in much the same way you speak of the Crawford Grill.

Comment by PittsburghBluesConnection.com on August 26, 2008 at 10:44am

Hello all, I am John Reilly, born and raised in Pgh, actually I grew up on Burrows St., not far from the Crawford Grill. It is very upsetting to me that we may not be able to save this part of our Pgh. cultural heritage simply because of the lack of financial support. I have started the PittsburghBluesConnection to help promote and preserve the blues in Pgh. for all to enjoy forever. I do this for free, many hours of my time to aid the blues community, benefits and organization that support the blues locally. I am working on becoming a 501 (c)3, non-profit organization and the comments by Mr. Greenlee and Phat Man Dee have given me a vision. Dr. Nelson Harrison recently expressed to me "The blues is the roots of the American Music Tree, jazz is the trunk and all the other genres are the branches and twigs". Wow! It is 5.00 am in the morning, I was awoken by a dream and these words came to me and the vision of the Crawford, re-opened, with laughter, music and memories yet to come. Who will help me awaken a dream? I believe it can be done! I believe we can get the support to re-open if we know where to look for help. This is what I need all your help for. This community is a wealth of experience, talent and knowledge that I kindly ask for your input. I ask only for your thoughts and advice and guidance to achieve something that needs to be realized, with God's help, and yours, before it is too late. We should at least try!
My thanks to all.
I am also at: www.PittsburghBluesConnection.com
myspace/pittsburghbluesconnection

Comment by Dwayne Dolphin on August 10, 2008 at 6:02am

I was one of many who learned how to play jazz in the Grill. The Grill is a almost magical place where the spirits of the jazz masters are in the room as you perform. The Grill is not just a club or a school for jazzmen. It,s a vital part of American culture!!

Comment by Frank B. Greenlee on July 21, 2008 at 5:38pm

We have all lamented that we miss "The Grill", the real question is what can we do if anything to save the site. Is it available for purchase? If so can this group become a force (incorporated as a nonprofit) to purchase it through funding and preserved as a Jazz Historical Site.

If you feel and/or think this is a possibility, then we need to get about the business of meeting and formalizing some action. If nothing is done it will continue to be only a memory of what was.

Comment by Elizabeth "Betty" Asche Douglas on July 21, 2008 at 4:11pm

Crawford #2 was one of the first places I ever sang as a jazz vocalist many years ago. Then during its last years, I sat in from time to time with my dear friend and fellow Beaver Countian, the late Dr. Mike Taylor. Then in 2003, when WQED's "On Q" TV magazine did a special segment on "The Grill," I was honored to be the vocalist with Nelson Harrison and Kenny Blake on the bandstand. What a memory! 'QED still broadcasts it from time to time, and it gives me chills.

Comment by Phat Man Dee on July 20, 2008 at 10:43pm

If wishes could be fishes.... I went to the Grill exactly once before it closed. It was awesome. The catfish was splendid, and though the band looked awfully cramped up there , jutting off the wall like living trophies of magic and soul, they seemed transported as was I...

But who has the kind of money to make a live music venue work? Somehow actually having a venue that can make enough $$ to stay open, much less pay the band, it's a really hard thing to do in this world. But somewhere like the Grill, well it would be nice even if you could get it a non profit status and be treated like the historical monument it is. Protected and celebrated, with a maybe a museum and regular performance series. I wish I had the kind of $$ it would take to do something like that right someday..... But for now if I could just pay bills and save enough to put out another body of work, i would consider that a major miracle and blessing from the multiverse.

Comment by Reggie Watkins on June 10, 2008 at 6:27pm

If there is any club worth saving it's this one. Serious history here and a favorite of musicians. They always had great food and a real neighborhood vibe as well. The Grill should be THE place to go hear artists like Roger Humphries and others. I miss it. RW

Comment by T. Foley on May 28, 2008 at 9:08pm

I heard about the Crawford Grill while I was a student at Duquesne University and started going there in the early 90s. I remember the amazing music, that people dressed so beautifully, the incredible collection of art work that was there (who did that portrait of a man or men with the bright green background?), the good, good food (the best lemon cake I ever had in my whole life) and the great drinks. I also recall a singer named Lovey (is that correct?) and the Dancing Demons (sp?) showing up to do their thing on stage. I remember seeing people come in from St. Benedict the Moor (where I went to church), and people coming in from all over the country and the world who knew about jazz history and wanted to stop in. There was a little library in the corner up front and you would see people looking things up in books.

I remember returning after a number of years (early or mid-2000-something?) later and was completely downhearted that the art collection was gone.

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