the original Cellar on Hot Air Sat May 24

[paul]

It was a "bottle club" in the rear of 222 East Broadway in Vancouver -- a small basement joint with the walls covered in egg crates and painted black. But the original Cellar, which was open from 1956 to 1963, hosted some of the biggest names in jazz, including Wes Montgomery, Art Pepper, Charles Mingus, Carla Bley and Don Cherry. It was also home to Vancouver musicians including Al Neil, P.J. Perry, Don Thompson and a young trumpet player named James Carney. James returns to Hot Air, this week with his old UBC pal, lawyer and musician Walley Lightbody, QC. Walley was involved in starting the original Cellar, then headed over to Victoria where he opened a club called "The Scene" at 1306 Wharf Street in Victoria. Like the original Cellar, it's long gone. But James and Walley vividly recall the music and the memories of those early days of BC jazz.