I thought I had swell ideas, and wonderful musicians, but the hell of it, no one else did.

We want to be that place where musicians hang out to exchange ideas.

We're all songwriters and singers and musicians.

I talk to people who are musicians, and they go, Oh this is hell. And I go, Are you kidding me? You never put tar paper on a roof, did ya?

The power that this scene has is that all these talented musicians are coming here for a reason. Each venue has its own appeal and niche audience, and that's healthy, as long as we don't step on each other's toes.

Most of the music we will be performing is by major black jazz musicians and composers.