Cincinnati’s Jazz Explosion

The Queen City’s jazz scene is hot right now. Young Cincinnati-trained musicians, including trumpeter Myles Ellington Twitty and 16-year-old bassist Cadence Okuwobi, are playing with prestigious performers and programs nationally. And earlier this year, DownBeat named Caffè Vivace one of the best jazz clubs in the world. It doesn’t hurt that the region boasts several great music schools, including the UC College-Conservatory of Music’s Jazz Studies program, and that Cincinnati is a short, affordable flight from New York, says Vivace co-owner and saxophonist Brent Gallaher. But what really makes Cincinnati’s scene sing is a community of jazz lovers and places to play, because “you learn on the bandstand,” he adds. While Cincinnati’s jazz history runs deep, Gallaher’s model pairs a bar/café with a jazz-performance nonprofit. The latter enables him to bring hundreds of acts to its 12-by-16-foot stage and intimate lounge. But Vivace’s success is also down to its ultra-dedicated staff, the