The jazz scene in Quito has received a serious lift from the growth of Big Sur restaurant and hostel. Positioned quietly away from the neon lights and brash sounds of Plaza Foch, a new movement is building momentum on this unsuspecting street. Thursday nights at Big Sur, a main proponent of the jazz renaissance in Quito, greets customers in dulcet motion much like its ex-foreign diplomat owner and American ex-pat, Lars Klassen.
"I had no great expectations of starting a thing like this. Even the building was falling apart when we first found it. But I am a neophyte and have no grand pretensions," Klassen whispers as the walking bass line rolls through. In a room lit by soft glows and walls adorned with slow sunsets, the mood is matched by the jam session that also seems to be coming from the kitchen
The entire night is based on improvisation; a chance meeting of the band members in the bars of Quito and their desire to play a gig as close and warm as this. Uri Stav, an Israeli-American hailing from Glasgow says, "That´s the way jazz happens, just like the night."
The other band members fully understand. They let their respective music making explain; Jeff Eckels on bass, from the American Mid-west, a teacher at a local music school, Pepe German on the drums, a mellowed local and student since the age of 13 as well as member of Quito´s ´Pies en la Tierra´ Ecuadorean-influenced jazz band.
The room is striking in its intimacy, the band seemingly wining and dining the entranced customers, the music fused with the gentle lighting of a new idea. .
Plans for this restaurant are only getting stronger. The garden, once a "garbage dump" is now alive with green and centres around a behemoth of a palm tree. "When the weather clears up we´ll be moving the music outside. I feel it can really complement the mood without destroying the quiet ambience of the street,¨says Klassen. The key is that it is all down to improvisation and as even the doors swing, the band closes with a reluctant tranquillity, but the night beats on.
Juan Rodiriquez 228 y Reina Victoria
