Bynum brothers bring jazz, food to South on North Broad

For almost a decade after Zanzibar Blue closed its basement level in 2007, the jazz club scene in Center City seemed almost moribund. For several years, Chris' Jazz Cafe persisted as the last club standing, until first Time and then Heritage took up the slack, at least for local musicians.

Finally, Zanzibar Blue owners Robert and Benjamin Bynum have reentered the fray with South, a new restaurant and "jazz parlor" counterintuitively located on North Broad Street.

"Many people view jazz as a dying art form," said Robert Bynum, sitting in a booth a few weeks ago at the back of the 70-seat jazz space. "When they look at the number of venues in Philadelphia and ask, 'Is the art form still alive?' they might conclude, 'No, it's not.' But it's our hope that between us and Chris' and Heritage, people will begin to appreciate it more. We feel like now is a great time to really try to rebuild the core of the music."

The music itself certainly showed no signs of flagging this month when the great saxophonist Oliver Lake joined pianist Orrin Evans' trio at the club. Always a vigorous presence, Lake played his tenor ferociously on a classic Don Cherry tune and recited a poem for the late writer Amiri Baraka that took the form of a satirical red-carpet interview.

That performance was part of "What's Happening Wednesdays," a series curated by Evans in which he brings collaborators from New York to his hometown. Since South opened in September, Evans has brought in a host of artists, including pianist Marc Cary, trumpeter Jeremy Pelt, and bass legend Buster Williams; in coming months, his series will also feature vocalist Bob Dorough, saxophonists Gary Bartz and Greg Osby, and drummer Clarence Penn. "This definitely connects the dots between New York and Philly," Evans said, "and allows me to present different people that you might not see at the bigger venues."

In addition to Evans, the Bynums have enlisted other local jazz artists to call on their connections to bring notable names into the fledgling venue. Trombonist Jeff Bradshaw curates the "Bone Appetite" series on Sundays, which is scheduled to feature Wycliffe Gordon this weekend, and bassist Gerald Veasley's "Unscripted" series on Thursdays is intended to bridge the gulf between the straight-ahead and smooth jazz worlds.

"Unscripted" was born out of the jam sessions that Veasley has hosted for years at the Berks Jazz Fest, which prominently features smooth and contemporary jazz superstars. "After someone leaves a mainstage show, where they've been playing a really well-thought-out, very tightly arranged program, they can let their hair down at a jam session, and audiences love that," Veasley said. "So when I got the opportunity to bring something here, I thought it would be kind of cool to put a spotlight on my colleagues in the contemporary jazz world and have a spot where they just play."

Since the series began, Veasley has seen soulful saxophonist Kirk Whalum stretch out on Joe Henderson's "Inner Urge" and singer-songwriter Raul Midón perform jazz standards like "Round Midnight" and "Giant Steps," while singer Maysa - best known for her work with Incognito and Stevie Wonder - sold out three straight nights. In coming weeks, he'll host the likes of keyboardist Jeff Lorber, Brazilian jazz group Minas, and husband-and-wife duo Tuck & Patti.

South has already received rave reviews for its food, a modern take on Southern cuisine devised by chef Paul Martin. A major lesson the brothers learned from their experience with Zanzibar Blue was to divide the dining and music areas into separate rooms, here divided by a wall of glass shelves stocked with colorful jars of pickled veggies.

"We want our food to be so good that we appeal to people who just want to come out to eat," Bynum said, "and we want our music to be so good that we appeal to people who just want to come out to hear music."

South joins the Bynums' other ventures - Paris Bistro and Green Soul in Chestnut Hill, Warmdaddy's on Columbus Boulevard, and Relish in West Oak Lane - almost all of which feature live jazz or blues. "In large part, that's personal," Bynum said. "I really enjoy going out to dinner, but I also want there to be another component to the evening.

"In large part, I try to create places that I would go to."

Warmdaddy's, as Bynum pointed out, opened in 1995 as Old City was undergoing a revival, and Zanzibar Blue moved to Broad Street the same year at the dawn of the Walnut Street restaurant renaissance. With South right next door to Alla Spina and Vie and a block from Osteria, he sees the new venture's arrival on North Broad as having similarly fortuitous timing.

"I view it as a part of the city that's really on its way up. I grew up in North Philadelphia, and I've seen how far it's come already, so we wanted to be in right at the beginning. We plan on being here for a long time."