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Villa Rosa Showboat

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813 Ellsworth Dr., Silver Spring, MD [Villa Rosa Restaurant]

Opened May 24, 1976. Closed March 26, 1978.

Owned by Charlie Byrd and Pete Lambros. Earlier (1967-1969) had been Byrd's Nest. Manager John Dimitriou (until November 1976).

At first it was advertised as the New Showboat Lounge, but soon just as the Villa Rosa/Showboat, often called just the Showboat. The club was downstairs, the restaurant upstairs on the ground floor. Performers occasionally appeared in the upstairs restaurant.

“Rumblings persist that the Showboat, the Silver Spring jazz club, is in hot financial water. The club has now gone to a four-days-a-week schedule, back from six-days. If that doesn’t work, the Showboat’s days could be numbered.” (WES 3/10/78 p.C3)

“closed recently under the pressure of increased talent costs and heavy competition from other clubs.” (WP 5/12/78 p.30)

Scheduled Elvin Jones engagement (starting March 30, 1978) did not happen.

Recordings by Phil Woods (1976), Soprano Summit (1978).

Artists

  • Buddy Rich (1976)
  • Les McCann (1976)
  • Mose Allison (1976)
  • Tommy Dorsey Orchestra (1976)
  • Ahmad Jamal (1976)
  • Earl Hines (1976)
  • Marva Josie (1976)
  • Heath Brothers (1976) [check on Arthur Prysock]
  • Monty Alexander (1976)
  • Great Guitars (1976)
  • Charlie Byrd (1976)
  • Monty Alexander (1976)
  • Stanley Turrentine (1976)
  • McCoy Tyner (1976)
  • Milt Jackson (1976)
  • Gary Burton (1976)
  • Freddie Hubbard (1976)
  • Buddy Rich (1976)
  • Clark Terry (1976)
  • Howard Roberts (1976)
  • Dizzy Gillespie (1976) [did not happen?]
  • Great Guitars (1976)
  • Rahsaan Roland Kirk (1976)
  • Stan Getz (1976)
  • Monty Alexander (1976)
  • Count Basie and Joe Williams (1976)
  • Charlie Byrd (1976)
  • Stan Kenton (1976)
  • Mongo Santamaria (1976)
  • Phil Woods (1976)
  • Yusef Lateef (1976)
  • Monty Alexander (1976)
  • Stan Kenton (1977)
  • Mongo Santamaria (1977)
  • Freddie Hubbard (1977)
  • George Shearing (1977)
  • Sonny Rollins (1977)
  • Bill Evans (1977)
  • Joe Pass (1977)
  • Eddie Russ (1977)
  • Maynard Ferguson (1977)
  • Mongo Santamaria (1977)
  • Joe Venuti (1977)
  • Sun Ra (1977)
  • Helen Humes and Ray Bryant (1977)
  • Eddie Harris (1977)
  • Tommy Dorsey Orchestra (1977 upstairs)
  • Charlie Byrd (1977)
  • Joe Williams (1977)
  • Phil Woods (1977)
  • Woody Herman (1977)
  • Great Guitars (1977)
  • Yusef Lateef (1977)
  • Monty Alexander and Milt Jackson (1977)
  • Woody Herman (1977)
  • Charlie Byrd (1977)
  • Dexter Gordon (1977)
  • Joe Pass (1977)
  • Matrix (1977)
  • Dizzy Gillespie (1977)
  • Arthur Prysock (1977)
  • Maynard Ferguson (1977)
  • Esther Phillips (1977)
  • Monty Alexander (1977)
  • Sonny Stitt and Eddie Russ (1977)
  • Stanley Turrentine (1977)
  • Charlie Byrd (1977)
  • Charlie Byrd and Billy Butterfield (1977)
  • Earl Hines (1977)
  • Billy Taylor (1977)
  • Kenny Burrell (1977)
  • Woody Herman (1977)
  • Pat Martino (1977)
  • Big Joe Turner (1977)
  • Buddy Rich (1977)
  • Mose Allison (1977)
  • Joe Pass (1977)
  • Joe Williams (1977)
  • Jon Hendricks (1977)
  • Les McCann (1977)
  • Dexter Gordon (1977)
  • Sonny Rollins (1977)
  • George Shearing (1977)
  • Yusef Lateef (1977)
  • Count Basie (1977)
  • Charlie Byrd (1977)
  • Larry Coryell (1977)
  • Great Guitars (1977)
  • Charlie Byrd and Joao Gilberto (1977)
  • Abdullah Ibrahim [canceled?]
  • Monty Alexander (1977)
  • Phil Woods (1978)
  • Al Cohn and Zoot Sims (1978)
  • Stanley Turrentine (1978)
  • Mongo Santamaria (1978)
  • Soprano Summit (1978)
  • Billy Taylor (1978)
  • Ray Baretto (1978)
  • Woody Herman (1978)
  • Les McCann (1978)
  • Charlie Byrd (1978)
  • Woody Shaw (1978)
  • Mose Allison (1978)

Bibliography

Bennett, Bill. “Jazz: Joe Pass Skips Down the Solo Road.” Washington Star, February 24, 1977.
Bennett, Bill. “The ‘Expatriate’ Finally Gets His Due.” Washington Star, June 1, 1977.
Bennett, Bill. “Jamal Still in the Mainstream: Pianist Inspired by a Variety of Styles.” Washington Star, June 9, 1976.
Bennett, Bill. “Jazz: Bill Evans, A Man Absorbed.” Washington Star, February 16, 1977.
Bennett, Bill. “George Shearing, the Velveeta of Jazz.” Washington Star, January 31, 1977.
Bennett, Bill. “The Blues: Helen Humes Still Sings with Conviction.” Washington Star, March 23, 1977.
Bennett, Bill. “Jazz: Herman Vets Still Swinging.” Washington Star, January 11, 1978.
Bennett, Bill. “Jazz: A History Lesson from Soprano Summit.” Washington Star, February 1, 1978.
Bennett, Bill. “Pop: Baretto in a New Latin Format.” Washington Star, February 15, 1978.
Bennett, Bill. “Getz’ Current Quartet Maintains Freshness.” Washington Star, October 13, 1976.
Kernis, Mark. “Dr. Billy Taylor’s Warm Piano.” Washington Post, February 8, 1978.
Kernis, Mark. “Stanley Turrentine.” Washington Post, January 19, 1978.
Kirchner, Bill. “Sims and Cohn: Back to the Mellow Jazz Swing.” Washington Post, January 12, 1978.
Kirchner, Bill. “Caught...: Sonny Rollins.” Down Beat, June 2, 1977.
Kirchner, Bill. “The New Prominence of Woody Shaw.” Washington Post, March 17, 1978.
Kirchner, Bill. “Phil Woods.” Washington Post, January 6, 1978.
Kirchner, Bill. “Hank Crawford.” Washington Post, February 1, 1978.
Kirchner, Bill. “Ray Barretto’s Latin-Jazz-Rock.” Washington Post, February 15, 1978.
Kirchner, Bill. “McCann Quintet.” Washington Post, February 22, 1978.
Kirchner, Bill. “Mongo Santamaria.” Washington Post, January 27, 1978.
Kirchner, Bill. “Charlie Byrd.” Washington Post, March 3, 1978.
Robinson, Marilyn. “Soprano Summit.” Washington Post, February 1, 1978.
Rohter, Larry. “Dexter Gordon’s Dexterity.” Washington Post, June 1, 1977.
Rohter, Larry. “New Ideas from Stan Getz.” Washington Post, October 13, 1976.
Rohter, Larry. “Frenzied Recording of a ‘Live’ Album.” Washington Post, November 23, 1976.
Rohter, Larry. “Jazz Guitarist Pass.” Washington Post, February 25, 1977.
Rohter, Larry. “Gimmicks, Gadgets and Some Jazz.” Washington Post, March 31, 1977.
Weintraub, Boris. “Washington Gig Scene Sizzles.” Billboard, October 22, 1977.
West, Hollie I. “Uplifiting Jazz.” Washington Post, May 27, 1976.
West, Hollie I. “Sonny Rollins: Mixing New Rock and Old Jazz.” Washington Post, February 12, 1977.
West, Hollie I. “The Diz and the Expatriate: Two Jazz Horns of Plenty.” Washington Post, June 18, 1977.
West, Hollie I. “Taylor’s Graceful Pianism.” Washington Post, August 18, 1977.
West, Hollie I. “Sterling Sounds from Kenny Burrell.” Washington Post, August 24, 1977.
West, Hollie I. “Joe Turner, Rolling On and Booming Those Blues.” Washington Post, September 8, 1977.
West, Hollie I. “On the Jazz Scene: A Local Revival.” Washington Post, May 8, 1976.
West, Hollie I. “Inspiration in Melodies of Harmonic Brilliance.” Washington Post, August 26, 1976.
West, Hollie I. “Trumpet and Humor Shine Through.” Washington Post, September 23, 1976.
West, Hollie I. “New Sounds from Lateef’s Quartet.” Washington Post, November 25, 1976.
West, Hollie I. “The George Shearing Sound: Effortless, Melodic - and Diverse.” Washington Post, February 2, 1977.
West, Hollie I. “Bill Evans’ Poetic Piano.” Washington Post, February 17, 1977.
West, Hollie I. “Breezy, Earthy Blues.” Washington Post, April 14, 1977.
West, Hollie I. “Showboat: A Jazz Club Sails Away.” Washington Post, March 28, 1978.
West, Hollie I. “Singing Life Into Old Jazz Tunes.” Washington Post, October 12, 1977.
West, Hollie I. “Just Simply a Trio of ‘Great Guitars.’” Washington Post, December 7, 1977.
West, Hollie I. “Dexter Gordon.” Washington Post, October 26, 1977.
Washington Star. “Showboat Lounge Calls It Quits,” March 25, 1978.

Wiki Tags: 1970s

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. I remember seeing George Shearing at the Villa Rosa Showboat lounge, Silver Spring in the 1970s

    Reply

    • Thanks for writing! Shearing was there twice – January 28 to February 4, 1977 and then for a two-week stretch from November 8 to November 20, 1977. The band for the first one was Ron Combes (vbs), Rob Wizert (g), Chris Amberger (b), Rusty Jones (d), and Danny Carr (v). Don’t know about personnel on the second one.

      Reply

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