Mezzrow, the New York jazz club and lounge that opened on Sept. 3, is all about the power of two. The cozy West Village venue was founded by Mitch Borden and pianist Spike Wilner, the two men at the helm of Smalls Jazz Club. The spot will host many piano-and-bass duos (plus solo piano, solo guitar, guitar duos and other intimate configurations). And with its opening, Mezzrow enters into its own duet with the city of New York, a town with a grip of jazz venues but none like Borden and Wilner’s new space. Mezzrow is a room with a place.
In comparison with the 20-year-old Smalls, Mezzrow will have a mellow vibe. As Wilner points out in a recent e-mail newsletter, for instance, Mezzrow is not a till-the-break-of-dawn experience. Where some Saturday-night Smalls sets begin at 1:30 a.m., Mezzrow’s final performance on Fridays and Saturdays will conclude at that time.
