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The Cafe Society

In the 1940s, there was one integrated jazz club in New York City where all the greats played: Café Society in the West Village.

Today, The Café Society is a jazz quintet led by tenor saxophonist Justin Flynn (Nancy Wilson, Randy Brecker) and vocalist Emily Wade Adams. Their NYC-based ensemble collaborates with the city's finest jazz musicians to deliver swinging standards with sophistication and soul.

Collaborators include:

Piano: Rick Germanson (Cannonball Legacy Band, Elvin Jones, Pat Martino), Jeremy Manasia (Jimmy Cobb, Louis Hayes), Steve Einerson (Slide Hampton, Brian Lynch)
Bass: Jim Greene (Art Farmer, John Hicks), Paul Gill (Diana Krall, Dee Dee Bridgewater)
Drums: Joe Strasser (George Coleman, Harold Mabern, Jane Monheit), Aaron Thurston (Kat Edmonson, U.S. State Dept. Jazz Ambassador)
Guitar: Matt Chertkoff (Jimmy Cobb, Freddy Cole), John Merrill (Junior Mance, Professor Cunningham)

The Café Society has performed at some of the East Coast’s most prestigious music venues and toured their acclaimed Nancy Wilson & Cannonball Adderley tribute across the Northeast. They played the premiere party for Broadway’s "Good Night Oscar" starring Tony-winner Sean Hayes, and their debut recordings, "Autumn Serenade" and "All The Things You Are," were each selected as an All About Jazz "Song of the Day."

Their latest album showcases their scholarly approach: captured in single live takes, featuring musicians with deep lineage, and mixed/mastered by 4x Grammy winner Dave Darlington (Wayne Shorter, Samara Joy, Herbie Hancock).

The Café Society Releases 'Blame It On My Youth' on May 1, 2026

Source: Emily Wade Adams
May 1, 2026

Seventy years ago this May, Frank Sinatra recorded Nelson Riddle's arrangement of "Blame It On My Youth" with the Hollywood String Quartet. In 2023, Sean Hayes won a Tony Award portraying the song's composer, Oscar Levant, in Broadway's Good Night Oscar. In a moment that could later be categorized as foreshadowing, The Cafe Society played that production's opening night party. Now, this Friday May 1, 2026, The Café Society releases their own arrangement of "Blame It On My Youth." Written ...
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Performance / Tour

Jazz this week: The Motet, St. Louis Art Fair, Wendy Gordon's "Cafe Society" and more

Source: St. Louis Jazz Notes by Dean Minderman
September 10, 2016

As yr. StLJN editor is still recovering from a hand injury, this post is both a bit late and necessarily on the terse side. The good news is that, barring any unforeseen complications, I should be sufficiently recovered that things will be back to more-or-less normal around here in a week or two. For now, better late than never, let's go to this week's live jazz and creative music highlights in and around St. Louis... Friday, September 9 The St. ...
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Book / Magazine

A Discussion and Reading by Author Karen Chilton of Her New Book: Hazel Scott: The Pioneering Journey of a Jazz Pianist, from Cafe Society to Hollywood to HUAC

Source: Michael Ricci
January 20, 2010

In this fascinating biography, Karen Chilton traces the brilliant arc of the gifted and audacious pianist Hazel Scott, from international stardom to ultimate obscurity. A child prodigy, born in Trinidad and raised in Harlem in the 1920s, Scott's musical talent was cultivated by her musician mother, Alma Long Scott as well as several great jazz luminaries of the period, namely, Art Tatum, Fats Waller, Billie Holiday and Lester Young. Career success was swift for the young pianistshe auditioned at the ...
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186

Book / Magazine

Cafe Society: The Wrong Place for the Right People

Source: Night Lights Classic Jazz
March 2, 2009

At the end of 1938 a former shoe salesman named Barney Josephson opened what would become one of the most legendary nightspots in jazz history. Cafe Society was New York City's first integrated nightclub, and it quickly became a gathering place for artists, intellectuals, leftwing political figures, jazz lovers, and--perhaps inevitably--the very Manhattan sophisticates it meant to mock with its satirical murals and ill-dressed doormen. It was also the place where Billie Holiday debuted her version of the harrowing anti-lynching ...
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"[All The Things You Are] is a truly high-level jazz production with outstanding musicianship across the board. The 3/4 reimagining is handled with great taste, and the dialogue between voice and tenor saxophone is especially refined — musical, responsive, and full of nuance. The vocal performance shows excellent control, phrasing, and stylistic confidence, and the instrumental support is equally strong, delivering depth, swing, and harmonic sophistication. The overall production and mix are pristine and clearly reflect a very high professional standard.

"Artistically, this is a beautiful and accomplished jazz interpretation that would shine in focused listening environments, concert settings, or jazz-centric playlists where the performance itself is meant to be front and center … we genuinely appreciate the level of craft, musical dialogue, and production excellence behind this release."