'End of an era:' Montclair's iconic jazz venue DLV Lounge closes after 50 years

The DLV Lounge, an iconic jazz venue in Montclair for more than 50 years, closed on Thursday, according to its Facebook page.

Bruce Tyler, a drummer and percussionist who played there Wednesday night, said that owner George Marable didn’t mention that it was the bar’s last gig.

“I knew it was coming but I’m still a little bit in shock,” said Tyler, a Montclair resident who has been playing there for 32 years.

The sale of the bar’s liquor license, to Sayola Restaurant on Valley Road, was effective Nov. 14, according to town officials.

The tiny two-story structure on Bloomfield Avenue in the 4th Ward was opened in 1972 by Marable’s parents, Dutch and Louise, whose initials, along with that of his daughter Valerie, made up the bar’s name.

“The DLV was central to the Black community,” Tyler said. “The amount of talent that walked through those doors is unbelievable.”  He organized the original Montclair Blues and Jazz Festival there in the 1980s and played there with his band Tayata and then Ike Brown's Jazz Prophets for 22 years, which originated at a DLV jam session. Saxophonist Gene Phipps, guitarist Ed Cherry, who played with Dizzy Gillespie, Russell Malone and  Dave Mullen all gigged there, he said.

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Craig Mitchell, a jazz guitarist who played there last Sunday, said that losing the DLV "just hurts."

"It's another place no longer there for us to play. As rents and mortgages go up it's chased a lot of the arts community out of here. It's sad."

Melissa Walker of Jazz House Kids would often come to the DLV with her husband, eight-time Grammy-winning bassist Christian McBride, and her students would perform there. She lamented the loss of yet another town venue for jazz musicians; Trumpets Jazz Club closed last year after 33 years hosting greats of the genre.

"The loss of the DLV Lounge is incalculable for Montclair," she said.

Kristine Massari, former owner of Trumpets, said it's a shame that the DLV Lounge will no longer be part of the town's cultural mosaic. "Musicians need a home, too," she said. "It gives them the opportunity to compose, arrange, collaborate and perform in front of a live audience. The musical community will be so much poorer without the DLV."

Walker said that, beyond creating a home for jazz musicians, Marable and his parents created a home for Black culture.

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"That they owned that location in this town is itself an act of activism," she said. "Whether or not you ever walked through those doors, the DLV impacted the rich tapestry and diversity we all love in Montclair.

"When you walked in, Mr. Marable was sitting on his swivel stool at the top of the bar, waiting to greet everyone from all walks of life. You were in a different time. Its closing represents the turning of a page."

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Montclair's iconic jazz venue DLV Lounge closes after 50 years