Metropolitan School District of what specifically we are talking about now because if we do not acknowledge the spiritual and cultural aspects of jazz music, we do the art form a disservice as well as we do those students a disservice who think that when they come out of college that they are jazz musicians because they have a certificate. That’s like riding a bus for 20 years and all of a sudden calling yourself a bus driver. Come on. You’ve got to get behind the wheel. You’ve got to drive at night in the rain through ‘bad’ neighborhoods if you’re going to be a bus driver.”

As the only African American music venue owner, Taylor is sometimes pressured to open his venue to all African American performance genres including rap and hip hop. But Taylor remains resolved to preserve Café CODA as an authentic jazz venue.

“What I find is that I get a little blow back from younger cats who want to take issue with me because of what I will not program here or I am hesitant to program, which is hip hop,” Taylor said. “There are no Black venues doing hip hop. Because I am a Black man, because I have the auspicious identity of being the only Brother with a liquor license in the county, the idea is that I should then cater to everything that is Black in terms of entertainment. And I feel that my responsibility is to first and foremost enhance what this is supposed to be about and give that credibility that maybe it doesn’t have because of our lack of contact with it i.e. if there was more jazz in the community, there would be more people to appreciate it. And we need a venue that does that consistently. But we also need venues that cater to contemporary efforts of our young Black artists. It might not be what we call jazz. It’s not that we aren’t willing to accommodate, but there is so much jazz that has not been delivered or presented. If we are committed to that, there actually is no time in our schedule. And I get blow back about that from young cats who are producing these events. I think that should be addressed by someone in the community. What requires a lot of time is getting my people to appreciate what it is that we are trying to do without making them feel disloyal because I’m not doing other things. That’s something that I have grappled with for a while, not just with being a club owner, but being an artist. That’s why it is so important to have a club because you have to expand people’s appreciation of this aesthetic venue.”

And it is his commitment to jazz as an art form that has allowed Café CODA to hang in there as an authentic jazz venue.

“Reaching an audience is one thing,” Taylor said. “But reaching the community of artists is another. And the one thing that we have prided ourselves on is when someone comes through that door as a patron, they leave as a friend. The artists who come here feel the same way. They are treated like they should be treated, as a musician. I’ve been to a lot of places throughout the world where I have been treated well and I have been mistreated terribly. There are places where I almost had to fight after three hours of playing just to get my money or at least wait two hours to get my money after the bartender and everyone else had gotten paid. The band had to wait. I had that happen so many times that as a rule, I make a real effort to pay the musicians when they walk in the door because I know that in the better clubs of Chicago, New York and Paris, that is how they are treated. So I want them to feel as good about playing here as they do in those places and maybe better because they can reflect the fact that as a sole owner, I’m putting out an effort to really do this for them. I’m showing them how much I appreciate them. And in turn, they go on the bandstand and play like it’s their last date. And the people love it because that is how you make a reputation in a musical establishment with the patrons and the musicians.”

People have not always been appreciative as an art form. Taylor received blow back for wanting to pursue a career as a jazz musician. In the view of others advising him, almost anything else would be better.

“Most of the world thinks that Black people after everything we have been through in this society should either be docile or dead,” Taylor observed. “And when we show up — if genius is what we do and knowing how to take care of ourselves physically and mentally and spiritually — to some it is a great surprise. When you are told that you aren’t ever going to be anything and what you are doing is nothing, it’s just some ‘N-word’ music and all this is, is entertainment, it’s a struggle. I’ll give you $20 for 15 minutes and that is all you are going to get. You are never going to make any money doing this.