In the Groove – The Search for Jazz in Gwangju

By Maeve Storey
Photos by Christian Oey

“Oh look, we live in the jazz and seafood district,” I exclaimed to my boyfriend on our fourth day in Gwangju. We had decided to take a stroll around the area near our new apartment. Traversing wide roads where cabs and cars weaved in and out of traffic and hurting our necks from craning up at sky grazing high rises, we reached an area where an explosion of neon signs burnt the letters “J-A-Z-Z” onto our retinas and outside each restaurant a veritable aquarium of sea life was on offer.

I could get used to this, I thought, picturing myself in a spot-lit bar, the fingers on my right hand clicking along to the sounds of Davis, Coltrane and Pepper; the fingers on my left hand curled tightly and greedily around a greasy pink lobster.

I would soon discover, however, that while lobster (and crab, shrimp, prawn, octopus, squid and virtually any other creature that ever made an appearance in The Little Mermaid) is as widely available as a glass of water, jazz is a little harder to find in Gwangju. The so-called jazz bars in my area have a great deal less to do with jazz than they do with expensive drinks and attractive hostesses. Most play nondescript guitar or piano music from crackling stereos. Not a single saxophone solo in earshot. Instead, the click and clacking of high heel shoes echo across the bar.

Being a relatively small city, I thought perhaps there was just no market for jazz in Gwangju. However, when I continued my search for a jazz bar in the sprawling metropolis of Seoul, I still came up empty handed. On the advice of multiple sources, including one of the most reputable international travel guides in the world, I headed to a club in Hongdae where I was promised there would be live jazz. Elbowing my way through the drunken throngs of mini-skirts and skinny ties in Hongdae’s busiest bar and club area, I made my way up the steep steps of what I thought was a jazz club. As I opened the door, I heard the first few notes of Nelly Furtado’s Man Eater. My finger clicking plans, foiled again. A similar experience befell me in Busan where my friends and I went to a “piano bar”. Here a piano sat in the middle of the room. Music played from somewhere, but the keys of the ghostly grand piano remained untouched.

With all this in mind, when I was invited to spend the evening at Gwangju’s In the Groove jazz bar, I was feeling fairly skeptical. Tucked away in a basement on a Downtown side street, from the outside In the Groove doesn’t look like much. Inside, however exposed concrete walls, dim lighting and ruby red sofas give the bar the feel of a rough gem, a relaxed hideaway where one can sit for the evening without feeling the need to fist pump to the latest K-pop tune.

On all four walls, warm yellow lamps add a glow to faded black-and-white photographs of jazz musicians mid-solo, Marilyn Monroe and even The Beatles. Behind the bar an assortment of kitsch memorabilia – a gold statue of the Eiffel Tower, some old fashioned wooden children’s toys –  sit side by side with an extensive CD collection that any aspiring music aficionado would be proud of. The vibe in the bar is decidedly vintage.

In this intimate venue, a jazz quartet called Polaroid begin to play just a few meters away from where I sit at the bar. I sip a brightly colored cocktail from a tall glass, amazed that after four months of searching I am finally listening to live jazz. The crowd, all Koreans in their mid-20s and 30s, clap, cheer and bop along to the music. The quartet, featuring a bassist, drummer, saxophonist and pianist cruise easily through a number of jazz standards before taking a break to wet their whistles with a drink or two. When the band returns to the stage, (a small inlet framed by gold drapes and distinguished from the rest of the bar by a patterned rug on which the band and their instruments stand) the saxophonist announces that they will now perform “Someday my Prince Will Come”. Automatically, my fingers click along to the smooth drum beat.

The cocktail menu at In the Groove is extensive but the prices are equally large at 10,000 won a go. Beer is also pricier than in most bars in Gwangju – ranging from 6000 won for a Cass to 12,000 won for a Guinness. High quality whiskies and vodkas are available by the bottle or by the glass. And, as in most bars in Korea, a range of side-dishes can be ordered including, cheese, fruit, fish and dried beef.

When it’s time to go, I walk back up the stairs to the street. Immediately, the bright lights of Downtown assault my senses after the soothing lemon tones of the bar below. As I walk past the various nightclubs that my friends and I frequent at the weekend, I hear the familiar beats of the K-pop chart-toppers. Moving my way through the crowds of people outside one particular nightspot, my ears prick up as the vocal stylings of Nelly Furtado wash over me. Perhaps that’s supposed to be a jazz bar too, I think to myself before bustling into a taxi.