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Worth the wait: Downtown bus shelter doubles as tiny jazz club | TribLIVE






Worth the wait: Downtown bus shelter doubles as tiny jazz club | TribLIVE


 

Worth the wait: Downtown bus shelter doubles as tiny jazz club

Strains of a saxophone drifted along Liberty Avenue, followed by a sultry female vocalist scatting over the swing of a big band. 

“This is really nice,” said Debbie DeVaughn, leaning against the wall of the bus stop Friday afternoon. “I like it.” 

Welcome to Pittsburgh's Smallest Jazz Club, a slick bus shelter at Ninth and Liberty featuring piped-in jazz from overhead speakers and photos of players along its interior. The project is the brainchild of MCG Jazz, a promotional program of Manchester Craftsmen's Guild, and supported by a $1,000 grant from Awesome Pittsburgh. 

DeVaughn, 60, of Wilkinsburg, who shopped at Pittsburgh Popcorn, waited for a bus to head up Liberty. Although she didn't have a schedule, and the stop lacked a bench, DeVaughn didn't mind the wait. 

The typical symphony of this Downtown street — truck engines, honked horns and chattering passersby — had newfound style. 

“It takes you away from, ‘Where's the bus?'” DeVaughn said. “You're looking around, bobbing your head. I don't even mind standing up.” 

MCG Jazz marketing manager Amy Kline said the project is designed to promote the program and the city's scene. The organization has a Facebook page. 

“The intent is to promote jazz music as Pittsburgh's greatest arts export, and to remind people that jazz music — and art — is fun, familiar and everywhere,” she said. 

Dean Emily Keebler of Awesome Pittsburgh said the foundation chose to support the project to “strengthen the longtime Pittsburgh jazz community and contribute to the overall cultural and artistic diversity of the region.” 

Along Liberty Avenue, the sound floats just outside the three-sided terminal, catching the ears of non-riders. 

Craig Fox, 39, of Mt. Lebanon wasn't waiting for a bus but heard the music as he stopped to check his phone nearby. The idea, he said, could be replicated elsewhere. 

“You could do it with all kinds of music,” he said. 

Melissa Daniels is a Trib Total Media staff writer. Reach her at 412-380-8511 or mdaniels@tribweb.com.

 
 

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