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Tonic, a hub and hangout for avant-garde musicians in downtown New York, recently closed. Indeed, it was another sad event in this city that is ever changing, almost always squeezing out live culture. A victim of rising rent, the club closed after nine highly creative years, and another music venue bites the dust.

Nate Chinen reported on the event in the NY Times recently, and at the end of the article, we read about one particular activist in the jazz world who made the closing memorable:

The indignation surrounding the club's closure was best illustrated by the demonstration held on Saturday at Tonic by an activist group called Take It to the Bridge, led in part by guitarist, Marc Ribot. Lasting from 11 a.m. till shortly before 5 p.m., it culminated in two brief arrests.

In an interview that morning Mr. Ribot said the purpose of the demonstration was not to save Tonic, but to expose the need for city financing for experimental music. "New music serves as research and development for a much larger music scene," he said. "It has a cultural and economic weight beyond its immediate audience." Moments later Mr. Ribot was playing a solo acoustic rendition of "Cold, Cold Heart," as a worker on a ladder beside him wrestled with one of the club's hanging speakers.

By 4:30 most of the club's equipment had been carted out, and the room was empty of patrons. A smattering of police officers stood watch as Mr. Ribot played "The Nearness of You" (a wry dedication to the officers, perhaps).

Then there was an announcement that any lingerers would be guilty of trespassing. "I wouldn't say that we want to get arrested, but we will not leave," Mr. Ribot replied. Along with Rebecca Moore, another Take It to The Bridge organizer, he was handcuffed and led outside to a squad car. Across the street a gathering of supporters let out a cheer.

We're hoping that this unfortunate closing of Tonic might lead to legislation from City Hall that would help subsidize the shrinking live music industry here in NYC - still the global epicenter for jazz in the world.

Like Global Warming, it's not too late to stem the tide and to save this remarkable American art form!

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