Twenty-five years ago, on March 30, 1999, Bob and Lois Masteller opened their club, The Jazz Corner, on Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. They had both enjoyed productive careers, he in human resources, she in property management. Now it was time to indulge their passion for jazz. Bob grew up with music in the house—his dad was a jazz violinist—and became a keeper of the flame by playing horns and vibraphone. Lois was his biggest fan. They both wanted to recreate that sense of camaraderie, joy, and satisfaction that musicians feel among themselves and they wanted to share it with audiences. But first they would have to build it from the ground up. The Jazz Corner seemed to name itself, tucked into the junction of two arms in an up-scale mall that features fountains, outdoor dining and high-end shopping. The pair focused their attention on the interior: Sound, lighting and sight lines were perfected before a performer played a single chord. The room had a small kitchen only suitable for serving light fare but the bar was big enough to handle the full complement of beverages.

On their first step into the unknown of club owning, it was the inestimable pianist, British-born