Cleveland, Ohio. Having lived here for my entire life, the word "city" does not quite describe what Cleveland truly is. There is of course a downtown urban area, one filled with noteworthy neoclassic architecture and an overall stately appearance that is often overlooked by those who live here. That said, most "Clevelanders" don't actually live within the downtown city limits. In the 1950's Cleveland was heralded as an "All-American City" and its population grew to one of the largest in the US, but an economic downtown in the 1960s led to the moniker "mistake by the lake," which was first coined in 1964 and gained traction in the 1970s as the city's economic fortunes continued to decline. As a result, much of the city's population fled to the suburbs where they have remained since. Over the past 15 years the city has executed several planned strategic initiatives opening a number of new apartment complexes and eateries downtown. Those, combined with an effective marketing strategy aimed at luring millennials with professional pedigrees, have proven to be successful, putting downtown Cleveland back on the map as a desirable living destination in recent years. That said, the population at an estimated 390,000 within the city is relatively small by US standards, ranking only 53rd. This number does not tell the true story of Cleveland, however. The Combined Statistical Area (CSA) of Cleveland, Akron, and Canton holds an estimated 3.5 million people which ranks the region 18th in U.S. It is within this region that tells the true story about the culture of the city and its historic and ever-evolving contributions to music and the great art form that is jazz.

Musically-speaking, the region is often synonymous with The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, disc jockey Alan Freed, and the world-renowned Cleveland Orchestra, but it has close ties to the evolution of jazz dating back to the 1920s. Beginning in the Jazz Age, Cleveland rivaled bustling Chicago with literally hundreds of clubs and eateries which featured the new music. Like many other cities at the time, Chinese restaurants were among the first to feature jazz with the Golden Pheasant, Bamboo Gardens, and Cedar Gardens (affectionately regarded as Cleveland's Cotton Club) restaurants presenting the music in the 1920's. From there until the 1960's, clubs like the Theatrical Grill, Lindsay's Sky Bar (which was the first to bring national jazz acts to the city), Gleason's, Alpine Village, the Loop Lounge, the Modern Jazz Room, the Jazz Temple, and many others presented the finest names in jazz from downtown all the way to the University Circle area located on the city's East Side. Sadly, these establishments began to dwindle as the public's musical tastes shifted and economic fortunes declined in the 1960's. Some speculate that violence that erupted at the Jazz Temple may have been the beginning of the end of jazz's heyday in the city.

Saxophonists