Q&A with a member of the Gin and Jazz trio

This Q-and-A has been edited for length, clarity and grammar. 

It’s a typical Wednesday night in Halifax. Where Portland Place meets Gottingen Street, lively jazz music pours out onto the silence of the surrounding streets. 

Inside, the lighting is soft and ambient. It’s like every piece of decor was placed with intention, clearly by someone who loves music. Dainty fairy lights and eccentric decor — from bicycles to keyboards — ornament the walls. 

Swarms of university students fill the room, and chatter is drowned out by what brings the Local to life: the jazz trio. 

Drummer Damien Moynihan, bassist Ronald Hynes and pianist Silvio Pupo make up the sound that is so beloved by university students. Moynihan sat down with the Dalhousie Gazette to discuss the sensation that is Gin and Jazz. 

Q: Did you expect Gin and Jazz to become the phenomenon it is?

A: I never imagined it would be this popular. Jazz Night started at the Economy Shoe Shop on Argyle Street. Victor Syperek owns the Local, and he owned the Economy Shoe Shop in the ‘90s. He’s had a jazz night there since it opened … [Our band] has been doing Jazz Night since 2009. 

The idea was to have a drink special, so they came up with the idea of having gin, and Gin and Jazz really took off. We got really popular after the pandemic …  I have a theory that people really want to connect — to be around other people. It gives me a lot of hope for live music. 

How do you think Gin and Jazz is revitalizing the jazz scene in Halifax?

I grew up in Halifax. I have a degree in percussion performance from Dalhousie University. I’ve been observing the jazz scene, and right now I wouldn’t even say it’s a resurgence. I’d say it’s something new. 

Gin and Jazz is a hub for the [jazz] scene right now, which makes me very proud. 

Why does Gin and Jazz attract so many students? 

The bar itself is a cool venue. Syperek deserves a lot of credit for it. There are spaces for people to disappear into. They’ve made sure it’s affordable. It’s a really diverse crowd and everyone’s welcome.

The music we’re playing is inviting. We try not to get too esoteric with what we’re doing. Our pianist, Silvio Pupo, is from Cuba. He is energetic, and his joy is infectious. It’s never a chore when we’re playing. The playfulness of the music is what jazz is supposed to be.

How did you get involved in jazz?

I studied classical music at Dal. I was in DalJazz Ensemble. The drummer from the DalJazz Ensemble graduated, and I was in my second year when they were looking for a drummer. I was a drummer, but I didn’t know a lot about playing jazz. The teacher, Don Palmer, was the jazz director, and he was a legend. He taught me a lot about jazz.

When I graduated, I became a freelance musician. I booked gigs and practiced. I am still practicing all the time, still learning. 

How much of your set is improvised?

A lot. We’ll just name the tune, and then decide how we’re going to do it on the spot. That’s why it’s so much fun.

The bar allows us to do whatever we want. We can play however loudly or softly. Other places might say you’re playing too loudly, that people can’t talk. That’s the difference. 

Why do you end your sets with “Come Together” by the Beatles?

It’s loud, and at the end of the night it’s harder to play quietly. That’s how the sets go on earlier, but later it’s more intense because the crowd is louder.

It’s a little bit more rocking. 

What advice would you give to aspiring freelance musicians? 

Show up, go to jams, go to gigs. Life starts with showing up. You’ve got to be seen.

What artists inspire you the most? What are you listening to right now? 

The ones that are uncompromising are the ones that inspire me. I listen to a lot of classical music. I really like Chopin. I’ve been listening to a lot of electronic music right now. It’s fun. 

What do you know about the history of jazz music in Halifax?

I’ve been playing every week for almost 20 years now. I’ve observed it through thick and thin. More establishments are seeing jazz as a viable thing that they want to have, not just as background music but as what’s going to bring people in.

Bucky Adams was a major pioneer for jazz in Nova Scotia. I never got to play with Bucky, but he was the big name for forever.

Gottingen Street in the 1960s used to be called the Golden Mile. Is Gin and Jazz playing a role in restoring what Gottingen used to be?

For sure, as far as representing culture and the cultural economy. I think it’s a resurrection of the spirit of it. The way the music comes out of the club and washes down the street. I’ve been told that when you come down from the commons, as you get closer, you can hear the music coming down the street. It shows that the street’s alive. Culture lives on. 

Syperek’s club is holding on. I mean, it’s a phenomenon. 

I’ve never advertised. I’ve never put up a poster in my life. It’s all been word of mouth. I think that’s the best kind of advertising. 

It warms my heart to think that that’s really what’s going on, the spirit of Bucky Adams and the Gottingen of the ’60s, before gentrification.