Hey, on the Towners, I'm Frank Lucari.

From behind# the mic to behind the bar to conducting 101, from the maestro himself, we're turning up the volume# on the vibrant, diverse music scene that gives the Palm Beaches its rhythm.

All while passing the# baton to the next generation of musicians.

So, get ready to feel the rhythm as we go on the# town in the Palm Beaches with me, Frank Lucari.

This program is brought to you by Discover# the Palm Beaches.

Visit the palm beaches.tv for more information.

We're kicking things off# at the Kravis Center for the Performing Arts, where music history isn't just performed,# it's preserved.

We're stepping inside a jazz exhibit that's shining a light on the legends# that shaped America's original art form right here in Palm Beach County.

The title is Jazz and# Unexpected Places.

What does that mean, unexpected places?

We're talking about how jazz shows up in# people's everyday lives, right?

And also the fact that jazz was the music that scored their lives.# People listen to jazz, but not just listen to it.

They went out to the sunset and other places to# dance to it.

I think it was a source of comfort.

It gave them an opportunity to express joy and# also capture their sadness and all of that.

Jazz and blues to me feels like it's so connected to# the soul.

You know, James Brown uh was not from Palm Beach County, but he was here all the time.# All and he was at the sunset all the there is such a rich history of jazz and blues musicians coming# to the area that a lot of these pictures are from the local community.

Yeah.

Because of the history,# we didn't just want um images of jazz musicians.

We wanted to talk to the folks who experienced# the music and who went to the sunset and to other clubs like Club Nasarima, Club Alabama and talk# to them about what was it like, what role did jazz play during the civil rights era and how did it# impact your life.

Some of them are in their 80s, 90s, you know, but they talked about how their# parents used to go to the sunset lounge dressed to the nines and how when you went to the sunset, you# felt really special, you know.

We have about 30 hours of oral history.

We have a lot of beautiful# images from that time.

You see that these musicians are immersed.

It's like transcendent.# They're just really communicating with the music and they're just oblivious to everything else# around them.

So, we really wanted to make it an experience where people could um hear what was# happening and they could see it and they could feel it.

And I love that you've got youth.

We# wanted to get their impressions of what does jazz mean to them because it's very different.

We also# had some of the little ones, elementary school students talk about what color is jazz to you and# they're so poetic.

Some of them it's just like really beautiful.

And so we're in involving folks# um it's a continuum, you know, from the older folks and then folks who are like maybe five, six# years old.

So, it's a beautiful thing.

I love it.

Jazz is not something that's dead.

It's something# that's always growing.

We got all these people in involved because it was key to us that, you know,# we reflected the entire community and we say that this was a labor of love, but beyond that, it is# a love letter to the community.

It's about jazz, the love of jazz, but it's also about this# love for this community.

It's part art gallery, part history lesson.

I I love all of it.

And# it's free.

And it's free.

It's free.

Absolutely.

And just across town, a legend has returned.

We're# checking out the iconic Sunset Lounge.

Deeply rooted in Palm Beach County's musical heritage# in West Palm's historic Northwest District.

The Sunset Lounge hosted so many great acts like Count# Basy, James Brown, Ella Fitzgerald, and so many more.

And now, after a stunning restoration,# it's reclaiming its place as a cultural anchor for this community.

This was the only place in# the area where these acts were coming in and it became this hub not just for the acts but for the# community.

That must feel so great to bring that back to the community.

Yeah, it does because# it it was a part of the chitlin circuit.

The sunset was of course this kind of this cotton# club of the south.

To be a part of history in this space in which all of these great artists# um impactful artists perform is a huge thing.

This project stemmed from community involvement.# We included the community starting with Dr.

W's work.

We interviewed folks, you know, what what# did it feel like?

What would you like to see?

And involving those community folks every# step of the way.

So, it's you see people's handprint all throughout and that is also the# goal.

Yes, it was a performance venue.

Yes, it was a bar.

It was a lounge, but it meant# a lot more than that to this community.

You had this venue in a historically# African-American neighborhood in a segregated neighborhood from the 20s to the 60s.# It was connected to entrepreneurship.

You have Bob Saunders who was the owner and then Dennis and# Thelma Starks who really were very innovative in how they managed it along with other businesses# throughout this neighborhood.

When I walk in here, what are some of the things I'm seeing that may be# from the original?

I saw the the signs up there.

the first floor in the lobby area are the bottles.# The building that that's adjacent to this main building, this is the historic one.

Before they# did the construction in the dirt, we found all of these bottles.

All the ones in the dirt.

Some# of Yeah, that's just a portion of them.

Also, the disco ball upstairs, the records you see on# the wall were records we found near the DJ booth.

When you walk upstairs, you have the mezzanine# with the original stage of how they performed when you're here along with the preserved arched# roof.

It's like you can kind of close your eyes and I'm sure if you play the right the right# record, you can sort of feel like what that might have been felt like back then.

Well, let's# come to today.

What's sort of the programming that we're that we're going to see here?

Music# is the essence of the Sunset Lounge.

You can expect to hear really great music that really# personifies the history of the original place.

This is a long road.

Yes, you probably you# you must still come in here and go, "Oh man, it's finally here."

Thank God.

Cuz that's a lot# of work.

But but we still have a lot of work to do.

We very much want the community to come in# and be able to enjoy this on a regular basis.

It's important to see cultural and neighborhood# representation in this space.

Not many people have the privilege of getting private conducting# lessons from one of the world's most celebrated maestros.

But at the Kravis Center, anything is# possible.

Gerard Schwarz, music director of the Palm Beach Symphony, walks us through the language# of the baton.

How gestures translate into emotion, energy, and precision.

There's a two pattern.# Yes.

Okay.

It's this.

Do you notice my pinky?

So, it's one, two.

How easy is that?

Very.# That's easy.

So, he conducts two.

Yeah.

too slow.

You went faster.

Perfect.

I've had a# number of careers.

My first career was a trumpet player.

Oh.

And I can talk about it now, but I# was really good.

I believe it.

I played in the New York Filmonic.

And did you really?

Yeah.

And# it was it was an exciting time.

The conductors then was Leonard Bernstein, Pete Boules, Eric# Lines, some of the great conductors.

And I'm watching them and loving what they are doing.

And# I thought maybe I had something to offer in that direction too.

So I wasn't leaving what I did# but rather embracing something in addition this part which I'm going to teach you now.

Yes.

Easy.# Really easy.

Right.

The hard part.

Yeah.

You get the scores and you put them on your desk and you# read them like reading a book.

And then the key is your hearing.

What can you hear?

What do you hear?# What concept do you have?

Now, once you have done all of that work, you have to then convey it with# your baton.

Talk to me about the symphony here in Palm Beach County.

Here in Palm Beach, we have# some of the most sophisticated audience members in the world.

They love their home orchestra.# They're real music lovers and there lots of them, thank goodness.

Sure.

And the orchestra is# fantastic.

There's a desire to be great.

designed to play fabulously to play wonderful repertoire# for a wonderful appreciative audience.

Well, what's better than that?

Want to know the next# one?

Please.

Four.

Four.

It's getting complicated.

You want to guess?

I'm going to assume.

Go.

That# it goes up.

Yeah.

Down, in, over, up, down, in, over.

But come in.

So, let's start a little lower# and a little flatter.

Down, in, over, up, down, in.

You got it.

down and over up.

So the symphony,# you're doing a lot of outreach.

Talk to me a little bit about that.

What we do educationally# is extraordinary.

Yes, we go into the schools.

We bring the schools to us.

We we have an# instrument program where we get instruments for them.

We get teachers for them.

We help them# get into colleges.

But what we're trying to do is to give a broad education to the students so# that they're exposed and they, you know, it might be part of their life at some point.

Up and then# down.

So you go.

Ah.

Yes.

Up.

Ready.

Down.

Two.

And the up.

The up is the in the speed.

Yes.

And# one, two, three.

You got it.

All right.

When am I starting?

Cuz I listen.

If you ever having having# a week where you need a break, call me up.

Okay.

Behind the baton of the North Palm Youth Symphony# is the talented Victor Fernandez, a musician and educator who is cultivating the next generation of# artists.

Fernandez is a very inspirational leader with a simple philosophy.

If a child wants to# learn, the door to this symphony is always open.

This is grassroots.

It's in the community and# it's impacting the real world students.

And I am the type of executive director# that's boots on the ground.

I'm not behind the desk.

I'm sitting right# there with playing with them.

Exactly.

How do you start?

Well, to make a very long# story short, I've been playing violin and viola for 37 years.

So, I started when I was# 7 years old and I'm born and raised in Cuba.

Came to the United States when I was 13.

And uh# so I've been in music my entire life, you know, and so now as a as a graduate of Florida State# with four college degrees, two masters and two bachelors.

I've been a music director for over# 20 years and orchestra director specifically.

So, I've been doing this for a long time.

But but this# group in particular, the North Palmu Symphony, we started with 28 kids in 2021.

Today we are at# 130 with six orchestras, all of which I direct.

And they how many?

130 students.

Six orchestras# in this area alone?

130 students.

students that belong to the north symphony across six level# orchestras that start from beginners all the way through the group sitting behind us which is the# most advanced group the youth for harmonic whom with whom I play with them when I teach that is# crazy 13 5 years in a five years amazing thank you I feel very important by the way sitting here# with all you guys um how does one get in here they reach out to me direct contact us via the# website and they say hey I have a six y old, seven-year-old that wants to learn or I# have an 8-year-old that plays already.

So, I immediately jump on a phone call with# that parent and depending on where they are, they prepare an audition, send me a video of# the child playing their very best piece and their very best scale and then from there and# it takes me about two and a half seconds and I know you can tell whether they're need to be# in whether they're hot cross buns or Yes.

Yes.

Well said.

Well said.

You don't have to become# a professional musician because it shapes your life so many different ways.

Yes.

The skills# required to be successful at music essentially prepare you to be successful at any endeavor in# life.

Effort, perseverance, hard work, dedication, grit.

There's so many lifelong skills that are# developed in the process of becoming an artist.

130 students.

Talk to me about the ages.

So,# we have what's essentially a K through2 program across four orchestras, beginners, prelude,# concert, chamber.

We have children that come in at the youngest, six, seven years old and# then we have all the way through high school.

Can I conduct?

Can I You guys took a conducting# class and I feel like I'm pretty good at it.

Since 1997, Aaron Kula's Klesmer Company Jazz Orchestra has been reinventing vintage# music into something completely new.

We're at the Betham Congregation# in Boca Raton where Aaron and some members of the orchestra are bringing# a different kind of prayer to life.

Now, would it would it shock you if I told you# that I knew how to play the accordion?

Would you would you be shocked?

Yes.

Because it's a very# unique instrument that most people don't play.

First, I'm going to say the accordion now is a# very sexy instrument.

I never gave up on it.

I started 10 years old.

I know it wasn't very cool# and popular then, but I kept with it.

It's me.

I put that I put accordion on.

I'm like the# Elvis Presley of accordion.

That's right.

A little bit of Romanian, Turkish,# Romanian, Hungarian, Czechoslovakian, Turkish.

And by the way, klesmer comes# from two Hebrew words.

Tools of melody.

Oh, is that what it is?

That's tools of melody.

The# clay and zmer.

So, it means instrumental music, but it's from everywhere around Europe, Eastern# Europe, and even the Mediterranean.

because the Jews were developing their whole history and# culture in the diaspora.

So it's wherever they lived, the music sounded like that country.

So# I'd say clever music is kind of the ultimate international folk music, right?

You are# now traveling all over the world performing all the time.

You're like the Lady Gaga of# Klesma music.

Uh that's that's incredible.

My group is called Klesmer Company Jazz Orchestra.# My goal was to not only replicate what Klesmer music was historically, but kind of go beyond# that and create something new, a fusion style that incorporates all kinds of genres, whether# it's blues or jazz or Mediterranean, and let have it a combination of written music and improvised# music.

So you're taking, let's say, a traditional Klesmer song and you're throwing a a samba beat or# a samba, a mambbo.

Wow.

A blues, a swing.

And so I'm kind of fusing with something that will relate# to our generation.

Now we have to understand that clever music was not the same 100 years ago,# 50 years ago.

Now the music was created for one purpose, to make people happy.

It was always# music to entertain for weddings, bar mitzvah, any kind of celebratory events in the synagogue.

So,# it's really dance music.

Really dance music.

Yeah.

Some venues don't simply showcase music,# they shape it.

The Bamboo Room in Lakew Worth Beach is one of them.

And at its heart# is a woman whose vision keeps the blues alive.

I personally think uh South Florida has the# best musicians.

I mean, we have so many great local bands.

It's just amazing.

JP Shores, we# have Matt Scoffield up there.

Matt plays here almost every week.

Oh, that's awesome.

A lot of# the local bands.

Spider Cherry, that's uh Cedric, one of my favorite people.

If the walls could# talk, right?

Yeah.

We have just a, you know, huge variety of guests, a huge variety of music.

We# do a lot of blues, a lot of classic rock, so many like fantastic shows.

And we also have Rudy's Pub# downstairs.

So, a lot of the musicians from there, cuz I've had that for 14 years, have carried over# into the bamboo room.

And we have the outside, the patio.

And so, it's just a like tremendous# variety of music.

You name it, we do it.

It's interesting because the Bamboo Room's always been# that sort of like a home for musicians.

Yes.

Yes.

And they support each other and that's happened# from day one.

So, it's been 14 years already and it's just amazing.

It's like a big family# of really great people supporting each other.

Through every iteration of New Owner, the# venue itself has kept the heartbeat.

It really has.

Originally, Rudy's started on J# Street, but on the other side of Lake Avenue, and it was a tiny I mean, if it was 500# square ft, that would be a lot.

Yeah.

And that's where it all began.

I was there,# I think, for six or seven years.

And then this was open.

Four or five guys actually# partnered and opened it.

They, you know, just wanted to move on and do something different.# I just figured I'm here already.

What What's another lose?

What's another couple thousand# square feet?

Yeah.

Yeah, it'll be fun.

Sure.

How many times a week are you running shows?

Uh,# a lot.

Between the two venues and the outside, it's pretty consistent.

And I love the vibe,# too, cuz you get the bar set right in the right in the venue.

You serve food.

Yeah, we# do.

Relax and have a something nice to eat, watch a great show, and call it a night.

And# then you spill out into Lake Worth Beach, and who knows what happens then, right?# Really the crowd that comes here, everybody is so nice and supportive and kind.# I mean, we're really lucky.

We have a great family within the guest and then another family# with the musicians.

Sure.

No grouchy people.

Next, we're stepping off the clock to# a listening bar where times slow down, music takes center stage, and# the vinyl invites you to unwind.

I started dancing when I came through the door,# which I don't know if that's what you want.

Two steps one time, but that's okay.

Yeah,# it's a sense of nostalgia.

When you walk in, I want to take you back to the simpler times.# Um, I grew up in music.

Um, I love fashion.

I love a great cocktail.

So, that was our formula in# developing off the clock.

When you're clocked out, you're off the clock.

This is a place where you# just leave all that out.

Leave all that out the door.

Yeah.

It's like home away from home.

It# was our way of just making sure that we stayed authentic to ourselves.

We love hosting# at home and having that ambiance and so then we just kind of made it a bigger home to# invite more people to experience what we love.

You guys are hospitality.

My husband and I met# at the Breakers and we learned truly what kind of that hospitality experience is.

Music has been# always in both of ours our love.

We've always been old souls.

So a lot of it is very funk disco# neo soul like a lot of what stuff that we love to enjoy.

Well, you don't have to say a shrug on the# shoulders.

Some that's some of the best music.

I'm with you.

I knew every lyric coming in.

So you# don't bringing in that old feel of the records.

Yeah.

Not only is the music playing, but this dude# is behind the giving me the cocktail.

You know, he's doing the shaking with the music.

Well, you# have good observation, let me tell you.

That's amazing.

with our cocktails.

Everything with the# cocktails is also intentional.

It also compliments our many.

Chef Reggie, Regginal Burgess, big ups# to Chef Reggie.

He's been putting a lot of work in our dishes, our craft.

Our cuisine is French# Caribbean.

I wanted to take a little bit from the Caribbean, from each island within the Caribbean# with a with the French technique.

I actually went to high school with him.

It's so crazy.

Oh, wow.# And we've we've grown together.

His love for food is like a passion.

Yeah, we wanted to be a safe# space.

We wanted to come and enjoy and be able to study or have a cocktail, meet new people.# Like we've had so many people have introduced each other that I've never met before and was# just vibing and have a good time.

And I loved seeing it cuz it's like exactly what we planned# on having is that space to meet new people and create a community in that process.

At the end of# the day, I always like that we cannot compromise the vision.

luxury, class, and a little bit of# whatever you want.

Some icons reinvent themselves.

Vanilla Ice is doing just that in Lakew Worth# Beach, transforming a landmark building into a brand new brewery.

I have known Rob Van Winkle for# many years.

You know him as Vanilla Ice.

And if his career is any indication, this place is going# to be a hit.

You've been around.

You're an icon in so many ways.

You're all over the place.

You# should relax, right?

you could relax and just go, you know what?

That's it for me.

I've done it# all.

Now, you're opening up businesses.

I kind of follow my dreams, you know?

I never give up# on them.

And uh even though they marinate for many years, I'll kind of like, oh yeah, there's a# dream.

I'm going to pull it out, you know, and I'm going to build a brewery.

Here's the brewery.

Now,# you getting to see this.

This is all going to be onyx backlit, uplit, and really state-of-the-art.# Uh we got etched records like back in the '9s.

All up in the ceiling in the And this is all gold.# It's got you written all over it.

Yeah, man.

And then you can see the bar behind you.

We're# designing it already.

You're going to have your seven vats there.

We're in a Masonic temple from# 1920s and um we're sticking with that.

So, we're going to actually showcase the 20s in here to# almost be a history lesson when you come in, you know, and it's it's fun to vision it and then make# it happen.

We're right here at 1000 Lake A. Man, you can't get any better than this.

And we have# four floors here.

So, it's not just a brewery.

On the second floor, it's actually gonna be a pop# culture museum.

This is the original walls.

Whoa.

This is the museum.

Oh my.

Look at the size of# this.

Yeah, it's awesome.

This is crazy.

You're going to walk in here.

This is going to be the# uh you know the round doors from um uh Star Trek, of course.

And they go, "Yes, they'll be like the# Ninja Turtle room."

Yeah.

Maybe the room of movies and boxing, all pop culture that would have really# made us who we are.

I have a chef coming in from New Orleans.

You know, I'm very competitive, but# I don't know how to cook.

Yeah.

The only thing you don't know how to do, by the way.

So, I got me a# chef and I got a brewer guy.

So, I'm talking the best of the best.

You know, every square inch is# going to have a detail of something to go, "Wow, wow, wow."

Well, that's kind of always been your# thing, though, right?

Like, you've always been about the experience, the communal gathering,# and that's what I think this place will ooze, you know?

We're going up on the rooftop bar.# That's City Hall if you look out the window.

And then check this out.

This is pretty cool, man.# This is my favorite part.

You know, we're having fun with this, brother.

It's going to It's going# to be a nucleus if we go if we do it right for the whole area.

Next, we're stepping into 561 Studios# where the soundtrack comes to life.

From recording and production to nurturing musicians of all ages,# this is one place where artists find their voice.

Sounds good.

It's a part school, part recording# studio, rehearsal.

It's just sort of become a community hub for musicians in the area, right?# That's what you're going for.

Yeah.

Yeah.

The way that we run our school is very freedom based,# you know.

So when we get a band together of kids, we say, "What's your goals?"

The kids come in,# they do their one-on-one lessons, they learn whatever instrument they want to learn or multiple# instruments, etc.

And then he starts matching them up with other kids that have similar music# interests.

Do you want to perform more?

Do you want to write more?

Do you want to record more?# What do you want to learn?

And then they as a as a group decide that.

And so we're already trying to# to form that sense of community.

And then as they grow older that'll they'll become the new, you# know, local music scene.

And that's really what I'm I'm pushing for.

You know what you guys smell# of?

I wish somebody had taught me this when I was younger, right?

Like%, you know, we didn't get any# of that.

No.

If there was a place like this when I was younger, I'd be a totally different person,# right?

We were live music community for what, 10 years, something like that.

Yeah.

And then uh when# we came here, you know, we're all trying to do the same thing.

We were doing the five school music# podcast out of the studio and once a year we were doing the 56 school music festival and I had the# school in the studio and we just kind of started thinking like why don't we just band together.

Pun# intended.

It's a very natural thing.

You just kind of look around and be like why haven't we already# thought of Yeah.

Why haven't we moved in together?

We each so long.

It's time to stop.

Yeah.

Let's# stop let's stop fooling around here.

What else is going on in here?

What don't What aren't you doing# here?

What aren't we doing?

Yeah.

We came up with the give and let give what?

four years ago about# that.

Basically what happened was people were just kind of donating gear every now and then and I# was just like I'll find a home for it.

Sure.

So much stuff that we ended up getting a warehouse# started filling the warehouse cuz we had no room in the studio.

I was like well let's just do an# event where kids show up, they pick something up, then they just walk out.

Students that needed,# you know, needed certain gear and didn't have the means to get it.

And so the way we run it is# as a kid you can come in, take what you need.

As an adult, um your price of admission is you# have to bring a donation.

It's more a gear a gear giveaway than it is anything else, but it is# a gear swap.

The best part is just watching these kids walk out of here with like entire drum sets,# keyboards.

What a wonderful community environment that is.

Yep.

How many local bands now that are# really good, really good bands?

Um and and they they came here at some point, you know.

From an# immersive jazz exhibit to a hip new listening bar, every corner of the Palm Beaches comes alive with# a different beat.

Follow the music and you'll find the soundtrack that moves you.

We hope you'll get# out and enjoy all the rhythm the Palm Beaches has to offer.

Join me the next time as we go on the# town in the Palm Beaches with me, Frank Lucari.

Listen, I I can act like I could# do anything.

I can't do anything, but I can act like it.

You know, when you hear# a violin, there's only 12 notes, right?

But when they're played wrong, Whoa.

Right.

Right.# Right.

I actually got it right that last time.

This program was brought to you by Discover the Palm Beaches.

Visit the palm# beaches.tv for more information.