Hundreds of musicians — from jazz greats to students of jazz — have played at the Estate on the east side of Milwaukee.
In its nearly 50-year existence, it has switched hands and has closed and reopened several times. But current owner John Dye announced in May that he was going to shutter the venue with no immediate new owner in sight. He said the cause was cost. After the pandemic, he says the Estate worked hard to adapt, but “the math caught up with us.”
Here are some recollections of people who have played or worked at the Estate over the years.
A special place
“It’s always been a classic jazz club,” says pianist Mark Davis, who is also founder and artistic director of the Milwaukee Jazz Institute. “Dark — not a lot of windows, right? Just a few windows in the entranceway area.”
“So when you walk in, the bar is very, very small,” describes Steph Lippert, a pianist, trombonist and vocalist who runs the Steph Lippert Project. She used to be an employee of the Estate for a number of years. “I had the honor of running [the sound board]. I also worked the door there.”…