GREEN BAY – When you can get people to come out to hear live music on a 2-degree Tuesday night in the middle of January, you know you’ve got a good thing going.
There’s something about getting lost in the jazz standard “You Must Believe in Spring” while sipping a barrel-aged imperial stout with vanilla bean called Midwest Goodbye that has a way of taking the chill off.
The weekly Jazz, Blues & Brews night at Copper State Brewing Co. has become one of the coziest — and coolest — gigs winter has to offer. From 6 to 9 p.m. each Tuesday, the rustic upstairs lounge in the 1919 building on Dousman Street, with its concrete floor, brick walls, paned windows and exposed duct work, transforms into an intimate downtown jazz club.
The Harmon Brothers anchor a small corner-raised slab that doubles as a stage, and with Noah Harmon on keyboard, Zach Harmon on drums and Fred Velpel on stand-up bass, they warm up the room with selections like Chick Corea’s “Armando’s Rhumba” and Herbie Hancock’s “Dolphin Dance.” Guests at tables and the bar give the music their full attention, soaking up each note. Couples hold hands.