Mickey Roker 1932-2017

I have fond memories of Mickey Roker and the house band, as the heyday of Ortlieb’s Jazzhaus suited some suburbanites for whether in the old city for an ‘art’ film unavailable on the Jersey side or not the location was more easily driven to from elsewhere in town, hard to get confused by ‘get on Third Street til you see it’ after which an employee guarded the cars in the parking lot before much gentrification in the area.  In those days I recall remarking to the proprietor of Serengeti in Pennsauken, NJ amid its demise ‘I’m not going to say South Jersey does not deserve a jazz club..’ at which time he interjected ‘I’ll say it!! South Jersey does not deserve a jazz club!!’  I was still drinking beer and there was hard bop coming from those who grew up in it.