MAIN STREET — Good people. Good food. Good jazz. All things that make life worth living for at least one city club owner.
They’re also traits many would use to describe Jazz at the Vic, the brainchild of Ray Slayton, who offers an intimate club setting at the Victorian on Main Street.
Each Thursday night, he offers the public two performances from seasoned professionals and a midnight jazz session of young artists. Slayton’s goal is to create the perfect blend of audience and topnotch performers in an effort to inspire others with the music.
Imbued with a passion for the performing arts, the Detroit native journeyed to Los Angeles as a teenager to train as a singer, dancer and actor. After nine years of training, Slayton landed some performance gigs on television and in the theater, but soon realized he already was getting past his prime.
“The one thing I realized was that, after all of that training, my clock was ticking in the wrong direction because the older I got — in dance — my prime was right then,” Slayton said. “I was seeing guys who were 35 and their careers were over. The ones that worked the hardest got the least amount of respect, and the reality of all the world came in on me and I realized I didn’t want to do that.”
Like many in the performing arts, to supplement his income Slayton worked in the restaurant business, honing his skills as a manager. Knowing he couldn’t stay in that business forever, Slayton turned to a more lucrative profession — real estate and property management. Not many ballet dancers are also versatile with a hammer and a nail, but Slayton was. As the youngest child of a coal miner, raised modestly with his three sisters, four brothers and host of cousins, Slayton developed his skills as a carpenter from his father. His ability to fix properties in disrepair and build relationships helped him break into the business world.
While working at a French restaurant in LA, the owners there offered Slayton a chance to help manage their properties around the city. Then, after more than a decade in the property management business, Slayton dabbled in his own buying and selling of real estate. But after his second marriage, Slayton was looking to reinvent himself once again and move onto a third career.
That’s when he met his current wife, his self-described “soulmate.” Slayton met Aleta in June of 2001 through a mutual friend, Glen Gerson, who owns the historic Victorian along with Aleta.
Within 10 months, Slayton opened the Vic, and a few months later, married Aleta. Located on the top floor of the Victorian, the Vic is accessed by guests through a backdoor, that is if they know the password, given to them when they make a reservation for a night of dinner and jazz.
Now celebrating his third year, Slayton aims to please his patrons and musicians through the gift of inspiration, good food, a unique atmosphere and eclectic music.
The modern day speakeasy is low-key by design — too many people or not the right mix of people changes the dynamics of the performances and the experience. For Slayton, it’s about the audience who create the atmosphere just as much as it is about the quality of the musicians, all of whom are handpicked and at the pinnacle of their careers.
Slayton recently offered the Daily Press his thoughts on life, music and Santa Monica.
What was it like growing up in Detroit? “We never thought we were poor. We weren’t poor, but we didn’t have money. My parents were Catholic and there was that bond where everyone took care of one another. I think that that relationship with my family has allowed me to have a very secure demeanor in life. The richest thing about it was it didn’t involve money. I learned the value of relationships and I learned how valuable the giving of your time was. I was very fortunate to have that foundation. I was raised in a neighborhood that was racially mixed... The similarity was that they all were working-class families... and it really afforded us to get along. My mother was so instrumental in never making me aware that there was no difference — and there is no difference. I’ve taken that through my entire life. I guessed I’ve lived the motto of Martin Luther King. (My mother) really taught me to judge someone by the content of their character and not by the color of their skin. I think that’s why the club is so successful. It has not mattered to me how much someone makes. There is no A list, no B list. There is simply a great list of people who want to get together and listen to great jazz.”
What do you want people to know about the club, its scene, its patrons and musicians?
“Well, everyone in here respects each other. It’s a cool thing. They come here to listen and that’s what the artists love about it — that there will be 80 or 90 people here and they will all be listening. Because, I don’t want to sound really pompous here, but magic gets created in this place. And people’s spirits are elevated when they come into this place. The people that come in here that are new don’t know how to explain it, but they walk out really happy about the experience. The people who keep coming back come back for their fix, but what they don’t realize is that what they do is they bring that infectious energy with them because they felt it. It has enriched their lives and now they bring it back in... I have 2,600 people who are my members, who are on my e-mail list. Those people kind of dictate what happens in the club. And so when outside people come in, they are kind of swept up into the whole proper behavior they should have here. And that’s not coming from a place where it is haughty or snobby. It’s a level of respect of what happens here.”
How do you describe the jazz you offer at the Vic?
“I love straight-ahead jazz. You can snap your fingers. You can move. For me, there is good jazz, there is bad jazz. What I tell the musicians is that this isn’t a place where you come play for other musicians, this is not a self-indulgent performance. This is about touching people with music. If I’m moved, then I know my audience is moved. What it boils down to is simply a matter of taste. No one comes here and says, ‘this is bad jazz.’ They may say, ‘it’s not my cup of tea,’ but the artists that come in here are so at the top of their game. But it is a matter of personal taste.
“If I were going to make a blanket statement about jazz it would be that there is so much music that is esoteric and that is what the beauty of what jazz is about. It allows people to express their feelings... there is some jazz today that is just anger, but that is their expression. I happen to be in a place where I want my music to inspire — make people reflect how good it is to be alive. People are treated well and they walk out of here and they feel better about life. They have been enriched. Things seem to be better because they see other people in humanity that are just normal. There are a lot of good people. And that is what I look for in life. I look for the good in people because we all have a choice in how we view people.”
What’s your philosophy about operating the Vic?
“My philosophy from day one was always to treat my clientele the best I possibly could, but I would treat my musicians better, if that was possible. And so, they are always well fed. They feel so comfortable, and it’s not about the pay-check. It’s about art. I always got the best sound system I could, the best piano — tuned every week. It was really about creating those relationships. Those people, when they left, became my ambassadors. It was something that if they really loved it, they were going to go tell everyone they knew that they had to play (the club). That philosophy has never changed.”
Where did you develop your passion for jazz?
“All through high school and college, I was always in vocal groups... I was a singer, a dancer and an actor. So through that, there was always exposure to classical music and jazz. My pallet for music is really diverse. I love music of any kind. The thing I’ve always loved about jazz is that it is truly the only original American form of music. It started in the United States. I was raised on Motown and the Temptations and Marvin Gaye. We would stand on the corner, my buddies and I, and sing three-part harmonies. It was fun. It was a rough town but, man, we had fun staying out of trouble.”
Did you always have a dream of opening a jazz club?
“It wasn’t that I would own a jazz club, but I knew that I would have some sort of business that would inspire people. When the opportunity came up, I had already decided that I didn’t want to be in property management anymore.”
Where did the vision for the Vic come from?
“I always thought this was the space for it. Glen and Aleta were very instrumental in allowing me the freedom, the support and the opportunity. Without Glen and Aleta, this wouldn’t be possible... Anyone that says ‘I had this idea that I worked on entirely out of thin air’ is bull-shitting you. It’s always from life experiences and what has moved you. What I wanted to do with the jazz club was that I had been involved in the restaurant business for so long that I didn’t want to deal with people who didn’t understand what it is that I was trying to create. And so that was the motivation in coming up with a password because I wanted to have the control of saying ‘you are allowed to come in’ and ‘you are not allowed to come in.’ I wanted to make sure that people were coming in for the same reason — to appreciate the level of jazz we were producing.”
What was your biggest challenge at the beginning?
“Getting the right people in. In order to produce one night a week, I work six days a week on promoting the club. I put a ton of money into making this what it is. We’re only open one night a week. So for years, I subsidized this club to make what it is. Every person who calls the club to make a reservation talks to me. That’s the key to this club — there is a sense of knowing somebody. This town is all about flash, it’s not about relationships. People told me I wouldn’t last six months with my business model... Since, Jan. 1, I have been selling out.”
How do you find artists now? “I have people now who I have great relationships with. I go see acts that I want to hire. I have a wish list of who I want to play in the club and I go after them. It is through a lot of different sources. But really everything in the club comes from my taste. I don’t bring anyone in the club that I don’t like.”
Tell me about the late-night jazz. “Fun. I’ve always been one who wants to mentor young people. I’ve always thought about ways to have another night, or a Sunday thing here. But it’s never worked out... What I decided to do is try this late-night thing out. It’s been 30 weeks now. I called a wonderful woman and a great friend, Barbara Brighton, who is a saint to young people. She does a young jazz series at Catalina Jazz Club. She works with all of these young people and doesn’t get a penny for it. She showcases them at Catalina and Catalina helps her to do that... About once a month or every two months, they have Monday night, and she presents these young jazz artists. This is the future of music. The other night a guy did a beautiful arrangement of an old tune and you just sat back and thought, ‘that’s so cool.’ You could see that this guy took hours out of his week to write music for that night.”
What does the future hold for the Vic and for yourself?
“We may open a second night, but the big thing we are working on is the Santa Monica Jazz Festival, October 2006. This is going to be huge.”
Where will you have it? “At the Civic Center. We have an incredibly bright committee of people that have come together. The minds are so extraordinary. I have never been so excited. This jazz festival is going to be the likes of something Santa Monica has never seen. It’s going to be Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. And it’s a wonderful opportunity to expose wonderful music to young people.”
What is your favorite thing about Santa Monica?
“The majority of what see in Santa Monica is the people I see at the Farmers’ Market on Sunday. I love Santa Monica. I love the diversity. I like the fact that there are all these different people expressing their views. It’s not a Beverly Hills, where people are segregated. There are all different types of people coming together. There are a lot of deep thinkers and a lot of passionate people live here.”
What don’t you like about Santa Monica?
“Sometimes, the lack of tolerance. I have always lived my life recognizing that all voices need to be heard, whether you are a Democrat or a Republican, if you want to put it in those terms... Once people start isolating and not having dialogue about issues, I think things fall apart. I’m a product of Detroit and I consider Detroit a huge failure because they have elected a City Council that are all alike. They all have the same bent, they are all of the same ilk. We need diversity and just because someone thinks differently than you do, they shouldn’t be chastised for it. I think that a lot of people here do that. If you say you are a Republican, they don’t understand that you are that way because of maybe, property rights issues or that you are a Republican that is kind of a Kennedy-Democrat. People have learned in our society to quickly pigeon hole you into a category. There seems to be that pervasiveness here. We need to realize that we are all this Earth for such a short period of time that we need to be kind to one another. I learned that in life, it brings rich rewards.”
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on March 21, 2005. Read the original PDF.