Erie Moon Lounge jazz night returns to St. Paul’s for fourth year

St. Paul’s Anglican Church hosted its fourth annual Erie Moon Lounge jazz night on January 31 at its parish centre on Idylewylde Street, where about 40 people gathered for live music by the David Anthony Quartet whose performance was rooted in local history.

St. Paul’s music director Chris Bohdanowicz organized the event as a winter community night rather than a fundraiser, with any additional profits going to support the church’s music program.

Bohdanowicz told Fort Erie Radio that the concept of the Erie Moon Lounge originates from the Crystal Beach Ballroom, which opened in 1925 with a dance floor built for 3,000 people and hosted major jazz performers who crossed the Niagara River by ferry from Buffalo.

Some acts that played the Crystal Beach Ballroom back in the day included jazz musicians Jelly Roll Morton, Count Basie, Woody Herman, Artie Shaw and a young Frank Sinatra, according to Bohdanowicz.

“Good music has no borders. We have a small town in Ontario, and right next door we have the sophistication of Buffalo. That relationship is part of who we are,” said Bohdanowicz.

The event has been held once a year since 2023 and is scheduled in late January, a period Bohdanowicz described as the coldest stretch of winter, to give Fort Erie residents a local option for an evening out close to home.

Bohdanowicz said jazz continues to draw listeners because each performance brings uncertainty and change even within familiar songs.

“Every time a jazz musician sits down to do a song, there’s something fresh about it. We don’t know exactly how it’s going to turn out, what’s going to happen, or who’s going to catch fire,” he said.

“We’re a church, but we’re here to serve our community. This is an easy night out in the middle of winter, and it gives people something close to home to enjoy together,” said Bohdanowicz.

Food and wine were available by donation, with attendees choosing how much to give, and ticket prices were set at $25, with sponsorship support from Benner Funeral Services. Bohdanowicz said the goal was to break even and support future concerts rather than raise significant funds.

The church’s next major music event is a gospel choir from Buffalo scheduled for February 20 at 4 p.m. at St. Paul’s parish centre, which will focus on Black history and Fort Erie’s role as a terminus on the Underground Railroad.

Fort Erie served as a key first stop on the Underground Railroad, where freedom seekers crossed the Niagara River from Buffalo and stepped ashore near what is now Freedom Park, a process that helped an estimated 40,000 enslaved people find sanctuary in the 1800s, according to Niagara Parks.

“They would see this church from across the river before they had their freedom. To bring a choir over the same route is very powerful,” said Bohdanowicz.

Admission to the February 20 concert will be free, with donations accepted for the music program.

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