The Little Room Jazz Club has closed after ten years in business in Key West. Ralph DePalma of Keys News reports:

In June 2015, I received a call from my friend Denis Hyland inviting me to lunch at the Half Shell Raw Bar. He said that had he something important to talk about. After drinks were ordered, Denis said, “I’m going to need your help. Wayne (Smith) and I just bought the Little Room Jazz Club.” He went on to explain that they wanted to turn it into a real jazz club.

After the acquisition, Denis immediately changed the seating. He removed an obstructive booth table and added low-, medium- and high-top seating, all with a view of the performance. Initially, he added 10 of my framed black-and-white photos of prominent Key West musicians, later expanding to over 50 photos. We called it “The Key West Jazz Wall of Fame.” It quickly became a perk as every musician felt it an honor for a photo of their performance to be displayed on the walls of the Little Room. Many would comment during their performance on their photo being displayed.

The problem with the original Little Room was that there were very few nights when jazz was performed. Bands are expensive. In the beginning, it was mostly soloists, duets, Top-40 cover bands and an occasional country group. That changed when Denis Hyland took charge. Denis was a performer and knew most of the Key West jazz musicians. He would try very hard to book a jazz or blues group every night. Initially, he experimented with Motown Mondays and Bluesdays Tuesday and later, there would be Jazz Jam, Women’s Wednesday, Swing Night, along with many other specialty musical events.

The sound system was vastly improved and the stage was enlarged to allow a full band of performers and equipment. A number of high-profile Key West performers almost immediately started to appear. Every musician who performed wanted to come back — it was a musician’s club. They were given complete artistic control.

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