Croissants served with jazz on the side

Locals come to Beltsville bakery for a taste of the local music scene

Thursday, June 1, 2006

Click here to enlarge this photo Bryan Haynes⁄The Gazette Hallelujazz Project vocalist Lola Okusami of Silver Spring, sings the final song of the night with trumpeter Dafidi Oyat of Laurel and drummer⁄guitarist Tosin Aribisala of Silver Spring providing the music. The group usually plays the first Saturday of every month at Shilla Bakery in Beltsville.

Hong, a former music teacher and member of a jazz band, bought the neighboring property at the shopping center on Rhode Island Avenue in Beltsville, tore down a wall or two, erected a stage and sent out the message to local jazz musicians: Shilla Bakery and Jazz Café is looking for a gig or two.

And as Hong looks forward to the summer season, he anticipates a full schedule of Saturday night performances by experienced jazz bands that hail from a diverse background. The spacious, pristine addition to the bakery is also used for swing dance nights, where more than 50 people jump and jive to live music.

Hong, who bought the bakery from family friends, said he was thrilled to add jazz to his business’ weekly schedule.

‘‘I was hoping that one day we could bring music in somehow,” said Hong, 25, who lives in Silver Spring.

When he first took the reigns at Shilla, Hong said, the customer base was more than 90 percent Asian. But bringing a universally-loved music to Shilla Bakery, Hong said, has attracted jazz-lovers from all local communities.

‘‘I kind of wanted to make it more diverse and reach out to the community a little bit,” he said. ‘‘I wanted to bring something that didn’t just connected with Koreans only or just Asians only, but connected with a diverse group of people. ... I always thought it could be a good thing so we decided to go out on a limb and try that.”

Candice Chan, the co-owner of Shilla and fiancé to Hong, said booking Cuban and Nigerian jazz groups added a refreshing douse of diversity at the bakery.

‘‘It’s really brought a lot of different groups here,” Chan said. ‘‘The area itself is very diverse and when they see a Korean bakery, they may not initially want to come here.”

After soaking up a night full of jazz, spectators ‘‘might feel more comfortable coming on their own,” she said. Although Hong’s experiment has paid dividends, Chan said she wasn’t so sure how well funk and bread would mix initially.

‘‘I guess I was surprised,” Chan said. ‘‘But not that surprised because I know Tim and I know his love for music.”

On a recent Sunday afternoon, as children ran near the stage that sits next to a black and white poster of Bob Dylan and his legendary guitar, Hong said he was thrilled to make jazz more accessible to the local community.

‘‘You normally find jazz in a bar or a club,” said Hong, who taught music theory and guitar at Duke Ellington School of the Arts in the District. ‘‘And the whole thing about having jazz in the café is that it’s family friendly. Anyone can come.”

What: Hallelujazz Project, a local world jazz band When: 8 p.m. Saturday Where: Shilla Bakery 10080-D Rhode Island Ave., Beltsville Phone: 301-937-6970 Tickets: $10

During the days between jazz gigs, customers said the bakery’s extension provides an ideal space for eating with a large group, using a laptop computer or just chatting with a group of friends.

‘‘I think it’s a great idea, just having a place to hang out,” said customer Grant Huang, referring to the dozens of University of Maryland students who drop by in search for a quiet place to meet friends, or even study.

Finishing up his weekly meal with family and friends at Shilla, Wilbur Chen, a friend of Hong’s, said he suspected Hong didn’t buy into the bread business for the specialized cakes.

‘‘I think he probably had it in the back of his mind always to be able to go back to the music or do something with his music,” Chen said.

E-mail Dennis Carter at dcarter@gazette.net.