Jazz at the Quarternote on August 18

The Quarter Note, Cedar Key`s newest music venue, will feature a four-piece group this Sunday, August 18, from "about 7 to 10," says owner Robbie Blake, who has been performing at various Cedar Key locations since 1979. Blake will play keyboards and vocals, along with Willie Smith on guitar, Doug Riefler on bass, and Travis Parks on drums. "A lot of this is going to be original music," she promises.

The Sunday-night offerings will continue through the end of August, Blake says. "We`re still just getting off the ground. In the fall, we`ll go to Friday through Sunday."

Who`s on tap? "Certainly Frank Sullivan will be back, and possibly Joel Benefiel—an excellent jazz piano player who plays at the Ritz Carlton in Naples." A well-known figure on the Gainesville jazz scene, Sullivan played a series of Sundays at the Quarter Note earlier this summer.

At the corner of SR24 and 2d Street where the Heron Restaurant reigned for years, the Quarter Note shares space with Molly Jubitz`s Yellow Door Coffee House and Bob Davenport`s Side Door Bakery. Blake bought the historic building in March. "There`s been an outpouring of support from local people helping with the building. Nick Glasson helped with the landscaping, and Willie Smith did the inside décor in the Listening Room."

The space accommodates about 60 people, and the music is free "for the moment," Blake says, apart from a tip jar for the musicians. "We have beer and wine available now, and probably eventually there`ll be some kind of cover. I`m going to try to work with Molly to keep the Yellow Door open for coffee and food when we`re open."

Blake says there`s no smoking inside the building, and she`s "very family oriented. I always want to have a family environment where kids are welcome.

"We`ll offer original music, jazz, and easy listening--some of the kinds of music you don`t hear much in Cedar Key."