MANHATTAN — Hudson Square's jazz performance space may have been booted last month to make way for residential development — but the show must go on.
The Jazz Gallery relocated Monday to a shared space near Madison Square Park, after 17 years of hosting intimate, low-cost concerts at 290 Hudson St. near Spring Street.
The music nonprofit, which is planning more than 180 performances this year, expressed enthusiasm for its new 1,800-square-foot location, which is on the fifth floor of 1160 Broadway at East 27th Street.
"We're particularly excited about the warmth of the space, and the way that it reflects the same welcoming and nurturing atmosphere that we've fostered at our [former] location," a post on the group's website reads.
The Jazz Gallery now operates out of the art and events venue known as the Salt Space, which is run by The Gallery Church, its website said. The musicians group was informed in early 2012 that it would be kicked out of its former 2,000-square-foot "listening room" and subsequently signed a lease at the Salt Space through February 2014.
"This partnership is a solution which will allow us to continue our programming in Manhattan, even as increasing gentrification in Manhattan is forcing many other arts organizations to relocate to other boroughs," the Jazz Gallery said on its site.
Executive Director Deborah Steinglass told DNAinfo.com New York in June that the Jazz Gallery was beloved by musicians for giving them space to take risks and explore their craft.
"The difference in what we do here at the Gallery is we focus in on our mission, not the numbers," she said. "We've always felt that we did something different from almost any other place in New York City."
Donors showed their affection for the nonprofit by contributing more than $60,000 since the announcement that they would need to move, according to a statement by Steinglass on the Jazz Gallery site. However, this was just a quarter of their $250,000 fundraising goal.
"We still have a great deal of money to raise in order to stabilize our organization," she wrote, encouraging fans to donate online.
Jazz aficionados will get to enjoy the music and ambiance they love at the Jazz Gallery's first show in its new space Thursday, Jan. 17. According to the group's Facebook page, alto saxophonist Darius Jones will perform.
