Brooklyn Jazz Hero
By his own admission Robert “Bob” Myers was content with his life as a jazz enthusiast hanging out at New York City clubs. But when his brother, a chef, rented a two-story building in Brooklyn and asked him to take the top floor in 1996, his life changed course. He launched the Up Over Café, a jazz venue intended to replace the loss of neighborhood Brooklyn jazz venues like Blue Coronet. NEA Jazz Master Reggie Workman was instrumental in connecting him with emerging artists like Robert Glasper and the brothers Marcus and E. J. Strickland. His headliners included veteran masters like Freddie Hubbard, Billy Harper, and Larry Ridley.
Myers forged ties with the JVC Jazz Festival, making Up Over Café the festival’s only sanctioned venue in Brooklyn. “Everything jazz for the most part happened in Manhattan, so for us to be part of the JVC Festival was really a big thing for the community,” Myers said.
After closing the club in 2003, he knew he had to keep jazz at the center of his life. “Man, owning that club was great, I cleaned the floors, bathroom, sold tickets and loved every minute,” Myers said. “The community people I met and musicians I worked with over the years were so invigorating.”
He found a new mission with the Central Brooklyn Jazz Consortium (CBJC) as their public relations consultant and promoter. The organization is dedicated to promoting jazz clubs in Brooklyn to the community and the city at large. He was the force behind organizing the CBJC Jazz festival and gala, which both became major annual events. Myers also led many of the CBJC’s promotional campaigns, working with WBGO jazz radio and many of the city’s publications. In an era before social media dominance, he on occasion hand-delivered press releases to community organizations and publications in Manhattan. Now a board member of CBJC, Myers still works on certain projects.
For more than 30 years Myers has been a dedicated jazz servant ready to do whatever the job required, no matter how small or large. Although he has since retired to Arizona due to health issues, he remains a resilient advocate for jazz in Brooklyn. Myers’s dedication and perseverance to playing a role in Brooklyn’s jazz legacy makes him a most deserving recipient for the 2026 JJA Jazz Hero Award.
—Ronald E. Scott
