Some things are inextricably tied to Durham. Certainly Duke, maybe baseball and of course tobacco. Modern jazz and live music aren’t generally on the list of things quintessentially Durham, but Eric Hirsh and recently opened bar The Republic are trying to change that.
Tonight, the Eric Hirsh Trio will be playing at The Republic, the latest addition to Durham’s downtown bar scene. Hirsh will be playing with two guests, saxophonist Ariel Alexander and guitarist Jon Bremen.
The show will be focused on modern, mainstream jazz.
“[The music] has a postmodern sensibility. It may draw from pop and R&B, but still relies on jazz and swing,” Hirsh said. “The music is raw and intimate. There are no pretensions. It’s just really intense music.”
Hirsh knows what he’s talking about when it comes to music. His parents met at a musical conservatory.
“Music was just a part of my family. It was our culture,” Hirsh said.
He studied music at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Since graduating, he has lived in Durham where his day job is at Zenph Studios, a musically oriented tech firm. Hirsh’s passion for music goes far beyond his job though. In addition to solo performances, Hirsh is involved with Orquesta GarDel, a salsa ensemble, and the Beast, a jazz/hip-hop collective.
“I think I just feel called to create, specifically through music,” Hirsh said. “Collaborating with other musicians and reaching out to other people and making them feel good is what I love.”
Hirsh is glad to be taking his inspiration to The Republic this week.
“It was a pleasant coincidence,” he said. “They wanted me to do a show with the Beast, but I knew these two friends were going to be in town, and I wanted to do a show with them. I thought it might be a special thing to do.”
The Republic proprietor Ahmed Yarbor hopes that it will be a special event as well.
Yarbor, who has a philosophy background, named the bar after Plato’s famed text. His intentions are egalitarian.
“We wanted to create an environment for the people,” Yarbor said. “We wanted to bring in the elements of furniture, design, sports and music to make individuals from different backgrounds feel comfortable.”
The Eric Hirsh Trio’s performance will be the first time that a live music group will play at the bar. Yarbor said he is excited for this performance and that it is something he has been wanting to do at The Republic since its opening in December 2009. With the bar’s mission in mind, the performance will be free.
“After all, it’s for the people,” Yarbor said.
The Eric Hirsh Trio will perform tonight at 9 p.m. at The Republic, 353 W. Main St. The show is free.
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