Tonight, District Wine, which is located between 1st Street and Broadway on Linden, is launching District Jazz from 7 – 10 PM. It isn’t live Jazz, but the classics, on vinyl. DJ Frank Aceves, along with a crew of avid aficionados will, hopefully, be spinning there on a regular basis.

I asked Frank how District Jazz came about.

“We curate a bi-weekly Jazz vinyl night in DTLA,” Frank said, “and also one of my partners curates a vinyl swap meet in Chinatown. One of the bartenders at District Wine was familiar with what we do, so I guess when Mark [Dunton], the owner, mentioned wanting to do a Jazz thing, she recommended us.

“The cool thing about District Wine is they already play vinyl. I can’t think of another place in town that does that. At District Jazz, I know Mark wants to create a relaxed atmosphere, where people can come on a Monday night and enjoy great jazz music with low pressure.”

I asked Frank about his gig, that takes place every other Sunday, at The Association in downtown L.A.

“An old roommate of mine reached out about starting something in the area,” he said. “He had already been to the venue, and thought it would be a great fit for a Jazz night, since it has a speakeasy vibe to it.

“As far as the scene goes, there’s tons of live Jazz events. You can troll through LAJazz.com for a sampling of the amount of events that are going on, but we feel that not only the dj approach, but the the vinyl approach, creates a unique angle.”

I asked Frank about the audience response.

“Although people sometimes dance when I do these Jazz events, it’s usually more of a lounge atmosphere, but I wouldn’t say the music is a background thing, per se. One thing I’ve really noticed at The Straight Ahead is that people know we’re playing records, which sparks a conversation. Sometimes Jazz heads come out just to talk vinyl with us, or talk music with us. Often, the music playing will feed the conversation. Ever heard people cheer when Grant Green comes on? I always love when people dance to our music, though.

“I think the most response comes from the Latin Jazz stuff,” said Frank. “There’s a new UK band called SunLightSquare Combo that I like to play, and another band called the Williamsburg Salsa Orchestra, that always gets people moving when I play them.

“With DJ’ing in the mainstream right now,” Frank explained, “and most club DJ’s being ‘jukebox’ DJ’s who strictly play hits for people, it’s easy to count out other DJ’s who collect records and are very much about the music. I share my music with others on the turntables, the same way a musician shares their music on stage.”

I asked Frank how he developed an interest in Jazz.

“Hip Hop music got me into Jazz,” he said. “Early 90’s Hip Hop was all about Jazz samples. Listen to the entire Black Moon ‘Enta Da Stage’ album, or A Tribe Called Quest’s ‘Low End Theory,’ and it’s full of jazz samples. Also, I think I bought [Miles Davis’] Kind of Blue when I was about 13, and it just went from there.

“Once I got to college, one of my friends and roommates, Ryan, who throws the Straight Ahead with me, and will be spinning at District Jazz, really put me onto the whole spectrum of jazz records. He’s a jazz drummer, but he schooled me on a lot of stuff, from early John Klemmer to CTI stuff that I was overlooking in thrift stores.

“By the way, at the Straight Ahead recently, we did a night of strictly CTI label and ECM label stuff. A sort of soundclash. It was amazing. Super nerdy, but amazing!

“I personally try to mix it up as much as possible,” Frank continued. “I’m particularly fond of Latin Jazz and Afrobeat music so, in addition to some vocal standards like Ella or Billie, you’ll hear some Soul Jazz stuff from the 70’s, maybe some spaced out stuff, a Wynton Marsalis track, and even brand new Jazz music like Robert Glasper Experiment or the Colman Brothers.

“That’s also the reason for having multiple DJ’s on the bill as well. Ryan Baysa (DJ BLESSAID) will be spinning with me, so he’ll be bringing his own style of music with him, which is pretty diverse. UTMOS (aka Robbie), who comes from the Beat Swap Meet, is also helping to curate this event. He represents the vinyl world, which I have my foot in, as well.”

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Keep track of Frank’s efforts at TheStraightAhead.com.

Learn more about District Wine at DistrictWine.com.