Photo by Naama Levy
Race flags and Christmas lights drape the walls of a hidden slice of Massachusetts Avenue. An old jukebox sits in the back, unattended as the 20-person crowd inside the Chatterbox Jazz Club listens attentively to the improvisations of a young trio–a bass player, a pianist, and an electric guitar player–squashed together on a small stage at the front of the room.
The guitar player, a young white guy with a mop of curly brown hair, bends intently over his chords. His eyes register that he’s somewhere else, perhaps absorbed in a secret story.
When Joel Tucker speaks, however, he is fully present, cheerful, polite.
