Butter Notes Cafe Jazzes Up Broadway

Story & images by: Richard Porter.

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I wish you could hear this article. It would sound something like this.

It’s the third Sunday afternoon of the month and the jazzy grooves at Butter Notes Cafe are “in the pocket” – piping hot as an Americano and steaming along, music spilling forth into the bright light of the winter afternoon.

Musicians rotate in and out of a circular jam sesh, hunched over their instruments. The bassline paces in circles over the melody, meandering to find the 7ths and 9ths of root notes as the brass jumps in syncopation, then takes a flight of arpeggios. The pianist is walking a rhythm on her left hand while throwing staccato notes on the right, digits flailing, finding the groove.

The melody pauses, allowing the thunder-rumble-avalanche of the drummer soloing. His hair swings in sheaves in front of his face, his head tilted back, eyes ecstatic at having found the groove. After a brief rest of negative-noise, he lets loose with one last fill on the toms and the groove snaps back into a tight formation, all the musicians joined in song, and the surrounding crowd claps and whoops. 

The song takes flight.

The jam is on.

Butter Notes Cafe is on the north end of Broadway, near the community college. Don’t worry – if you don’t know where it is, you’ll know soon, and be back. If you don’t love the jazz, you’ll love the coffee. And if you’re not into either, the dessert menu and the communal vibes will hook you.

Keep your eyes peeled. It’s located “in the pocket” – a shaded corner of a strip mall. Don’t drive by and don’t sleep on this place. Pull over and hop inside.

The interior is a bright peach color, and filled with abstract art and plants. It’s a homey environment by design. 

Butter Notes Proprietor, Sean Dokko

Owner Sean Dokko is curating a sophisticated vibe to attract creatives and invite them to linger on the soft vintage couches, maybe reading one of the café’s books, or hopping into the podcast studio. This is a place for long conversations over wine.

Dokko is actively cultivating literary groups, crafting circles, and regular community events to attract a bohemian element to North Broadway. If you think outside of the box, you need to visit this cafe.

Sean Dokko himself is a talented jazz pianist; you’ll find him sitting in on the jazz sessions, wearing a linen barista’s apron while tinkling the ivories, as they say. Equal parts proprietor and participant. He’s made the rounds in the Seattle jazz scene -- many of the Sunday jazz musicians travel north from the Emerald City to Everett just to jam. The musicians are all ages and genders – some are seasoned and others on the younger side. The rule seems to be: if you can hold down the song, you’re welcome to sit in. During the Sunday jam session that I visited, a seven-year-old kid played a few jazzy numbers flawlessly, backed by the band. No joke.

The emergence of Butter Notes Cafe begs the question: could Everett, Washington -- a city long known for its indie rock, punk rock, and hard rock clubs (see: Hewitt Avenue) – become a haven for jazz cats? At Butter Notes Café, it seems it’s already happening, as though a regional scene has popped up, fully-formed and ready to plunk out sinuous, spiky, brassy riffs.

The location seems perfect, you know? 

A jazz club at the edge of town, one of the last stops before heading out over the old bridge to the Marysville flats. The fog rolls in from the mouth of the Snohomish River, lit up by the neon of Broadway on a Pacific Northwest evening. Step inside on a Sunday. Plan to get caught up in the caffeinated flow of musical ideas and expressions flowing freely.

Once you’re “in the pocket” with Butter Notes Cafe, you’ll find you just won’t want to be anywhere else.

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Butter Notes Cafe
902 N Broadway Ave // Everett, WA 98201
Follow: @butternotescafe

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Richard Porter is a marketer for Snohomish County’s Executive Office by day, and a freelance writer. He lives with his wife and daughters in Everett. When he’s not writing or drinking coffee, he’s probably binging podcasts while running or hiking.

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