HorvitzEminent local jazz keyboardist Wayne Horvitz has gone into business with Steve Freeborn and Tia Matthies, the couple behind the old OK Hotel who now run the Rendezvous, and are opening a new club in Columbia City next month. The Royal Room is located inside the Royal Esquire Club at 5000 Rainier Avenue South — where John Roderick spent Election Night 2008 — and will include a bar, and a restaurant that will be open for dinner and weekend brunch. Horvitz says they hope to open by the week of December 16. Horvitz says that there will be some jazz at the club, with Sunday nights earmarked for “left leaning” big bands, it will not be a jazz club. He plans to book local artists of all genres, primarily those who are looking to experiment with a new project. Horvitz says he isn’t planning on competing with the other clubs in town that book touring acts currently plans to limit touring acts and ticketed shows to Tuesdays and Wednesdays. The rest of the week, Horvitz will focus on making the Royal Room a place where local artists can workshop new projects, possibly with artists taking a night a week for several months in a row.”This comes out of my experience where I had something (new) I wanted to do every Tuesday night or every Friday night where people come check things out,” Horvitz says. Horvitz says there won’t be a cover charge to get in, but artists will get a cut of the bar sales, and customers will be able to tip bands on their bill. He also plays to record all the sets – unless artists object – and build a web presences for the club and its regulars that he hopes will bring some attention to Seattle artists.”I hope that we can do some things that are very local on the club,” he says, “but not local on the web.”Horvitz says the initial bookings will be confirmed in the next few days. We’ll post them here as soon as we hear more.