Jazz clubs in NYC. Any Recommendations?

Charlie

Charlie

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The Mrs. (or Ms in her case) and I are celebrating our 20th anniversary with a trip to New York City in June. Staying somewhere in Manhattan and hope to spend at least one evening in a jazz club. Looking for jazz along the lines of Cannonball Adderley and/or the Cuban/African sound of someone like Cachao. Can anybody recommend a place…maybe somewhere with a house band? Don’t mind a Birdland or the Knitting Factory but I bet there are equally good places that are a lot less touristy.

Warning: any advice given will probably be followed by more requests for lodging, dining and photo and art exhibit recommendations.

Thanks in advance for all your help!

Regards,

Charlie
 
I was asked for a jazz bar recommendation by a couple of French tourists I met recently under the Brooklyn bridge. Sadly I couldn't offer anything. I happened to mentioned this to a musician acquaintance and he said if I am asked again I should say the Zinc bar. I think it's on Houston or near there.

Enjoy your trip.
 
pick up a copy of New Yorker and see what appeals to you in terms of jazz under the heading Jazz and Nightlife (or something like that) and yes, the Vanguard!
 
I have a friend who is a musician and has played at a number of clubs in NYC. He does travel into the city to go to the Vanguard pretty regularly, I will try to get the names of some of the other clubs he likes too.
 
If you want smaller jazz clubs try these:

Smalls (10th and 7th)
Louis 646 (9th between B and C)
Barbes (in Park Slope, Brooklyn)

I go to the Vanguard once in awhile if there is someone I'm dying to see but generally I avoid the bigger clubs. The Vanguard is the only big one I'll go to as everywhere else just feels very touristy and rushed and expensive.

You will probably not have heard of the people playing at the smaller clubs but since they generally have lower (if any) cover charges and no drink minimums (as opposed to say $25 cover and two drink minimum for the Vanguard) there's very little risk and you might see someone you really like in a very intimate setting.

I was just at Louis last night and heard some great music. Good wine and single malt scotch list too.

Avoid the Blue Note at all costs. It's like Disney's version of a jazz club.

For listings pick up a copy of Time Out. The new issue comes out on Wednesdays and it has more listings for things to do than you could every possibly do.
 
nightfly said:
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Avoid the Blue Note at all costs. It's like Disney's version of a jazz club.
Click to expand...
my own trip to the blue note was a disappointment. went for brunch 2-3 years ago. (maybe because it was brunch rush) i felt like the shoved us into our seat, shoved our food in front of us, played a while, then shoved us out the door. i felt like a tourist, even though i was not. not a good feeling.
i think you would have better luck with some of the darker, smaller venues as suggested elsewhere in this thread. time out magazine is a good place to look, try their site http://www.timeout.com
 
Manhattantta (I think I spelled it wrong) has an awesome Jazz brunch on Sunday. I think it's mostly for kids though. My daughter loved it.

I went to the Standard at Blue Smoke. Good eats, great music.

Both might be touristy though.

There is also Smoke on the UWS. Good luck and have fun in NYC. When are you coming?
 
I love Smoke (formerly Auggies). It was my hangout when I was a student at Manhattan School of Music. It is a good spot to catch the new young/hungry talent with no cover charge. My college roommate still plays there occasionally, he is fantastic...you can view his other gigs throughout the city here:

http://treelawn.org/frahm.htm

But I'm just blathering on...it's probably not related at all to what you're lookin' for. 🙂
 
Iridium. Les Paul. If he's still alive and still playing, don't miss one of the truly pioneering modern musicians. Les used to play on either Monday or Tuesday night. Look up the schedule on the web.
 
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