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Paris Jazz Joints/Clubs/Boites/Bars
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Joints/Clubs/Boites/Bars
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Duc des Lombards 42, rue des Lombards 75001 Paris Métro: Châtelet Tel: 01-4233-2288 E-mail: contact@ducdeslombards.com URL: http://www.ducdeslombards.fr/ Entrance: Food: Music: |
One of the oldest and msot renowned Jazz Joints in GAY Paree! |
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Le Baiser Salé 58, rue des Lombards 75001 Paris Métro: Châtelet Tel: 01-4233-3771 E-mail: programmation@lebaisersale.com URL: http://www.lebaisersale.com/ Entrance: Food: Music: |
«
.. le top des clubs en matière de musique métissée.. » (Télérama
février 1990) |
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Bistro d’Eustache 37, rue Berger 75001 Paris Métro: Louvre / Les Halles Tel: 01-4026-2330 E-mail: URL: Entrance: Food: Music: |
From the Métro stop, follow traffic along Les halles garden on rue Berger. Fun and relaxed bar near les halles characterized by a local crowd and good, free jazz on Thursday-Friday September-June. Open daily noon-5am, music starts around 10h30pm. MC/V. http://www.parisbestlodge.com/jazz2.html |
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Petit Opportun 15, rue des Lavandières-Ste-Opportune 75001 Paris Métro: Châtelet Tel: 01.42.36.01.36 E-mail: URL: Entrance: Food: Music: |
In
summer the crowd spills onto the sidewalk. The last club to close at night.
lots of impromptu jam-sessions. http://rgmjapan.tripod.com/JAZZINFRANCE.html The price of one evening is about 15 ˆ. The drinks are a bit cheaper than at the New Morning. |
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Slow Club 130, rue de Rivoli 75001 Paris Métro: Châtelet & Pont-Neuf Tel: 01-4233-8430 E-mail: URL: Entrance: 13 ˆ Food: Music: |
In a cellar that used to be a banana-ripening warehouse. An old favorite of Miles Davis. Big Band, Dixieland, and rock'n roll. Expect dancing and a crowd in their 30s. Weekday cover 10 euros, students 9 euros. Weekend cover from 13 euros. Drinks from 4 euros. Open Tuesday-Thursday 10pm-3am. Friday-Saturday 10pm-4am. |
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Sunset/Sunside 60, rue des Lombards 75001 Paris Métro: Châtelet, les Halles Tels: Sunset 01-4026-4660 Sunside 01-4026-2125 E-mails: sunset@sunset-sunside.com URL: http://www.sunset-sunside.com/ Entrance: 8-25 ˆ, Students 6-23 ˆ Food: Music: |
From rue des halles, walk down rue de la Ferronerie and make a right on rue saint-Denis and another right rue des Lombards. An easy-going club with an old and widespread reputation. Le Sunset is where musicians come to unwind and jam into the wee hours after their gigs around Paris. Mostly french and european acts. Cover 8-25 euros with a 2 euros discount for students: Drinks 4.30 euros and up. Concerts Monday-Saturday 8h30pm-2am. Regular jam sessions after 2am. MC/V. http://www.parisbestlodge.com/jazz2.html |
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Jazz Cartoon 138, rue Montmartre 75002 Paris Métro: Bourse Tel: 01-4236-0047 E-mail: jazzcartoon@hotmail.com URL: www.jazzcartoon.com Menu at 30 ˆ including concert ½ carafe wine 13 ˆ |
Jazz & dinner in a traditional Persian “cave”. |
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Le Croissant Café 146, rue Montmartre 75002 Paris Métro: Bourse Tel: 01-4233-3504 E-mail: contact@le-croissant.com URL: http://www.le-croissant.com/ Entrance: free Fridays 19-22 hours No jazz in August Beer from 4 ˆ Salads 9 ˆ Main dish 12 ˆ |
Grand bar et tables en bois, abats jour et lumière douce orangée créent une ambiance chaleureuse. Les stores vénitiens laissant filtrer le soleil, les soirs de Jazz on se sentirait presque ailleurs, au bord du lac Michigan, à Chicago, où il est possible de croiser et écouter librement des musiciens remarquables au coin de chaque rue. |
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Sherwood Jazz Club 3 rue Daunou 75002 Paris Métro: Opera Tel: 01-4261-7094 E-mail: URL: No music charge with meal Music starts at 22h00 Appetiser 8-12 ˆ Main course 16-20 ˆ Dessert max 8 ˆ Wine from 16 ˆ for ½ bottle |
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21 Club Jazz Multiplexe à l’American Dream 21 rue Daunou 75002 Paris Métro: Opera Tel: 01-4260-9989, 01-4260-4051 E-mail: contact@american-dream.fr URL: http://www.american-dream.fr/pianobar.php?lng=fr Entrance: Food: Music: Jazz Piano Bar, Wed-Sun, 20h30 |
Big glitzy show club with piano jazz bar. |
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Le Cavalier Bleu 143, rue Saint Martin 75004 Paris Métro: Rambuteau - Les Halles Tel: 01-4272-0929 E-mail: URL: Entrance: Food: Music: Wednesday thru Friday |
Le Cavalier Bleu is a restaurant first & foremost. Entertainment is an afterthought & probably seasonal, as evidenced by the rather bizarre & awkward location in which the band was set up. The band – a guitar-bass duo (in July 2007) – stood behind a kind of bar about belly-button high & played to the patrons on the patio. I had the impression that they were playing out of a window. There was no cover charge. But the main drawback to the place is that in order to get a good view of the band you have to sit on the patio where you are expected to order food. To see & hear the band from the bar inside would involve some uncomfortable neck-craning. Notwithstanding, both band & food were very good. The duo played a mix of American Songbook standards & jazz classics à la late-50’s, early 60’s Miles Davis. Good stuff & well-performed. Doug Martin, URL: www.jasminetrio.com E-mail: dougmartin2@yahoo.ca |
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Franc Pinot 1, quai Bourbon Ile Saint Louis 75004 Paris Métro: Pont Marie Tel: 01-4633-6064 E-mail: info@franc-pinot.com URL: Entrance: 10 to 15 ˆ Food: Music: |
One of the most atmospheric jazz clubs in Paris.
Listening to live music with natural acoustics of the old vaulted stone cellars
on the Ile St Louis in the heart of Paris is a 'must' if you're a fan of
swing and bebop. The bar is open from 7 pm and concerts start from 7 pm or 9
pm depending on the program. Concert prices vary from 10 to 15 euros
depending on the artists |
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Le Café Universel 267, rue St Jacques 75005 Paris RER Luxembourg ou Port-Royal Tel: 01-4325-7420 E-mail: cafeuniversel@hotmail.fr URL: http://www.cafeuniversel.com/ Concerts tous les soirs à 21h30 Entrée libre (free) Closed Sundays Snacks only |
“Every street in Paris has its own history. No doubt, the sweet and positive energy of Café Universel will be carved forever in the memory of Rue Saint-Jacques. Just a few blocks away from the heart of the busy traffic of Quartier Latin, this cradle of live music is the ultimate choice of the young French musicians for who it is a way to enjoy their full artistic freedom. All kinds of audience, mostly the young and the enthusiastic, come there every night to cherish the rhythm of the songs or the jazz verses. And the least we should know, the spot owes its glamour to the ear and the talent of its owner, the hospitable and so generous Azou.” Jean-Michel Proust |
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Caveau de La Huchette 5, rue de La Huchette 75005 Paris Métro : Saint-Michel Tel :01-4326-6505 E-mail: huchette@aol.com URL: http://www.caveaudelahuchette.fr/index2.html Entrance: 10 ˆ Food: Music: |
This club is one of the oldest in Paris originating in 1946. Both Lionel Hampton and Sidney Bechet appeared here after World War II and the intimate wine cellar atmosphere of the club is still vibrant. You buy a ticket for ten Euros, descend a stone staircase, and sit around a small room facing the bandstand. You aren't required to purchase a drink but the bar is quaint and beverages are not overpriced. |
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Caveau des Oubliettes 52, rue Galande 75005 Paris Métro: Maubert ou Saint-Michel Tel: 01-4634-2309 E-mail: URL: http://www.caveaudesoubliettes.com/ Entrance: Free Food: Drinks: from 5 ˆ Music: 22h30-01:00 every night |
"Un club de jazz insolite Au coeur du quartier de Saint-Michel, le Caveau des Oubliettes n'est pas un club de jazz comme les autres. Avec ses murs en pierre et ses poutres apparentes, sa véritable guillotine datant de 1793 et son gazon, ce pub est une véritable machine à remonter le temps. Ce bar organise des jazz session au sous-sol dans une cave voûtée du XIIème siècle et des concerts le week-end. Vous pouvez même visiter des oubliettes du Moyen-âge." http://jazzaparis.canalblog.com/ archives/2006/10/15/2902479.html |
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Petit Journal Saint-Michel 71, boulevard Saint-Michel 75005 Paris RER: Luxembourg Tel: 01-4326-2859 E-mail: jazzclubpetitjournal@wanadoo.fr URL: http://www.petitjournalsaintmichel.com Entrance: Food: Music: |
Situé au coeur du quartier latin, en face du Jardin du Luxembourg, d'un accès facile (RER Luxembourg, Bus 21, 27, 38, 82, 84, 85), le Petit Journal Saint-Michel crée en 1971, a vite été reconnu comme un des hauts lieux du Jazz Nouvelle Orléans grâce à sa programmation soutenue et suivie. On peut y entendre actuellement de façon régulière des musiciens comme Claude Bolling, Claude Luter, Christian Morin, Maxim Saury, Marcel Zanini, Claude Tissendier etc... |
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Balle au Bond Barge/Péniche 3, quai Malaquais Tel: 01-4051-87-06, 01-4046-8512, 06-6047-3852 E-mail: info@laballeaubond.fr URL: http://www.laballeaubond.fr/ Entrance: 5-10 ˆ Snacks only: 15 ˆ Music: |
Jazz on a Barge. |
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Le Bilboquet 13, Rue Saint-Benoît 75006 Paris Métro: Saint-Germain-des-Prés Tel: 01-4548-8184 E-mail: bluesup@numericable.fr URL: http://jazzclub.bilboquet.free.fr/ No music charge with meal Dinner: 50-60 ˆ Wine: bottle 30 ˆ, glass 7ˆ |
Depuis 1947 L'établissement renvoie au Saint-Germain-Des-Près des années jazz. Le Bilboquet, l'un des rares survivants de l'époque glorieuse, est un ancien club qui programme du jazz des années 30 par des artistes français et reçoit un public de connaisseurs. Les concerts se déroulent souvent en trois parties d'une heure environ. http://www.fra.cityvox.fr/theatre_paris/le-bilboquet_103101123/Profil-Lieu |
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Le Café Laurent 33, rue Dauphine 75006 Paris Métro: Odéon Tel: 01-4329-0333 E-mail: cafelaurent@hoteldaubusson.com URL: http://www.cafe-laurent.com/ Entrance: Libre Food: Drinks: > 10 ˆ Music: Christen Brenner Trio, jeudi-samedi, 21h30-00h30 |
Café Laurent features the Christian Brenner Trio who serve up some very competent & listenable (if not too adventurous) jazz Thursdays to Saturdays. However, the evening I attended in July 2007, the group was very much a duo with Mr. Brenner on piano & a fine bassist who was never introduced. Guest performers appear from time to time & this particular evening an excellent pianist, whose name I didn’t catch unfortunately, took the stage & played some remarkable original compositions. The café itself, although rather small, lacks intimacy. It is too well lit & the stage could be more effectively located. The staff is very friendly, however, giving the place a bit of a neighbourhood feel. Entry is free, although your first drink will cost you 10 euros minimum. All in all, I liked the place & would probably go there on those occasions when I was in the mood for some good mainstream jazz with no surprises. Doug Martin, URL: www.jasminetrio.com E-mail: dougmartin2@yahoo.ca |
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Chez Papa Jazz 3, Rue Saint-Benoît 75006 Paris Métro: Saint-Germain-des-Prés Tel: 01-4286-9963 E-mail: jazz.cafe@chezpapa.net URL: http://www.papajazzclub.com/ Cover charge 8 ˆ No cover with meal Dinner with wine ~ 75 ˆ per person |
High quality traditional jazz with vocalist. Intimate, romantic atmosphere. Friendly waiter. Tasty food. Negatives: small portions, slow service, expensive. *** mp 18/07/07
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Hippocampus 75006 Paris Métro:
Rennes, Saint-Placide, Sèvres-Babylone. URL: Entrance: Food: Music: High quality jazz Friday/Saturday |
L'Hippocampus, situated between St Germain and Montparnasse, exists since 1968. At L'Hippocampus you enjoy the excellent french cuisine while listening each Friday and Saturday evenings high quality jazz concerts in a cosy and welcoming atmosphere. The most talented musicians, regularly such as Maxim Saury, Georges Arvanitas, Marcel Zanini, Pascal Perrin, Olivier Lancelot, J.P Gelineau, Philippe de Preissac, Philippe Dervieux, Christelle Pereira, Eric Luter, Michel Chrichton... complete your evenings. http://www.zingueurs.com/hippocampus/index.php3?lang=uk&page=1 |
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La Rhumerie 166, blvd. Saint-germain 75006 Paris Metro: Odéon, Saint-Germain, Mabillon Tel: 01-4354-2894 URL: www.larhumerie.com No entrance charge Beer 5> ˆ Snacks 5> ˆ Tasty & spicyJ! No meals Music: Sundays 20-23 hours |
Quality jazz chestnuts. Relaxed atmosphere. Tasty spicy snacks. *** MP 07/07 |
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Le Tennessee Jazz Club 12, Rue André Mazet 75006 Paris Metro: Odéon Tel: 01-4354-3610 E-mail: URL: Entrance: 5 ˆ Food: Music: |
A particularly inviting … [jazz club] is Le Tennessee Jazz Club, nestled at the end of rue Mazet near metro Odéon. This unassuming bar offers one of the most convivial atmospheres for taking in a Saturday night show. Order a cocktail from their respectable selection and head down the short flight of stairs to the lower level. No matter where you sit, you'll have a great view in this small, cellar-turned-concert space. You'll feel like you stopped by a friend's basement to watch the locals play under strings of multicolored party lights and soft bulbs. Unlike larger venues, the Tennessee has a real neighborhood feeling that will make you forget you're just a visitor. Concerts can range from Caribbean jazz featuring melodious steel drums to lively Manouche jazz. At just five euros a show, it's worth it to take a chance and soak up some authentic Parisian rhythms. http://www.hotelsbycity.net/blog/eur_france_paris/2007/07/01/jazz-in-paris/#more-292 |
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La Taverne 24, bd des Italiens 75009 Paris Metro: Richelieu Drouot Tél.: 01-5533-1000 E-mail: taverne@blanc.net Entrance: Free Food: Menu 22.50 ˆ Music: Piano solo from 19:30 every evening |
Sparkling large restaurant with jazz piano. |
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La Java 105 rue du Faubourg-du-Temple 75010 Paris Metro: Belleville Tel: 01-4202-2052 E-mail: Thu-Sun 8pm-6am Entrance: ˆ10 with drink Food: Music: |
La Java is all about Latino moves and grooves. Don't be intimidated and get stuck in to the frenzied beats at Paris's oldest club. The club that once hosted Edith Piaf is now a busy Latino disco and concert venue. Expect six hours of turbulent Latin twirls.
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New Morning 7/9, rue des Petites Ecuries 75010 Paris Métro: Château d'Eau Tel: 01-4523-5141 E-mail: contact@newmorning.com URL: http://www.newmorning.com Entrance: Food: Music: |
400-seat former printing plant with the biggest American headliners in the city. Dark, smoky, and crowded, it's everything a jazz club should be. Best acoustics in the lower front section or near the wings. All the greats have played here - from Chet Baker to Stan Getz and Miles Davis: It still attracts big names like Wynton Marsalis, Betty Carter and John Scotfield. http://www.parisbestlodge.com/jazz2.html |
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La Chapelle des Lombards 75011 Paris Tel: 01-4357-24-24 URL: Entrance: 15 ˆ to 19 ˆ including first drink. Women free Thurs before midnight, Thu, Fri, and Sat only Food: Music: |
The club's proximity to the Opéra Bastille seems incongruous, considering the African/Caribbean jazz and Brazilian samba that's the norm. It's a magnet for South American and African expatriates, and the rhythms and fire of the music propel everyone onto the dance floor. Thursday to Saturday 11pm to 6am. |
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Cithea Club 75011 Paris Métro: Saint-Maur URL: (jazz, funk, xxx) Tue-Thu 10pm-5.30am; Fri-Sat 10pm-6.30am Dress code: no trainers Entrance: Food: Music: |
Le Cithéa is a furnace of a club in Paris' most happening area. Expect a mix of music and a sweaty party atmosphere. Ménilmontant
is the equivalent of London's Hoxton, a formerly dingy area turned hip by a
mass influx of artists and trendies. Cafés and bars have sprung up
around the Rue Oberkampf, with Le Cithéa holding its own as the place
to go on a big night out. |
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Habana Jazz 9 rue Moret Paris 75011 Métro: Menilmontant Tel: 01 43 38 14 92 URL: http://www.habanajazzparis.net/ Entrance: Food: Cuban Music: Mercredi au Dimanche, 19h00 à 01h45 |
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Le Reservoir URL: http://www.reservoirclub.com/ Entrance: Jazz Brunch 23 ˆ Food: Music: Jazz Brunch Sundays 11h30 - 16h30 |
"Le Réservoir propose un Jazz Brunch plaisant à 23 euro. Un buffet à volonté, avec œufs brouillés, pan-cakes, salades et desserts, boissons chaudes... Les DJ Jam et Julio et le label Hot Casa, en charge de ces dimanches, invitent des groupes locaux et, entre les sets, mixent Burt Bacharach, flirtent avec les B.O. de Blaxploitation et la west coast avec de rarissimes vinyles de jazzmen européens. Plutôt cool, plutôt chaud, le jazz qui plaît aux générations groove." ELLE G. Verdiani |
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Broches à l'Ancienne 21 rue Saint Nicolas 75012 Paris Tel: 01-4343-2616 Métro: Ledru Rollin E-mail: URL: Entrance: Food: Music: |
A deux pas de l'Opéra Bastille, le restaurant les Broches à l'ancienne est un établissement convivial entièrement dédié à la rôtisserie et aux produits du terroir. Des volailles fermières, aux méchouis en passant par les porcelets, le boudin et les andouillettes, tout est cuit à la main devant vos yeux ! Avec en prime une purée fait maison. Grand amateur d'art et de musique, les gérants organisent des expositions de peintures ou de photographies et même des concerts de jazz. Réservation conseillée. http://www.eng.cityvox.fr/restaurants_paris/les-broches-a-l-ancienne_54741/Profil-Place |
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Melody Blues Boat Quai de Bercy - Pont de Tolbiac 75012 Paris Métros: Cour-Saint-Emilion, Bibliothèque F. Mitterrand Tel: 01-5695-0315 E-mail: melodyblues@wanadoo.fr URL: http://www.melodyblues.com Jazz on Wednesdays Entrance: Food: Music: |
Unique à Paris : Les Dîners-Jazz en croisière Tous les mercredis soirs, de 20h30 à minuit, le Melody Blues propose un dîner-concert de Jazz en croisière, Jazz classique, Blues, Nouvelle Orléans, Salsa, Manouche, Rock’n roll, ... Une
majestueuse traversée d’un Paris somptueusement illuminé. |
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Le Poulfanc 308, rue de Charenton 75012 Paris Métro: Dugommier Tel: 01-4475-0155 E-mail: URL: Entrance: Food: Music: |
Que
ce soit pour sa cuisine ou pour sa promgrammation jazz, le Poulfanc joue la
carte du traditionnel. Restauraut français en semaine, ce lieu se
transforme les fins de semaine en club de jazz revival, où swing,
standard, New Orleans et Dixieland se disputent l'affiche. La programmation
n'est certes pas très novatrice mais elle permet d'entretenir la
passion d'une bonne partie des amateurs du genre. |
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La Beliere Welcome Jazz Bar/Restaurant Tel: + 33 (1) 40475266 E-mail: URL: Entrance: Free Food: 30/35 ˆ Music: Mon-Sat, 20h30t-24h00, sometimes late jam |
You can dine and enjoy good jazz simultaneously at La Beliere. http://www.parislogue.com/travel-tips/jazz-in-montparnasse.html |
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Petit Journal Montparnasse 13, rue du Commandant Mouchotte 75014 Paris Métro: Montparnasse Bienvenue, Gaîté Tel: 01-4321-5670 E-mail: infos@petitjournal-montparnasse.com URL: http://www.petitjournal-montparnasse.com Ouvert de 20h30 à 2 h du matin Concerts à partir de 22 h. Entrance: Food: Music: |
Venez découvrir l'univers du Jazz, Rythme & blues, Rock, variétés internationales et musique latino américaine en toute simplicité. Dans une ambiance chaleureuse et feutrée digne des salles de concert d'antan vous apprécierez autour d'un cocktail ou d'un dîner spectacle la magie noctambule du petit journal Montparnasse. |
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Jazz Club Lionel Hampton Hôtel Meridien 81, boulevard Gouvion Saint-Cyr 75017 Paris Métro: Porte Maillot Tel: 01-4068-3042 E-mail: jazzclub.etoile@lemeridien.com URL: http://www.jazzclub-paris.com Entrée incluant une consommation: de 23 à 29 ˆ Food: Music: |
Since 1975, the Jazz Club Lionel Hampton has welcomed the biggest names in the world of Jazz, Blues and Rhythm’n Blues. At the heart of Paris' jazz scene, the Jazz Club Le Méridien Etoile has a unique welcoming and convivial atmosphere and specialised programme of events. Lionel Hampton, B.B. King, Oscar Peterson, Ike Turner, Cab Calloway, Mighty Mo Rodgers, Claude Bolling... so many artists have built the reputation of the Club over the course of the last thirty years.
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Au Clairon des Chasseurs 3, Place du Tertre Montmartre Métro: Anvers Tel : 01 42 62 40 08 E-mail: URL: http://www.le-clairon-des-chasseurs.com/ Entrance: Free, one drink minimum Food: Music: every night 21h – 02h |
A Paris… Comme commença si souvent Francis Lemarque, il y a la tour Eiffel, les Grands Boulevards, l’arc de Triomphe et Montmartre. Et à Montmartre, il y a le Sacré Cœur, qu’on aperçoit de partout quand on arrive. Et au pied du Sacré Cœur, presque à l’ombre même de ses grandes formes blanches, il y a une place, toute petite et très célèbre : la place du Tertre. Le plus facile pour y accéder c’est de prendre le funiculaire d’en bas ! Et place du Tertre, il y a le « Clairon » comme en parlent les habitués. |
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Autour de Midi 11, rue Lepic 75018 Paris Métro: Blanche Tel : 01-5579-1648 E-mail: contact@autourdemidi.fr URL: http://www.autourdemidi.fr/ Entrance: Food: Music: |
Established in 2001, in the heart of Montmartre , “Autour de Midi”… et Minuit” offers two very distinct and complementary atmospheres : a traditional French restaurant on the main floor and a jazz club in a wonderfully cosy ‘cave voutée' down below. |
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Bab-ilo 75018 Paris Métro:
Jules-Joffrin. URL: www.babilo.net Entrance: 5 ˆ Food: Music: Concerts de Jazz les samedis, Musique Brésilienne jazz les dimanches de 18h à 22h, sometimes Jazz on Friday |
Il y a quelques années que cette drôle de péniche s'amarra rue du Baigneur. Éclats de jazz, de rire, de vie, de cœur, ce n'est pas un bar de nuit, c'est un bunker de verre : un lieu de résistance... ... à la bêtise ambiante, à l'acculturation générale et aux coups bas de la vie... |
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Le Blue Note 14, rue Muller 75018 Paris Métro: Château Rouge Tel: 01-4254-6976 E-mail: lebluenoteparis@free.fr URL: http://www.lebluenoteparis.com/ Entrance: Food: Music: |
Mostly Brazilian Jazz. |
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Le Houdon 5, rue des Abbesses 75018 Paris Métro: Abbesses Tel: 01-4262-2134 E-mail: URL: Entrance: Food: Music: Reopen 21 septembre |
Bar le Houdon transforms from humdrum café to makeshift jazz venue Friday and Saturday. The musicians are topnotch and the price is right. http://www.fodors.com/world/europe/france/paris/review-153675.html |
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Hot Brass la boite de jazz 75019 Paris Tel 01.42.00.14.14 URL: Entrance: Food: Mexique, Guacamole, chili, tapios, Music: |
Another club that wanders all over the musical landscape is Hot Brass ("the most beautifully designed club in Paris," is always added as an afterthought by Parisians). In the 19th arrondissement, it's an effort to get to, a long way from the center of Paris. If one reaches it by the Avenue Jean Jaures, it's a walk to a small hill in the middle of a sunken field. The hill is crowned by a blinking neon sign, lonely in the darkness, that says "The Boite de Jazz." |
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More Paris Jazz Club/Info Sites
Not sure if the following should really be called “JAZZ” clubs at all?
They seem to have Jazz only infrequently
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Carr’s Restaurant & Pub 1 Rue du Mont-Thabor 75001 Paris Tel: 01 42 60 60 26 Bur: 01 42 60 07 42 Mobile: 06 72 21 88 45 Fax: 01 42 60 33 32 E-mail: conall.carr@wanadoo.fr URL: http://www.carrsparis.com Entrance: Free Food: Music: From jazz to Irish folk |
Chez Carr’s, nous voulons toujours entendre flotter dans l’air le son magique de la musique. Presque tous les soirs, vous pouvez écouter de la musique, en mangeant au restaurant, ou en bavardant avec vos amis au bar. La musique irlandaise traditionnelle est bien sûr notre preferee, mais nous conaissons tellement de musiciens, que finalement vous entendrez toutes sortes de musiques chez Carr’s! Nous faisons venir, en toute spontanéité, des chanteurs, des fiddlers, des guitaristes, des pianistas. Il y a un piano à la fois au bar et au restaurant, pour que nos musiciens puissent exprimer tous leurs talents. Il y a aussi un espace pour de la musiques “live” en bas notre Cave voûtée. - - - - - - At Carrs we love to ensure that there is always music in the air. Every night you can listen to music while eating in out restaurant or socialising in our bar. Traditional Irish music is a favorite of course but with the range of musicians we know, and a touch of spontaneity, you can hear all sorts of music at Carrs. We bring in singers, fiddlers, guitar and piano players, there are pianos in both the bar and restaurant, and many other talents. There is also room for live music down in our Cellar Bar. |
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Aux Trois Mailletz 56, Rue Galande 75005 Paris Tel: 01 43 54 00 79 E-mail: URL: Entrance: Free Food: main dishes from 16-22 ˆ Music: From jazz to Opera |
Ce temple du jazz au coeur du quartier de Saint-Michel vous permet d'apprécier une cuisine bourgeoise avant de profiter du spectacle. La cuisine est d'un bon rapport qualité prix mais on y va avant tout pour l'ambiance chaleureuse qui se dégage de la belle salle de restaurant et pour se retrouver entre amateurs de bonne musique. http://www.annuaire-parisien.com/5789,ef-r/trois-mailletz.html |
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Piano Vache 8, rue Laplace 75005 Paris M: Maubert Mutualité Tel: 01 46 33 75 03 Entrance: Free at least on Mondays Food: ? Music: Monday jazz, 22h-01h |
Bohemian joint with listening jazz fans! Nice Monday evening coolout !! (04/08/08 pm) |
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Au Saï-Saï 4 rue Sainte-Beuve 75006 Paris Metro: Notre-Dame des Champs (line 12) or Vavin (line 4) Tel: 01-4222-9567 E-mail: contact@ausaisai.com Open from tuesday to saturday 23h-6h. Entrance: Food: Drinks—weekdays: Half pint of beer: 4 ˆ | Pint: 7.50 ˆ Music: café-concert, live music, jazz groups, shows... then DJ music till dawn. |
Right in the heart of the 6th arrondissement, "Au Saï-Saï" is a place dedicated to art, music and conviviality. On
the ground floor, in an African influenced setting, the Saï-Saï bar
offers, amongst many others, some cocktails with flavours coming straight
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Opus Jazz & Soul Club 167, quai de Valmy 75010 Paris Metro: Louis Blanc Tel: 01-4034-7000 E-mail: tbonnefont-opus@orange.fr Entrance: Open: 20-01 hours Food: Happy Hours de 20h à 22h Softs : 3,5ˆ Bière pression : 3,5ˆ vin au verre : 3,5ˆ |
This former British officers' loft has since become the "Opus", where music is always top of the bill, especially music ranging from gospel and blues to soul, jazz and funk. You can dine there evenings from 8 pm. The sound quality often leaves a little to be desired, but the décor is nicely done and gives an intimate ambiance. They have a website on which you'll find their complete concert listing. http://www.eng.cityvox.fr/theatre_paris/opus_103100587/Profil-Place |
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Patrick's Bar 33, rue de Montreuil 75011 Paris Metro: Faidherbe-Chaligny URL: Entrance: Jazz free, Salsa 10 ˆ Music: Jazz Saturdays from 20h30, Salsa Thursdays from 20h30 |
Big Irish bar with Jazz on Saturday s starting at 20h30. |
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L’Entrepot Tel: 01-4540-6070, 01-4540-0750 E-mail: lentrepot@lentrepot.fr Food: Le soir, tout à la carte Music: Jazz sometimes |
Expos, jam sessions, films, and live jazz every Thursday. Super quality and super cheap – only 7 euros per show. http://www.vcarious.com/Attraction/France/Paris/LEntrept.html |
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Utopia 75014 Paris Tel: 01-4322-7966 URL: http://www.utopia-cafeconcert.fr/ Entrance: Food: Music: |
Bar Cave Club Cocktail Bar Hetero Jazz Club |
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Flûte L’Etoile Métro: info@flutebar.com E-mail: info@flutebar.com Entrance: Food: Music: Wednesday evenings jazz |
"Depuis 10 ans, nous jalousons nos amis new yorkais
qui se targuent de compter déjà 2 bars Flûte ...
heureusement en ce début d’année, l’injustice est
réparée : le Bar Flûte débarque enfin à Paris." |
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Le Divan du
Monde 75018 Métro: Pigalle Tel: 01-4492-7766 E-mail: contact@divandumonde.com URL: http://www.divandumonde.com/ Food: Music: Great live
World Music. |
It’s been done up since the days when Toulouse-Lautrec used to come in for his absinthe hit, but the decadent spirit of this old Montmartre haunt is still alive. Indie, hip hop and electro-dance get showcased for labels (Rephlex, NinjaTune) to gawp at. http://www.timeout.com/paris/guidevenue/126/Le_Divan_du_Monde.html |
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Elysée Montmartre 75018 Paris E-mail: cristelle@elyseemontmartre.com URL: http://www.elyseemontmartre.com/ Entrance: Food: Music: |
Over a century old and still standing, this legendary venue in the heart of Pigalle continues to thrive. Used in the past for different kinds of entertainment including boxing matches, plays and variety shows, the Elysée has since become Paris's best-loved music venue. Cult groups and well-known artists ali ke perform here on a regular basis. A big hit with the young, its retro-style décor provides a unique backdrop for evenings such as the Elysée-Montmartre ball (with a full orchestra) or Open House (techno music) that are frequently organized at weekends. |
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Quai Du Blues 92200 Neuilly - Île de Jatte Metro: Pont de Neuilly Tel: 01 46 24 22 00, 01 46 24 33 33, 06
70 80 10 00 URL: http://www.quaidublues.com/ Entrance: 20 ˆ / -25 ans 15 ˆ Food: Facultatif :
consommations (4 à 11 ˆ ) Music: blues, gospel, jazz, soul, funk, r'n'b, reggae, salsa, rap, slam, musiques d'afrique et des antilles… |
Cet établissement accueille des artistes de blues, gospel et rythm and blues, aussi célèbres et respectés que Liz Mc Comb, Koko Taylor, Ike Turner ou les nouveaux " grands " de demain. Le regretté Screaming Jay Hawkins ("I put a spell on you"...) s'est produit dans ce lieu. On vient ici pour assister à une concert, en dînant éventuellement - avec de la cuisine française traditionnelle-, dans une ambiance très festive. La maison organise régulièrement des soirées privées (anniversaires, réceptions...) avec dîner et show, des soirées de prestige. http://www.eng.cityvox.fr/theatre_paris/quai-du-blues_103101713/Profil-Place |
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BACK TO BLUES 92200 Neuilly E-mail: qdb@gve.fr URL: http://www.quaidublues.com/ Entrance: 20 ˆ / -25 ans 15 ˆ Food: Facultatif :
consommations (4 à 11 ˆ ) Music: |
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Instants Chavirés 7 Rue Richard Lenoir 93100 Montreuil Just outdide the 20e arrondissement Metro: Robespierre (ligne 9) URL: http://www.instantschavires.com Entrance: Food: Music: |
Depuis 1991, les Instants Chavirés diffusent les musiques improvisées, expérimentales, improbables et inespérées |
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Scott Tixier Quintet E-mail: prestat.marie@wanadoo.fr URLs: http://www.scotttixier.com http://myspace.com/tixierscott |
Les nouveaux rois de la scène jazz Comme à son habitude, le prestigieux concours de jazz “Sunside” a une nouvelle fois révélé un talent prometteur de la scène jazz Française: le Scott Tixier Quintet, mené par le brillant violoniste Scott Tixier.
Le 12 septembre 2007, au Jazz Sunset/Sunside se tenait la 6ème édition du concours Sunside, reconnu dans le monde de la musique jazz pour avoir révélé ou confirmé de nombreux talents. Cette année, ces sont les plus jeunes participants, le Scott Tixier Quintet qui remportent le trophée.
Ce groupe crée en 2004, réunit 5 jeunes talents d’une moyenne d’âge de 22 ans, tous issus du conservatoire ; Scott Tixier, compositeur violoniste et leader du groupe, Joacqim Govin, fils de Pierre Olivier Govin un des meilleurs bassistes jazz d’Europe, tous deux issus de l’UNSM (conservatoire national de Paris), Julien Ponviel, saxophoniste, Tony Tixier, pianiste, Anne Paceo, batteuse déjà reconnue.
Ce concours va leur permettre de gagner en notoriété dans le milieu du jazz, mais aussi il leur permettra un enregistrement, et la participation au grand festival jazz de Vienne. Ils se produiront le 8 janvier 2008 au club jazz Sunset/ Sunside lors de la remise des trophées. |
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Contents
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More Paris Jazz Club/info Sites
More Paris Jazz Club/Info Sites
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threadselect.jsp?fid=2&tid=34449747
http://www.voiceofacity.com/paris/?p=702
http://www.fra.cityvox.fr/bars-et-boites_paris/LieuxTrouves?GLI=JAZ&CAR=&QUA=
http://worldtravelersonline.com/parisjazz.htm
http://www.jazzpages.com/jazzparis/
http://rgmjapan.tripod.com/JAZZINFRANCE.html
http://monsite.wanadoo.fr/lieuxjazzparis3/index.jhtml
http://www.hot-club.asso.fr/hcf.html
http://www.cafeduglobe.net/jazztavern/tavern.html
http://groups.msn.com/DestinationParis/parisjazzclubs.msnw
http://www.guitarejazz.com/en/links/jazz-club.htm
http://www.eng.cityvox.fr/nights_paris/findall?KEYWORDS=jazz%20club&C=120&N=1&X=&CAT=LIE&CODELANGUE=ENG&CODEVILLE=PAR&CHARTE=CIT&LANG=ENG&UNIQUE=user1
http://jazzaparis.canalblog.com/
http://www.jazz-clubs-worldwide.com/docs/france.htm
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?sec=travel&res=990CE0DC1139F936A25752C0A963958260
http://www.allaboutjazz.com/articles/nycb0602.htm
www.lesondugrisli.com
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_jazz_clubs_in_Paris
http://www.jazzine.com/
http://www.parisjazzclub.net/
Contents
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More Paris Jazz Club/info Sites
http://www.americanheritage.com/articles/magazine/ah/2000/2/2000_2_42.shtml
American jazz musicians once enjoyed a freedom and respect in France’s capital that they could never win at home. Landmarks of that era still abound.
For all the books and films that have been done about painters and writers who went to Paris, far less has been written about the lives of musicians from the United States who settled there, some for a while, a few for their whole lives. Yet American jazz musicians have felt the influence of that city on their creative abilities no less than did the Lost Generation of American writers after World War I and the impressionists and their successors before them. Much of their world, and of jazz itself, is still there to be seen and enjoyed.
You can listen to jazz on the radio for hours in Paris—there is plenty of it on the airwaves—and never hear a single piece played exactly the way you heard it back home. Jazz players made many recordings in Europe, where they had especially free rein; they could play anything they pleased, and their music usually had clarity and originality.
American jazz musicians have been going to live in Paris since their art was in its infancy, finding there not only a place to compose and play music but a haven from personal, social, and economic problems and constraints in their homeland. They have broadened their horizons and honed their gifts while living interesting, sometimes raffish, and occasionally privileged lives. At a time when race prejudice seemed nearly nonexistent in most European countries, black musicians were able to leave behind the 44 injustices that had bedeviled them in the United States. Moreover, all jazz musicians, black or white, enjoyed a respect accorded their music in Europe long before it was acknowledged as an art form in the land where it was born.
The jazz colony in Paris began when a single band of black American Army musicians led by James Reese Europe made a big hit there during a tour in 1918. By the 1920s and 1930s Louis Armstrong and the soprano saxophonist and clarinetist Sidney Bechet were headlining in London. From there the road led to Paris. Adelaide Hall, an American singer, married an Englishman and they opened a jazz club in Paris. Josephine Baker arrived in the city from the Plantation Club in Harlem. Cole Porter set up residence in Paris and went often to Bricktop’s nightclub in Montmartre.
Bricktop was an American singer who arrived in Paris in 1924, decided to stay, and in 1926 opened a club. “Wouldn’t you?” she once explained. Boosted by the presence of regulars like Cole Porter, her place at 26 rue Pigalle became highly fashionable. The light-skinned, freckle-faced Virginian hired her entertainers out of friendship, and she happened to like Mabel Mercer, the British-born, half-American, half-black music-hall singer. Cole Porter auditioned many of his songs at Bricktop’s with Mabel Mercer singing them. The Prince of Wales sat in on drums. Cab Galloway and Lionel Hampton made Bricktop’s a regular stop as they passed through Paris. Hurt by the Depression and threatened by World War II, Bricktop, who called her operation “a combination nightclub, mail drop, bank, and neighborhood bar for the most elegant people,” closed the club in 1936 and left town three years later, not long before Nazis arrived and condemned jazz as entarte Musik—degenerate music.
In 1926 Bricktop opened what she called “a combination nightclub, mail drop, bank, and neighborhood bar for the most elegant people.”
The French kept jazz alive during the war by listening to New Orleans and swing-era music on records and inventing the discotheque as an underground place to do so (described in this magazine in November 1999). After the war many French fans, who never developed a taste for more progressive jazz, opened clubs around the country featuring New Orleans music. And the Americans returned in force, some to live for a while, others to stay forever.
Perhaps because the French have a knack for maintaining traditions, they still support quite a few jazz clubs that opened forty or fifty years ago. Caveau de la Huchette, at 5 rue de la Huchette, a main street in the Latin Quarter, has survived since 1946, un demi-siècle, or a half-century, as its advertisements boast. Lionel Hampton and Art Blakey played there, and the club still celebrates the fact that it was once the scene of a huge jam session led by Sidney Bechet, a national hero in France. Caveau de la Huchette belongs to Dany Doriz, a vibes player who also owns the Slow Club, at 130 rue de Rivoli. His are the two oldest surviving clubs in the city. Both present blues, swing, and New Orleans music and cater to people who want to dance.
Other popular Left Bank jazz clubs that opened in the 1940s include Les Trois Maillets, near Notre Dame at 56 rue Galande; now it offers Latin, Brazilian, and blues, and it has even tried disco. Le Tabou began at 33 rue Dauphine soon after the Liberation of Paris, and Juliette Greco sang there for audiences that included her friend Jean Paul Sartre, while Boris Vian, a jazz critic, liked to play cornet.
Le Tabou is gone, but Vian started his own place, Club St. Germain in 1947, at 13 rue Saint-Benoît, off the boulevard St. Germain, and today it is the home of Bilboquet, a trendy jazz and supper club on three tiers. People dine on the ground floor and the balcony of Bilboquet; on the bottom tier they sit on soft, low stools around the bandstand and hear American and European singers and jazz musicians. Singers are particularly well loved there. Among them in recent years has been Jeffery Smith, who tells of how he would feel the floor beneath him vibrate with music—and not his own. The vibrations came from loud taped rock music playing in the private cave club below.
That basement spot is the old Club St. Germain. Because it’s nominally private, no longer features live jazz, and is sequestered in a cave, it’s a virtual secret from most tourists. But it’s still there for anyone who wants to have a drink and listen to American pop music until 4:00 A.M. in a city where most clubs, bars, and cafés close by 1:00.
Nowadays Bilboquet swings with live, contemporary, entertaining jazz the way the place beneath it used to. In the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s, the music at Club St. Germain was cutting edge. Visiting and expatriate American jazz musicians would repair there every night after other places had closed. Everybody who was anybody went to listen or play there: Bechet, Charlie Parker, the pianist Bud Powell, the tenor player and flutist James Moody, Miles Davis, and the drummer Kenny Clarke, one of the founding geniuses of bebop.
After World War II the Americans returned in force, some of them to live for a while, some to stay forever.
In 1948 Dizzy Gillespie, who with Parker had already begun inventing the novel, complex, and aggressive bebop sound, toured Europe with his big band, living hand to mouth. They went unpaid for performances in Sweden and arrived in Paris on the verge of starvation, with nothing but wine in their stomachs. Dizzy and his men gave a concert and were rewarded with an ovation according them the greatest success they’d ever had. That landmark event took place at La Salle Pleyel, 252 rue de faubourg du St-Honoré, near the Champs-Elysées. It still presents jazz along with other entertainment.
Audiences adored the beboppers, but their music set off a civil war among the French jazz critics. On one side, the so-called moldy figs celebrated swing and New Orleans jazz and loudly condemned bebop, while on the other side, critics proclaimed the new music’s brilliance. The French accepted bebop as art long before most Americans could tolerate its unusual harmonies, breakneck tempos, and assertive, sometimes shrill spirit. By 1959, when Otto Preminger became the first film producer in America to use a score by a swing-era musician (Duke Ellington, in Anatomy of a Murder), French filmmakers were already using bebop-era artists —Miles Davis for one, with his haunting, eerie tone that one British critic called “the sound of loneliness.”
The pianist and composer Mary Lou Williams arrived for a short gig in Paris in 1953 and stayed for months. “Mary Lou was not interested in things French,” recalled the drummer Gérard Pochenet, who fell in love with her. “She was not interested in seeking out anything more than the music. She never went to the opera once. We went to clubs to hear other jazz musicians. She was particularly impressed by Art Tatum and Erroll Garner, but who isn’t? She was neither a dresser nor a gourmet, not interested in the clothes or food in Paris. She was simply a great influence on other musicians.”
Postwar Paris was no paradise. Housing was scarce. Musicians often lived in tiny hotel rooms and played in minute Left Bank basements, the only spaces they could find. Some settled and played in Montmartre, where writers and painters lived. But a few worked grander clubs, particularly ones near the Champs-Elysées.
The Right Bank’s most famous spot, the Blue Note, on the rue d’Artois, near the Champs-Elysées, is now a jazzless private club under another name (which no one in 48 the jazz world now can ever remember). Americans also worked nearby at the trendy Le Boeuf sur le Toit (The Cow on the Roof), named for a Brazilian tune; it opened in the early 1920s at 28 rue Boissy-d’Anglas and finished its life as a jazz club at 34 rue du Colisée, also near the Champs-Elysées. Now it, too, is a restaurant.
Around 1955 Le Chat Qui Pêche (The Cat That Fishes) opened on the rue de la Huchette in the Latin Quarter; it was run by a woman named Madame Ricard who had worked in the French Resistance during the war. The club lasted into the 1970s; today a restaurant with the same name occupies its site, at 9 rue de la Huchette. Le Chat Qui Pêche was extremely popular but “terrible looking,” remembers Louis Victor Mialy, a writer for Paris’s Jazz Hot magazine. Open all night every night, it hired such wonderful players as the pianist Walter Davis, Jr., and the drummer Art Taylor. Another popular Left Bank club from that era, opened in 1952, was Le Caméléon, 57 rue St-André-des-Arts; now it’s a rock club.
Even though such basement locales were rudimentary, musicians regarded the Left Bank as their headquarters; when they finished playing in other neighborhoods, they went “home” to the Left Bank. During the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s, Miles Davis and dozens of other musicians enjoyed their exiles and developed their art in its little byways. They were pioneers, cultural ambassadors—and half-conscious of their role. They had gone to Europe in the tradition of American vaudeville stars, in the interest of entertainment and employment. Finding appreciation and respect, they strongly influenced European musicians.
The bluesman Memphis Slim moved to Paris around 1960; the tenor saxophonist Johnny Griffin a few years later. Calvados, more of a jazz boîte for a solo pianist to hold court than a club for jazz groups, at 40 avenue Pierre le Premier de Serbie, near the Champs-Elysées, featured the pianist Little Joe Turner; he settled in there for a nearly thirty-year engagement in 1960, after having already lived in Europe for almost three decades. A solo artist, he worked as Calvados’s main claim to jazz fame into his eighties in the 1980s. He had developed his famous stride style in Harlem, his right hand playing melody while his left pounded out harmony and rhythm in an especially bright, fast-paced style. He sometimes collected three-thousand-franc tips—six hundred dollars—from Arab tourists, while performing from midnight to 5:00 A.M., always with his trademark cigar in his mouth. Calvados is still there, featuring guitar music played by Europeans.
The drummer Art Taylor led the quintessential life of an American jazz musician in Paris. He arrived in Europe to play at the World’s Fair in Brussels in 1958, and then he and some friends had to choose between using their free tickets home and visiting Paris. “So we blew our tickets,” he said. “I never had a better time in my life. We were all good-looking, wild, young guys. The music in Paris was superb. And it was the first time I didn’t encounter racism. Something must really be wrong here, I thought. Maybe it was because the war in Algeria was just over. People had humility and were sweet. So I fell in love with Paris. Musically and economically, musicians were like kings in Paris.”
Taylor went right to work at Le Chat Qui Pêche and for three months stretched himself to his limits in his playing. Then he returned to the United States. But memories of Paris lured him back in 1963, whereupon having played drums for twenty years, he studied music for the first time. He started taping interviews with musicians and amassed more than enough to fill a book, Notes and Tones. He brought it out at his own expense, and eventually, when he returned to the United States, he found a commercial publisher. He didn’t think that he could have felt the same freedom to experiment back home; in Paris he had sloughed off a depression that had lasted all his life, a depression rooted in the pain of segregation, he said. “I never would have done Notes and Tones if I had stayed in the United States. When I was working in Europe, I had energy. I stayed up at night and worked.”
Petit Opportun at 15 rue des Lavandièr-Ste-Opportune, which opened in August 1977, at the Châtelet Métro stop, not far from the Centre Pompidou, belongs to a new generation of clubs. Well-known American and European musicians play every jazz style from New Orleans to post-bop there. Of all the jazz clubs in caves far below street level, it has the steepest, twistiest flight of steps. (Those daunted by the descent should know it has a popular bar on the ground floor.)
French audiences adored bebop long before most Americans could tolerate its breakneck tempos and sometimes shrill spirit.
Le Petit Journal St-Michel, an atmospheric cave club at 71 boulevard St-Michel, founded in 1970, and its sister, Le Petit Journal Montparnasse, 13 rue du Commandant Mouchotte, a latecomer from 1985, both have solid reputations in the modern Paris jazz world. Montparnasse features contemporary music; St-Michel, New Orleans.
Paris has other relatively new clubs, among them Sunset, 60 rue des Lombards, and the Duc des Lombards, 42 rue des Lombards. At the latter the late-night scene includes excellent musicians from America and Europe. Americans who play in Paris often go there after their own gigs end and sit in or enjoy the sounds. The Duc des Lombards is the place now, as Club St. Germain was fifty year ago.
Recently two elegant clubs downstairs in hotels near Bilboquet closed: the All Jazz Club, first called Latitudes, at 7-11 rue Saint-Benoît; and La Villa, 29 rue Jacob, with its formidable collection of jazz photos and the air of a rendezvous for spies. But a two-year-old cave club called Le Franc Pinot, at 1 quai Bourbon on the picturesque Ile St. Louis, is starting to go strong. New Morning, 7 rue des Petites-Ecuries, still thrives after about twenty years, and so does Jazz Club Lionel Hampton, in the Hôtel Méridien, 81 boulevard Gouvion-St-Cyr, near the periphery of Paris on the way to Charles de Gaulle Airport.
By the 1970s, after Parisian and other European jazz musicians had learned to play well enough to replace the Americans, club owners discovered they could pay the Europeans much less money. Joe Turner used his considerable influence at the French musicians union to retain his job at Calvados against a challenge from a French rival. Memphis Slim, then well into middle age, also stayed in Paris, while Kenny Clarke continued with the vaunted Francy Boland-Kenny Clarke band. But most Americans lost their livings to the people they had taught. Fortunately, jazz was beginning to enjoy a renaissance in the United States. There was work to be had at home again. By 1980, when Americans played in Paris, it was usually for a week or two or a single concert, backed by French musicians. They got very high fees, but they could no longer find a continuous feast there, or anyplace in Europe.
It’s a miracle that so many jazz clubs have survived so long. Successful clubs in most cities come and go. In New York only the Village Vanguard, dating back to the 1930s, and Arthur’s Tavern, from the 1950s, can compare at all with Paris’s oldest. Ronnie Scott’s, in London’s Soho district, is that city’s oldest at forty. But the French have a gift for taking good care of things they love.
Jazz’s golden era in Paris has remained a source of pride and happy memories, and the period is becoming codified in black-history courses. In 1992 a conference at the Sorbonne led by Henry Louis Gates, Jr., director of Harvard’s black-studies faculty, and Michel Fahre, his counterpart at the Sorbonne, combined a celebration of history and an exploration of the era when black artists—primarily writers and musicians, but painters as well—flourished in Paris. Gates observed during the proceedings, “We don’t merely have to go to Africa to discover our traditions; we go to Paris too.”
Some jazz musicians have continued to have special ties to Europe right down to today, prominent among them the pianist Oscar Peterson, who plays European concerts with European musicians as a mainstay of his later career. But though the Americans are mostly gone, the tradition they started lives on all around the city. You even encounter it on the streets, as I did one night last summer, when a motorcyclist sped through the winding lanes of the Left Bank, his boom box blaring Cab Galloway’s “Minnie the Moocher” the way an American’s would play rock or heavy metal.
Leslie Course, who writes often about jazz, lives in New York City.
Where They Played, Past and Present
*Starred clubs are no longer open.
Duc des Lombards, 42 rue des Lombards, 1st Pars
Petit Opportun, 15 rue des Lavandièr-Ste-Opportune, 1st arr.
Slow Club, 130 rue de Rivoli, 1st arr.
Sunset, 60 rue des Lombards, 1st arr.
Le Franc Pinot, 1 quai Bourbon, Ile St. Louis, 4th arr.
Caveau de la Huchette, 5 rue de la Huchette, 5th arr.
*Le Chat Qui Pêche, 9 rue de la Huchette, 5th arr.
Le Petit Journal St-Michel, 71 boulevard St-Michel, 5th arr.
Les Trois Maillets, 56 rue Galande, 5th arr.
*All Jazz Club, 7-11 rue Saint-Benoît, 6th arr.
Bilboquet and Club St. Germain, 13 rue Saint-Benoît, 6th arr.
Le Caméléon, 57 rue St-André-des-Arts, 6th arr.
*Le Tabou, 33 rue Dauphine, 6th arr.
*La Villa, 29 rue Jacob, 6th arr.
*Blue Note, rue d’Artois, 8th arr.
Le Boeuf sur le Toit,• 34 rue du Colisée, 8th arr.
Calvados, 40 avenue Pierre le Premier de Serbie, 8th arr.
*Bricktop’s, 26 rue Pigalle, Montmartre, 9th arr.
New Morning, 7 rue des Petites-Ecuries, 10th arr.
Le Petit Journal Montparnasse, 13 rue du Commandant Mouchotte, 14th arr.
Jazz Club Lionel Hampton, Hôtel Méridien, 81 boulevard Gouvion-St-Cyr, 17th arr.
—L.G.
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More Paris Jazz Club/Info Sites
www.Paris-Jazz-Clubs.com
E-mail: info@Jazz-Clubs-Paris.com