Paris has been a jazz haven because the Nineteen Thirties, second solely to New York Metropolis. Nearly a century later, town continues to be identified for its jazz golf equipment, the place on any given night time in Paris you may simply discover not less than a half dozen stay live shows at totally different venues all through town. The Left Financial institution is especially attention-grabbing for the number of golf equipment and programming, from tiny cellars and comfortable cocktail bars to dinner live shows and jam classes the place everybody’s dancing.
You don’t need to be a fan of jazz music to benefit from the power and environment of the Paris jazz scene. Whereas there are live shows in massive venues that includes worldwide stars, most of the smaller golf equipment are accessible – and inexpensive – for anybody curious sufficient to step inside. Right here’s a primer on the most effective ones on the Left Financial institution that can assist you select.
Historic Cellar Golf equipment
Caveau de la Huchette
Caveau de la Huchette
5, rue de la Huchette, 5th
Metro St-Michel or Cluny-Sorbonne
Open nightly from 9pm till 2:30am (till 4am on Friday, Saturday, and holidays).
Concert events start at 9:30pm.
No reservations.
Entry €14 (€16 on Friday, Saturday and holidays); €10 for college kids beneath 25 with pupil ID.
Drinks can be found beneath €10 (no requirement to buy drinks). Coat examine obtainable.
Based on legend, the Knights of Templar met on this cellar within the 16th century, adopted the Free Masons within the 18th century. It’s been a jazz hotspot since 1946, the place all the nice jazz legends performed, from Sidney Bechet to Lionel Hampton. Immediately it hosts jazz, swing, and blues live shows, with jam classes open to all musicians on Monday nights. This is likely one of the few jazz venues the place you may dance — and lots of do! When you favor to sit down and watch, be sure to get there as quickly because the doorways open at 9pm to get one of many seats alongside the benches surrounding the dance flooring, or up on the mezzanine tables for the most effective views. It’s very informal, with folks chatting amongst themselves, and coming and going to the bar upstairs, in the course of the live shows.
Chez Georges
Chez Georges
11 Rue des Canettes, 6thMetro Odéon
Bar open each day 6pm-2am (till 1am Sunday-Monday); live shows Tuesdays 8pm-11pm.
Live performance tickets €12. Reservations on-line extremely beneficial.
Drinks and cheese/meat platters obtainable for €4-€10.
Opened by Georges Abbe and his spouse Minouche in 1952, this common bar is now run by their children, and has barely modified at all around the previous 25 years, regardless of how fashionable the neighborhood has grow to be. Just like the Caveau de la Huchette, there’s no costume code right here. The bottom flooring bar is open to anybody if you’ll find a nook to cram into. The costs are greater than affordable, with many wines and their home Sangria obtainable at €5/glass or beneath €25/bottle. The cellar is simply for individuals who have bought tickets to the live shows (when full, you’ll see a “soirée privé” signal on the steps).
They host Swing and Jazz Manouche (aka Gypsy jazz) live shows each Tuesday night time, with a distinct group every time. You’ll need to get there at 7:45pm to ensure you get a great place close to the entrance. There’s a devoted bar and coat examine downstairs; after you have your desk your order will probably be taken and dropped at you. That is handy as a result of it’s such a small venue (about 40 spots on chairs, stools and benches) that when you’re seated and the music begins, it’s actually tough to stroll round. There are three units from 8pm-11pm, with breaks in between so everybody can stretch their legs and chat (nobody talks whereas the musicians are taking part in). An important venue if you wish to expertise an intimate environment up shut and private with the musicians and fellow music lovers.
Resort Bar Concert events
Wilde’s Lounge
Wilde’s Lounge at L’Resort
13 rue des Beaux-Arts, 6th
Metro St-Germain-des-Prés
Bar open each day from 5pm-1am. Concert events Thursdays from 7:30pm-11pm.
Free entry, no reservations. Cocktails from €25.
There are free jazz live shows within the bar of the luxurious boutique lodge, L’Resort, the place the 19th-century author Oscar Wilde famously died. These live shows are a part of the neighborhood’s Jeudi des Beaux Arts occasion to advertise the artwork galleries alongside the Rue des Beaux Arts on Thursday nights (often a preferred night for vernissages, or present openings).
Wilde’s Lounge, which has expanded into the house that used to deal with the lodge’s Michelin-starred restaurant (now closed), is one in every of my favourite cocktail bars for its plush, boudoir-style décor filled with marble and fringed velvet, excellent for a date. You’ll need to get there by 7:15pm if you wish to be sure you get a desk earlier than the music begins at 7:45pm (presumably earlier in excessive vacationer season). Given the steep value of the fabulous cocktails — and the rooms, must you be fortunate sufficient to remain right here — the gang tends to be a bit higher dressed than on the venues talked about above. The musicians, often a duo or trio with piano and vocalist, are positioned on the far finish of the lounge. When you can’t get a desk, or favor to have the ability to chat extra freely along with your companion(s), seize one of many stools or couch throughout from the bar, which is in a smaller room connecting the lounge to the lodge’s foyer.
Café Laurent
Café Laurent at Hôtel D’Aubusson
33 Rue Dauphine, 6th
Metro Odéon
Bar open each day 4:30pm till midnight; live shows Monday by way of Saturday from 8:30pm-11pm (extra solo classes on Wednesdays and Thursdays from 6:30pm-7:45pm).
Free entry, no reservations. Cocktails from €19, different drinks (together with teas) from €10. Bar snacks from €16.
Based on the lodge’s historical past, the Café Laurent has been open because the late 17th-century (about the identical because the close by Procope), and its cellar grew to become one of many neighborhood’s hottest jazz golf equipment — beneath the title Le Tabou — again in 1947. Immediately the jazz live shows happen within the elegant ground-level lounge bar of the Café Laurent, with home windows overlooking the busy Rue Dauphine. This can be one of many best jazz venues to go to with out a lot dedication or advance planning, since entry is free and there are live shows each night time however Sunday. This system is on their web site and posted within the lodge foyer if you wish to take a look at who’s taking part in (it should typically be pianist Christian Brenner, the membership’s program director, together with a vocalist, bassist and saxophonist).
There are comfortable upholstered chairs and low tables for friends across the piano, in addition to seating on the lengthy bar. There’s a full drinks menu, in addition to tapenade spreads and sweets like macarons if you happen to’re hungry. There are two units within the evenings at 8:30pm and 9:45pm, and two units for the soloists on Wednesday and Thursday at 6:30pm and seven:15pm. In order for you to have the ability to chat, there’s one other cozy lounge with an enormous hearth on the opposite facet of the bar, and an inside courtyard with just a few tables for some recent air.
Dinner Live performance Golf equipment
Le Barbizon
Le Barbizon
141 Rue de Tolbiac, 13th
Metro Tolbiac or Olympiade
Bar open 5pm-2am Tuesday – Saturday. Restaurant/live shows 8pm-10pm (though they typically begin later and go longer).
Tickets €10-€15 bought prematurely, €12-€17 on the door. Reservations extremely beneficial.
Probably the greatest-kept secrets and techniques (to date), this tackle was as soon as residence to one of many oldest cinemas in Paris, relationship again to 1911. It closed in 1983 and was occupied by artist squatters till it was lastly demolished in 2011 and changed with public housing. Le Barbizon restaurant-bar-club opened at road degree simply after the ultimate pandemic restrictions had been lifted in 2021. They host jazz, blues, funk, and world music live shows on a small stage overlooking a eating room and bar.
They take nice delight of their home made meals, so once you e-book your ticket (all the time cheaper prematurely than on the door), you’ve the choice to order a desk. The menu contains connoisseur burgers for €24, charcuterie or cheese platters (€15-€20), and salads. There’s a youngsters’s menu at €15, and “formules” with drinks included from €35 (solo)-€45 (duo). When you simply need to drink or snack, you’re seated or standing on the bar, relying on house). Cocktails are €12, different drinks from €4.50 and up.
The acts taking part in right here come from Paris and all around the world, with a terrific number of types. There are additionally just a few regulars, together with New Orleans native Jeff Boudreaux’s “Mumbo Gumbo Brass Band”. Wednesday nights are jam classes honoring legendary musicians; tickets are €10 for watching (and a €7 payment added to any drinks to pay the musicians), or free if you happen to’re collaborating. After the live shows, the musicians often be part of the gang on the bar to hang around. There’s no dancing, however the environment is pleasant and informal; no costume code.
Petit Journal Saint Michel
Petit Journal St-Michel
71 Boulevard Saint-Michel, 5th
RER Luxembourg or Metro Cluny-Sorbonne
Restaurant open from 7:30pm Tuesday-Saturday. Concert events from 9pm.
Entrance €25 (together with first drink) or dinner-concert for €70-€75 (contains entrance, meals, and repair, however not drinks). Drinks €8-€15. Bar snacks €25-€32.
Reservations through on-line kind or by calling 01 43 26 28 59.
Going robust since 1971, the Petit Journal is a restaurant and membership identified for New Orleans Jazz and swing acts, comparable to regulars Les Dixieland Seniors. The environment is enjoyable and pleasant, no costume code anticipated. They’ve added a small space to bop, though most individuals are seated for dinner. The room is lengthy and slim, with the musicians on the far finish, so that you’ll need to resolve if you happen to’d relatively sit nearer for view (however know that it will likely be more durable to listen to anybody at your desk) or additional away so you may extra simply chat (however danger not seeing a lot).
When reserving (beneficial if you happen to’re greater than two folks), you’ll have to both name or fill out their on-line reservation for with the date, variety of folks, and whether or not you’re consuming or simply ingesting, and wait for his or her affirmation. Regardless of these old fashioned hurdles, they’ve a loyal and devoted following of regulars from around the globe.
When you plan on consuming, be sure you examine the menu, which is kind of restricted (principal dish decisions are duck confit, rump steak, veal kidneys, or roast cod). Bar snacks like cheese platters or plate of snails begin at €25. I haven’t eaten there (no vegan choices), and the evaluations appear to advise folks to stay to the music and the drinks.
Different Left Financial institution Venues
La Rhumerie
166, boulevard Saint-Germain, 6th
MetroMabillon or St-Germain-des-PrésBar-restaurant open each day 9am-2:30am (till 12:30am Solar-Mon, till 1:30am Tues-Wed)
Concert events Sundays and Mondays 8:30pm-10:30pm
Free entry, €1 added to drink costs throughout live shows.
This historic neighborhood establishment was first opened in 1932 by a rum importer. Immediately they’ve jazz live shows twice each week in a festive, laid-back environment overlooking the busy Boulevard St-Germain. After all you’ll need to attempt the rum cocktails, and if hungry, the Creole and West Indies snacks from €5-€15.
Le Bal Blomet
33 rue Blomet, 15th
Metro Sèvres-Lecourbe or Volontaires
Bar-restaurant open from 7pm, live shows Wednesday by way of Friday from 8pm.
Most tickets €22-€25. Reserve your spot on-line or at FNAC. Full bar and light-weight meals obtainable.
This self-described cabaret hosts all types of music and performances, however primarily jazz, in a spacious live performance venue that seats 250 folks, one of many largest of its form on the Left Financial institution. The unique jazz membership right here first opened in 1924; the one you see right this moment was utterly rebuilt in 2017 after altering fingers for a number of many years.
Jazz Sources
ParisJazzClub.web is a superb place to start out for details about the place to get pleasure from jazz in Paris. It’s in French and English, and contains this system for many of the venues it lists. Additionally they supply a membership card for €40/12 months that provides you entry into seven free live shows every month, in addition to reductions and different advantages.
L’Officiel des Spectacles, on-line or offline, can also be a terrific useful resource to search out all the jazz live performance itemizing in Paris, such because the Châtelet Fait son Jazz jazz pageant on the Théâtre du Châtelet March 5-12.
Observe: Café Universel on Rue St Jacques and Jazz Café Montparnasse are completely closed.
