Destination Guides

Six of the Best Places to Listen to Live Jazz

Recently updated on January 30th, 2020 at 02:34 pm

From dimly-lit speakeasies to grand concert halls and iconic venues that have housed “the greats”, jazz clubs come in many shapes, sizes, and styles. Whether your preferred sound is smooth or swingin’, these are six of the best places to listen to live jazz around the world.

La Zorra Y El Cuervo, Havana

Listen to Live Jazz Spanish for the “Fox and Crow”, it’s hard to miss La Rampa’s Zorra Y El Cuervo, with its distinctive red English phone box outside the entrance. Descend the stairs of Havana’s most famous jazz club and conversation evaporates. This joint takes itself seriously, as well it should. It’s been a destination for all the best musicians, from slick saxophonists to polished pianists since the late ’90s. Expect freestyle jazz from top musicians.

How to visit: From Cuban Cigars to American Cars

Hot Club de Portugal, Lisbon

Listen to Live JazzThe Hot Club de Portugal is one of Europe’s oldest jazz venues, which was founded in 1948.  The stellar guest list includes big names like Count Basie, Dizzy Gillespie, and Dexter Gordon who have all played on the small stage. The prominent club went up in flames in 2009, so the original basement premises in Praça da Alegria are gone, but the new club is just a few doors down the road from the original site. Hot Club de Portugal is the perfect place to kick back and enjoy a soulful jam.

How to visit: Best of Portugal

Blue Note, Tokyo

Listen to Live JazzBlue Note showcases some of America’s best jazz artists with home-grown talent like Toshiko Akiyoshi. The largest club in Tokyo, in its playground of dark wood and velvet, 300 people congregate to listen to the sultry beats of Maceo Parker, Herbie Hancock, Doctor John and others. But it’s not just the music that impresses; many rock up for the ambience alone, which mixes sophistication with nostalgia.

How to visit: Splendours of Japan

Jazz Philharmonic, St Petersburg

Listen to Live JazzMore like an old English Music Hall than a jazz café, the grand design of the Jazz Philharmonic doesn’t stop it being a bit of a legend in Russian music circles. Founded by the violinist and composer David Goloshchekin, the Philharmonic’s a shrine to international jazz, where the club’s eccentric director can sometimes get so carried away, he joins in with the musicians on stage!

How to visit: Wonders of St Petersburg and Moscow

Ronnie Scott’s, London

Listen to Live JazzLocated in the heart of London’s Soho, Ronnie Scott’s is a club that needs little introduction. Taking its name from the legendary saxophonist, this cool jazz joint is one of Europe’s oldest, having opened in 1959. Attracting the biggest names in jazz, from Wynton Marsalis to Kurt Elling, Ronnie Scott’s also has its finger on the pulse of the hottest new rising jazz stars.

How to visit: London Explorer

Green Mill, Chicago

Listen to Live JazzHaving hosted jazz celebrities like Von Freeman, Franz Jackson and Wilbur Campbell, Chicago’s Green Mill is undoubtedly one of the biggest venues in the business. Playing everything from the root rhythms of New Orleans to the avant-garde sounds of the New York scene, the Mill also attracts big crowds because it remains frozen in the 1940s – the glory days of jazz.

How to visit: Route 66

If you’ve been inspired to experience the sounds of live jazz and visit some of these inspirational places, click here to discover a Trafalgar trip.

Image Credits: Main Image © iStock/kali9. Red Mic & Drum © iStock/carloscastilla. Saxophonist © iStock/Geoff Goldswain. Guitarist © iStock/Tzido.  Ronnie Scott’s © David Sinclair

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