When it comes to jazz, no one would deny that Los Angeles does not quite possess the cachet of either New Orleans, the birthplace of jazz, or New York, long recognized by musicians and fans alike as the music’s international âcapitol city.â But while the LA jazz scene may not hold that same powerful worldwide reputation, the city has doubtlessly left major marks on the scoreboard of jazz history.
Clarinetist / bandleader Benny Goodman cemented his status as the âKing of Swingâ after a madhouse stand of 1935 shows at the long-gone Palomar Ballroom on Vermont Avenue. Baritone saxophonist Gerry Mulligan and trumpeter Chet Baker first gigged together at the Haig on Wilshire, their collaboration sparking both the celebrated Pacific Jazz label and the entire West Coast-driven âcoolâ movement in 1950s jazz. And LA artists are still making waves around the world. Just dig the rapturous reception for The Epic, Inglewood-born saxophonist Kamasi Washington’s three-disc 2015 debut solo recording. It was named the album of the year by both the critics and readers of JazzTimes Magazine, and garnered Washington notice in the pages of Esquire as âJazz’s Savior.â (Of course, it doesn’t hurt that Washington was also prominently featured on Compton native Kendrick Lamar’s Grammy-winning hip hop masterpiece To Pimp a Butterfly.)
While jazz is no longer the commercial draw it was in Goodman’s swing-royalty heyday, the city still offers a number of top-shelf venues at which you can hear both classic straight-ahead sounds and the envelope-pushing pioneers of the music’s future. So of course, what would the downtown center of a major American city be without a number of spots showcasing âAmerica’s musicâ? Here are 10 outstanding rooms that bring live jazz to downtown’s denizens and visitors alike. Some feature the music on special themed nights; others bring the swing seven days a week. But no matter when they’re turning the spotlight on jazz, the sounds you’ll find in these spaces will enthrall, entertain, and inspire you. Who knows? They might even get you dancing, too.
BAR FEDORA AT AU LAC
710 W. 1st St.; 213-617-2533; www.saturdaynitejazzdtla.com; @satnitejazzDTLA
Au Lac is a gourmet vegan restaurant located right around the corner from the new Broad Museum, and every Saturday night at 7:30, their rear lounge, the lightly Art Deco-styled Bar Fedora, is home to the Saturday Night Jazz DTLA series. Locally-based vocalist Cathy Segal-Garcia curates a fine selection of artists in a broad range of moods. Featured performers have included trumper Nolan Shaheed (former musical director for Marvin Gaye), Cyprus-born vocal improviser Alexia Vassilliou, and exploratory âalternative soulâ singer Stayce Branche. With a $20-25 cover and a 2-item minimum, this series is one of the higher-priced weekly jazz experiences in downtown; however, the venue does offer special discounts for students (with ID) and fellow musicians.
THE BLUE WHALE
123 Astronaut E.S. Onizuka St., Suite 301; 213-620-0908; info@bluewhalemusic.com; www.bluewhalemusic.com; @bluewhalemusic
Ask virtually any jazz musician, âWhere can I go in LA to hear interesting sounds?â, and the first answer you’ll get is this hip, eclectic room on the third level of Little Tokyo’s Weller Court. Since 2009, jazz vocalist Joon Lee’s venue has offered up internationally celebrated artists in any style you fancy, everything from the abstract solo electric guitar extrapolations of David Torn to the easy-breezy swing of French gypsy jazz vocalist Cyrille Aimee. The Whale is also a favorite spot for CD release parties; this is the venue Kamasi Washington chose to kick off the launch of The Epic. The bar offers sensibly priced drink specials, craft beer, and small bites, and the cushy seating and rotating contemporary art on display give the place an up-to-the-minute bohemian vibe. It’s the chillest setting one could imagine for taking in the most daring music the city has to offer.
THE EDISON
108 W. 2nd St., #101; 213-613-0000; info@edisondowntown.com; www.edisondowntown.com; @TheEdisonLA
Downtown’s nighttime scene has embraced old-fashioned speakeasy style with a rare fervor, and no place has taken the Roaring ’20s feeling to heart quite like the Edison. Housed on the site of downtown’s first private power plant, the subterreanean dĂ©cor is a witty brew of just-slightly-gone-to-seed Gatsby elegance, with silent films flickering on the walls and a perky cigarette girl prowling the floor hawking her wares. There’s even an Absinthe Fairy dispensing tipples for the truly adventurous. The Edison is open Wednesday through Saturday, and offers entertainment on every one of those nights, in the form of DJs, aerialists, burlesque artists, and on Thursday evenings, live musicians with a distinctively jazz-oriented slant. Recent featured artists include jumped-up revival blues band Reverend Tall Tree and the Blackstrap Brothers and blues-swing outfit the Blind Blakes.
GRAND STAR JAZZ CLUB
943 N. Broadway; 213-626-2285; tquon@netzero.com; @TheGrandStar
Tucked into one of the most picturesque corners of Chinatown’s central core of shops and restaurants, the Grand Star has been doing its thing since 1946, when it was founded by the Quon family, longtime civic leaders of the neighborhood. The family matriarch, Yiu Hai Seto Quon, was the Grand Star’s principal chef, and still greeted customers well into her nineties; the venue is now fronted by her grandson Tony, while the food has gone Vietnamese, with the Grand Star Bistro offering flavors from the nearby Gigo’s Cafe & Deli from 11 am to 7 pm. To be fair, the Grand Star is now largely a jazz club in name only; most nights, it instead showcases DJs, including the long-running Friday night synthpop dance event Club Underground. But if you check their calendar, you’ll find jazz artists regularly scheduled amongst the club’s offerings; recent local features include pianist Alex Santos’s hard-driving quintet.
THE LITTLE EASY
216 W. 5th St.; 213-628-3113; LittleEasyBar@gmail.com; littleeasybar.com; @LittleEasyDTLA
No city’s jazz scene is complete without a little Crescent City vibe, and the Little Easy proudly brings a touch of New Orleans to the world of LA jazz. Located in the old Alexandria Hotel building in one of downtown’s most celebrated historic hubs, the Little Easy (operated by downtown nightlife guru and former LA Derby Doll Vee Delgadillo) evokes deep Southern atmosphere with both its French Quarter-inspired dĂ©cor and its menu of lip-smacking Cajun-styled cuisine designed by Chef Brian Garrigues. Sunday is when the Little Easy makes a jazz noise. 11 am to 3 pm, the venue offers brunch with live music by sultry vocalist Sharon Cline & The Bad Boyz of Jazz; then, 8 pm brings BeatChu’s Bayou, a popular drag revue with a jazzy Mardi Gras flavor. Check the Little Easy’s online calendar regularly for additional news and upcoming special events.
PERCH
448 S. Hill St.; 213-802-1770; info@perchla.com; www.perchla.com; @PERCHLosAngeles
Rising high over the edge of the city’s historic core, the two-tiered restaurant / lounge Perch offers French-inspired rooftop stylings, a sweeping panoramic view of the city, and a menu of Gallic-themed delights designed by executive chef Gerardo Benitez. Happy hour is from 4 to 6, with live music kicking off nightly at 7. Regularly featured artists include trumpeter Brian Swartz’s old-school quintet on Tuesdays; drummer Ben Rose’s group, with soulful cabaret vocalist Laura Mace, on Thursdays; and weekend champagne brunches from 12 to 3, with pianist Todd Hunter’s trio on Saturdays, and vocalist / composer Jesse Palter fronting her swinging quartet on Sundays. Thursday through Saturday, Perch also offers DJs spinning eclectic funk sounds and soul-groove from 10 pm till closing time. Dial extension 1 when calling for reservations; tables can also be booked online. Strictly 21 and over after 9 p.m.
LE PETIT PARIS
418/420 S. Spring St.; 213-217-4445; info@lepetitparisla.com; lepetitparisla.com
France has long had a rarefied status in the international jazz community. It was one of the earliest European nations to truly embrace the music, and many seminal musicians, from Miles Davis to Bud Powell, enjoyed celebrated residencies in Paris. Fanny and David Rolland, legendary French restauranteurs, have brought a little of their homeland to downtown with Le Petit Paris, the US sister of their Cannes-based brasserie of the same name. Located in the El Dorado building (originally built in 1913), Le Petit Paris offers a rich array of American and French favorites, carefully designed and beautifully executed by chefs Baptiste Grellier and Jeremie Cazes, and the setting is almost impossibly handsome, with shimmering skylights, ornate antique columns, and patio el fresco seating. And not only does the restaurant present live jazz every Wednesday night from 7:30 to 9:30 (singer / multi-instrumentalist Laure Zaehringer was recently featured), they also open their doors every second Thursday of the month to present music as part of the city’s regular Art-Walk events. Le Petit Paris is accepting potential new artists for performance at their venue; if you’re an interested musician or band, contact music director Yann Muller at yann.muller@lepetitparisla.com.
REDCAT â ROY AND EDNA DISNEY / CALARTS THEATER
631 W. 2nd St.; 213-237-2800; info.redcat@calarts.edu; www.redcat.org; @CalArtsREDCAT
A performance-and-exhibition home away from home for the California Institute of the Arts, this interdisciplinary non-profit venue makes its home beneath the swirling metallic curlicues of the Walt Disney Concert Hall. The REDCAT, of course, is not a jazz-only space, presenting everything from dance and film installations to chamber music and near-unclassifiable works of performance art. But attention must be paid, because when jazz takes center stage at the REDCAT, it’s of a rarefied caliber indeed. Past artists include pianist Vijay Iyer, a former MacArthur Fellow; paradigm-shifting alto saxophonist Greg Osby (presented in partnership with the longtime LA collective The Jazz Bakery); and dazzling Cuban drummer Dafnis Prieto, showcased as part of the city’s annual autumn Angel City Jazz Festival. The theater also hosted a poignant moment of true jazz history in 2013, when legendary bassist Charlie Haden, founder of the CalArts jazz program, gave what turned out to be his final live performance before his passing the following summer.
SEVEN GRAND
515 W. 7th Street, Suite 300; (213) 614-9736; Victor@213downtown.la; 213dthospitality.com/project/seven-grand-dtla; @213hospitality
Whiskey. That’s what Seven Grand is all about. Found on the 2nd floor of one of downtown’s refurbished vintage office spaces, this gorgeously appointed dark-wood-lined haven offers over 200 varieties of domestic and international premium whiskeys, along with a full range of cocktails and spirits. The venue also boasts pool tables, private party rooms, and the adjacent Bar Jackalope, an Japanese-style 18-seater with over 100 whiskey varities of its own ready to pour. Seven Grand also hosts regular meetings of the Whiskey Society, a members-only education and tasting club designed to help you get the most out of your libations. In keeping with its classic flair, Seven Grand offers regular live jazz performances; check their Facebook page for the latest calendar updates. Popular regulars at the venue include Kool and the Gang saxophonist Louis Van Taylor and local jam band The Makers, whose music is described as âa 100% improvised wall of sound…influenced by everyone from Miles Davis, Radiohead, and Medeski Martin & Wood to Four Tet, Mars Volta, and Meshell N’Degeocello.â
THE VARNISH
118 E. 6th Street; 213-817-5321; Max@213downtown.la; 212dthospitality.com/project/the-varnish; @TheVarnishBar
Next time you stop into Cole’s, the old-school Skid Row sandwich shop, for your regular French dip, you may notice a side door with nothing but an etching of a cocktail marking it as anything special. The room behind it was once just storage space, but it’s now home to the Varnish, one of the city’s most celebrated recent-vintage watering holes. Black wallpaper and an old upright piano create an upscale-Depression aesthetic as you sample an array of drinks that won the Varnish the âBest American Cocktail Barâ prize at the 2012 Spirited Awards, sponsored by Tales of the Cocktail in (where else?) New Orleans. Sunday through Tuesday after 9 pm is when you’ll find jazz happening here. The âhouse bandâ is a swingin’ trio fronted by pianist Jamie Elman; they also provided accompaniment for the âCrooner Karaokeâ the venue hosted at their 7th anniversary celebration in February. And fear not: Your Cole’s sandwich is welcome inside the Varnish…and the music awaiting you there, like that French dip, is classic and delicious.
— by Matt R. Lohr
