Reading & listening
Articles, books, clubs and radio
A growing shelf — pieces worth the time, books that belong on a jazz lover's table, and where to hear the music live or on the air, in New York, Dakar and a few other cities we like. Not comprehensive; chosen.
Selected articles2 pieces
- John Coltrane At 100: A Global Perspective
Musicians and cultural figures from around the world reflect on Coltrane's centennial — his influence on improvisation, spirituality and musical innovation.
- My Brother, Don Sleet
A brother's memoir of the San Diego trumpeter — the early promise, the one great record, and the life that never got the recognition it deserved.
Books2 titles
- Roots in Reverse: Senegalese Afro-Cuban Music and Tropical Cosmopolitanism
A cultural history of how twentieth-century urban Senegal embraced Afro-Cuban music and, through it, forged an independent modern identity.
- Le jazz est-il encore possible ?
An essay on the history and philosophy of the music, asking, in the mid-1980s, whether jazz still had somewhere to go.
Jazz clubs, by country63 clubs · 14 countries
Who is on tonight? In the United States the simplest answer is the app Who's Playing Tonight, which lists the evening's sets club by club.
- Who's Playing TonightWeekly live-jazz listings by venue; NYC, LA, Philadelphia, DC, SF Bay Area (Baltimore on iOS); free iOS + Android apps; updated twice daily
United States25 clubs
New York
- Village Vanguardsince 1935; Monday Vanguard Jazz Orchestra
- Blue NoteGreenwich Village flagship since 1981
- Smalls Jazz ClubWest Village basement; late-night jams, livestreams
- MezzrowSmalls' sister piano room
- BirdlandMidtown; main room + Birdland Theater
- Dizzy's Club (Jazz at Lincoln Center)Columbus Circle, skyline view
- Smoke Jazz & Supper ClubUpper West Side
- The Jazz Gallerynonprofit; new music, emerging artists
- Bar BayeuxProspect Lefferts Gardens, Brooklyn; no cover
- Ornithology Jazz ClubBushwick, Brooklyn; no cover
Chicago
- Green Mill Cocktail LoungeUptown; since 1907
- Jazz ShowcaseJoe Segal's club, since 1947
- Constellationimprovised and creative music
New Orleans
- Preservation HallFrench Quarter; traditional jazz since 1961
- Snug Harbor Jazz BistroFrenchmen Street
- Maple Leaf BarUptown; Rebirth Brass Band Tuesdays
Los Angeles
- Catalina Jazz ClubHollywood; since 1986
- Sam Firstlistening room near LAX
San Francisco
- SFJAZZ CenterHayes Valley; Miner Auditorium + Joe Henderson Lab
- Black CatTenderloin jazz & supper club
Washington, DC
- Blues AlleyGeorgetown; since 1965
Boston
- RegattabarCharles Hotel, Cambridge
- Scullers Jazz ClubDoubleTree, Charles River
Detroit
- Cliff Bell'srestored 1935 art-deco room
Philadelphia
- Chris' Jazz CafeCenter City; since 1989
Senegal4 clubs
Dakar
- La Cave du Djoloff (Hôtel Le Djoloff)vaulted cellar, Fann Hock, near Soumbédioune; weekly 'Jazz in Djoloff' nights
- Institut français de Dakarconcert hall & outdoor stage; regular jazz programming
- Just 4 U (Just For You)Av. Cheikh Anta Diop; live music bar-restaurant (Facebook only)
Saint-Louis
- Saint-Louis Jazz Festivalannual, May; Place Baya
France6 clubs
Paris
- Duc des Lombardsrue des Lombards; two sets nightly
- Sunset / Sunsidetwo rooms, rue des Lombards
- Le Baiser Salérue des Lombards; jazz, Afro, world
- New Morninglarger hall; jazz & world since 1981
- Le Caveau de la HuchetteLatin Quarter swing cellar since 1946
- Jazz Club ÉtoileLe Méridien Étoile; Tue–Sat
United Kingdom5 clubs
London
- Ronnie Scott'sSoho; since 1959
- PizzaExpress Jazz Club SohoDean Street basement
- Vortex Jazz ClubDalston; adventurous programming
- 606 ClubChelsea; UK musicians nightly
- Jazz CafeCamden; jazz, soul, funk
Brazil5 clubs
São Paulo
- All of JazzVila Nova Conceição; intimate room, live music Tue–Sat since the 1990s (Instagram — website offline)
- Bourbon Street Music ClubMoema; since 1993
- JazzBBela Vista; small listening club
- Blue Note São PauloAv. Paulista
Rio de Janeiro
- Blue Note RioLagoa
Argentina1 club
Buenos Aires
- Thelonious ClubPalermo Hollywood
Canada2 clubs
Montreal
- Upstairs Jazz Bar & Grilldowntown; nightly
Toronto
- The Rex Hotel Jazz & Blues BarQueen St West; multiple sets daily
Denmark2 clubs
Copenhagen
- Jazzhus Montmartrerevived 1959 landmark
- La Fontaineoldest jazz bar in Copenhagen; late jams
Germany4 clubs
Berlin
- A-TraneCharlottenburg; since 1992
- QuasimodoKantstrasse cellar; since 1975
- Zig Zag Jazz ClubFriedenau
Munich
- Jazzclub UnterfahrtHaidhausen; nightly
Italy2 clubs
Rome
- Alexanderplatz Jazz ClubPrati; since 1984
Milan
- Blue Note MilanoIsola district
Japan3 clubs
Tokyo
- Blue Note TokyoAoyama; international headliners
- Cotton ClubMarunouchi
- Shinjuku Pit Innsince 1965; Japanese jazz institution
Netherlands1 club
Amsterdam
- Bimhuiswaterfront hall at Muziekgebouw
South Africa1 club
Cape Town
- The Crypt Jazz Restaurantbeneath St George's Cathedral
Spain2 clubs
Barcelona
- JamboreePlaça Reial; since 1960
Madrid
- Café CentralPlaza del Ángel; since 1982
Festivals6 festivals
- Saint-Louis Jazz FestivalSaint-Louis, Senegal; May since 1992
- Newport Jazz FestivalRhode Island; August since 1954
- Montreux Jazz FestivalSwitzerland; July
- North Sea Jazz FestivalRotterdam; July
- Festival International de Jazz de Montréallate June–July; world's largest
- New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festivallate April–early May
Jazz radio14 stations
Stations that play jazz all day, most of them streaming online.
United States6 stations
- WBGO 88.3 FM — Jazz 88Newark / New York · the New York area's jazz station since 1979
- KSDS Jazz 88.3San Diego · listener-supported, all jazz
- WPFW 89.3 FMWashington, DC · jazz and justice
- WWOZ 90.7 FMNew Orleans · jazz and heritage
- KKJZ 88.1 FMLos Angeles / Long Beach · jazz and blues
- Jazz24Seattle · online stream from KNKX
France2 stations
United Kingdom1 station
- Jazz FMLondon
Switzerland1 station
- Radio Swiss JazzBasel · ad-free, around the clock
Brazil4 stations
- Novabrasil FM 89.7São Paulo · Brazilian popular music (MPB) and bossa nova
- Rádio BatutaInstituto Moreira Salles web radio · Brazilian music, samba-jazz and instrumental, curated
- Rádio MEC FMRio de Janeiro · public station; jazz and instrumental programs
- Bossa Jazz BrasilSantos · online, jazz and bossa nova around the clock