If you love jazz, you have to be alert. That’s in part because the music is all about savoring spontaneity, but also because live jazz is rare and getting rarer.
In an entertainment capital that very nearly trembles with music of all genres, only about a dozen clubs in Los Angeles offer jazz more than once a week. Their numbers had been dwindling even before the pandemic.
But there’s a new generation of players emerging, the scene is evolving and there’s ample cause for hope. That became clear as we searched, listened and pulled together this guide.
The clubs listed below are consistent jazz haunts that typically host at least two performances per week. They come in a wide variety of flavors, including the disheveled dedication you see at the Baked Potato, the chatty lounge feel of the Dresden, the affluent trappings of Herb Alpert’s Vibrato Grill or the communal feel of a Monday night jam at the Lighthouse Cafe, where much of the music in “La La Land” was filmed.
Bear in mind that there are plenty more places in town that do jazz one way or another. These are the ones we’ve been able to try ourselves.
Beyond these places, many other venues present big jazz names occasionally or stage annual festivals, like the Hollywood Bowl, the Soraya at Cal State Northridge or the Leimert Park Jazz Festival. There also are clubs known for their weekly jazz nights or jam sessions, including General Lee’s in Chinatown (Tuesdays), the York in Highland Park (Wednesdays), Rudolph’s in downtown’s Freehand Hotel (Wednesdays), Lavender Blue Restaurant Lounge in Inglewood (Sundays), the Mint near Carthay Square (Sundays) and Justine’s Wine Bar in Frogtown (also Sundays).
Also, there are Sunday brunches — so many Sunday brunches, often featuring the smooth jazz that purists like to scorn. (Many are listed at this curated list from LAJazzPicks.com editors.) We seem to have traveled far since the days when prudes denounced jazz as the devil’s music. Nowadays, it’s easier to find jazz on Sunday than on Friday or Saturday.
When Jeff Hanley, producer-host of the nationally distributed radio shows “Jazz After Hours” and “Jazz Happening Now,” tries out a new music venue, he looks for “authenticity, a place where people are there to hear and respect the music.”
“There is a whole world of West Coast jazz musicians making it in Los Angeles,” Hanley said.
As a performer sussing out a new venue, L.A. pianist and composer Josh Nelson said he looks for a high-quality piano and microphones, good sound quality, a bit of separation between the bar and the stage, perhaps a green room for performers, “and a no-talking policy when the musicians are playing. The artist shouldn’t have to say anything like that to the audience.”
But the perfect club is as elusive as the perfect solo. Nelson, who has performed in most of the clubs on this list over the last 25 years, notes that every venue has its own vibe.
The chatty conviviality of the crowd can be part of the fun at the Dresden, and the close quarters at Sam First or the Baked Potato can make the music doubly intimate.
The jazz community’s most lamented pandemic loss, many say, was Blue Whale in Little Tokyo. (Nelson played its opening night in 2009 and its closing night in December 2020.) Another recent casualty: ETA in Echo Park, which closed in December after eight years.
The current landscape can seem especially daunting, Nelson acknowledged, if you consider clubs lost during the decade before the pandemic, including the Jazz Bakery’s permanent space in Culver City, Charlie O’s in Van Nuys and Spazio in Sherman Oaks.
But Nelson sees bright spots too. One is Sam First — an LAX-adjacent venue — which has a jazz recording label (including an album by Nelson). Another is the L.A.-based record label and live-music venture Jazz Is Dead, which has won over many new jazz fans since 2017 with its concerts in varied locations.
Others see promise in the growing community of younger fans flocking to pop-up shows by Minaret Records across the city.
Will pop-up venues play a larger role alongside clubs in the future of L.A. jazz? “Maybe,” said Nelson. “I’m hopeful.”