Blues, Jazz entertainment in Europe
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A
Blue Note
This jazzy pub-cum-dance-bar has a great summer beer garden and usually no cover charge.
reviewed
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B
Zlatna Ribica
A collision of aesthetics as baroque, fin-de-siècle Paris and Vienna, and Art Deco crash together in this warmly lit bar. Nature abhors a vacuum and so does the owner who has filled every nook and cranny with period knick-knacks; it's a visual feast. Drinks come with a side plate of complimentary nuts and dried figs, and the music is blues and early rock'n'roll.
reviewed
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C
Du Phare
Tucked into the remains of one of Bruges' original town gates, this off-the-beaten-track tavern serves up huge portions of couscous (and offers free bread, a rarity in Belgium). But Du Phare is best known for its live blues/jazz sessions - check the website for dates. Bus 4 stops out the front.
reviewed
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D
Be Bop
There's no rhyme - sometimes not even reason - to the music played here, although you might find something to suit on its menu of jazz, blues and country. Admission is usually free and the atmosphere laid-back.
reviewed
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E
Dizzy
Live concerts Monday and Tuesday nights and Sunday afternoons. The evening performances are scorching: everything from hot jazz to fast and funky Brazilian and salsa. There’s regular jazz jam sessions.
reviewed
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F
Bourbon Street
A red-brick slice of New Orleans in Napoli. Smooth American and Italian jazz musicians perform virtually every night to a mixed-age crowd of head-swaying jazz aficionados.
reviewed
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G
Jazzcafé the Duke
‘If we don’t have it, you don’t need it’ is its motto, and amid this cool-cat interior of yellowing, vintage jazz posters, the fine live jazz never makes you doubt it.
reviewed
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H
Jazz Café
A bit disappointing for jazz-lovers, this indoor-outdoor café still makes a lively spot for a drink. Live performances most Fridays.
reviewed
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Sax Pub
In Trnovo and decorated with colourful murals and graffiti inside and out, Sax has live jazz at 21:30 on Thursday.
reviewed
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J
606 Club
Named after its old address on Kings Road which cast a spell over jazz lovers London-wide back in the ‘80s, this fantastic, tucked-away basement jazz club and restaurant gives centre stage to contemporary British-based jazz musicians nightly. Hidden behind a nondescript brick wall, the club frequently opens until 2am, although at weekends you have to dine to gain admission (booking is advised). There is no entry charge, but a music fee (£10 during the week, £12 Friday and Saturday, £10 Sunday) will be added to your food/drink bill at the end of the evening.
reviewed
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K
Rotterdam
The Rotterdam is a purist’s pub, unrepentantly old-fashioned and wonderfully atmospheric, with stone floors, an open fire, low ceilings and a perfectly poured pint of Guinness. It’s famed for the quality of its live-music sessions – jazz, folk, rock or blues plays most nights, and in summer the tables, and the gigs, spill outdoors. Get here before the bulldozers do – the Rott’s long-term future is far from certain.
reviewed
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L
Jazz Café
Established by Mete Gurman and Cengiz Sanlı in 1982, this mellow two-storey place is one of the city’s original jazz joints and is bathed in mood lighting. Great local jazz musicians such as Bülent Ortaçgil come here to perform to 30-something jazzheads, and musicians from other genres also feature – funk/acid or blues are played Tuesday to Thursday, for instance. In summer, the club decamps to Bodrum.
reviewed
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M
Castle
The Castle gets lively on Saturdays, when the market crowds pour in to rest their feet on the comfortable armchairs and sofas and enjoy the odd décor of industrial meets Moorish charm. There's Leffe and delicious strawberry beer, and the place is mainly populated by a crowd of local characters who keep it buzzing all day long. There's a full menu and live jazz on Saturday and Sunday evenings.
reviewed
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Nothin’ But the Blues
The oldest blues venue in town, NBB has been wailing for more than 15 years now. The name may be accurate Thursday to Saturday from 8pm when there’s always a live strummer or some such but acts vary the rest of the week. Jamming is on Sunday afternoon and open mike on Monday night. Grab the in-house ‘beer guitar’ and give it a go.
reviewed
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O
Cantina Bentivoglio
Bologna’s top jazz joint, the Bentivoglio is a jack of all trades. Part wine bar (choose from over 500 labels), part restaurant (the daily prix-fixe menu costs €28) and part jazz club (there’s live music nightly), this much-loved institution oozes cosy charm with its ancient brick floors, arched ceilings and shelves full of wine bottles.
reviewed
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Christopher Columbus
This bar-restaurant, boasting an attractive timber-lined interior, overlooks the river and its less than fascinating dockyards, but you can always turn your chair to face the nearby Naval Academy. The curved bar resembles a boat, and there’s a vast beer garden. Jazz and swing music is on Monday and Tuesday evenings, respectively.
reviewed
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Q
Bimhuis
The core of Amsterdam’s influential jazz and improvisational music scene since 1973, the Bimhuis – located in the Muziekgebouw – draws international jazz greats. The intimate auditorium has huge windows giving a view over the city, and a spiffy bar. There’s an open jam session Tuesdays at 10.30pm from September to June – fun and free.
reviewed
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R
Red Fox Jazz Café
The newest addition to St Pete’s jazz scene is the fun and friendly Red Fox Jazz Café, a subterranean space that showcases jazz in the old-fashioned sense: big band, bebop, ragtime and swing music. Sunday changes it up with a jam session, featuring anybody who wants to participate. The menu is extensive and affordable.
reviewed
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S
Café Jazz
It's not exactly your traditional smoky jazz basement, but this appealing hotel café-bar is the city's main jazz venue, with live jazz kicking off at 21:00 Monday to Thursday, and blues from 22:00 Friday (on Saturday nights it's a piano bar). Monday-night jam sessions give new talent a chance to sit in with the house band.
reviewed
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T
Jazz Garden Music Club
A sophisticated venue with traditional, vocal and Latin jazz, and odd decor: a faux cellar ‘garden’ with street lamps and a night ‘sky’ bedecked with blinking stars. Book a table (starters 1680Ft to 2650Ft, mains 2680Ft to 4180Ft) in the dining room; music starts at 9.30pm and finishes at 12.30am.
reviewed
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Jazz Eetcafé Desafinado
It does exactly what it says on the tin: serves up steaming portions of hot jazz in wood-bound surroundings, with authentic jazz and blues on the stereo, old-time vinyl adorning the walls, and live jazz on Wednesday nights. The food's not too bad, although watch out for those little snail thingies they serve up as nibbles.
reviewed
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V
Satchmo
As its subtitle 'Amerikai Kreol Jazztaurant ' would suggest, this club-restaurant with big windows just round the corner from Szabadság tér serves up 'American' Creole cuisine (lots of spices, shellfish and 'blackened' things) and live jazz music courtesy of Mr Louis Armstrong from Thursday to Saturday nights.
reviewed
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Lizard King
Simultaneously happening and laid-back, this venue is easily located by the big guitar on its outside wall. Friendly crowds sit drinking and eating in the split-level space, casting the occasional glance at the lizard over the bar. There’s live music most nights, usually from 9pm, including rock, jazz and blues.
reviewed
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X
De Muze
This venerable café winds over three wooden storeys separated by curtains of fairy-lights. Musos (mainly local) take to the stage from 22:00 Monday to Saturday and at 15:00 on Sunday, during which time drinks cost an extra around €0.50, with proceeds going to the performers. Gig schedules are posted on the door.
reviewed
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Y
Jazztown
In the same building as the casino, this flashy place hosts Russian and international acts on most nights. The gigantic complex includes a restaurant. Starting at 11pm on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, Lounge Jazz Night makes for a fun night out, if you don’t mind the Las Vegas–style atmosphere.
reviewed