Summer seems to be the season for jazz. The vibrant sounds of the saxophone paired with a cold drink on a hot summer night is the stuff of sweet winter dreams for some. Luckily, there are plenty of places to listen to live jazz!
Bryant Park: After Work
After a long day of work, it’s YOUR time. If you need a little help unwinding, the Bryant Park: After Work series is just the ticket. Every Wednesday from 6-7pm, enjoy eclectic artists perform outdoor concerts to ease you into the night.
Bryant Park
41 W 40th St New York, NY 10018
(212) 768-4242
Long Branch Jazz & Blues Festival
On Saturday August 24th, join fellow jazz enthusiasts from Monmouth County at the Long Branch Jazz & Blues Festival. The festival is completely free, and a great way to experience your favorite music along with a cool ocean breeze. The festival begins at noon on the Great Lawn at the Promenade, and ends at 10pm. If the music wasn’t enough to hook you, there are also fireworks at the end!
Great Lawn at the Ocean Promenade,
Long Branch, NJ 07740
Thursday by the Sea
If you’re in Pier Village on Thursday nights, check out the local bands playing! Every Thursday from 7-9pm bands take the stage, and perform a variety of different styles of music. Grab a bite to eat, do a little shopping, and end your night seeing talented performers play in the open ocean air. There’s no better way to start off your weekend a little early.
1 Chelsea Ave
Long Branch, NJ 07740
(732) 923-0100
Jazzmobile
This nonprofit organization helps to bring the culture and entertainment of jazz to people all over New York City. Goi’ng from parks to stadiums, Jazzmobile takes the music to you. To learn out more about this amazing organization, or to find out what their next stop is, visit their website at http://www.jazzmobile.org/.
Village Vanguard
According to CBS News “Still the most esteemed basement in all of jazz. Walk down the narrow stairs into a deceptively small room and image what being there was like when John Coltrane made his seminal 1961 recording Live at the Village Vanguard. The club is host to top-shelf straight ahead, swing based toonage while as of late, and the booking style has broadened, welcoming giants from every conceivable representation of improvised music.”
212-255-4037
7th Ave South and 11th St
New York, NY 10014
Jazz Standard
Per CBS “Great sound, tasty grub and a wildly eclectic line-up of artists make this “destination” venue a mainstay on anybody’s top jazz venue list. The room, which sounds full and warm from every angle books big name acts into the space for at most a three-night run. Many acts that enjoy regular gigs at the 55 Bar, Barbes, Smalls and other smaller clubs take a step up in audience size and play the Jazz Standard.”
212-576-2232
116 East 27th St
New York, NY 10016
Birdland
Per the NY Times, Birdland is “close to perfection for serious fans and musicians”, and offers top-flight jazz in a world class setting, good sight lines and acoustics, elbow room, and an award-winning menu featuring American cuisine with a Cajun flair. Click here for their calendar.
315 West 44th Street (btwn. 8th and 9th)
212-581-3080
Blue Note
Since its inception in 1981, Blue Note has become one of the premier jazz clubs in the world and a cultural institution in Greenwich Village. Owner and founder Danny Bensusan had a vision to create a jazz club in Greenwich Village that would treat deserving artists with respect, while allowing patrons to see the world’s finest jazz musicians in a close, comfortable setting. Artists who had stopped playing in jazz clubs decades before, such as Sarah Vaughn, Lionel Hampton, Dizzy Gillespie, Stanley Turrentine, Oscar Peterson, Ray Brown, and Tito Puente, soon called Blue Note home.
Over the years, Blue Note has been an economic engine for Greenwich Village, bringing in jazz fans from all over the world. The club receives rave reviews on a weekly basis in New York’s daily newspapers such as The New York Times and in international travel guides and magazines. What makes Blue Note so special is that on a given night, anything can happen. It is not uncommon to see the likes of Stevie Wonder, Tony Bennett, Liza Minelli, and Quincy Jones get called up on stage from the audience to sit in. Blue Note gives artists the musical freedom they deserve, and jazz fans get a chance to see the most unlikely combination of stars night after night on the Blue Note stage.
Located between 6th and McDougal St., Blue Note offers music every night at 8pm and 10:30pm. On Friday and Saturday nights, Blue Note has a Late Night Groove Series at 12:30am and offers a Sunday Brunch for $24.50 a person at 12:30pm and 2:30pm weekly. Click here for their schedule.
Blue Note Jazz Club
131 W. 3rd St
New York, NY 10012
212-475-8592
Are you a jazz fanatic? Who is your favorite artist? Let us know below, or tweet us your pick @SeastreakFerry!
Sea you soon,
The Seastreak Family
Filed Under: Destination Guides, New York City, Visiting New Jersey