Jazz in Paris: Happy Birthday, Duke!

  There is a duke in Paris and he’s celebrating his 20th birthday. On rue des Lombards, one of the serpentine, animated, pedestrian streets near Châtelet, there are arguably the best jazz clubs in Paris, but it is the velvet-cloaked Duc des Lombards that reins for many adulates. The Left Bank’s dominance as the court of jazz is honorably challenged as the new generation of bold, innovative talent pledges their allegiance to such welcoming places as the Duc des Lombards and its courtly neighbors, Sunset, Sunside and New Morning. While the music industry is floundering, and running a jazz club has traditionally been a precarious business, these places and their neighbors are catering to a niche of knowledgeable fans that refuse to be satiated. In fact, their appetites for the traditional heart and soul music of Black America is growing as the French are throwing their arms wide to embrace a new generation of musicians and new styles of jazz. True, Parisian jazz clubs have an easier time drawing crowds to hear genuine Americans musicians, playing real American jazz (and with dollar being so weak, players from the other side of the pond are much more affordable than usual). Still, more and more places are finding that jazz in Paris is becoming a multi-colored, multi-national, multi-influenced genre. As world music and new ways of producing music are being incorporated, the sophisticated French audience is looking beyond the American roots of jazz to its future possibilities. Still, clubs like the Duc des Lombards carry on the tradition of shadowy, intimate, lounges. They succeed time and time again to garner the best musicians, from an international mix, for memorable–and usually sold-out–evenings of golden jazz. And it is all waiting for you, wrapped in a little velvet jewel box, in the heart of Paris. Happy Birthday Duc! Information listed below is intended as a guide. Be sure to call ahead to confirm the hours and prices, as such things often change. Here are some Paris jazz clubs that are known for their excellent programming: Le Duc des Lombards42, rue des Lombards, 75001. Métro: Châtelet-Les Halles.Phone: 01-42-33-22-88www.jazzvalley.com/duc (in French only) Open every day from 7:30 pm to 3:00 am (till 5:00 am weekends). Closed every other Sunday. Concerts begin at 9:00PM. Visit the website to see the headliners for the birthday celebrations. Sunset and Sunside60 Rue des Lombards, 75001. Métro: Châtelet-Les Halles.Phone: 01 40 26 46 60 Concerts generally start at 9PM; after hours jazz lounge at Sunside until 4AM. The Sunset is downstairs, where you will find amplified blues, rock and world music, while Sunside is street-side and has acoustic jazz and a great grand piano. Stéphane Portet, who books and manages both, works hard to make it all happen and has his fingertips on the rhythm of today’s jazz trends. Baiser Salé28 Rue des Lombards, 75001. Métro: Châtelet-Les Halles.Phone: 01 42 33 37 31 This small club seats 80 people and is known for its mostly Latin or Afro Jazz sessions. New Morning7 Rue des Petites Ecuries, 75010. Métro: Chateau d’Eau. Phone: 01 45 23 56 39. Programme/Reservations: 01 45 23 51 41www.newmorning.com New Morning is slightly older than the Duc (celebrating its 23rd birthday this November) but like fine wine…The spirits of Dizzy Gillespie, Chet Baker and Stan Getz clearly linger in this legendary spot where they once played. Today, the new greats are making their own legends here, such as Wynton Marsalis who stirred things up during his concert last summer. Quai du blues (or Maxwell Café)17 bd Vital-Bouhot, 92200 Neuilly. Métro: Pont de Neuilly, line 1 or Pont de Levallois, line 3. Phone: 01 46 24 06 11 or 01 46 24 22 00www.maxwellcafe.com (in English and French) Located on Jatte island, this venue is dedicated to American rhythm and blues and is known for attracting the best of the best performers. It opens at 8:30PM on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays. Dinner, français, is available between 9 and 11PM or later with reservations. Guinguette PirateQuai de la Gare, 75013 (across from 11 Quai François Mauriac). Métro: Quai de la Gare, line 6 or Bibliothèque, line 14.Phone: 01-56-29-10-20www.ginguettepirate.com (in French only) A wide variety of music is offered here from jazz to world eclectic sound, all on a gently rocking, ancient Chinese boat. Warm and eclectic ambience guaranteed! Le Petit Journal Montparnasse13, rue du Commandant Mouchotte, 75014 Métro: Montparnasse-Bienvenue, line 4,6,12 and 13.Phone: 01 43 21 56 70 www.petitjournal-montparnsse.com (in English and French) Open 8:30 to 2AM, concerts starting at 10PM. On the ground floor of the Méridien Hotel this club offers a night of dinner and jazz in a New Orleans style setting. Musicians tend to be loyal to this spot because they know there will be an appreciative crowd waiting for them every time.