Paris Left Bank Live Music Clubs: Closerie des Lilas, Swan Bar, Caveau Huchette and More

25 November 2011 by Karen Fawcett    5106  
Paris Left Bank Live Music Clubs: Closerie des Lilas, Swan Bar, Caveau Huchette and More
Karen Fawcett
By Karen Fawcett
Are you in the mood for a musical evening that doesn’t mean the classics? Cozy up at some of my favorite Left Bank live music clubs. There’s something for everyone and you’ll see a different side of Paris than if you never left the Louvre. Before you go, check event calendars for schedules, hours and cover charges because all change, as live entertainment venues tend to do. La Closerie des Lilas, Paris 6th You may know La Closerie des Lilas as one of Ernest Hemingway’s favorite haunts, where the literati of the Golden Age of Paris (à la Midnight in Paris) gathered. What you may not know is that it’s not only a restaurant, but has a hot and hopping piano bar that features a mix of every music genre, including jazz standards and ballads late at night. It’s open seven days a week. Drinks aren’t cheap, but you’re paying for the ambiance and a place to see and be seen. This isn’t a kid’s scene: the people who frequent La Closerie (many of them are regulars) tend to be older. Women alone don’t stay alone for very long unless they want to and that’s fine. La Closerie des Lilas Tél: 01 4051 3450 171, blvd Montparnasse, Paris 6th Métro: Vavin RER: Port-Royal Brasserie: open 12pm-1am daily Bar: 11pm-1:30am daily Swan Bar, American Jazz Bar, Paris 6th If you’re into jazz and blues, walk a few doors down to the Swan Bar, an excellent venue for New York-style jazz featuring a varied selection of performing artists. Owner Lionel Bloom is a New Yorker, so if you feel nervous about speaking French, there’s zero need to feel intimidated here. Tuesday and Wednesday nights are open stage nights and there’s a whole lot of participation. Don’t tell, but there’s a downstairs room where smoking is allowed. Be ready to be transported back to the ’30s because that’s ever so much in vogue now. The Swan Bar Tél.: 1 4427 0584 165, boulevard du Montparnasse, Paris 6th Métro: Raspail, Vavin RER: Port Royal 2 nightly sets: 7:30pm and 9:30pm Tuesdays through Saturdays “Round Midnight” set  Midnight-2am Fridays and Saturdays Open stage 9:30pm Wednesdays Caveau de la Huchette, Paris 5th Hunker on down and go to Caveau de la Huchette, a jazz and swing institution for over 60 years. Located in a cellar in the Paris 5th, this building is filled with history that includes 18th-century executions. There are few jazz greats who haven’t passed through its doors and it’s been compared to the Cotton Club. People who like to dance can dance the night away in tight underground quarters. Even though music aficionados have been known to be smokers, it’s probably better that smoking isn’t allowed because if nothing else, you couldn’t emerge without smelling like a cigarette. VIDEO: vocalist Marc Thomas and band Caveau de la Huchette Tél: 01 4326 6505 5, rue de la Huchette, Paris 5th Métro: Saint-Michel; Pont Neuf Open nightly at 9:30pm Le Petit Journal Montparnasse, Paris 14th Another Left Bank jazz and dinner club for jazz lovers is Le Petit Journal Montparnasse, located only a couple of blocks from the Gare de Montparnasse. It’s larger (and less elegant) than some Paris jazz clubs, but the club hosts performances by international jazz stars that draw audience from France and beyond. Le Petit Journal Montparnasse swings with some fabulous performances and French connoisseurs say they’ve heard some music greats perform here before they’ve reached stardom. During the summer, people gravitate there for apéritifs and piano music that takes place on the restaurant’s terrace. Be sure to check program listings at the website because the club presents an incredible variety of performances and some will appeal more to you than others. Le Petit Journal Montparnasse Tél: 01 4321 5889 13, rue du Commandant Mouchotte, Paris 14th Métro: Gaîté Open: officially 8pm-2am but hours vary; concerts usually start at 8pm with 2 sets some nights Café Laurent piano bar, Paris 6th If you prefer to begin or end an evening with considerably quieter music, Café Laurent might be more to your liking.  Located in the heart of the Saint–Germain–des–Prés at Hôtel d’Aubusson, this is a lounge where people go to listen to music and have quiet conversations. Don’t stare, but chances are you’ll even spot some elegantly dressed lovers holding hands before going upstairs or simply saying bonne nuit. VIDEO: six-minute clip captures the scene Café Laurent Tél: 01 4329 0333 33, rue Dauphine, Paris 6th at Hôtel d’Aubusson Métro: Odéon or Pont Neuf Piano jazz soloist 6:30-8pm nightly Jazz concerts 9pm-midnight These are just five Left Bank live music clubs. There are many others, some of which come and go with lightning speed. Some people consider Paris a city of monuments while others come here to feel the beat. PHOTO CREDITS: La Closerie des Lilas, ©Les Depots Rive Gauche; The Swan Bar publicity photo; Caveau de la Huchette, ©nicholasduportal; Le Petit Journal publicity photo and Café Laurent ©blogtrotta. Karen Fawcett is the publisher of BonjourParis. Please click on her name to read more about her. Would you like to propose a story? Submit an article or story idea. NEW: exclusive content for subscribers in every newsletter. Subscribe for free.…
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By Karen Fawcett

Karen is the original founder and former president of Bonjour Paris. Follow her musings on Substack.