The Best Clubs for Live Jazz Music in Los Angeles

As a student of and lover of jazz music, it has become a regular hobby of mine to make the circuit of many of the spots to see live jazz here in the City of Angels. I tend to shy away from places like the Disney Center, as I feel live jazz music should be seen in an intimate setting.

Jazz music is not just the proper, suit-and-tie "Great American Art Form" public access television would have us believe. Living in Los Angeles as a student of jazz music, I am always on the lookout for neat new places to go hear live jazz.

The quality of musicianship you will find has a good variety, but in the small club setting, a jazz club or restaurant, or even a coffee bar with live music, is a great place to take a date or just sit and appreciate this wonderful, ever evolving art form.

Here are some of my favorites from my own travels.

The Downbeat Café
1202 N Alvarado St
Los Angeles, CA 90026

The Downbeat is a little-known coffee house and restaurant in the Echo Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, located at Alvarado St. and Sunset Blvd. As far as I know they only have live music one night per week, Wednesdays, when the excellent house group "The Downbeats" does their thing.

However, it is always a great place to go and have a cup of coffee with the silly hipsters, listen to some good jazz over the sound system, and enjoy some of their legendary chocolate croissant bread pudding, or peanut butter sandwich cookies.

The World Stage
4344 Degnan Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90008

The World Stage was the brainchild of legendary jazz drummer Billy Higgins. I was first turned on to this friendly spot, in the Leimert Park area of Los Angeles, when I took musical improvisation courses with Higgins' son, Dave Higgins, at Pasadena City College.

The World Stage is musician-focused, that is to say many of the audience members are players as well. You won't find fancy cuisine or valet parking, but nearly every night of the week there is something great going on culturally, be it jazz music or African drumming.

Charlie O's
13725 Victory Boulevard
Van Nuys, CA 91401