Denver jazz fans have two stops to plug into their social calendars. Jazz@Jacks (1500 16th St.) and Dazzle Restaurant and Lounge (930 Lincoln St.) have received recent updates and are worth revisiting.
Jazz@Jack‘s reopened earlier this month at the Denver Pavilions, and it looks like the new location is a winner.
“It’s better than I expected,” said Sandra Holman-Watts, the club’s general manager. “People are just flooding in. It’s like there’s a black hole here for live music.”
The sleek new space (303-433-1000) is larger and airier than the Platte Street location, with a front lounge, a long curvy main room, plenty of large windows, and a back bar overlooking the 16th Street Mall. It looks best once the sun sets, and the red walls and warm lighting focus everyone’s attention on the stage, but the back windows do invite people-watching and socializing without distracting from the main attractions.
A temporary menu offers appetizers like mini pizzas and hot wings, and new drinks like the “DOTini,” ($7.50) named for the house band, Dotsero, and the made-for-sharing “Bathtub Margarita” ($16.50) are gaining fans every week. Coming soon: An outdoor patio will host summertime performances, and a live mural painting by Malcolm Farley on May 25 will help finish off the space. Dotsero plays tonight and Saturday; catch Nelson Rangell on Sunday.
Over at Dazzle Restaurant and Lounge (303-839-5100) the renovations are still a work in progress. Owner Donald Rossa recently signed a new five-year lease on the location, and decided to give the 10-year-old supper club a face-lift.
He wants the space to reflect the name, with new “sputnik” chandeliers, sexy, warm colors, and upgraded sound and seating. “We’re trying to make sure the experience is brought up a notch,” Rossa says.
Fans of the comfort-food menu (like myself) will be happy to know that the fab mac-and-cheese remains, along with six variations of grilled cheese sandwiches and other casual fare.
Stop in tonight for the Ken Walker Sextet at 7 and 9, and Ascension at 10:30; Saturday it’s the Chris Lacinak Group at 7 and 9 p.m., and The Flobots at 11 p.m.
Hip-hopping out of Beyond
According to the rumor mill, it’s out with hip-hop at Beyond nightclub in the Denver Pavilions. Word on the street is that the dance club will take a turn toward alt-country and twang. While owner Curt Sims confirmed that the club has been gutted for a remodeling, he remains mum on the new direction for the space.
For now, this weekend’s In Bloom spring fashion show is a go. It’s likely to be the final event at Beyond before it reopens with a new direction, so roll down Saturday night to savor the spring fashions and wish the current club farewell.
Concoction sends barkeep to Holland
Bartender Cory Coppork of the Salt Creek Restaurant and Club in Breckenridge has turned his hobby of tourist-teasing into a winning recipe. Literally. His “Gaper-Aid” cocktail – a blend of Captain Morgan, blue curacao, DeKuyper Watermelon Pucker schnapps, sweet and sour, soda water and OJ into a Gatorade-like summer sipper – won a national cocktail challenge sponsored by DeKuyper brands in December.
The original-cocktail contest garnered more than 1,500 entries, each judged on taste, creativity and its relevance to a particular city or region. “I was inspired by the tourists,” said Coppork of his creation. “We call them ‘gapers’ up here because they walk around with their mouths open all the time.”
The Breck resident is off to Amsterdam, Netherlands, on May 11 to take on 10 other bartenders for a series of competitions. Big-time prizes are at stake.
“I’ve never been to Europe before,” he said. “So I’m really excited. But everyone’s telling me I need to hit the red-light district and the hash bars, and I’m really not like that. So we’ll see how it goes.”
Kat Valentine writes about night life Fridays in 7Days. Reach her at kat@kingproduction.com or call 303-820-1568.
