PARIS — It was after midnight at Le Duc des Lombards, and the jam session was warming up. A just-assembled quartet toyed with the jazz standard “Cherokee,” volleying solos until the melody was barely discernable. Upstarts holding drumsticks and saxophone cases lined up on the stairs to rotate in.
In the back, European and American musicians kissed hello and slapped backs, the jam their unofficial rendezvous. French stars Jacky Terrasson and Stéphane Belmondo stopped by after their show at Sunside, while American bassist Burniss Travis stepped onstage for a song or two. In dim blue-black light, the audience was packed into banquettes and cafe tables, chatting throughout and applauding each solo. Outside, the streets of Chatelet were quiet and bistros locked up, but Le Duc des Lombards kept humming until 4 a.m.
For proof that Paris is a jazz town, come to Le Duc on a Saturday night. But dispense with nostalgic notions of Montmartre cabarets or Louis Armstrong in “Paris Blues.” Sure, you can hear stylish chanteuses and big bands, but the city is also a hub for contemporary jazz. Over two weeks hitting the clubs last year, I heard just about everything in that category, from bebop at L’Improviste to avant-jazz at La Java to Brazilian at the Bab-Ilo. Gypsy jazz, France’s own contribution to the genre, thrives. Unlike Americans, who largely view jazz as a relic, the French host countless festivals and are willing to shell out for tickets. The music is more popular here than in its homeland.
When I ask about good places to hear jazz, two expat musicians both mentioned L’Improviste, a restaurant and music venue on a barge in the Seine. It’s in the residential 13th arrondissement, near the Gare d’Austerlitz, and on the weeknight I visited, the streets and club were nearly empty. Rusty on the outside, L’Improviste is surprisingly sleek inside on the lower deck, with soft black armchairs, tea lights and a Yamaha grand. Portholes look out onto the river, and the boat bobs slightly, making you wonder whether you’ve had too much to drink. The space is well-suited to chamber groups; I heard a bebop outfit, the Jon Urrutia Trio, playing standards and original tunes. There are three or four shows a week, and on weekends the place can get packed.
Another local spot off the tourist radar is the Bab-Ilo, which several young French musicians recommended. A cozy pub at the foot of the Butte Montmartre, it’s just the kind of place a music tourist hopes to discover. With art hanging on terra-cotta-colored walls, a dark wood bar and four beers on tap, it seems to be out of an old movie, sans the cigarette smoke.
The most well-known jazz clubs are the three on the Rue des Lombards, near Les Halles: Sunset/Sunside, Le Baiser Sale and Le Duc des Lombards. Locals don’t like the crowded, dingy area, but music fans invariably end up there because the bands are so good. All of the clubs have been here since the 1980s and together formed Paris Jazz Club, which puts out a monthly calendar of shows citywide, available online.
Sunside books reliably strong French and international groups, with headliners such as Lou Donaldson or Franck Amsallem. The warmly lit club has exposed brick and wooden tables, but it gets uncomfortably packed despite a 25-euro cover. Downstairs is its more relaxed sister club, Sunset, with a cheaper cover charge and less established bands.
Next door is Le Baiser Sale, divey but nearly as expensive, with lower-tier bands than the street’s other two clubs. Its program slants toward fusion and world music, especially from Africa. There’s a large West African population in Paris, and its presence is one of the distinguishing factors of the city’s jazz scene. You often see bands with Senegalese or Malian members, although the music doesn’t necessarily sound African. (For that, check out the Sunday brunch at Le Comptoir General.)
Le Duc des Lombards has a sexier vibe than the other two and books top-flight musicians playing some dialect of bebop. It’s a good place to get the pulse of the contemporary post-bop jazz scene, with established young players from both New York and Paris. Many of the shows at Le Duc are broadcast on TSF jazz radio, which has several podcasts and can be streamed online.
Much of the music you hear at these clubs is rooted in American bebop or swing. But the French have their own contribution to jazz: manouche, or gypsy jazz.
In the 1920s, Roma guitarist Django Reinhardt fused gypsy and swing rhythms into a catchy original sound. He and violinist Stéphane Grapelli formed the Quintette du Hot Club de France, a hugely influential all-string group that popularized the style. Reinhardt grew up in a gypsy settlement outside of Paris, in Saint-Ouen, an area that’s now a center of his music, which can be heard at La Chope des Puces or the June festival Jazz-Musette des Puces.
Americans might view gypsy jazz as old-fashioned, but it has a strong following here, with two or three shows a day. Atelier Charonne, near the Bastille, hosts some of the best guitarists nightly, with jam sessions Sunday.
Another night I heard the RP Quartet, a young group made up of two guitars, a violin and bass that played ” ’60s jazz cooked in a Django sauce,” according to the concert poster. They played at New Morning, a cavernous space in the 10th arrondissement that puts on rock and funk as well as jazz.
Many of the tunes were familiar, like Thelonious Monk’s “I Mean You,” or Miles Davis’ “So What,” covered by jazz musicians everywhere. But the twangy, propulsive sound was distinctly French. The style was knowingly retro, as if winking to jazz history. See, it seemed to say: This music is really ours.
If you go
– Atelier Charonne
21 Rue de Charonne
011-33-1-40-21-83-35
Shows at 8 or 9 p.m.; there’s a drink minimum at the bar, or $39 for dinner and concert.
– Bab-Ilo
9 Rue du Baigneur
011-33-1-42-23-99-19
Variable set times starting between 6:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m.; cover charge $6-$11.
– Le Baiser Sale
58 Rue des Lombards
011-33-1-42-33-37-71
Variable set times starting between 7 p.m. and 10 p.m.; cover charge $13-$28.
– Cafe Universel
267 Rue Saint-Jacques
011-33-1-43-25-74-20
Shows at 9 p.m.; drink minimum.
– Caveau de la Huchette
5 Rue de la Huchette
011-33-1-43-26-65-05
www.caveaudelahuchette.fr
Shows at 9:30 p.m; cover charge $15-$17.
– Le Duc des Lombards
42 Rue des Lombards
011-33-1-42-33-22-88
Sets at 8 p.m. and 10 p.m; cover charge $31-$34. Jam session Friday and Saturday night at midnight; no cover.
– L’Improviste
36 Quai d’Austerlitz
011-33-6-50-32-63-54
www.improviste.fr
Shows most nights at 9 p.m.; cover charge $17.
– La Java
105 Rue du Faubourg du Temple
011-33-1-42-02-20-52
www.la-java.fr
Jazz every second Monday of the month at 8:30 p.m; cover charge $11.
– New Morning
7-9 Rue des Petites Ecuries
011-33-1-45-23-51-41
Shows at 8 or 8:30 p.m; cover charge $15-$30.
– Sunset/Sunside
60 rue des Lombards
011-33-1-40-26-46-60
Variable set times starting between 8 p.m. and 11:30 p.m.; cover charge $17-$34.
