Jazz in Paris

Chris and I love going to Cabarets in New York and when we're travelling. We enjoy the relative intimacy of being close to performers who like to have a 'conversation' with the audience. It's always been frustrating to us that, outside of New York there are often more bars and clubs with live entertainment . Sure, the big name performers (e.g. Eartha Kitt, Andrea Marcovicci, Michael Feinstein, John Pizzarelli) all come to the famous NY cabarets (Oak Room, Cafe Carlyle, the new Dizzy's Club Coca Cola). But, while we enjoy going to them, we are envious of the more informal (and seriously less expensive) venues we experience elsewhere.

There are many more Jazz clubs in Paris than in New York. As a result, many performers in the US have performed in Paris early in their careers. There may not have gotten a lot of money, but they could appear before an audience. We wrote earlier about our evening at Les Fous des L'Ile near our apartment. But one of our longtime favorites is a little bit fancier - Le Bilboquet, near St. Germain des Pres. This small, intimate, room decorated with red velvet walls and chairs (perhaps to resemble a cat-house) draws a nightly capacity crowd. As is typical with this type of club the world over, the food is over-priced and under-delivered. But the bar is a different story. There are a number of small (really small) tables with small (really, really, small) chairs arranged around the stage. There is open seating here with no cover charge, and only a one drink minimum. The drinks are expensive (about $25) but you can stay pretty much all night (entertainment starts at 9:00). The limiting factor seems to be how long you can stand the chair! The other night we saw a black African Jazz singer with a three piece band. We were sitting about 10 feet away and really enjoyed it. More often then not, we're next to someone interesting and can share a story or two in French (Chris' is getting better) or English. This is one of our favorite places and we've gone back every year.