My sister and I will be in NY from 5/17-5/25. We are both in our 20's and are looking for a fun place to catch some Jazz (the old school variety, not the mellow elevator music type), Hip hop, and/or Reggae. We'd prefer a diverse crowd and nothing too ritzy. We will be staying in the Murray Hill area and then later in Lower Manhattan. We are planning to spend a day in Harlem and in Brooklyn. Any suggestions would be appreciated!

http://www.newyorkled.com/moreNY_Night_Life01.htm
this is NewYorkled, a great site to tell you what is going on and where it is.
Also, I would recommend, Michaels Pub for jazz and you get to see Woody Allen perform.
Have fun!

Hate to break this to you Kate but Michael's Pub is loooong gone. Woody Allen now plays with his Dixieland band on Mon nights at the Cafe Carlyle at the Carlyle hotel.

For jazz listings go to
www.gothamjazz.com
You can plug in dates & see who's playing where.

LOL, mclaurie, just goes to show how long it has been since I have been to any jazz clubs!
Thanks!

Get the Village Voice (free) and see what's going on at the Blue Note, also the Village Vanguard. See what's happening at SOB's (Sounds of Brazil, on Houston and Varick) - they often have reggae shows and the crowd is very diverse. Have fun

SOB's (Sounds of Brazil) in the Village is obviously latin oriented but really, all types of music are represented here. The scene is diverse, cool, and unpretentious. I have seen reggae, calypso and got lucky once when a friend gave me a free ticket to The Roots:
http://www.sobs.com

Check out this coffee house in Soho for Jazz: http://www.kavehaz.com

Depending on who is spinning, Sapphire Lounge on the East Side usually has a great mix of everything from Bill Withers, Marvin Gaye and Parliament to Jamiroquai and United Future Organization. It gets a little cramped on Saturday nights but if you go after 1AM, it's pretty manageable and it's one of the few places you can stay in past NYC's 4AM closing time:
http://newyork.citysearch.com/review...ndalone_review

I'd actually check the New Yorker for jazz reviews and listings and the Village Voice for everything else. Both are online.

Thanks everyone. S.O.B.'s sounds great and is exactly the type of place that we are looking for, we will check that out for sure. Kavehaus sounds cool too. I've tried looking at some of the event calendars but it is hard for me to know what is true to description especially if it is an artist that I am unfamiliar with. That is why I really appreciate the individual
recommendations. Please keep the suggestions coming, you guys are all great!

Misconduct, I will be flying out from Seattle to NY during those times. If you two would like meet up at SOB's for a drink, let me know....it sounds like a good time there. I can be reached at [email protected]

P.S. just as friends, so strings attached or weirdness, just to meet some fellow travelers in New York