Jazz music in LA or Orange County
 

Friends of mine are going to be in town visiting for two weeks over the holidays. They both love jazz music and like to go out and listen to live music. It doesn't necessarily have to be big clubs, but just good music. Any ideas for the LA or Orange County areas? Thanks for the help.

I dont' know about Orange county. <BR>But in LA, we visit the Knitting Factory in Hollywood, The Baked Potato (two one in Hollywood on Sunset, one in the Valley).<BR>The Conga Room on Wilshire has a lot of Latin Flavor Jazz. <BR>Go to www.laweekly.com for a complete listing or to the knitting factory website<BR><BR>http://www.knittingfactory.com/#kfhollywood<BR>

Thyra, Thanks for your suggestions. <BR><BR>Does anyone have any ideas for smaller, neighborhood jazz hangouts?

The Holly Street Bar & Grill in Pasadena often has live jazz trios on Friday and Saturday evenings. The food in the dining room is good. The bar scene isn't exciting, but the music tends to be pretty good.

If you live in the LA area try to pick up a copy of L.A. Jazz Scene which has<BR>reviews and listings of lots of places with jazz. They have a website at www.lajazzscene.com, but I just checked it out and their listings are for October. Maybe they'll update soon.<BR><BR>A couple of favorites: Loews Hotel in Santa Monica has a 3 piece combo and a different vocalist every Saturday night. There is no cover or minimum, and you're in a comfortable lobby bar. You can call their hotline at (310) 576-3115 to find out who is performing.<BR><BR>Spazio's in Encino is a good restaurant where you can hear jazz virtually every night while you have dinner or while sitting at the bar. (818) 728-8400.<BR><BR>I haven't been to Steamer's in Fullerton, but I've heard good things about it and they also have jazz every night. (714) 871-8800.<BR><BR>Free Friday night jazz 5:30 to 8:30 at the LA County Museum of Art. <BR><BR>If you listen to KLON 1260 am you will learn about upcoming concerts and club dates.

Steamer's in Fullerton is a good place to go hear jazz in a casual setting. Since it's not a bar, it caters to all age ranges. Make sure to try one of their panini sandwiches.

Connie, as for Orange County, I place another vote for Steamer's in Fullerton. Truly a great & unique place. During the summer, the Hyatt Newporter in Newport Beach has terrific jazz concerts and a 3 day festival. The Thornton Winery out in Temecula (southern CA wine country) does too - in a very intimate setting. You might check in with both to see what's up during the holidays. both usually have terrific New Year's parties with live music and special Christmas dining/music too.

Looks like Steamer's will definitely be one of our stops on the search for jazz music. Since it's not a bar, does that mean that I can bring along my teenage children to join us for the evening?

Yes, you can bring teenagers to Steamer's. They serve plenty of desserts, tea and coffee drinks to choose from.

For an entertainment based area, it sure doesn't look like you guys have much to choose from for jazz music. One club in all of Orange County and a few places in Los Angeles County?

Connie,<BR>In the LA area there is also Catalina's in Hollywood, the Jazz Bakery in Culver City ( near the beach), Jax in Glendale, Le Ve Le in Studio City. KLON and LA Weekly have websites with lots of small club listings. Some clubs restrict customers to 21 and older, so check.