ATLANTA JAZZ CLUBS & RESTAURANTS FEATURING JAZZ

CHURCHILL GROUNDS
660 Peachtree Street, Atlanta, GA 30308
Website: www.churchillgrounds.com

Located next door to the Fox Theatre in Midtown, Churchill Grounds is Atlanta's premiere jazz club. Churchill Grounds offers the best live jazz in Atlanta, and is arguably among the best jazz clubs anywhere. That's at least in part due to the fact that the Churchill Grounds takes its commitment to America's first true native musical form very seriously. But the club isn't merely committed to bringing top jazz musicians like Cedar Walton, Freddie Cole, Chico Freeman and Marcus Printup to its intimate stage -- it also contributes to the art form's future growth by showcasing the hottest up-and-coming talent the Atlanta jazz scene has to offer.

In addition to great live jazz, Churchill Grounds features a limited but excellent menu of appetizers, entrees, and desserts. They also have a great selection of wines, liquors and fine coffees. Add in top-notch service and it's no wonder why Churchill Grounds is the best jazz club in Atlanta.

In addition to its Tuesday night jam session, Churchill Grounds currently hosts weekly performances by top Atlanta jazz musicians including Russell Gunn, Takana Miyamoto, Bernard Linnette, Melvin Jones, and Mace Hibbard. See Churchill Grounds' online calendar for more information.

Rick's comments

I've seen dozens of great jazz performances at Churchill Grounds, including the incredible Atlanta Jazz Festival jam session of 2005. Churchill Grounds truly is Atlanta's premiere jazz club and should definitely be high on your list of places to see live jazz in Atlanta.

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STUDIO 281
281 Peters Street, Atlanta, GA 30313
Website: www.studio281.com

Located in the Castleberry Hill loft area (just south of downtown Atlanta), Studio 281 features straight-ahead jazz in an intimate 50-seat room with a baby grand piano and full bar.

Visit the Studio 281 website to learn more about the club and its events.

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TWAIN'S BILLIARDS AND TAP
211 E Trinity Place, Decatur, GA 30030
Website: www.twains.net

Twain's isn't a true jazz club by any stretch (it's a bar/restaurant with everything that entails), but they've become home to some of the finest jazz you'll hear in Atlanta. The Tuesday night jam session is the best jam session in Atlanta, and the first Wednesday of each month they feature Dave Ellington's excellent organ trio/quartet.

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STAR JAZZ & BLUES LOUNGE
177 Peters Street, Atlanta, GA 30313
Website: www.starjazzandblues.com

Star Jazz and Blues Lounge features live music Thursday-Saturday nights.

Rick's comments

Star Jazz & Blues Lounge is one of the newest venues for live jazz in Atlanta. They feature live music a few nights each week, but thus far it seems like the Monday night jam sessions are the best bet for high quality straight-ahead jazz (Update 9/23/08: the Monday night jam session was recently cancelled). Bands occasionally perform in the lower level of the bar so don't be surprised when you don't see any musicians performing on the street level.

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DAILEY'S DOWNSTAIRS
17 Andrew Young International Boulevard, Atlanta, GA 30303
Website: www.daileysrestaurant.com

Dailey's Downstairs is a martini and cigar bar that features live music every night of the week. The genre of music varies from night to night but they often feature jazz.

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APACHE CAFE
64 3rd Street NW, Atlanta, GA 30308
Website: www.apachecafe.info

Apache Cafe isn't strictly a jazz club, but they do feature jazz acts from time to time. Notably, Russell Gunn's Bionic group plays there. They also have a jam session on Wednesdays (hosted by Al Smith) which features jazz, R&B, and neo-soul musicians.

Check out the Apache Cafe calender of events for more information.

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SAMBUCA JAZZ CAFE
3102 Piedmont Road, Atlanta, GA 30305
Website: www.sambucarestaurant.com

Sambuca Jazz Cafe is an upscale restaurant that features music every night. Judging from their events calendar, the music varies from blues to contemporary/smooth jazz.

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CAFE 290
290 Hilderbrand Dr NE, Atlanta, GA 30328
Website: www.cafe290atlanta.com

Cafe 290 features live music several nights a week. The music varies from straight-ahead to contemporary/smooth jazz.

Rick's comments

On the first and third Monday of each month, Joe Gransden brings a 16-piece big band to Cafe 290 that features just about every great jazz musician in Atlanta. On a recent night, the band included Kevin Bales, Mace Hibbard, Brian Hogans, John Sandfort, Anton Harris, Justin Varnes, Melvin Jones, Lester Walker, Wes Funderburk, just to name a few. Don't miss this fantastic band!

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RAY'S RESTAURANTS
Downtown Atlanta, Alpharetta, Sandy Springs
Website: www.raysrestaurants.com

There are three Ray's Restaurants locations in the Atlanta area, each featuring live jazz Thursday-Saturday nights. A variety of musicians appear at these events, including Laura Coyle, Gordon Vernick, Will Scruggs, Kayla Taylor and Matthew Kaminski. For more information about each restaurant, and for a schedule of events, visit the Ray's Restaurants website.

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GEORGIA SHRIMP CO. RESTAURANT
100 North Peachtree Parkway, #36, Peachtree City, GA 30269
Website: www.georgiashrimpco.com

A new restaurant featuring live Jazz on Friday, Sunday and Monday nights at 6:30pm and 8:30pm. An events calendar shows who will be performing on each night.

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TOSCA BLU RESTAURANT & BAR
Renaissance Waverly Hotel, 2450 Galleria Parkway, Atlanta, GA 30339
Website: Hotel webpage

Discover an alternative to Cobb County's rush hour traffic with live jazz music and refreshing cocktails once a month at Tosca Blu, the newly opened and highly fashionable bar at the Renaissance Waverly Hotel in Atlanta. The first Thursday of every month, from 5:30-8:30 p.m., Tosca Blu teams up with Atlanta's Smooth Jazz station, WJZZ 107.5 FM, to bring you "Chillin' at Tosca Blu."

Live music is provided by a variety of breakthrough local musicians and cocktails and light bar food is offered at Tosca Blu. Complimentary admission and complimentary self parking are included for the jazz events.

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