Leave it to the vagaries of live entertainment in South Florida that one of the five favorite jazz outlets cited by WLRN DJ Tracy Fields closed between the time we conducted the interview and the time of this writing in late June. Owing to the pandemic, jazz fans said c’est la vie to Le Chat Noir, a favorite retro nightclub in the heart of Miami.
That still leaves four organizations and venues that book live jazz on a regular basis. Here are Tracy Fields’ recommendations; to read more about the host of WLRN’s “Evenin’ Jazz,” pick up the July-August issue of Boca magazine.
- The Sunshine Jazz Organization celebrates its 35th season of bringing live jazz to South Florida this fall. It hosts monthly Sunday Jazz Jam Brunches in Miami, offers one-off jazz performances at venues like Miami’s Sandrell Rivers Theater, and presents at the Palm Beach International Jazz Festival. Visit its website for its calendar of events. https://www.sunshinejazz.org/
- The South Florida Jazz (SFJ) nonprofit launched in 1991 and welcomed preeminent jazz artists to the Hollywood Jazz Festival until the fest’s terminus in 2005. The organization has continued with monthly seasonal jazz concerts, in 2019 drawing headliners such as Kurt Elling and Randy Brecker Quartet at venues such as Bailey Hall at NSU in Davie. SFJ presented a virtual concert series last season, but live events are likely to return in the 2021/2022 season. https://southfloridajazz.org/
- The Gold Coast Jazz Society formed in Fort Lauderdale in 1992, and continues to produce a venerable seven-concert series at the Broward Center’s Amaturo Theater. The 2021/2022 season remains to be slated at the time of this writing, but check out its website for all the latest. https://www.goldcoastjazz.org/
- Delray’s own Arts Garage is arguably the Palm Beaches’ premier venue for touring and regional jazz artists. The venue doesn’t book a formal jazz series but welcomes artists from the genre on a more than monthly basis. Bookings this summer and fall include Blue Muse Jazz (July 2), which plays a mix of hard swing, soul jazz and cool jazz; jazz vocalist Nicole Henry (July 24), presenting her take on the songs of Whitney Houston; 14-year jazz piano wunderkind Brandon Goldberg (Sept. 10); longtime saxophone virtuoso Ed Calle (Sept. 18); Dick Lowenthal’s All Star Big Band, featuring its classic proto-jazz sound (Oct. 8); and one of the top-charting jazz artists of today, pianist Yoko Miwa and her trio (Oct. 16). https://artsgarage.org/
This Web Extra was inspired by the July/August issue of Boca magazine. For more content like this, subscribe to the magazine.
