Slow Food, Cool Jazz
Dizzy’s nook has a long and textured history in Melbourne. But the new Dizzy’s Jazz Club has only been around for less than two years. For the discerning listener, it offers a unique jazz experience.
Australia’s only purpose-built jazz club is architecturally designed to boast a warm atmosphere, soft lighting and good sightlines for 100 or so patrons. From the long marble-topped bar to the purpose-built smoking deck, it is an inviting club. Fine entertainment spans jazz-standard musicians, feature artists like Michelle Nicole, interstate guests and populist contemporary …

Katie Noonan album art

Katie Noonan and the Blackbird Project
Katie Noonan’s new album, Blackbird Project, is a stunning collection of Beatles’ covers.
It is a testament to Lennon and McCartney’s musicianship that so many of their songs have been covered; in a way their music has become the new jazz standards.
Past covers range from the Good: Wilson Pickett’s Hey Jude, Siouxsie and the Banshee’s Dear Prudence, and Stevie Wonder’s We Can Work It Out, to the Bad: Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds by William Shatner and Jim Carrey’s I am …

A Lane for Everyone
Melbourne is a city with so many niche venues it can be hard to find something that suits everyone.
Manchester Lane is such a place: it’s a sophisticated music venue, a fine restaurant and a chic bar. Whether you want to meet for casual drinks, have a romantic dinner-date or see some hip international jazz act, Manchester Lane is the place to go.
Manchester Lane mostly hosts jazz acts, but the manager was quick to inform me that it hosts a wide range of performers. It’s housed some pretty …

A Night Uptown
On a chilly Melbourne night, the red glow of Uptown Jazz Café is inviting as you mount the dark staircase. Its appeal is straightforward jazz, with an iconic Charlie Parker photograph perfectly pitched.
Uptown has only been open six months, and boasts an art deco interior, stylised Japanese bar shelves and mirrored stage. Black and white 1950 (French subtitled) movies are screened before jazz performances. The windows are lined with bar stools, reminiscent of bars in Japan. It is anchored upstairs from Akari Japanese restaurant where it sources its …

The Paris Cat
Take a stroll through Melbourne’s famous laneways and you may stumble upon one of Australia’s foremost live jazz venues nestled amongst the cobblestone and hidden doorways.
If you get lost, follow the sound of some of the world’s finest jazz musicians who can be heard drifting out from the Paris Cat Jazz Club five nights a week.
The Paris Cat is one of Melbourne’s premier Jazz Club. It truly is a unique and intimate venue and was chosen by the Age magazine as one of the city’s must see venues.
Established …