Met new friends (Phoenix, Page: hotel, home, movies)

[Mae E Gibson]

Seeking a nice jazz place to hang out at,hoping to met new friends , where African Americans go, can any one help new in phoenix ....thanks
I am 46 years old and single.....God bless

[fcorrales80]

Originally Posted by Mae E Gibson

Seeking a nice jazz place to hang out at,hoping to met new friends , where African Americans go, can any one help new in phoenix ....thanks
I am 46 years old and single.....God bless

Bobby C's, Char's Has the Blues, Rhythm Room, and Chez Nous...these lounges are mostly African American but have a good mix and awesome atmosphere. Chez Nous was voted best Jazz/Blues bar in America in 2007.

[Finger Laker]

voted on by who?

in my experience I would find that very, very, very difficult to believe

phoenix has a small community of jazz and blues, but it isn't the strong point out here

[Finger Laker]

also it just happened this year, but every year in april the city of glendale has their annual jazz & blues festival which is a pretty fun

they also have OK jazz at the little hotel/bar right off the downtown area

one of the things I miss most about philly is many nights spent at this place

[fcorrales80]

Just because you don't know of the urban spots in Phoenix doesn't mean there isn't a strong jazz and blues community here. There is a long tradition of these African American clubs in Phoenix. If you knew anything of the City's history...maybe you'd be more informed...just a suggestion. You should look up African American history in Phoenix...very interesting...

ChezNousCentral Home Page

Travel + Leisure Magazine raved about the club in an article. Also, Jazziz and Down Beat. One article proclaimed, "if Barry White was a bar, he'd be Chez Nous in Phoenix." I'm just the messenger not the author. LOL, I read this in 2007 when the article was written.

"Chez Nous has a long history of incubating, cultivating and showcasing emerging talent in the metropolitan Phoenix area.

Many of our talented artists, classic R&B musicians and entertainers evolve successful careers, enjoying tremendous local, regional and even international acclaim.

Chez Nous' roster of talent is legendary and makes it a cultural mecca that places Phoenix squarely on the map of emerging cosmopolitan U.S. cities!"

[Finger Laker]

why do you always assume I don't know?!

i do - but I know much beyond this city and can use that as a comparison

travel + leisure is far from an authority on Jazz or Blues music .... i do like the magazine though

would you honestly compare the jazz history of Phoenix to places like NY, Chicago, KC, NO or Philadelphia? Or the blues history to Memphis or anyplace along the delta?

is it not possible that I have been to those places in phoenix and found that they don't compare to other like venues that i've personally sat in?!

[fcorrales80]

Originally Posted by Finger Laker

why do you always assume I don't know?!

i do - but I know much beyond this city and can use that as a comparison

travel + leisure is far from an authority on Jazz or Blues music .... i do like the magazine though

would you honestly compare the jazz history of Phoenix to places like NY, Chicago, KC, NO or Philadelphia? Or the blues history to Memphis or anyplace along the delta?

is it not possible that I have been to those places in phoenix and found that they don't compare to other like venues that i've personally sat in?!

LOL, you are funny, I simply stated that the history of such establishments in Phoenix is DEEP ROOTED! Wow, you are something else. And honestly, I doubt you know or knew much if you wrote such a statement like that posted up above. You know many of the clubs in Phoenix were started by those folks who left those cities in search of their own "groove." Jazziz and Down Beat are jazz authority mags and they raved more so about Chez Nous then Travel + Leisure. I was merely stating that for this type of club to be written about in T + L, it must leave an impression.

"Unchanged since the early '60s, this low-lit cocktail palace comes complete with a lava-rock waterfall behind the bar. Sansabelted or big-haired retirees rule by day; hip young chain-smokers by night."

-Rolling Stone

"The Valley's ultimate lounge."
-Get Out

"Time travel may be a fantasy in most places, but in Arizona all it takes is a step inside Chez Nous Cocktail Lounge."
-Nightclub and Bar

"At Chez Nous, social barriers blur and disappear as customers relax."
-Nightclub and Bar

"The dark, smoky lounge is oozing with early-1960s atmosphere. It is packed with people, many of them regular customers, a few of whom have been frequenting the place for three decades."
-Arizona Republic

"A small, dark, unpretentious club that seems like a setting for one of Dean Martin's Matt Helm movies."
-Arizona Republic

"Another rare gem."
-New Times

"Chez Nous...is still frequented by a diverse group of regulars who love the kitschy decor, the ambience, and dance music."
-City AZ

"The little cocktail lounge with the national reputation."
-Arizona Republic

"It's the lounge that time forgot, and the lounge that we turn to - to forget about time."
-The Rep

"It's where worlds collide in a way that would make MLK proud-young and old, Black and White, Jew and gentile, rich and poor. Where working class meet upper class over a shot and a martini."
-The Rep

"It's a place where a couple can meet, get married and 15 years later celebrate their divorce."
-The Rep

[twiggy]

There's always La Jolla, CA. Just 1/2 flight and an 40 min. drive! If you like Jazz you will know why I said this. lol

[Finger Laker]

deep routed doesn't mean top notch - also one top notch club doesn't make a scene

when I was in memphis we had some guys pull a trailer up to the side of the street and perform off it for hours - young kids trying to figure it out and break the scene - was awesome to be a part of that environment ....... there blues is part of the culture

that culture exists here, but it doesn't make it a fabric of phoenix or expansive

if someone was coming from a place that did have it as part of their fabric and searched out what phoenix offers it would fall flat

another example would be italian food - phoenix can't measure up to places like NYC, Philly or SF- you could point out a restaurant or two that is highly rated and make accusations, but it still doesn't change the fact that the food style is poorly represented here

the same holds true for things that phoenix does have that others lack

not every city has everything in world class portions that make it hip and abundant

phoenix is 5% black and has blacked owned business of 2.3% according to the last census

Phoenix (city) QuickFacts from the US Census Bureau

compare those numbers to:

NYC = 26.6% / 12.4%
Philly = 43.2% / 15.8%
Chicago = 15% / 7.2%
KC (MO) = 31.2% / 12%
St. Louis = 51.2% / 16.2%
NO = 67.3% / 27.6%
Atlanta = 61.4% / 19.4%
DC = 55.2% / 25.9%

Now the history may be important and the part of the culture that is implanted significant, it cannot measure up in amount to the cities above which have much larger populations and much larger populations in general during times when the music was really developing and creating a culture

sure phoenix may own a part of that culture, but if you come from any of the above cities and are looking for af-am heritage here you'll find some, but it wont be what you're used to

[fcorrales80]

LOL, here you go again. It isn't just one top notch club, I can post info about Rhythm Room, Char's, 26th Street that give Chez Nous competition. Bottom line, the OP wanted to know about great jazz/blues clubs with a history of AA patronage. You sir, offered nothing but argument to the fact that there are many nationally recognized spots in Phoenix that the OP would find comfort, culture, and history. The AA history of Phoenix is much older then most expect. After all this was a stop along the way to Los Angeles and other west coast cities with huge AA populations.

So to the OP, I hope you find a new spot at one of the clubs in Phoenix. They are truly unique and a hell of a time.