Yesterday night Renata and I went to Smoke Jazz Club just a couple of blocks away from her home here in the Upper West Side, where we were surprised by the spontaneous jamming of various world renowned Jazz musicians. The food was amazing, we were sitting just by the stage, Renata was asked up to dance, and we were among the last people to leave the club. A fantastically genuine experience of real New York Jazz, goosebumps and all included.

Dropping some names, we got to hear George Coleman, James Carter, Bill Saxton and of course the very eloquent Patience Higgins and his band The Sugar Hill Quartett, who play at Smoke every Friday night. Bill Saxton invited us to his jazz club in Harlem, called Bill’s Place – so if you’re up for some real Harlem Jazz, they start doing magic at 9pm tonight.

If you want to hear the amazing saxophone of George Coleman, who used to play with Miles Davis and Herbie Hancock back in the 60’s, he will be at Smoke tonight again. You should try to visit the venue anyhow if you’re around and have some love for Jazz, the place has a very personal touch which allows you to really connect with the musicians, and the sound is perfect.