Best Brooklyn Jazz Spots

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I was having tea with my wife the other day at Marquet and she ran into a guy whom she had met before and introduced me to him. His name was Carl Thompson and he was an older dude who seemed relaxed and cool. I asked him if he lived in the neighborhood and he told me that “he was the neighborhood”. He then proceeded to tell me about his custom bass making business. He told me that he just finished making a Bass for Lou Reed and that he has be making customized basses since 1974 at the rate of about ten or so every year. His site says he makes the Stradivarius of the electric bass guitar. He has made instruments for such greats as Anthony Jackson, Stanley Clarke, Les Claypool, and the Allman Brothers bassist, as well as created the first electric 6-string bass and the first piccolo bass. All of his instruments are custom order and completely unique, there is no assembly line. He has even made a 10 million dollar bass.

When I mentioned to Carl aka “The Jazz Cat” that there was no great jazz spots in the neighborhood, he told me that I was mistaken and that the best spot for jazz was Sunday’s 7-10pm at Downtown Atlantic, where you can see Carl Thompson and Friends play each and every Sunday!

Here is a list of some Top Jazz Spots in Brooklyn. If you have any other special spots please let us know in the comments section below.

Barbes (Park Slope)
Zebulon (Williamsburg)
Bar Tabac (Boerum Hill)
B.A.M. (Downtown Brooklyn)
Freddy’s Backroom (Boerum Hill)
Koze Lounge (Park Slope)
Sista’s Place (Bed Stuy)
Tea Lounge (Cobble Hill)
The Jazz Spot (Bed-Stuy)
Liberty Heights Tap Room (Red Hook)
Puppets Jazz Bar (Park Slope)
Night Light Cafe & Jazz Club (Sheepshead Bay)
Soft Spot (Williamsburg)
Art Land (Williamsburg)
Sugarcane (Caribbean Jazz)