Dimitriou's Jazz Alley Restaurant &
Nightclub was started in 1979 by a former employee of
D.C.'s Blues Alley, and today it presents similarly
high-quality music most nights of the week. You enter from an
alley in
Seattle's Central Business District and pay between
$22, for a local funk or R&B act, and $80, to see jazz
piano giant
Oscar Peterson. The club seats 350, and its menu
offers a range of fresh seafood and other Pacific Northwest
favorites. 2033 Sixth Avenue and Lenora, (206) 441-9729,
www.jazzalley.com
San Francisco
The Bay Area's best jazz venue is the ultramodern
Yoshi's Jazz Club & Japanese
Restaurant in
Oakland's Jack London Square. Every day
of the year (excluding
Thanksgiving,
Christmas, and New
Year's Day), fans enjoy topflight players like pianist McCoy
Tyner and crossover star
Taj Mahal as well as local acts. The
restaurant serves a Japanese-style menu, and covers range
from $10 for a local musician's weeknight gig to $35 for a
weekend national touring act. 510 Embarcadero West, (510)
238-9200, www.yoshis.com
Washington, D.C.
The nation's oldest continuing jazz supper club riffs in the
Georgetown district of Washington, D.C.
Blues
Alley opened in 1965 and has showcased the talents of
Charlie "Bird" Parker, Sarah Vaughan, and a host of other jazz
giants as well as current up-and-comers. Blues Alley is open seven
days a week and seats 125. A cover charge of about $25 provides
entry to the club's jazz and creole, steak, and seafood dinners.
1073 Wisconsin Avenue NW, (202) 337-4141,
www.bluesalley.com