JAZZLAND

Thank You Jacksonville for helping Jazzland make history! In just TWO years, Jazzland's throbbing jazz nightlife has become a magnet for jazz thrill seekers from way beyond the Jacksonville community. "Jazz is truly ascending" says Carole Freeman, the vibrant manager of Jazzland. "Everybody’s excited and comes to see and hear the great jazz musicians we’re fortunate enough to find. They’ve found a place that’s "exotic, safe, colorful, and sensuous; a place of laughing, singing, and dancing; a place where the night lights up to Live Jam Sessions Every Tuesday Night and Sensational Jazz Every weekend." University Boulevard rings with jazz music, jam sessions, dancing, and happiness. Beautiful cars line up for blocks under the glittering stars above Jazzland whose doors swallow up and spit out crowds of jazz lovers on Saturday night. In all of Jacksonville, Jazzland is the Only Live Jazz club. On Saturday nights, when the music begin to play, the whole city wants to "cross the line" and come to University Blvd North. They call Jazzland "The Place" because you can find everybody whose anybody there on a Saturday night, clapping and stomping away to the Best Jazz in Town. In fact, people will tell you this is where the Jazz patrons of Jacksonville have finally found a remarkable haven for exceptional "Authentic" Jazz.　 So what is this groovy place all about? Why do people come from miles around to have a taste of Jazzland’s nightlife? Put on your Saturday night frocks, and let's go find out. And by the way...If you're new to Jazz, you might consider spending a few Saturday and Sunday nights listening to "This Is Jazz" a radio show hosted by Jazz historian Bob Bednar. The show airs on Public Radio, WJCT 89.9 Bob is the perfect Intimate Guide to Jazz. Now you’re ready to hang out till midnight with great music, a fun crowd and plenty to do. You feel like you’re in an old movie. The music is absolutely beautiful — soaring choruses played with blinding passion and the high-stepping music of trumpets and saxophones. Critics love it. The audience is very diverse- a wonderful mixture of Jacksonville’s many cultures. It's song and dance they're after, and by the time Jazzland lets out, everyone’s exhilarated, full of love and wildly happy! Did I say they call Jazzland "The Place" because you can find everybody whose anybody there on a Saturday night? That's worth repeating! Inside, the patrons are going from table to table greeting friends. A couple of men with very expensive suits stand under the glass chandelier chatting. Leaning on the counter rail, some women in stylish, gleaming dresses are talking away. Not everyone is rich or prominent. There is a terriffic mix of our beautiful city. You'll find office workers, car salesmen, maids, teachers, social workers, longshoremen, college professors, students and just about everything else! But once you're inside, it doesn't matter who you are or how you dress! They Love You and make you feel oh so special! The stage is black with multi colored lights circling the floor borders. The décor is a regal burgundy and gold with pictures of yesterday’s Jazz stars covering the walls. The music is jumping and it seems like everyone’s swaying. While Jazzland’s style and décor is reminiscent of the New York Jazz clubs of the 30’s & 40’s… it’s policies are not! Like the days when W.C. Handy, the father of the blues, was turned away from the Cotton Club while his music was blaring away inside; where the stage was lined with cotton bushes and rickety plantation cabins with the bare legs of light-skinned black women kicking high to the sound of pulsating horns. Those days are dead and gone. Today, Jazzland reflects the wonderful cultural blend of a beautifully progressive America. Where musicians and patrons come together, where both are respected and happily joined by the exquisite beauty of ... and love for America's own classical music, Jazz!