Alexander Tzschentke profiles the city’s best jazz joints…
Berlin’s role as Germany’s jazz capital has been pushed somewhat under the radar in the last couple of decades, thanks to the rise of trendier music genres like indie-rock, hip hop and electronic music.
But the jazz scene here is as colourful and diverse as the city itself, with local musicians—established acts as well as young, creative newbies—often incorporating these newer music forms with the tradition of improvised music from East and West Germany. The city offers a range of large jazz ensembles that happily experiment with contemporary classical music, brass bands working at the edges of pop and rock, and acoustic formations with international backgrounds and influences.
This being Berlin, the vicissitudes of political change have left their mark all over town; famous venues like the Titania Palace in the western sector or the jazz club Melodie in East Berlin are long disappeared. But enough venues remain to form the soul of the city’s contemporary scene, offering their stages as both concert halls and musical labs.
While the current mainstream venues are well-known to many, the underground jazz scene is characterised by its fleeting venues and erratic schedules. Operating for anything from a single night to a couple of years, it’s impossible to keep track of them all. furthermore, many venues lack official websites, operating only through word of mouth or Facebook invitations, and are purposefully hidden in basements, through backyards or behind unmarked residential front doors.
Below is a mix of big-hitters and underground joints that were operating at the time of writing…
The Big Hitters
Quasimodo
This Charlottenburg venue rightly claims its place as the longest-running and most famous jazz club in town. Its roots go back to the 20s, but its most glorious days date from the 50s-70s—when West Berlin was a Mecca for the world’s free improvised music scene—hosting major stars like Chet Baker and Dizzy Gillespie when they blew through on tour.
The number of such acts has declined since the 90s, but the venue still offers a solid variety of music styles spanning funk, soul, blues, Latin and rock. The venue also shares a historic space with the <…