For instance, since 1981 the New Morning , a former printing works in the 10th arrondissement transformed into a 500-seat concert hall, has been a port of call for numerous touring jazzmen. Chet Baker and Art Blakey have given concerts here which have since become legendary, and Dianne Reeves recorded an unforgettable live album here. Marked by the memory of legends who have passed through, its red walls are decorated with superb black and white portraits of jazzmen, for although “New” also welcomes salsa, reggae, brass bands and African music, it remains most fond of jazz. The audience is often attentive and knowledgeable, but the overall mood remains very relaxed. Those who are stuffy need not attend!

Run by the festival team, the Banlieues Bleues festival’s La Dynamo in Pantin is also a former industrial building converted into a concert venue. With an original design, it is the first hall built in France decisively dedicated to jazz and improvised music. The concerts held here outside of the festival are in keeping with the artistic remit of the festival, which promotes contemporary, free and experimental jazz, open to related music. La Dynamo also offers residencies, workshops, initiatives aimed at youngsters and public rehearsals. There is an organic and fair-trade bar for the interval.

Following a renovation which not only restored the Art Deco cachet to this historic hall but also improved its acoustic comfort, the Salle Pleyel , an auditorium designed for classical music, has long since been open to jazz. Charlie Parker was a hit in 1949, Ella Fitzgerald celebrated April in Paris here and Keith Jarrett has recorded exceptional recitals in its walls.

Designed by architect Christian de Portzamparc, the Cité de la Musique, based at the La Villette site, is worth a special visit to experience its buildings’ boldness of form as well as for the concert cycles, designed according to aesthetic or historic themes, and also for the quality of performances held there which go beyond the limits of genre.
As well as concerts, the Cité de la Musique offers many educational activities, in particular forums (concert-talks) and courses (series of lessons).

Its media library is one of the main documentation centres on music in France. The Musée de la Musique reopened its doors in March 2009, following a major reorganization of its permanent collections, among which jazz fans will be excited to discover Django Reinhardt’s guitar and Stéphane Grappelli’s violin.