There is no substitute for live jazz, and New York is the place to hear it.
All About Jazz-New York is a terrific monthly with an online edition that has a full rundown on the NY jazz scene. Click on the most recent issue for an pdf version of the paper with live links to club websites and schedules on all the ads. The New York City Jazz Club Bible has an exhaustive list of clubs.
WBGO, the Public Radio Jazz station in Newark, publishes a weekly guide to who is playing where for the current week. And if you'd like to hear SideTrack, the quartet I play in, visit the SideTrack website for our current schedule.
The Village Vanguard: 178 Seventh Ave. South, just below 11th St. 212-255-4037. The best of the best. Some of the best live recordings of all time happened here, my favorite place to hear music. Awkward room (long and narrow) but walk down the steep steps into history. Opened by Max Gordon in 1935 (who passed away in 1989), it is still run by his wife Lorraine. She’s the no nonsense older woman (now 85 years old but doesn't look it) who might ask for your reservation name on a busy night. Read her autobiography Alive at the Village Vanguard, it's a fascinating book that chronicles her life in jazz and two husbands - first Blue Note Records founder Alfred Lion then Max Gordon. Talk about classic doubleheaders. There was a great feature about her on NPR.
The Jazz Standard: 116 E. 27th Street. 212-576-2232. Acoustically and gastronomically a great place for music. The BBQ joint Blue Smoke is upstairs, and the jazz room is downstairs, but you can order excellent food off the Blue Smoke menu in the downstairs room.
Small’s: 183 West 10th Street (at 7th Ave). Reopened in March 2005, a great late night spot just down the block from the Vanguard. Music starts at 10pm and goes until 5am.
Iridium: 1650 Broadway (61st Street). 212-582-2121. Great room, a little glitzy, but a fun place to hear music. The Mingus Big Band (a tribute band, Mingus died in 1979) plays Tuesday nights.
Blue Note: 131 W. 3rd St. 212-475-8592. A little slick for my taste, but sometimes has musicians you want to see.
Dizzy’s Club (Jazz at Lincoln Center): Frederick Rose Hall, Broadway at 60th St., 5th Floor. 212-258-9595. The first branding opportunity based jazz club I’ve seen (Coca-Cola), but if you can get over the corporate atmosphere and high prices, some superb musicians can be heard here.
Smoke: 2751 Broadway (106th St.). 212-864-6662. Uptown, less expensive, less well known artists.