On Thursday, I was lucky to be invited by my good Polish friends to see a Jazz concert at the Bimhuis near Central Station. The main artist was also Polish and we sat or stood in a packed room on the top floor of the new building to hear and see them play.
Jazz-lovers from Amsterdam still mourn the moving of the Bimhuis from the Oude Schans to the big new building near the Central Station, and I understand why. The old Bimhuis was a classic Jazz venue - small and dark, smokey, painted black. The contrast with the new building could not be greater.
Now the Bimhuis is a fancy, open, well-lit place with great acoustics and plenty of space. In the smaller hall, you sit or stand at the back but wherever you are, it's a good location to listen.
Yet something is missing. Why is it that Jazz is associated with smoke and discomfort? My favourite Jazz place in Amsterdam is Cafe Alto. I haven't been there since the smoking ban, but my memories of it are of an incredible dose of passive cigarete fumes coupled with rickety chairs, no space because it is so long and narrow as a bar, a tiny stage, and great music.
Certainly the quality of the music on Thursday was far better than anything I saw at Cafe Alto. There, I always felt bad for the musicians as they hunched over their instruments with barely enough space to play. Yet it seems that is the essence of Jazz - it's somehow not meant to be "nice" and confortable, and smoke-free and well-organised. The stage at Alto seemed to add something to the music, the rough surroundings made the experience better.
In its favour, the Bimhuis has a bar with a fantastic view across the city and the Ij river behind Central Station, and they pipe the concert through into the bar. After half an hour, I went and sat in the bar, watched the amazing sunset with a beer, listened to the excellent musicians and took in the experience. It's not how you should listen to a concert, I know. But in those surroundings, it felt the best way to enjoy it. And I was with great friends too.
And so to Cafe Alto as soon as possible.
Jazz-lovers from Amsterdam still mourn the moving of the Bimhuis from the Oude Schans to the big new building near the Central Station, and I understand why. The old Bimhuis was a classic Jazz venue - small and dark, smokey, painted black. The contrast with the new building could not be greater.
Now the Bimhuis is a fancy, open, well-lit place with great acoustics and plenty of space. In the smaller hall, you sit or stand at the back but wherever you are, it's a good location to listen.
Yet something is missing. Why is it that Jazz is associated with smoke and discomfort? My favourite Jazz place in Amsterdam is Cafe Alto. I haven't been there since the smoking ban, but my memories of it are of an incredible dose of passive cigarete fumes coupled with rickety chairs, no space because it is so long and narrow as a bar, a tiny stage, and great music.
Certainly the quality of the music on Thursday was far better than anything I saw at Cafe Alto. There, I always felt bad for the musicians as they hunched over their instruments with barely enough space to play. Yet it seems that is the essence of Jazz - it's somehow not meant to be "nice" and confortable, and smoke-free and well-organised. The stage at Alto seemed to add something to the music, the rough surroundings made the experience better.
In its favour, the Bimhuis has a bar with a fantastic view across the city and the Ij river behind Central Station, and they pipe the concert through into the bar. After half an hour, I went and sat in the bar, watched the amazing sunset with a beer, listened to the excellent musicians and took in the experience. It's not how you should listen to a concert, I know. But in those surroundings, it felt the best way to enjoy it. And I was with great friends too.
And so to Cafe Alto as soon as possible.
