Harlem Jazz Club — Restaurant in Barcelona

did not like. tourist bad blues. get out of the tourist zone. Hi owner. Who I am I? I'm a semi-regular musician, and avid jazz listener, and, yes tourist. But tourists can have taste. In my town, we have tourist clubs with excellent music, tourist clubs with bad music and no attempt at repeat business, and non-tourist clubs. I go out for live music every weekend, and I go to some places that are a good mix of tourists. This weekend I am going to 4 live shows, only one jazz tho. I also went to a new harlem jazz speakeasy this year, I know what harlem jazz sounds like, even the touristy places in NYC.

Maybe I hit you on a bad night, but the music was sub standard schlock that night, and the fact that it is a standing band means I worry about either your taste or the availability of good bands. Both are a bad sign for someone travelling with limited nights in a given city. JazzMan in Barcelona seems better (although they did not have music the night I went i did stop by), I caught some good stuff at Casa Figari. Figari is much more the kind of place I would recommend. That night at least, seemed like young kids from a local conservatory having some real fun but also blowing some great jazz.

If you would like to increase your reputation, I would suggest Harlem Jazz never, ever having music as mediocre as I heard that night. I don't understand, as an owner, how you can have a band like that as a regular band and take pride in your music. Maybe you do take pride! Maybe every other show all the time has been first rate! Maybe you're struggling and need to have at least something some nights that's cheap to fill the house, and other nights it's great! I'm only one person writing one review about one night, I expect people reading reviews to invest a moment in reading. But the problem with places in tourist zones is there are often few educated reviews, so an owner can get away with sub standard music.

I also usually bite my tongue for anyone bold enough to run a music club at all. It's a terrible business. But running a bad club makes it even harder for all the clubs trying to put on great experiences. Please upgrade your music, or stay dark if you have to.

Yes, it's unfair for me to say you're a three-star place just because you're in a tourist zone. I take it back, you're not a place to avoid because you're in a tourist zone. I went to your place, didn't I? I was hopeful! But I am saying what I say based on my experience. It's all anyone can expect in a review, telling the truth based on that particular night. That's a very harsh thing to say based on one visit, but I've heard a lot of jazz all over the world and played in a few clubs myself.

Since this is published with my real name, you...

Great concert

The last night we spent in Barcelona it was time to go to a concert. We found this nice place, Harlem Jazz Club in the old town where the singer Sharifah Muhammad from San Diego performed with Chino Swingslide and his band. As far as we could hear from the musicians’ goodbye speech this was the first time the band plaid with Sharifah, but we could not have tell given the lively professional performance.

The concert started with I smell a rat, performed with just slightly better quality than that of Buddy Guy. Shortly thereafter Sharifah sang I’d rather go blind in a slight different version than by Etta James but the emotions and soul put into the singing was about one octave higher. I had not experienced kissing in the dark performed by other than Memphis Minnie, but the band really managed to re the rhythm of 50s magic performance. The small dancefloor in the nice venue was filled with hipshaking audience under the last song before the break.

Both Sharifah and the band connected well with the audience during the concert and no less during the break and afterwards.

The guitar play was exceptional and the vocals outstanding. While the bass and the drum really tied the music together Chino and Sharifah performed the first few songs after the break in a really nice duo version. Overall the concert was a real success to our lovely visit to Barcelona. I hope the band is able to visit and perform in Iceland someday, we have a better odds with them than with the Rolling Stones and possibly better more lively concert.

Stefan Hrafn Jonsson and...

The Harlem Jazz Club is accessible after a few twists and turns in what could be considered lower Barcelona, though I am not sure that is what it is colloquially referred as. It becomes an important part of the fabric of this touristy city and a contribution to the vibrant arts scene of this thriving metropolis.

Upon entering the club, I was asked to pay for a ticket. As a venue that has artists performing almost every night, I was excited as I didn't originally have any plans for that Friday. Arriving earlier than the band was scheduled to play was a smart idea. There were already a decent amount of seats taken up by patrons.

The event space is sparsely decorated. With the venue dedicated to the music instead. A dixieland-style of music was being played by a band that night, which was impressive, as I heard more storytelling about the land surrounding the Mississippi wrapped around the songs. It was beautiful and unexpected.

As the evening waned on closer to midnight, more patrons arrived, filling the space with dancing and gentle swaying. Getting there early for a seat was a smart idea. I left before midnight because, in some cases, nothing good happens after midnight. However, the preceding hours before were rich with good music, and a bartender who may have been generous...