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At least 12 regular (or semi-regular) live jazz nights in Ottawa

Jazz legend Oscar Peterson’s unmistakable statue on Elgin Street. (Government of Canada photo)

There’s nothing like live jazz to chill you out and get relaxed. And with plenty of places to catch some live jazz performances, Ottawa sure is a cool city. To suggest additions to this list please contact us.

  • The Options Jazz Lounge at Brookstreet Hotel (525 Legget Dr.) features live jazz seven nights a week. You can see a monthly lineup here…
  • Find jazz every Saturday night at Zola’s (2194 Robertson Rd.) as you dine.
  • Pressed (750 Gladstone Ave.) is known to have occasional jazz nights. You can check when the next one is on their events page…
  • Irene’s Pub (885 Bank St.) has jazz on Tuesdays — no cover charge.
  • Le Petit Chicago in Gatineau (50, Prom. du Portage) typically has “jazz jams” on Mondays.
  • Queen St. Fare (170 Queen St.) has semi-regular jazz brunches — OK, not nights! — and you can check out any upcoming ones on their Happenings page.
  • Vineyards Wine Bistro (54 York St.) has live jazz three nights a week with no cover charge. And you know what drink goes well with jazz…
  • Bar Robo (692 Somerset St. W.) has jazz performances frequently. Every first and third Thursday of the month, catch Django Libre as they perform a unique strand of the genre — gypsy jazz.
  • The Rainbow (76 Murray St.) is known as Ottawa’s home of blues… and they feature plenty of jazz, too. Jazz and blues every Wednesday 4 p.m. through 7 p.m.
  • Royal Oak Kanata (329 March Rd.) has jazz every Sunday afternoon. Other Royal Oaks have regular live music too , but not necessarily jazz.
  • On the fourth Friday of each month, The Art House Café (555 Somerset St. W.) has Tenth Ward Shakedown, a program of New Orleans-style jazz with local musicians.
  • Grill Forty One, at the Lord Elgin Hotel (100 Elgin St.), has jazz every Friday night starting at 8 p.m.
  • Nepean Sailing Club has jazz every Friday night at 7:30.
  • GigSpace (953 Gladstone Ave.) is a cozy, 46-seat place featuring live jazz several weekends per month. It’s a registered charity “run for musicians, by musicians.” Check out their upcoming concerts…

This story originally appeared in the Thursday, Feb. 28 edition of our newsletter. Sign up here.