Café-concert Paris 10th 75010

An old corner bar with unpromising decor near the canal: at first glance, that is what this institution of quai de Jemmapes looks like. But once you sit down at the table, you quickly forget the pine cone hanging from the ceiling and the statuettes of bucolic nymphs scattered throughout the bar. This is the kingdom of Adel, who run his small café with good humour and sympathy, a tradition that is lost in the other neighbourhood bars. If we come here, it is not so much for the contents of the glass or the plate (some Syrian specialities are proposed), but for the people with whom we taste them. Here, you will find a few merry regulars, some quite drunk students and idle artists. Every evening or almost, musicians give small concerts, without any fuss. The prices are reasonable, the evenings are always pleasant, especially in summer when the terrace is full of customers enjoying the beautiful days… and beautiful nights!

It is a mythical place that host performances of great jazz artists, starting with Art Blakey on the evening of its inauguration in 1981, followed by Chet Baker, Stan Getz, McCoy Tyner, Dexter Gordon, Dizzy Gillespie and many others. In the beginning was New Morning ... from Geneva. With a lot of success in Switzerland, the founders of this club decided to open a new one in Paris in old print shops. It maintained its loft style decoration. New Morning has contributed to the revival of lively jazz music in the capital. Its great advantage is its direct link between musicians and its audience. Over time, it became open to blues, rock, song, world music and many orchestral of modern African or Latin American music. There were unforgettable moments here like when Prince took the habit of coming to play in front of a handful of fans who were amazed during his performance in Paris. It is also here that from the five hundred places in the club or leaning in the bar, we could - and still can - find strong personalities that are known or unknown.  In New Morning, Dee Dee Bridgewater or Cesaria Evora, to name a few, found a headquarter to conquer the European public.