Why This Bar Is My Favourite In The World

Forbes

5 days ago

The Jazz Bar stage and equipment The Jazz Bar
Though it's been in business for over 20 years, Edinburgh's The Jazz Bar still feels like a hidden gem. A descent down the narrow stairwell from its entrance on Chambers Street reveals a basement bar that seamlessly blends the best elements of a speakeasy, cabaret, and music club. Alongside top-grade drinks and superb live music programming, the venue's true secret sauce is its rich community of musicians, staff, and patrons, which has continuously grown and evolved—and even saved the venue during challenging times.
When his music bar burned down in 2002, Edinburgh drummer Bill Kyle was determined to start again. In 2005, The Jazz Bar opened its doors on Chambers Street, quickly becoming a musical home for many musicians, myself included. Kyle, who passed away in 2016, was a proper 'dour Scotsman'. Though his deadpan expression and manner initially seemed intimidating, it soon became clear how passionate he was—not just about staging great concerts, but also about creating a nurturing space for emerging musicians to hone their craft.
London-based musician, composer and bandleader Steve Pretty, who has frequently played at the venue, compares it favorably to a well-known London jazz club that he's also had a residency in:
'I like Ronnie Scott's, and it's got an amazing history, but for me, it hasn't got the same sense of community,' he told me.
'That's one of the great things about The Jazz Bar—it's wonderful for musicians, but it's also really welcoming to punters. They take the music very seriously, but it's also a fun place for everyone.'
The venue's musical fare extends beyond jazz, featuring funk, blues, Latin nights, and various jam sessions. And then there are the drinks: superb cocktails, especially the espresso martinis; homemade ginger beer, with customers determining the spice level for each drink; and my personal favourite, the Chocolate Swampie—a double shot espresso mocha mixed with a double shot of Cointreau or Triple Sec.
Add in a respectable selection of whiskies and spirits (Kyle's go-to whisky was Caol Ila), and you have all the ingredients for something truly special. How The Jazz Bar Survived Closure
Big Band rehearsal at the Jazz Bar The Jazz Bar
With music venues struggling globally, The Jazz Bar itself nearly didn't survive. After Kyle's death, his daughter Edith managed the venue for several years, but she and her team soon realized that rising costs following the end of pandemic relief programs made the business unsustainable.
Consequently, the venue closed in April 2024. However, venue manager Nick Mushlin, who had been working there since 2007, and his wife Justyna (also a former employee), decided to step in. They tirelessly worked to reopen the venue as a nonprofit social enterprise, providing significant tax benefits. Thanks to their dedication and a successful crowdfunding campaign, The Jazz Bar reopened in July 2024. The Mushlins and their team were proud to celebrate the venue's 20th birthday a few weeks ago.
"If we hadn't taken it over, it would probably have ended up with some corporation," says Nick. "We're continuing Bill's legacy, because that's what's important to us."
"There weren't many people who could have turned it back into what it was, continuing to do it right, knowing the structure and inner workings…but we do," adds Justyna. "We're just continuing what Bill started."
The venue's prospects now look brighter: almost every gig hosted during the Edinburgh Jazz Festival sold out, and it will present 190 shows during the Edinburgh Fringe, one of the world's largest arts festivals. The Jazz Bar Community
Author (third from left) playing with an expanded lineup of blues band The Blueswater in 2015 at The Jazz Bar. Diego Almazan
Many venues offer great live music and drinks, but The Jazz Bar's broader community provides that extra magic. This community has inspired musicians to perform there for over a decade, motivated the Mushlins to assume substantial financial risks to save the venue, and supported a successful crowdfunding campaign that raised $55,000 from passionate fans and regulars.
Edinburgh-based musician Mike Kearney, who has performed at The Jazz Bar for 15 years, considers it a sacred space. He met his wife there—she was a dancer working behind the bar—and has been involved in numerous bands and projects at the venue:
"Now more than ever, I find myself wanting to play at The Jazz Bar. I'm as drawn as ever to its stage, the house instruments, the sound engineers, the bar staff, the door staff, the regular clientele, and the newcomers, who all contribute to its unique energy. I hope to play there for a very long time."
Earlier this month, Edinburgh cocktail bar Panda and Sons won prestigious awards at the renowned New Orleans global drinks industry conference, Tales of the Cocktail. Their deserved triumph will hopefully spotlight Edinburgh's many excellent bars—quirky historic pubs, superb whisky bars, innovative cocktail spots, and more. I've been lucky enough to enjoy drinks at most of them.
Yet, as a musician who came of age playing at The Jazz Bar, this is the place that continually draws me back whenever I'm in the Scottish capital. It's a place where high-quality live music remains deeply valued, even as wider cultural, economic, and technological forces challenge musicians everywhere. It's where I can savor my precious Chocolate Swampie. And it's a place that I, along with many others, proudly call our nightlife home.