By Norah Walsh
This December, the JAS Café pop-up nightclub series, born in the basement of The Little Nell in 2011, settles into a permanent address at the new Paul JAS Center. Located above the storied Red Onion tavern on Cooper Avenue, the 75,000-square-foot venue is the first permanent space Jazz Aspen Snowmass (JAS) has owned since it was founded in 1991. Named for JAS Board of Directors Chairman Andy Paul, whose $10 million gift made the project possible, the center will serve as a year-round cultural hub for musicians, students, and the community.
The multiuse building houses a professional recording, mixing, and finishing studio for visiting artists and JAS Academy students. At its heart is a 175-seat club that will allow the JAS Café series to nearly double its number of annual performances and introduce a new supper club format. Guests will enjoy a wide range of music genres including jazz, blues, soul, funk, and world music.
The inaugural season kicks off December 19 with 10 nights of performances from artists including Grammy Award-winning bassist Christian McBride (Dec. 21-22), and iconic British funk band, the New Mastersounds (Dec. 28). For the opening night, legendary New Orleans entertainer Trombone Shorty will perform a private concert for individuals who have supported JAS over the years. A public performance will take place December 20.
“The new venue allows us to do things we’ve never been able to do before,” says JAS founder Jim Horowitz. “This type of experience doesn’t exist in Aspen.”