The original Jazz Café opened in 1999 in San Pedro, San Jose, Costa Rica with a restaurant, bar, art gallery, and seating capacity for just over 200 people. In February 2008, in response to popular demand, the second Jazz Café- nearly double the size- was opened on the other side of the city in San Rafael de Escazú, an upscale and up-and-coming neighborhood that is the mecca of expatriates who have made it their own corner of Costa Rica.
Photo courtesy of Mauricio Penaranda
Consistently high quality shows, a superior restaurant and an inviting atmosphere draw an eclectic crowd to the Jazz Café Escazú, and nightly shows run the gamut from jazz, blues, R & B , to Latin folk music, salsa, and rock.
Some of the impressive names that have graced the Jazz Café's stage are: Chucho Valdez & Irakere, Dave Weckl, Mike Stern, Julien Lourau, Diego Urcola, Dennis Chambers, Frank Gambale, Scott Henderson, Ralph Irizarry & Timbalaye, Brandon Fields, Trío Mendoza Heredia & Neto, Vicente Feliú, Juanes, Alvaro Aguilar, Grupo Tuira, Luis Enrique Mejía Godoy, De Boca en Boca and Amaury Gutiérrez.
To get to the Jazz Café Escazú from San Jose, take Próspero Fernández Highway to Marginal Road, the first exit after the toll booth.
