Beloved jazz club Dazzle now has an official opening for its new home at Denver's Performing Arts Complex downtown.
The club will open next week, August 4 and 5, with two shows each night at 7 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. by Grammy nominated jazz vocalist and songwriter René Marie and longtime collaborator Dawn Clement.
Capping off a six-year tenure at the Historic Baur's Building, Dazzle's new venue will feature a space designed to specifically emphasize the music that's made it a flagship jazz club for over 26 years.
"The layout is phenomenal," said Kelley Dawkins, Dazzle's Marketing Director. "There are no blocks in anyone's sightline in this new venue, seating is around three of the four sides and the main listening room really puts the emphasis on the music."
You can find tickets to the shows here.
The DCPA location is also full of artwork from local artists that help preserve the history of Colorado Jazz, including a mural of René Marie herself created by Redline Contemporary Art Center resident artist, Jasmine Holmes.
The venue seats 143 people, 23 seats in the bar area and 18 in the piano lounge with the capacity for standing room if necessary.
Dazzle is also partnering with the historic El Chapultepec jazz and blues venue that closed in December 2020 after 87 years in business.
When El Chapultepec, where legends like Ella Fitzgerald and Frank Sinatra performed, closed two and a half years ago, it came as a gut punch to Denver's music community.
But Dazzle's reopening means The Pec will get a second wind through "The Late Set," special performances scheduled from Thursdays to Saturdays from 11 p.m.-1 a.m. that are set to begin this fall.
"This partnership is designed to elevate the best that both clubs have to offer to Denver," said Donald Rossa, Owner and President of Dazzle.
Earlier this month, owners of El Chapultepec Angela Guerrero and Anna Diaz launched The El Chapultepec Legacy Project as an effort to preserve the historic club's legacy as well as to help raise funds for their partnership with Dazzle.
"The website is a place for the community to reminisce, watch our short documentary, browse photographs, share your Pec stories, and buy merch," said Anna Diaz. "But the El Chapultepec Piano Lounge at Dazzle is a place to look forward."
Local artist Shay Guerrero has been hard at work installing artwork inside of the piano lounge as part of the El Chapultepec Legacy Collection, commissioned by Deborah and Jim Frank. The series will honor Hispanic and Chicano jazz influences like Freddy Rodriguez Sr., Carlos Lando, Jerry Krantz, Flo Hernandez-Ramos, Tina Cartagena and Arturo Gomez.
"Maybe this will spark the interest of a young child who wants to be a saxophone player like Freddy," Guerrero said earlier this year.
Operating as part of the city-owned arts complex affords the jazz club a chance to collaborate in close proximity to Denver Arts & Venues resources, as well as continue to stamp its role within the Denver music scene.
"Jazz is produced by the artists within the community, reflecting the sounds of the time," Rossa said. "This new Dazzle was built by artists from many different fields to create a space of community where Jazz, Blues, and other forms of improvised music can thrive for years to come."
Dawkins added by saying that "As a private business that provides so much to the cultural fabric of Denver, we are really grateful to the city for working with us to help us open the space and make it so beautiful."
