All that Jazz

One of the best, some say the best, places to hear jazz in Havana is in the unlikely location of a shopping mall on Paseo Avenue in Vedado, where you can enjoy the view of the intense blue of the sea from the large windows along with the intense beat.

You won't get lost in the mall because as you mount the stairs, a large copper sculpture of three jazz musicians by Cuban artist Octavio Cuellar guides you into the Jazz Café, where the walls are decorated with musical instruments and photos of famous jazz players like Chano Pozo, Dizzy Guillespie and Lázaro Ross.

On any given night you will hear live performances by the best Cuban musicians around: Oscar Valdés and the Diákara band, Cesar López and the Habana Ensemble and the Sexto Sentido Vocal Quartet or, of course, famous Cuban jazz pianist Chucho Valdes, who is considered the café's godfather. Apart from being one of the venues for the Havana Jazz Festival since it opened on January 12, 1999 (held this year February 14 to 18); many Canadian students have performed here thanks to the Canada-Cuba Sports and Cultural Festival institution...