Rudy's Jazz Jam

Rudy's Jazz Jam is on this Sunday, October 11, at Rudy's Jazz Room, 809 Gleaves St. It's the venue's official pro session, which is a bit different from a standard gig: Music City's established players take the stage alongside Nashville's next generation of jazz performers, and new musicians sit in live on stage in the tradition of spontaneous exploration. If you're into jazz, it's one of the few nights in town where you can hear the city's veterans and its rising talent sharing the same set.

Rudy's Jazz Room bills itself as Music City's authentic jazz club, a historic space furnished with Persian rugs, armchairs, and colorful Moroccan lights that give it the warm feel of a speakeasy. The New Orleans roots are honored through the food and the French Quarter-inspired cocktails of the prohibition era, alongside a menu that includes the club's signature chicken, andouille, and shrimp gumbo, red beans and rice, po-boys, crawfish grilled cheese, creole seafood pies, and beignets. It's the kind of place where you can settle in with a drink and a plate of gumbo and stay for the whole night.

The jam is just one part of what happens here. The room stages a wide range of jazz nights, from swing and gypsy jazz to New Orleans brass bands, organ trios, and vocal showcases, so if this particular session isn't your speed, there's usually something else on the calendar. The jam itself runs from 9 PM to 11:15 PM, and it's $12 at the door.