The Shanghai nightlife scene has been throwing us some sad news as of late, with the recent shutdown of bar strip Yongkang Lu and The Shelter set to throw their last party on NYE. Back in May 2016, we were also devastated to hear of the closure of beloved jazz institution JZ Club, who were moving from their Fuxing Lu spot after 12 years. But after only a short stint away, JZ Club unveiled their new location at 158 Julu Road on Friday night in an epic 'Welcome Home' party.
The new spot is situated in the depths of Found 158, the development that used to be known as Datong Mill, in Yanzhong Guangchang park on Julu Lu. It's the place some have christened 'the new Yongkang Lu', with rumours of several expat-attracting watering holes set to open there over the coming weeks. Keep an eye out for more from us on that.
JZ Club is the first of said openings, and consequently the rest of the place was either under construction or just empty. A good spot for something spooky in time for next weekend, perhaps?
Once inside, the club has got all the class and cosiness of their old Fuxing Lu haunt, whilst being notably bigger, newer, and in many ways better. Like the old club it also looks like most nights will have a cover charge – the opening night, featuring much-loved Italian jazz band Funk Off, was 100RMB entry.
As with most opening nights not everything was perfect – our cocktails (ranging from 78-98RMB) took over an hour to arrive (so long that in the end we just gave up). But there was a collective buzz of excitement in the air as the musicians pulled out all the stops to remind us just why JZ Club is so special. After their successful festival over the weekend, JZ look set to pick up where they left off at their new home.
JZ Club is at Found 158, 158 Julu Lu, near Chengdu Nan Lu, Huangpu district.
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