Smoke Jazz Club
Vincent Herring Starts the Fall Program
By: Susan Hall - Sep 04, 2026
Smoke, the iconic jazz club on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, has everything. First and foremost, the music is wonderful. Set in a smallish room with plush red velvet curtains bracketing the stage and three tiny chandeliers dotting the ceiling, the room is warm and comfortable. The acoustics are great.
The Columbia neighborhood in which Smoke is located has become toney.
Once, Jack Kerouac hung out at the West End Bar. If you happened upon a puddle in front of the entrance, a Columbia gentleman would take off his jacket and lay it down in the puddle so your ballet slippers wouldn’t get wet. A bit further south and across the street, the Gold Rail Bar had not-so-good food and wonderful drinks served by Bill, who did not have to look at your identification (18 then, 21 now). And further south at 105th and Broadway was Augie’s, a dive that had jazz and folded.
Augie’s would become Smoke, named after the cigar store next door, and evolved into one of the premier jazz clubs in the country. This fall's programming includes:
Bird Lives! A Charlie Parker Birthday Celebration: Featuring the Vincent Herring & Eric Alexander Quintet (September 2–6, 2026). “Anyone serious about jazz will tell you that George Cables belongs in the pantheon of the greatest jazz pianists.”
Steve Davis "We See" Sextet: Led by acclaimed trombonist Steve Davis alongside players like Jeremy Pelt, Ralph Moore, and Renee Rosnes (September 9–12, 2026). “Steve Davis is the Poet Laureate of the trombone.”Walter Smith III CMA Premiere Ensemble: Debuting a new work commissioned by Chamber Music America with Jason Moran, Matt Stevens, Matt Brewer, and Bill Stewart (Late September 2026).
Mark Turner Quartet: Celebrating their Patternmaster release with Jason Palmer, Joe Martin, and Jonathan Pinson (September 30 – October 4, 2026).
Renee Rosnes Quartet: Performing a residency (October 6–10, 2026).Jazz musicians are notoriously poorly paid. There is a solid audience for this music, but does it take food and drink to make jazz economically sensible? No one has come up with a better solution. At Smoke, two people pay about $200 for their music—and good food and drink. It’s expensive, but well worth it. Smoke doesn’t have trouble filling the house.