The legendary Jazz Alley has been around for over 30 years. It’s a premier dinner club that has hosted legendary artists like Oscar Peterson, and Dizzy Gillespie. Before there was Dimitriou’s Jazz Alley, John Dimitriou opened Blues Alley in Washington, DC. He then moved back to Seattle and subsequently opened 2 jazz clubs. Soon thereafter, he decided to close the 2 and create 1. Thus, the birth of Dimitriou’s Jazz Alley. The Jazz Alley opened in 1979.  It’s a venue you must attend if you’re in the Seattle, WA area. You can count on an encounter with musical artists every week. The Jazz Alley hosts a variety of artists offering music for everyone to enjoy. They’ve since relocated to accommodate more people, while still maintaining the feeling of an intimate club. There is no bad seat in the house, and now they’ve expanded to include a mezzanine. The venue holds 350 people, and are the Nation’s 3rd longest running dinner club of its kind. While enjoying the music coming from a state of the art sound system, you can also dine. The menu includes mostly a Northwest cuisine. For convenience you can make cocktail and dinner reservations when attending a show. I think fine cuisine and great music make a wonderful combination. John realizes that music is forever changing and embraces that change by showcasing music that doesn’t fall under the umbrella of jazz. It’s a way of introducing new music and artists as well as gaining new and different audiences.

Dimitriou’s is host to the Pacific Jazz Institute which is a non-profit organization that’s geared to educating and introducing youth in the area to jazz. They offer workshops that are sometimes led by artists. There are many reasons why Dimitriou’s has received accolades such as being one of the top 100 jazz clubs in the world.

I say, be careful, you could easily become spoiled by the intimacy of the Jazz Alley.

Monica Murphy Eaves