Nashville’s jazz community continues to grow each year, but a major complaint for a long time has been a lack of venues for local and national acts to appear. But since May 2017, Rudy’s Jazz Room has offered the kind of intimate, music-first setting where jazz flourishes, with high-quality acoustics that enable listeners to fully appreciate the artists. Rudy’s also features multiple sets each evening (including late-night presentations on Fridays and Saturdays), a jazz brunch, and a nice mix of familiar area talent and touring regional and national bands and performers. Anyone who hasn’t been fortunate enough to see a show in a club like the Village Vanguard can get an excellent idea of what it’s like by spending a night at Rudy’s. RON WYNN
More Best of Nashville wins: In our Writers’ Choice, Rudy’s Jazz Room has also been named Best Jazz Venue (2022) and Best Ongoing Jazz Streaming Shows (2020).
