Cairo Jazz Club

Right across the river, in Imbaba, west of the smaller branch of the Nile of the two that surround Zamalek. Completely walkable from here.

The Jazz Club has always been fun, but it has changed a great deal. When I first arrived in Cairo it was a smoky little sardine can. A few years later it was completely rebuilt, and is now an ultra-slick place where you need reservations if you want an actual table, and they even offer weekend brunch.

We all went over, due to a chance meeting with someone who had connections there. The music was sort of Chick Coreaesque, and whether you like that sort of style or not, they were the best live band I’ve heard in Cairo. The sax player was working Charlie Parker licks into his solos.

And then, the funniest part, already announced on Twitter…

“JullyBlack. Just Killed a Freestyle at the Jazz Club with the Arabic Band! MAD fun : )”

Did she ever kill it! They invited Jully to sit in, and she improvised lyrics over their music, with all of of us mentioned in those lyrics. There was no way to avoid laughing out loud. What a performer.

After the first bridge, the power went out. Typical Cairo. So it was just Jully with the drums and saxophone after that, since the guitar and bass were instantly silenced without the electricity.

This feels like a long running joke, having a music star in the party night after night. Amusing situations keep arising.