Another metro Phoenix nightclub is closing. What's happening at Westside Blues and Jazz

Another metro Phoenix blues club is about to leave us.

Westside Blues, Jazz & More, a speakeasy-inspired lounge on Bell Road in Glendale, is closing its doors after one last gig with Sandra Bassett & September Soul on Sunday, Jan. 7.

The news arrives weeks after word hit the streets that Char’s Live, the beloved Melrose District nightclub that hosted R&B, blues, soul and funk acts for 35 years in a previous incarnation as Char’s Has the Blues, is back on the market in Phoenix.

Paul Vincent Perez and Cindi Jackson opened Westside, Blues, Jazz & More in April 2021, a year later than planned at limited capacity due to the pandemic.

At the time, Perez told The Arizona Republic, "This club's been on my bucket list for 25 years. Then, when I retired in 2019, I was driving around, nothing to do, and I go, 'You know what? I'm gonna open my own little blues and jazz club.'"

A year in, Westside Blues and Jazz owner said, 'We're on a roll'

A year after the grand opening, a sold-out show with Big Pete Pearson, Perez checked in to talk about how things were going at the speakeasy next to Tim Finnegan's Irish Restaurant & Pub in Glendale Market Square at Bell Road and 59th Avenue.

He said the club was crowded almost every night with lines of people outside waiting to get in.

"We're on a roll," he said. "It feels absolutely fantastic."

He said most of that was based on word of mouth.

"I go around every night and ask the people where'd they hear about us," Perez says.

"And I would say probably 60% is 'Oh, my neighbor told me' or 'my uncle' or 'my friend.' So it's been good. We get a lot of new customers in every night."

The Republic has reached out to Perez for comment on the venue’s closing.

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Westside Blues and Jazz owners closing 'with much sadness'

Several people shared a note on Facebook that the owners sent to bands that played there.

“With much sadness and a heavy heart, we will be closing our doors at Westside Blues, Jazz & More,” the note read, going on to thank the venue’s “loyal patrons for supporting us these past 3 years.”

It ended, “We will all miss you all very much. Thanks Again. We will see you when we see you.”

The final weekend features Honest Soulz on Friday, Jan. 5; a special show Saturday, Jan. 6, with the Igniters, featuring Melanie Chryshelle, Lewis Nash on drums, Mel Brown on bass and Benjamin Cortez on piano, and a 3 p.m. show with Bassett & September Soul on Sunday, Jan. 7.

Bassett shared the news on Facebook.

“I’m still digesting this and I want to believe that this is NOT happening… but it is,” her post began.

“This has been one of the best musical experiences of my life. You gave me and my band opportunities in Jazz, R&B, my Motown Experience Band grew from your place…. You’ve treated musicians well, and your customers loved coming to your place for the wonderful staff engagement and sense of community you gave us all.”

Reach the reporter at ed.masley@arizonarepublic.com or 602-444-4495. Follow him on Twitter @EdMasley.

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Phoenix nightclub Westside Blues and Jazz is closing