“Just when the government was about to let crowds of people congregate again so that we could play our horns once more, the lid was clamped down tighter than ever.” That’s how jazz legend Louis Armstrong remembered his experience of the 1918 pandemic in New Orleans in his 1954 memoir Satchmo. “Everybody was down with it, except me.” Because he managed to survive, jazz flourished across the country in the mid-20th century, including here in Denver, where Five Points earned a reputation for world-class jazz. Armstrong himself even played at the iconic Rossonian Hotel on Welton Street. So now that the government is again allowing some crowds to congregate, are we on the brink of a jazz renaissance? City Cast Denver guest host donnie l. betts visits one of Denver’s premier jazz clubs, Dazzle, to listen to some music and talk through this moment in Denver jazz with legendary pianist Purnell Steen, Dazzle co-owner Matt Ruff, and trombonist Stafford Hunter. 

If you’re interested in sampling some live jazz for yourself, Stafford Hunter’s Young Lions are playing a set at Dazzle tonight — July 21 at 7 p.m. — but if you can’t make it down there, Dazzle is offering a livestream to enjoy the performance from home. Find all the details right here. 

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