The Jazz Bar at the Fairmont Peace Hotel is widely celebrated as a Shanghai institution. Originally conceived as an English-style pub with a live band, the bar was so famous for its jazz music during Shanghai’s roaring 1920s and 1930s ‘Jazz Age’ that it became known around the world simply as “The Jazz Bar”. Then, as it is now, the bar was so in tune with the upbeat vibe of Shanghai that it became a must-visit destination for all travelers to the city.
Jazz music and classic cocktails remain the star attractions at the newly revived Jazz Bar, which now assumes its original location just off the lobby, on the ground floor of the Fairmont Peace Hotel. While the iconic live music venue has been modernized in its décor and has been fitted with the latest audio and lighting technology, it still retains its original feel as a rustic bar.
Reviving the 1930s sounds of the bar, the six veteran musicians - whose average age is 82 - make up the world-famous ‘Old Jazz Band’. They still shake up The Jazz Bar nightly from 6:30pm. The renowned group has been a fixture at the Peace Hotel since 1980, playing for dignitaries, celebrities, travelers and jazz lovers alike. For decades they have drawn an audience of locals, international travelers, celebrities and heads of states such as former US Presidents Bill and Hillary Clinton and Ronald Reagan, and more recently, Justin Trudeau and Barack Obama.