Smalls   (Photo: Shanna Ravindra)

Lenox Lounge
288 Lenox Ave., nr. 125th St.; 212-427-0253.
With a historically accurate renovation in 2000, the zebra-striped, Art Deco Lenox Lounge continues to shine as a Harlem landmark. The bar counts Miles Davis and Billie Holliday among its alumni.

Smalls
W. 10th St., nr. Seventh Ave.; 212-252-5091.
The historic Greenwich Village club enthusiastically supports the current jazz scene by hosting two (often up-and-coming) bands per night.

Jazz Standard
116 E. 27th St., nr. Park Ave. S.; 212-576-2232.
The sophisticated older brother to the rowdier Blue Smoke upstairs, the Standard hunkers down with critically acclaimed artists and unobstructed, candlelit views of the stage.

Jazz at Lincoln Center
Time Warner Center, 10 Columbus Circle, at 60th St.; 212-258-9800.
More than just a world-class jazz venue, this Lincoln Center offshoot houses the Nesuhi Ertegun Jazz Hall of Fame.

Village Vanguard
178 Seventh Ave. S., nr. 11th St.; 212-255-4037.
As the eldest of the great jazz hubs (it turned 70 in 2005), this wedge-shaped spot is haunted by the ghosts of Coltrane and Bill Evans.

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