Jon Batiste has debuted his first-ever jazz club at the Baha Mar resort in Nassau, The Bahamas.
The venue is 12,900-square-foot and seats 278. Baha Mar, located on Cable Beach, has hosted Bemelmans Bar and curated one of the Caribbean’s leading art collections. Nassau has a deep musical legacy and the club’s refined ambiance is inspired by the golden age of night clubs in The Bahamas from the 50’s and 60’s, where popular spots like Cat and Fiddle Club played host to the era’s biggest musical stars, including icons like Louis Armstrong, Aretha Franklin, Nat King Cole, Sammy Davis Jr. and many others.
“As with every element at Baha Mar, we are pushing the boundaries of luxury and creativity, and Jon Batiste’s Jazz Club is the culmination of our vision to set a new benchmark in entertainment,” said Graeme Davis, president of Baha Mar, in a press release. “Our partnership with Jon Batiste, an artist whose vision knows no bounds, was essential to crafting a club that radiates soul. Together, we’ve created a venue poised to become an iconic highlight for our guests and a cultural beacon for The Bahamas.”
Batiste was joined by Joanna “JoJo” Levesque, who surprised a sold-out crowd of nearly 300 VIP guests, including The Daily Show host Jon Stewart and several Bahamian dignitaries, on Friday, Jan. 17.
The unlikely duo performed classics like “‘Round Midnight,” “Never Will I Marry,” and “A Night in Tunisia.”
“I’ve been on TV, I’ve done all of these things, but I started in jazz clubs, and now it’s almost like 20 years later to come back … it just makes sense,” he told Page Six before the show. “There’s a symmetry to it. It’s a very conspicuous thing that it would happen right now. So it’s not necessarily like it was a dream. It’s more just, it is the manifestation of a dream.”
Batiste will go on to perform the National Anthem at the Super Bowl on Feb. 9 which will air live on FOX. The pregame show will feature Trombone Shorty, Lauren Daigle and Ledisi and aims to honor the music scene of New Orleans and features artists who call Louisiana home.
