Jazz session at Alte Feuerwache Mannheim – Photo: Schindelbeck Jazz Photography
[Edit: a new jazz-site with information about jazz in and around Heidelberg, Mannheim, Ludwigshafen, Heilbronn, Karlsruhe, Mainz, Wiesbaden..., including a comprehensive schedule of jazz events (Jazzkalender) is available at www.metropoljazz.de - a service of JazzPages - Jazz in Germany]
Where to go, if you want to hear Live-Jazz in Heidelberg and the surrounding cities Mannheim and Ludwigshafen?
In Heidelberg you might check out the following venues:
Jazzclub Heidelberg. Unfortunately the Jazz-Club organizes only sporadically concerts at DAI Heidelberg. Whenever they do so, you shoud give it a try, even if you should have never heard of the musicians. The people of Jazzclub Heidelberg are organizing an ambitious programme for years.
A famous place is Cave54 in downtown Heidelberg. This club has a glorious past with international renown jazz artist jamming in the club. Satchmo, Ella and Dizzy jammed after hours in the club. Nowadays the venue lost some of it's luster but is still worth to have a look for the session.
In the jazz club at Jazzhaus Leyergasse mostly mainstream and jazz sessions can be heard.
Occasionally jazz can be heard at Karlstorbahnhof Heidelberg.
The Enjoy Jazz Festival is held in autumn and offers 50+ concerts, jazz and related stuff. One of Europe's largest jazz festivals these days, with a great programme. Highlights in recent yars where Ornette Coleman, Wayne Shorter, Randy Weston, Lee Konitz but you can also hear a lot of up-to-date stuff…
The Heidelberg-Blogger is also the Jazzblogger and , so you might have a look to some jazz photography of the last festival years at www.schindelbeck.org, or www.jazzphotography.eu and http://www.jazzpages.com/Frank-Schindelbeck-jazz-photography/index.htm.
If you've the chance to drive a few miles, check out the programme of Studiobühne Fürth. Jazz saxophonist Mattl Dörsam organizes occasionally concerts at his venue.
You might get some selected up-to-date information about upcoming concerts at www.jazzblogger.de
In Mannheim the local jazz initative IG-Jazz is the most important organizer of jazz concerts. The programme can be found at www.ig-jazz.de, their regular venue is Klapsmühl' am Rathaus. Every Monday a virbrant jazz session is held at Cafe Alte Feuerwache, definitevely recommended also as the jazz concerts which are held in the main hall of Alte Feuerwache.
In Ludwigshafen, the main venue for jazz is Das Haus.
There are some other venues in and around Heidelberg which organize sporadically jazz concerts – you should check out "Meier" magazine – a monthly publication for the region with an exhaustive calendar of events.