Terrace of the Café de Oriente
In any case, the current owners of the business transmitted in a statement that the spirit will remain , since they intend to go with the music elsewhere and look for a place to revive the old Café Berlin as a reincarnation. In recent years the Berlin had regained the glamor of its best moments, having been renovated from the living room to the kitchen. The new managers had given him a good facelift to the walls Y the atmosphere had even changed color. Even the drinks were cheaper after the exorbitant prices of previous years.
In his 40 years of life, the best jazz players in Spain had passed through the venue , since Jorge Pardo to Pedro Iturralde , as well as a large number of Cuban musicians residing in Madrid such as Candy, Alain Pérez or Georvis Pico . not forgetting to Paco de Lucía, Tomatito, Josemi Carmona and Jorge Drexler.
The Café Berlín was a meeting place for artists and intellectuals from the capital, especially lovers of jazz and flamenco, but not only musicians, but actors, filmmakers, writers and others art makers They met at the venue to listen to good music and share experiences. Precisely this type of premises has been habitual in a Madrid that, from the famous romantic get-togethers of the 19th century, it has always found temples where artists have met, shared experiences and debated on different topics.
Another mythical place where artists, writers and intellectuals met was the extinct Commercial Cafe in Plaza de Bilbao in Madrid , but, like the Berlin, it succumbed to real estate speculation. But there are more mythical places, cafes and, some of them, places where you can stay up late until morning, to which you should go if you want to feel surrounded by the world of artists and you should not miss them if you live in Madrid or pass through the capital even if it is only for a weekend.
A minute of silence please
** THE GIJÓN COFFEE (Paseo de Recoletos, 21) **
Founded by an Asturian named Gumersindo In 1888, during Franco's dictatorship and in the Transition, it became a meeting place and literary gathering, where intellectuals and artists debated, and still do, about the country's situation, the latest artistic and musical trends, while having a good coffee or, in the best of cases, a glass of liquor. is one of the few cafes of gathering survivors in the 21st century.
Among the regular customers who have passed through the Café were Federico Garcia Lorca , bullfighter Ignacio Sánchez Mejías, Enrique Jardiel Poncela, Pedro Muñoz Seca, Ramiro de Maeztu and Agustín de Foxá in the time before the Civil War. During the Battle of Madrid, the cafe was occupied by militiamen.
Coffee Gijon
In Postwar one of the most famous clients was the deceased Nobel Prize winner Camilo Jose Cela. The café was a meeting place for writers and men of letters whose alignment with the Franco regime was more than doubtful.
Another of the illustrious regulars would be the actor and playwright Fernando Fernan Gomez , which prompted the Café Gijón Novel Award . And soon international writers and stars began to visit him, such as Truman Capote, Ava Gardner and Orson Welles.
Already in Democracia, other artists like Arturo Pérez Reverte, Álvaro de Luna or Luis García Berlanga have been regulars at the legendary Café. A visit to this place with history will always make that coffee or glass of liquor you drink taste like art and culture. And, above all, to debate.
Coffee Gijon
** THE CENTRAL CAFE (Plaza del Ángel, 10) **
Not as old as Gijón, but already with 33 years of history, this place boasts of not having missed its daily concert since it opened its doors in March 1982. Previously, this place, with large windows, had been one of the best shops in Madrid dedicated to glass and mirrors.
True "figures" of international jazz have passed through the venue, beginning with George Adams-Don Pullen Quartet. Some of those who performed at the Café are no longer there, like Tete Montoliu, George Adams, Don Pullen, Art Farmer, Tal Farlow, Jeanne Lee, Lou Bennett, Mal Waldron, Sam Rivers, Stephen Franckevich… and others are already successful in the 21st century What Randy Weston, Barry Harris, Ben Sidran, Chano Domínguez, Pedro Iturralde, Jorge Pardo, Lee Konitz, Lew Tabackin, George Cables, Antonio Serrano, Concha Buika…
Not only Jazz has experienced the Café Central, since other artists who have passed through its stage have been María del Mar Bonet, Javier Krahe, Javier Ruibal, Martirio, Eliseo Parra, Ruper Ordorika, Lucrecia, Zenet, Natalia Dicenta, Guinga, Fátima Guedes…
** The Wire ** magazine has included the venue several times among the 100 best Jazz clubs in the world. It was even once among the top 10.
In 2012, the documentary Café Central: 30 years of jazz , directed by César Martínez Herrada, premiered on the occasion of the venue's aforementioned anniversary.
It is worth visiting, not only because of the magnificent daily concerts, but also, for the decoration of the place. They serve good food and it is also nice to have an aperitif on their terrace near Plaza de Santa Ana in the Madrid neighborhood of Huertas.
Places to find the muse in Madrid
** TONY 2 (C/Almirante, 9) **
This piano bar emblematic place of the Madrid night , is defined with a single word: stake . The dynamics of the premises since May 1979 is very simple, and remains as its founder conceived it , Antonio Tejero Chains, "Toni".
On a piano background that does not stop playing for a moment, which is why three teachers take turns every night of the year, it is the public who becomes the authentic protagonist of the evening, singing and dancing.
This peculiar philosophy has made this place famous among the regulars of the Madrid nightlife and, of course, among the most modern and aspirational artists and wannabes.
It is a setting that appears in numerous films and novels by national filmmakers and writers.
** THE SESAME CAVES (C/Príncipe, 7) **
Inaugurated in 1950 by Carmen Ponte, wife of Tomás Cruz , began as a cafeteria, but the following year the caves were discovered by chance. So in May 1951 the Sesame Caves opened. with the two dependencies united, as we know them today.
During the Franco regime, writers and artists such as Ernest Hemingway ( of which a framed autograph is preserved on the premises), Ava Gardner, Jean Cocteau or Luis Miguel Dominguín.
The owners announced literary and artistic prizes that attracted personalities such as Ignacio Aldecoa, Jesús Gómez Pacheco, Fernando Quiñones, Luis Goytisolo, Juan Marsé or Juan José Millás.
It is true that in recent years the Sesame Caves have lost some of that artistic and literary spirit , but they preserve the bohemian atmosphere of the place thanks to the decoration loaded with artistic symbology and the live music of its piano, which continues to liven up the nights.
Here, now, the pitcher of cheap sangria has replaced its literary past
** EASTERN CAFE (Plaza de Oriente, 2) **
Located in Madrid de los Austrias, in front of the Royal Palace, this café takes its name from the Plaza de Oriente. The building that houses it was built on the remains of the San Gil Convent (17th century). Currently, the Café de Oriente is a business meeting point at noon, while at night it is the time for artists and gourmets.
Table no. 9 is famous for being where the Madrid philosopher and mayor Enrique Tierno Galván usually had breakfast , and until shortly before his death, he would have a snack there, the cartoonist and humorist Antonio Mingote . They are also, or have been regulars, the Opera singer Plácido Domingo or King Don Juan Carlos I, father of the current King, Felipe VI.
The terrace offers beautiful views of the Royal Palace . The interior is a baroque retreat with wood-framed mirrors, brass lamps and plush red furniture where you can sit comfortably with a cup of coffee and a newspaper. Better today with a tablet or laptop . Writers, poets and artists used to gather in the vaulted cellar below the café. Today distinguished guests enjoy haute cuisine.
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