Jazz At The Swan Bar


The Swan Bar is located 3 blocks from our apartment on Blvd. Montparnasse, it fancies itself an American Jazz Bar. We had passed it many times and were intrigued by its look but hadn’t bitten. Tonight we were walking home from dinner and decided to stop in. Lucky for us.

As we entered a man near the door smiled at us and said good evening in French. I thought he might be a customer. We found ourselves talking to him and enjoying the experience. His name was Lionel Bloom and he was from New York City, he had lived in Paris forever and was a retired University professor who had taught Comparative American/French Studies in Paris for 30 years. After retiring he had opened the jazz club. When Mary asked him how long had he been in business he said 2 years. When she asked him if it was going well, he answered “sometimes, like tonight when it is really busy.”

Utterly fascinating is not strong enough to describe Lionel. He was a small man with an elfin quality and an easy smile that lit up his face. He was too cool for school. A French jazz trio was holding down the bandstand, Piano, bass, and vocals. It was my first experience with French jazz, listening to someone scat in French is a whole different deal.

We went to the bar where two female bartenders held forth. The first was a stunning young woman from Oaxaca, Mexico; the second was a tall Scottish woman with a plunging neckline and a fabulous smile who had lived in Paris for many years. Can you say ecletic? Can I say ohhh? Can Mary say behave yourself?

The club was small and full this evening with about 75 people. It was a good crowd that was attentive and enthusiastic. Lionel came back and engaged us in a lengthy discussion. He keeps up on events at home with the internet and was up on all things political. He was an inspired conversationalist, high performance energy and at all times fun.

You could tell that he loved the intimate environment he had created. Pretty girls running his bar, really good jazz on stage, lots of friends who stop in. What a leap of faith to start this club with not enough time in his life to make it back if it fails. I just hope that he is still in business the next time we come back to Paris.