
A relocated and elevated stage is the focal point of the beautifully renovated jazz club The Nash, which marked its 12-year anniversary with a grand re-opening weekend celebration at the beginning of November (photo courtesy of The Nash).
Over a long weekend, from Oct. 30 to Nov. 3, The Nash jazz club unveiled a $2.5 million renovation and celebrated its 12th anniversary with a grand re-opening event that showcased a completely transformed performance space, and the highly anticipated John Dawson Center for Jazz Education.

A beautiful new bar with beer on tap and a curated drink menu of beer and wine cocktails and mocktails greets patrons (photo courtesy of The Nash).
Located at 110 E. Roosevelt, the renovated Nash now boasts a variety of upgraded amenities, making it a top destination for music and events. From enhanced seating (including banquettes, booths and bar seating that offers a more comfortable, intimate experience for guests, all in a color scheme that brings to mind an Arizona sunset) and a beautiful new bar with beer on tap and a curated drink menu of beer and wine cocktails and mocktails (with full bar service coming in the spring), to an elevated food experience along with a team of servers and bartenders providing tableside service. All of this is focused on a repositioned, elevated stage – that also elevates the music experience.
“It was amazing!” enthused Naquana Borrero when we caught up with her after re-opening weekend. Borrero is the director of development and communications for the nonprofit Jazz in Arizona and The Nash. “We were lucky enough to have the mayor come in and help cut the ribbon, and we had folks who were involved in the very beginning of The Nash come by. Then we had a jam session with Lewis [Nash] and Dr. Clark Gibson, our director of education. And we opened on First Friday with The Stakes, which was a really great way to start the anniversary, because people could come in off the street without a ticket.
“For us, that is part of what we are doing here and why we are expanding the bar. We really want to be a neighborhood staple here and make it more open for the community, so they don’t feel like, ‘Oh, I don’t know anything about jazz. That’s not for me.’ Now there is a lower entry point, and they can just come in for a drink.”
The weekend also hosted two Saturday shows with the Lewis Nash All Stars and introduced the club’s first late night, no cover, “A new thing we are doing on Saturday nights at 10 p.m. We are open late, until 1 a.m., with just the house band,” and closed out the weekend with Francine Reed.

Colorful, enhanced seating includes banquettes, booths and tables that offer a more comfortable, intimate experience for guests (photo courtesy of The Nash).
Borrero also emphasized that the broad variety of jazz styles presented during opening weekend was purposeful, as was the opportunity for jam sessions, “We really want to be a hub for jazz performance and education,” which is at the heart of the nonprofit’s mission and where the new John Dawson Center for Jazz Education comes into play.
Boasting more than 3,200 square feet of space, the adjacent facility triples the space for student rehearsals as well as the organization’s administrative offices. The Nash’s robust education programs offer jazz instruction for people of all levels, styles and instruments, and includes The Nash Legacy ensembles, comprised of talented high school musicians, the JazzDivAZ, for young female students, a high school big band and The Nash Vocal Ensemble. The space allows for new ensembles, such as the recently launched adult jazz band, in addition to summer workshops.
“What we do here is provide a place where you can get full time jazz education,” Borrero said, adding that music education impacts students’ lives beyond the classroom, especially jazz.
“It provides our students with a different way of thinking. The improvisation that comes with jazz makes them more collaborative, it makes them think on the spot, it makes them extra creative when they’re coming up with their own melodies and their own rhythms and that sort of thing.
“Jazz teaches lessons our students need outside of music – being able to lead and to follow, to work with others, letting other people shine. We always say that jazz is a democracy, and right now it’s critical for our kids to have that reinforced in any way possible and we think the arts is the way to do that.”
To learn more, visit www.thenash.org or call 602-795-0464.