con alma is creating culture
Lucy Backman
October 5, 2023
​
Con Alma, a jazz club in downtown Pittsburgh, fosters conversation, community, and culture with its fine cuisine, signature cocktails, and live jazz music.
On the hunt for activities and events that foster a culture of leisure, Con Alma tops many lists for the Pittsburgh area. Situated in Cultural Downtown district, Con Alma’s first location serves a traditional menu. Con Alma also has a second location that only serves vegan food options in Shadyside.
photograph by Hannah Kline
Just pick a time to visit one of Con Alma’s locations and you will find a stellar live jazz lineup. During the week, Con Alma has sets running from 6-9 pm. On Friday and Saturday, you can catch sets from 6-9 pm and from 10-12 or sometimes 1 am. Sundays pack a punch with a brunch and dinner time sets playing from 12-3 pm and 5-8 pm.It’s hard to visit Con Alma without listening to some great jazz.
Before you visit Con Alma, there are a few things you should know.
​
In order to reserve a seat stage side, you need to be a food-ordering customer. However, if you’re just going for drinks and you don’t feel the itch to be up close and personal with the musicians, Con Alma has fantastic lounge, bar, and outdoor seating to offer. For couples, the bar is the perfect area to enjoy a drink and the musicians from a tall vantage point. Larger groups will especially appreciate the lounge areas with long communal seating and glam armchairs.
In addition to reservation regulations, Con Alma charges a music cover fee of $10 for any visitor. Don’t fret though, the atmosphere is definitely worth a few extra bucks.
Recent visitor Hannah Kline said, “what an unforgettable evening I had at Con Alma. The atmosphere was lively, the drinks were unique and full of flavor, and the servers were exceptionally welcoming and made sure our evening was one to remember.”
Con Alma puts a spin on Hannah’s drink of choice: the Watermelon Sangrita. Instead of serving it as a mixed drink, the bar staff at Con Alma dishes the drink out as two separate shots that you alternate between: one with the alcohol and the other with the mixer.
The jazz club hosts emerging artists and established musicians alike. On September 15, Con Alma brought in drummer Hoyson with the Reid Hoyson Quartet.
According to AllAboutJazz.com, Hoyson is “a fixture of the Pittsburgh jazz scene for roughly half a century.”
Jazz clubs have been at the pinnacle of culture since the early 20th century. Born out of the prohibition era and the boom of be-bop in Harlem, jazz clubs were a place to gather, experience an intimate musical performance, and mingle with the cultured folks of the time.
“Jazz clubs were an integral part of popularizing not only the music but the language and general culture of the music scene," according to The Black Music Scholar.
Jazz was something new, something exciting, something on the cusp of creativity and sometimes danger. In New Orleans, jazz clubs were burrowed in the heart of the red-light district, home to every criminal activity imaginable.
Jazz clubs also play an important part in history as they were one of the first places that black and white people mixed in a casual environment.
For these reasons and more, jazz clubs have somewhat of a taboo history.
Today, jazz clubs are still a vibrant place of culture, but are more widely accepted as a great venue for entertainment.
It turns out that according to VisitPittsburgh.com, “Pittsburgh had a profound influence on the American musical artform of jazz” as well. As the main hub between New York City and Chicago, Pittsburgh experienced an influx of jazz pioneers crossing from the east to the west.
Pittsburgh’s Hill District was even known as “Little Harlem,” the home of jazz’s origins.
Jazz artists of Pittsburgh are often credited for founding Be Bop, Hard Bop, and Vocalese styles of jazz.
If you are looking for other opportunities to immerse yourself in jazz culture in the Steel City, check out the Pittsburgh International Jazz Festival.
As Seb from the classic film La La Land emphatically expressed about jazz, “It's conflict and it's compromise, and it's just ... it's new every time. It's brand new every night. It's very, very exciting!”
Jazz clubs provide the context and environment for community to grow, for conversation to begin, and for culture to thrive.
Con Alma is no different. It’s a trademark location in downtown Pittsburgh that is a must visit for jazz newbies and connoisseurs alike.