Andy's Jazz Club

Andy’s Jazz Club is a Chicago room with a maximum standing capacity of 150, near the Loop in River North. Its defining rhythm is unusually clear: three 75-minute shows each evening, at 6 p.m., 8:15 p.m. and 10:30 p.m., with the room clearing after every set. That turnover makes Andy’s feel less like a single long concert than three chances to catch a focused small-club performance, each with its own audience and energy.

A pressroom bar finds its bandstand

The story begins in 1951, when Andy Rizzuto opened Andy’s 11 E. Lounge for workers from the nearby Chicago Tribune and Chicago Sun-Times. The place served shots, beer and simple food to a newspaper-industry crowd; live jazz arrived later. In 1975, a group of investors bought the club, renamed it Andy’s, and brought in recent college graduate Scott Chisholm to run it. Chisholm acquired ownership a year later, beginning the family stewardship that continues through his sons Chris, Jeff and Brandon.

The decisive musical turn came in 1977, when promoters Penny Tyler and John DeFauw started Friday lunchtime jazz sessions. Those early “Jazz at Noon” performances used no stage, special lighting or substantial amplification. The audience response grew the program into afternoon and late-night sets, establishing the multi-set format that still shapes an evening here. WTTW’s Chicago music history identifies Von Freeman, Larry Coryell, Franz Jackson, Chuck Hedges, Barrett Deems and Art Hoyle among the artists who played the room.

The room today

Andy's programs Chicago jazz artists across nightly sets, with the calendar built around regular working bands and a jazz-first policy. Reservations apply to every guest and cover one show only. Choose among bar seating, main tables and an elevated back corner; the latter two provide the venue’s distinct seated options, while solo reservations can land at the bar or elevated corner. Food service runs alongside the music, giving the compact room the character of a dinner-and-set club instead of a standing concert hall.