Jazz, blues & soul / Downtown Ann Arbor (lower level, beneath Zydeco's restaurant)
The Bird of Paradise
Closed – archive entry · 2004
A former jazz club in downtown Ann Arbor (1985–2004), on the lower level beneath Zydeco's restaurant on Main Street, opened by bassist Ron Brooks.
01 / The story of this place
Make time for these
Jazz bassist Ron Brooks, who had recorded with Bob James and Eric Dolphy in the 1960s, opened The Bird of Paradise in his hometown in 1985, and for almost 19 years it was regarded as Michigan's finest jazz club. The Ron Brooks Trio, with Tad Weed on piano and Pete Siers on drums, was the house rhythm section, playing Tuesdays and backing visiting artists. The club presented the Count Basie Orchestra, Dizzy Gillespie, Ray Brown, Shirley Horn, Sarah Vaughan, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Russell Malone and Detroit trumpeter Marcus Belgrave, and closed in early July 2004 with a final Tuesday set led by Ron Brooks.
- Club of bassist Ron Brooks
- House trio on Tuesdays
- Dizzy Gillespie, Sarah Vaughan
Sources & fact check · Checked: 2026-09-25
An independently written bilingual guide. This collection is not an attendance-based ranking.
03 / Events
Events at this place
Published events automatically linked from our event guide. Times are local to the venue.
We have no published upcoming events linked to this place yet. That does not mean the venue has no events; check its official calendar too.
Source and former website ↗Keep exploring
Nightlife ↗
Jazz, blues & soul
Cliff Bell’s
Live jazz, dinner, and drinks meet at the historic Cliff Bell's club.
Temporary city photo — not this venue
Jazz, blues & soul
Willis Show Bar
A classic cocktail bar and live entertainment venue with its stage directly behind the bar. The Art Moderne interior recalls its original show-bar era.
Jazz, blues & soul
Baker's Keyboard Lounge
A historic Detroit jazz club on Livernois Avenue, pairing its performance evenings with soul food and American classics.