By Adrian Sandiford (Beijing Weekend)
Updated: 2006-06-30 09:37

Not even the smooth understated power of jazz is immune to Beijing's ever-changing landscape. But just as jazz musicians adapt and improvise as required, so does the capital's scene. So when the unstoppable force of the city's redevelopment closed Liu Yuan's much-loved CD Jazz Cafe to make way for a new underground station, the saxophonist simply upped sticks to Houhai.

Barely open two weeks, the CD Jazz Cafe's reincarnation as East Shore Live Jazz (just off Di'anmenwai Dajie next to Yinding Bridge) is already packing in music lovers and bespectacled jazz aficionados. Such is the atmosphere that it's also attracting drinkers looking for a more relaxed hang-out away from the crowds swarming like locusts along Lotus Lane and Yandai Xiejie.

Upon mounting the stairs, past framed pictures of the jazz greats, you're immediately confronted by a bar that could be straight out of NYC. Wooden panelling throughout, soft lighting, black chairs with matching tables and a small stage bedecked with instruments give the place an intimate yet classy feel. This is clearly a labour of love.

Liu Yuan is a man not out simply to make money but someone who is on a mission to support the local jazz scene. This is more a musician's home than a cash-grabbing machine. A jazz trio takes to the stage at 10 pm every Thursday, Friday and Saturday for free live performances followed by jam sessions kicking off at midnight.

Either settle down at one of the tables next to the inexplicable telescope to enjoy the show over a 20 yuan (US$/2.5) bottle of Tsingtao or sit at the sleek bar and partake in one of the 30 yuan (US$3.8) spirits stacked atop its backdrop of glass shelves. And if the bar's views of the lake make you yearn to be closer to nature, you can always head to the roof terrace with your 35 yuan (US$4.4) Manhattan to enjoy the one sight in Beijing that's surely guaranteed to remain untouched.

Location: East Shore Live Jazz Cafe, off Di'anmenwai Dajie next to Yinding Bridge, Houhai