It happened to Chicago with The London House and The Velvet Lounge; it happened to San Francisco with the Black Hawk Club and the Keystone Corner; and, of course, it happened to New York City with Cafe Society, Sweet Basil, Village Gate and Jazz Standard. It has also happened in many other places and cities around the world. Now, it is happening in Madrid: the emblematic Café Central of the Spanish capital closes its doors on October 12, 2025, and the city, like the others mentioned, loses another minuscule but irreplaceable vital organ that pulses beneath its most intangible biology—a micro space that represents, along with many others, its most harmonious, integrative, and ultimately human essence.

Anyone who has visited the Central, even just once, notices its irresistible charm, beyond the current trendy fake vintage recreation. The Madrid club oozes charisma and authenticity through all its well-worn pores: its amplifying mirrors, its seductive bar, its black upholstered sofas, its peculiar spatial layout, and those transcendental glass panels facing Plaza del ?ngel, in the culturally dynamic neighborhood of Las Letras. These windows allow the casual passerby to stop, observe, and, to some extent, hear what is happening inside—or better yet, what is about to happen. This element—undoubtedly fundamental to its success—is quite unusual nowadays: "it seems that jazz is destined for spaces without natural light, basements or underground locations, as if it were something illegal," notes Juantxu Bohigues, its house manager. In this sense, comparisons with the legendary New York Metropole are inevitable. That now-vanished venue, inextricably linked to