1. For great information on Thailand, see www.ugothai.com Brown Sugar, after operating for 23 years, has achieved the status, bestowed on only a few places in any city, of being an institution. From 1985 on, jazz musicians of all types and levels of fame have graced the tiny stage at Brown Sugar. Located on Soi Sarasin on the north edge of Lumpini Park, the club, and the strip of bars that adjoins it, have both seen better days but Brown Sugar remains one of the old-line bastions for real jazz in Bangkok. The Sarasin strip, 10 years ago or so or maybe even less, used to be a top entertainment area in the city even though the clubs are all small, situated in shophouse structures. There were six or seven clubs in those days and some of them are still open and doing a pretty good business. But the hip crowd has moved on to greener pastures and even the jazz scene has seen a realignment of its axis. Some of the big hotels in town jumped on the jazz bandwagon six or seven years ago and feature it on a regular basis. As an example, the Living Room in the Sheraton Grande Sukhumvit brings in top-name international stars that Brown Sugar could never hope to employ on a regular basis due mainly to its small size. Anyway, although it doesn’t have quite the luster it once did, it’s still a reliable place to hear good jazz played by local players every night. The house band plays every night from 11 pm on except Mondays when there is a stand-in band that can sometimes be made up of local jazz students. The level of playing is all quite good, however. And before the 11 pm slot there is other music, not always jazz, sometimes blues that is always of good quality. There are some little nooks and crannies in this oddly-designed little place where you can get something to eat while you are listening to tunes. There are international and Thai dishes and my favorite used to be the tom yum pork knuckle soup. Very spicy and very tasty as well. There is one caveat to this place, however, and that’s the general appearance of the interior. It looks like it was last cleaned the week after it opened. Also, the sound equipment is vintage 1950. That said, the music still sounds all right but with better sound equipment, and drums (they look like Gene Krupa’s first set) it would undoubtedly be better. Owner Pipat is usually his best customer so he may not take the time to concentrate on these minor details. It’s still, however, the place to tap into the real jazz scene here in Bangkok so if you want the real deal, warts and all, instead of the antiseptic surroundings of a five-star hotel, then a visit to one of Bangkok’s real institutions is in order.