Jazz Club Yue Fu Quietly Bites the Dust

While looking into the closure of the cocktail bar Apothecary yesterday, we've also learned that another project of Leon Lee's, the jazz club Yue Fu, also quietly closed last month.

The bar was opened in June of last year and was a bright spot on Beijing's 2014 bar and club scene if only for its ambition: a world-class live jazz bar with on-site 32-track digital recording, full LED stage lighting, and top-of-the-line equipment all around.

The bar also featured a unique setup so those that wanted to socialize could do so without disturbing jazz aficionados' appreciation of the music.

The bar spent the better part of 2014 hosting the cream of the crop of Beijing's jazz scene as well as hosting overseas acts such as Lubomyr Melnyk last October.

But with RMB 100 cocktails and an off-the-beaten path location in Dangdai Moma, perhaps the bar was a bit ahead of its time.

In a phone call to the Beijinger yesterday, Lee indicated that he was wrapping up his businesses before his planned departure from China later this year.

Lee's legacy remains a part of Beijing's bar and club scene with Janes and Hooch, one of the top award winners in our 2014 Bar and Club Awards and one of Conde Nast Traveler's world's best bars.

Photos: Yue Fu