Doug MacDonald, Guitar; John Belzaguy, Bass; Boris Shapiro, Drums, Laura Schaffer, Vocals

Jazz & Sushi at the Maxan Jazz Club

By Joan S. Peck

As remarkable a combination as jazz and sushi are, Guitarist Doug MacDonald with his trio and vocalist Laura Shaffer topped it with their enthralling musical talents performing together. Each is a maestro in their own way and much fun to watch.

Doug MacDonald is a renowned guitarist with many years of experience playing with jazz greats, including Joe Williams, Carl Fontana, Jack Montrose, and top bands, including John Clayton, Bill Holman, and Ray Anthony, and performing and recording with Jack Hanna, Jack Sheldon, Rosemary Clooney, Ray Brown, Buddy Rich, Ray Charles, and many more. Sitting and listening to Doug play was an incredible experience. His sound is elegant and mesmerizing. Add John Belzaguy on bass and Boris Shapiro on drums, and it doesn’t get any better than that unless…

You add vocalist Laura Shaffer into the mix. Listening to the velvet voice of Laura Shaffer, “who invites you back to a stylish era of entertainment,” made me long for the 1940s and the smoky cocktail scene. With long hair that framed her face, long elbow gloves, and wearing a fitted sexy dress, Laura was reminiscent of those days. Laura practically purred her musical words and enthralled everyone at the beautiful venue.

So what is the Maxan Jazz Club all about?

Meet MAX and ANGIE, owners of Las Vegas’ newest jazz establishment, Maxan Jazz Club. Originally from Indonesia, Max Wirjo moved to the United States in 1982 to follow a career in medicine, initially at Mt. Sinai Hospital in New York, then relocated to Los Angeles, where he eventually became the Director of Integrated Pain Medicine with the Kaiser Foundation. Angie, a Championship badminton player from Indonesia, met Max in the United States at the 2004 US Open Championships. They fell in love and were married just one year later!

Upon Max’s retirement in 2012, they decided that Las Vegas, the “Entertainment Capitol of the World,” would be the perfect place to relocate, enjoy their retirement, and explore this next phase of their lives.

Maxan Jazz Club in Las Vegas is not Max’s first venture into owning a jazz club. In 2017, Max traveled back to his home country of Indonesia and opened Max Jazz @ D Club, featuring live jazz music nightly, performed by the absolute best musicians from Surabaya and Jakarta and many international artists who graced its stage. After the pandemic stopped them from opening another club in Bali, they returned to Las Vegas.

This time, they wanted to do something a bit different. In addition to showcasing the absolute best in jazz music, featuring local and touring artists, they also wanted to provide a fantastic dining experience … something they often found lacking in many of the jazz clubs they’d visited worldwide. Believing the food they served should be just as exquisite as the talent they present, Max sought out the absolute best Nobu-style sushi chefs in Las Vegas to help him design his new menu.

When naming this new Sushi & Jazz club, Max had initially hoped to use the name of their first club, Max Jazz, to build on their brand. However, they soon discovered a small record label in St. Louis, Missouri, had already taken the name. They decided on the next best thing: to combine the first few letters of their names (Max and Angie) into one. And just like that, “Maxan Jazz” was born.

If you love tasty sushi and outstanding jazz, you’ll want to see what Maxan Jazz is all about. They are open six days a week from 6 -11 p.m. with live music from 7-10 p.m. They are closed Tuesday.

There is a $25 food and/or beverage minimum ($40 on Friday & Saturday nights) per person for all performances.

Location: 4130 S Decatur Blvd, Las Vegas, NV 89103

Menu: maxanjazz.com

Phone: (702) 485-3926