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In a dimly lit space just off clamorous Larimer Street in RiNo, the clinking of wine glasses and low murmur of conversation mingle with the velvet hum of tenor sax and the crescendo of cymbals. Time seems to slow in this space where the alchemy of live jazz and fine dining merge—and that was always the dream.
“We want to create a place where we can reach a generation of listeners,” Scott Mattson told 5280 10 years ago, just before opening Nocturne Jazz & Supper Club with his wife, Nicole. A decade later, his tune hasn’t changed.
“It’s been especially rewarding to help younger audiences understand and appreciate jazz,” Scott says today. “Our median age now is probably around 35 or 36. When we first opened, it was closer to 60.”
Given the gritty state of the neighborhood and the declining interest in jazz at the time—not to mention the disruptions to come, including a pandemic that silenced the music at Nocturne for several months—that success was far from assured. Like the patrons at their club, Scott and Nicole would have to bob and weave to follow a sometimes unpredictable beat.
“Dream A Little Dream Of Me”
The Mattsons’ story began long before the first note was played at Nocturne. High school sweethearts, the couple often talked about opening a jazz club. Scott, a jazz drummer, studied music education at Metropolitan State University while Nicole earned a degree in hospitality at the University of Denver.
“I’d follow Scott around to his gigs,” Nicole says. “From a hospitality lens, I just kept thinking that there needed to be a more magical place to go see jazz.”
Years later, the two left solid hospitality jobs in Vail to pursue their jazz club dream—the same week that a New York Times headline declared “Jazz is dead.”
“We were like, ‘I think we can fix this,’ ” Nicole laughs.
In Denver, there was no better place to try for a revival than the Five Points neighborhood, once known as “the Harlem of the West,” where legends like Billie Holiday and Louis Armstrong performed. The Mattsons aimed to honor that history while shining a literal spotlight on new artists in an emerging entertainment district that had only recently been dubbed RiNo.
“There was an older group of cats, like Ken Walker and Jeff Jenkins, that really formed the vanguard of the Denver jazz scene. But there was also this really incredible up-and-coming crop of musicians—like Annie Booth, Gabriel Mervine, Patrick McDevitt, and Tom Gershwin—in their late 20s and early 30s,” Scott says. “Nocturne was able to open at this really wonderful time and give that younger generation of cats a place to let their art form flourish.”
“Supper Time”
From the start, Nocturne was more than just a music venue. The Mattsons set out to create a cohesive experience, where food, drink, and performance worked in harmony. “When we first opened, we were trying to be everything to everyone,” Nicole says. “You could get a Cubano slider with fries and a beer or opt for a five-course tasting menu.”
Finding the tempo between the kitchen and the bandstand took some time, and it was actually the social distancing rules of the pandemic that finally got them into lockstep. “I think one of the unexpected silver linings of COVID was how it pushed us to evolve,” she says. “The capacity limitations forced us to work out the logistics—how to time each course, manage flow, and make the most of the space we had. That’s really where the idea for our three-course dinner-and-a-show format was born.”
A set menu with an app, entrée, and dessert is now the standard for Nocturne on Wednesday through Sunday evenings (from $98 per person, reservations recommended), although bar patrons can make reservations (covers vary) and order à la carte. There are also spinoff events like the Ellington Experience—a five-course tasting with wine pairings by Scott, a certified sommelier—and the Renditions series, for which iconic albums inspire multicourse menus.
“We’ve done 32 now; they always sell out,” Nicole says, recalling a Zeppelin-themed dinner led by guitarist Dave Devine. “Watching our chefs create dishes based on Led Zeppelin—it was wild and fun.”
Like jazz, the menu—overseen by chef de brigade Jim Wiggington—is grounded in tradition but thrives on improvisation. “A chef might hear a brushstroke in a drum solo and think, ‘That sounds like whisking eggs,’ and build a dish around that. It’s where music truly inspires the food,” Nicole says. Offerings are rooted in French and Italian ideology with riffs on classics that change every five to six weeks. Drinks—from cocktails grouped into Classics and New Releases to wines and Champagnes chosen by Scott and his beverage team—follow a similar rhythm.
“Isn’t It Romantic?”
Asked about some of Nocturne’s most memorable evenings over the past decade, Nicole and Scott reminisce about Annie Booth’s jazz reinterpretation of Beatles classics and Jean-Luc Davis’ ‘90s grunge-inspired set. But the Mattsons are also moved by quieter moments: couples on first dates or celebrating 50th anniversaries, cuddling beneath the dim lights and sultry sounds drifting from the stage.
“We’ve grown to be more of a romantic date night than the typical bar scene,” Nicole says. “Knowing that we could be part of somebody’s story from their first date to when they pop the question…I don’t think I anticipated how heartwarming that would be when we opened the doors 10 years ago. Now it’s just part of why I go to work every day.”
Of course, Nocturne is also a significant part of their own love story: 23 years into their marriage, Nicole and Scott have learned how to navigate the complex rhythms of life and work. “It’s a dream, honestly,” Scott says about working with his wife.
“I wouldn’t do it with anyone else,” Nicole adds.
As for the future of Nocturne and the jazz genre itself, both are optimistic. “We see young musicians come through here, and you can just feel the raw potential,” Nicole says. “That gives me hope.”
