Inside Downtown jazz club Luna, an intimate ambiance strikes the senses. The house lights are dimmed to a roasted amber and the lounge tables host candles that slowly wave like content fireflies impervious to the season. Billowing pillows lull the body toward an inviting seat on one of the plush couches; the waiter approaches with a martini list longer than a senior thesis rough draft, and the brain’s serotonin begins to percolate. Next, the jazz ensemble offers a toast with some Coltrane and the audience applauds, seeming to thank the stars for jazz.
Thank Adam Bernstein. Originally from Colorado, the Eugene transplant of 13 years opened the live jazz venue, located at 30 E. Broadway, almost a year and a half ago. Since then, the club has been serving up top-notch local, regional and international performers five nights a week.
“I’m a music lover, and I like different forms of jazz — R&B, soul, some world beat,” Bernstein said. “I wanted a place that was warm and friendly in order to enjoy it.”
Luna has hosted such acts as Hot Club Sandwich and Pearl Django, as well as local artists Justin King, recently defunct Lazoo and University graduate Tim McLaughlin.
“If anything, there is a glut of musicians in this town,” Bernstein said. “We’ve brought in a ton of great regional musicians in the last six months, and that’s something I feel we do better than anybody else.”
With its spacious and prominent stage subtly framed with neo-roman columns, the venue provides vantage points for up to 85 people, from one of a handful of lounge tables, three intimate coves against the west wall or two couch areas.
Bernstein said he invested a substantial amount of finance and energy into avoid the aural pitfalls of other clubs that were designed to host patrons but not the delicacies of live music.
“In a lot of places, what you’ll get is every surface will be hard, so there’s reflections and every column of sound is bouncing off of everywhere,” Bernstein said. “We custom-built the speakers, the sound system is custom-built for the room. It has a real nice balance.”
Local jazz drummer Will Clark agreed.
“It’s got the best stage and the acoustics are great,” Clark said.
According to Clark, Luna’s audience — as any jazz aficionado or club owner could predict — is a crapshoot. In a time when jazz continues to sit at the bottom of record sales but remains a staple of any sizable city’s music repertoire, Luna clientele on any given night can either be sparse or left with standing-room only as enthusiasts shake it in front of the stage.

“We’ve played some pretty loud shows,” Clark said. “You never know … but the audiences are typically pretty attentive.”
Aside from Luna’s bar and its martini and wine list, the venue has a tapa-menu for late-night munchies as well. Luna is also attached to Adam’s Place, a restaurant boasting a seasonal menu.
However, Bernstein said students should not be intimidated by the venue’s classy atmosphere.
“Because we opened (Adam’s Place), which was elegant, people thought we were exclusive,” he said. “We’re not exclusive … We offer something for everybody and consistently try to mix it up.”
Bernstein said this approach creates a fluidity between the various members of the weekly nightlife and a basis on which all music fans can intermingle.
“Somehow we’ve created a space that has brought us some incredible talent that is beyond who we are,” he said. “Sometimes the sum of the parts is bigger than the whole. We’ve created a space that’s bigger than us, and its fun.”