http://www.allaboutjazz.com/newyork/index.php
It all depends on what you want to check out. Any club that's going to have "international" level players (Vanguard, Iridium, Blue Note, Birdland, Dizzy's, Jazz Standard etc. ) is gonna have a hefty cover charge and minimum. A club that
doesn't have a hefty cover charge and minimum ISN'T gonna have "big names". You've got places like Small's and Fat Cat, Smoke, Lenox Lounge, etc. that have a lot fo great music but may not be names you are familiar with ( I was surprised at just how few folks outside NYC know a lot of these players even though they have records out, tour and are all over a lot of different media), there are joints like 55 bar and Detour that don't have a lot in the way of amenity (or in-tune pianos) but have great music (from time to time). and there are a million joints that have some really wonderful players who are there basically as "aural wallpaper".
My recommendation would be to bite the bullet, peruse the attached guide and pick one (or maybe two) performances that you wouldn't be able to catch coming through where you are and drop the change. How many times can you see live jazz in NYC? And when you do get the chance, is THAT where you want to be counting your pennies?
