Lights dim for the last time at Charlie O's

Daily News columnist Doug McIntyre on the weekend shuttering of the Valley Glen jazz club and restaurant.

Driving west on Victory Boulevard near Woodman, Charlie O's could easily be confused with any other neighborhood gin joint serving up suds and chicken wings with football on the big screen and Karaoke Tuesdays. But the sign over the smoker's patio told a different story - LIVE JAZZ!

And not just any jazz - brilliant jazz....

This wasn't some Ramada Inn cocktail lounge with a tinkling piano underscoring pickup lines and bar chatter. That's Plas Johnson's sax on the Pink Panther theme. Every player at Charlie O's stamped their genius on the soundtrack of our lives. It was the Valley's home for the finest touring and studio musicians in the world. Here, the music mattered.

From the club's website, dated Aug. 31: "Due to the state of the economy, after 11 years of amazing jazz at Charlie O's, tonight will be our last presentation and the lights will dim forever after the last set."