Upon its release, LEGO Icons 10312 Jazz Club faced some criticism. Two years on, how fair do those critiques seem now that the dust has settled?
Revealed in 2022 and released on January 1, 2023, 10312 Jazz Club certainly stands apart from a lot of other modular buildings. That drew both appreciative eyes and fan criticisms, with the community divided on features like the bright colour scheme, a quirky style, and arguably cramped interior rooms.
"The biggest gripe for me is that the Jazz Club building is somewhat lacking in texture," wrote jesuslaves on reddit, as just one example of the critiques at the time. "It feels a little too smooth and polished, some finer details would've gone a long way. The other thing is the colour scheme, I appreciate that they tried doing something bold with it, but the combination of the bright blue, yellow and red comes off as a little too cheerful in my opinion."
That comment sums up what some of the LEGO community had to say about the 2023 modular building. More than two years on from its release and just a few months away from its retirement at the end of the year, we're returning to some of those contentious areas to evaluate how fair they are in hindsight.
A clash of colours
There's no shying away from the fact that 10312 Jazz Club is a vibrant mix of colours. The club itself is largely made up of dark red and dark azure, both of which pop against each other for an eye-catching facade. That's only exacerbated by the neon jazz club sign, the stained glass windows in different shades, and the golden accents throughout, giving it a glitzy, glamorous feeling in keeping with the club atmosphere.
The pizzeria to the side is largely made up of bright light yellow, another vivid colour that doesn't quite clash – but also doesn't flow. The shades don't blend easily, but then it doesn't feel as though they are meant to. However, it's the shade of blue that really divided fans.
"First thing I’m going to change is switching the stained glass windows in the jazz club to dark-tinted windows – never been to a jazz club that had a churchy feel," said redditor bluerockgreenrock. "The next thing to go will be that awful blue on the first floor."
10312 Jazz Club certainly differs from many other modular buildings in that it's meant to capture life at night. While you could easily display it during the day, the performers, the food, and the atmosphere all lean towards an evening affair. The use of much brighter colours, like the dark azure, leans into the showbusiness air of the set. It's not to be subtle: it's a club.
It might not be for everyone, but three years on from the reveal, the blue first floor is balanced out by the dark red and the grey accents. That's most clear when you can build it in hand, but it also helps that modular buildings since then have also pushed the boundaries of style, as in the most recent 10350 Tudor Corner. Looking at 10312 Jazz Club in the wider picture, the blue is far less offensive than many took it to be in 2022.
A departure from other modular buildings
Taking that bigger picture look, another criticism that followed on from the colour criticisms is that 10312 Jazz Club was too much of a departure from typical modular building style. However, this area of contention is one that is often levelled against new modulars. We saw it again with 10326 Natural History Museum and 10350 Tudor Corner.
When you have a collection as long-running as modular buildings, which started 18 years ago in 2007, you need to push beyond what's come before. When you've ticked off police station, bookshop, bank, diner, and various other major businesses, you need to start zooming in on more granular spots – and those come with their own, more unique styles.
Personally, we'd rather LEGO sets like 10312 Jazz Club offer something different (that not everyone has to like or buy) to keep diversity up in a collection, rather than sticking to what's tried and tested.
Too close for comfort
A final, practical critique of 10312 Jazz Club is that the interior is too cramped – and that's one that does hold up. Even with modular sections lifted away, trying to get the pizza chef out of the kitchen once he's in is near impossible. The same goes for the manager's office and virtually every other room in the building.
The largest room is the club itself on the first floor, but even that is made still more tricky to access with the lights arranged across the ceiling in a diagonal (which you can't remove) and the square door that inserts itself into the space. While it's a cool detail that looks great, it encroaches on what's already very limited space.
Ironically, some fans at the time of its reveal bemoaned the fact that 10312 Jazz Club didn't fill the entire baseplate with one building, like 10278 Police Station, as one example.
"It'd be nice to see a modular fill the whole baseplate again," said ZzzSleep on reddit. "I don't think every one needs to squish in multiple buildings."
Perhaps this attempt to fit more buildings onto the baseplate, as well as dedicate some space to the pavement and outdoor eating area has left the interior rooms feeling cramped. However, having diversity in modular buildings, with some having more space outside and others on the inside is what helps to make modular streets feel realistically varied.
Nonetheless, in practical terms, you'd better make sure that your minifigures and accessories are in the spots you want them in while you build. It'll almost certainly lead to breakages if you try and rearrange them after the fact.
LEGO Icons 10312 Jazz Club is available to buy right now for £199.99 / $229.99 / €229.99, ahead of its retirement at the end of 2025. Remember that popular sets like modular buildings can sell out much earlier than December 31, however, so don't waste any time buying it if it's on your must-have list.
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