Regulars such as Marilyn Monroe, Frank Sinatra, Marlene Dietrich and Sammy Davis, Jr., would regularly emerge onto 52nd Street at dawn, having paid the $1.50 admission fee for the choice of cabaret or an intense session of live jazz in the bullpen music room.ĭizzy Gillespie, Bud Powell, Lester Young, Count Basie and Ella Fitzgerald have all played the headline bill at the Birdland, along with Thelonious Monk and Miles Davis. The opening headline act was Charlie Parker himself, who helped to lead double and triple bills of back-to-back jazz. The club originated in 1949 just one block away from the city’s ‘Swing Street’, a post-Prohibition hotbed of jazz during the 1930s. Shows this year have included Ravi Coltrane, son of John and successful musician in his own right, Bowie collaborator Donny McClasin and the influential Kenny Barron Quintet.ģ15 W 44th St #5402, New York, NY 10036, United StatesĪ stone’s throw from Times Square, the Birdland (named for legendary saxophonist Charlie ‘Bird’ Parker) remains an essential part of NYC musical history. Every Monday night sees a show by the house band, the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra, a residency that has spanned over half a century. The club still handpicks every performing artist. Jazz memorabilia cover the walls and the audience sip cocktails and applaud warmly throughout each performance. The wedge-shaped room capacity of 123 is a living shrine to jazz music. The Vanguard also hosted the final recording performance of Bill Evans Trio’s Scott LaFaro. John Coltrane recorded his first live album Coltrane “Live” At The Village Vanguard here in 1961. The venue’s first recording was Sonny Rollins’ A Night At The Village Vanguard. The Vanguard is perhaps more famous for its music recordings. Gordon’s wife Lorraine is credited with discovering Monk, whose performance here kickstarted his glittering career. The club also hosted Thelonious Monk, who was at the time unknown. Miles David, Dinah Washington, Miles Davis, and John Coltrane all played in front of an audience so close they could easily reach out and tap a B-flat on the piano. Originally a platform for poets and writers, where appreciative audiences threw cash onto the stage, the Vanguard toyed with comedy, folk music, and cabaret before switching to jazz full-time in 1957.Ī golden period from the 40s to the 80s saw many of the greatest-ever jazz legends walk down the famous black and gold stairs to the tiny maroon stage. The venue was opened by Max Gordon, responsible for helping to launch the careers of Woody Allen, Lead Belly, Barbra Streisand, and Woody Guthrie. Since 1935, the Village Vanguard has occupied a triangular basement club on 178 Seventh Avenue South in the city’s affluent West Village. 178 7th Ave S, New York, NY 10014, United States
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