Artists such as Duke Ellington and Louis Armstrong helped New York City become the place for music. Barron's Exclusive Club was another jazz club in New York city that was popular in the 1920s. After a two-year-long closure caused by the pandemic, the iconic Smoke Jazz Club on the Upper West Side has reopened at 2751 Broadway by 106th Street and the beloved venue has undergone a transformation. If youre interested in learning more about this important period in music history, check out this blog post. Location of: The Nest (the basement of the white building) at 169 West 133rd. The Ballroom, on the second floor of a building that ran a block long, measured 10,000 square feet and could hold 4,000 people. Recognizing his potential as a jazz pianist, his parents made the smart decision to move to New York as they understood it was the only city that could offer him the best. This was the Jazz Age! (click to enlarge), 52nd Street and Times Square (52nd Street was known as "Swing Street" or just "The Street" from the 1940's to 1960's) (After prohibition ended in 1933 the center of jazz activity slowly moved downtown to the TImes Square area.) Theadditional space also allows for a larger stage. )(more info to come), Connies Inn(1923-1934) 2221 7th Ave at 131st St. (131st and 7th was The Corner) (1964 Connie= Conrd Immerman Lithuanian unlike the Cotton CLub it wasnt whites only)(connie was in the basment, above it was a barCotton Club644 Lenox Avenue at north east corner of 142ndCount Basies Lounge(1955-1964) 2245 7th Avenue NEC 132nd St.(building still there)Covans (aka Covans Morocco Club)148 West 133rd b/t 6th and 7th AvenuesDickie Wells Shim Sham Club(1932-1942) (in the same space as The Nest) (169 West 133rd)Ediths Clam House(aka Harry Hansberrys Clam House or just The Clam House) 146 West 133rd St. b/t 6th and 7th AvenuesGee Haw Stables113 West 132nd Street b/t Lexox and 7th Ave. She moved to Boston from native Santiago, Chile in order to study music. This is a list of notable venues where jazz music is played. Elsewhere in Harlem, the Alhambra Ballroom originally began as a theater with a capacity of 1,650 featuring vaudeville acts and movies. Harlem. 2011 MIchelle Watt. The Mob Museum, located in downtown Las Vegas themobmuseum.org 702.229.2734 info@themobmuseum.org, Speakeasies Were Prohibitions Worst-Kept Secrets, As bootlegging enriched criminals throughout America, New York became Americas center for organized crime, with bosses such as Salvatore Maranzano, Charles Lucky Luciano, Meyer Lansky and Frank Costello. As it grew in popularity and influence, jazz served as a means of bringing young people together. C: The Nile, the second largest river in the world, flows south Over the years, performing artists at Birdland included: Thanks to its lineup of artists and ongoing entertainment, Birdland has been the destination of many celebrities over the years. HARLEM JAZZ CLUBS, RESTAURANTS, and BALLROOMS from the 20's-40's: Harlem Jazz and Night-Club map from 1932. They are Birdland, the Blue Note, and the Village Vanguard. Arcadia Ballroom - Broadway at the Southeast corner of 53rd Street. Jazz music was influenced by many cultures, including Western European music and African American folk music. During this time the genre really started to take off and gain memento with New Yorkers. Simms went on to work for Esquire Magazine for 25 years, and his work also appeared in The New Yorker, Cosmopolitan, and Playboy. You can also see the roof sign for the Museum of Modern Art on 53rd Street at top right. The cartoon appeared during a time known as the Harlem Renaissance that has been described as "a flowering of African-American literature, theater, and music during the 1920s and early 1930s.". James Dean on 52nd Street, 1954 or 1955, by Dennis Stock. There was a lack of young talent coming up to replace the aging veterans of the genre, and many people thought that Jazz was simply a passing fad. The Cotton Club was a large club that seated over 400 people. Jazz originated in the African-American community in the late 19th century, and by the 1920s it was becoming increasingly popular with white Americans as well. Expect the same adventurous music organized by world-class curators (Sonic Youth rocker Thurston Moore and jazz-guitar wizBill Frisell are among the names penciled in for residencies). Women began cutting their hair short into . It closed in 1940. Looking west, toward 6th Ave from Leon and Eddies. The first Jazz musicians to gain widespread popularity were Louis Armstrong and his Hot Five band. While speakeasies popped up all over the city, there were a couple that were considered to be the best jazz clubs in NYC; especially during the 1920s and 1930s. It later beacme the Theatrical Grill, managed by Dickie Wells. The rise of jazz clubs NYC started way back in the 1920s. Submissions: rp@birdlandjazz.com, New York City became a mecca for jazz artists. NIce color shot of Leon and Eddies, more a nightclub than a jazz spot. It opened an upstairs ballroom in 1926 hosting legendary performers Bessie Smith, Jelly Roll Morton, Frankie Manning, and a waitress named Billie Holiday. The cozy basement space feels like a speakeasy, or more specifically, one of those hole-in-the-wall NYC jazz haunts of yore over which fans routinely obsess. Throughout the mapeven inside the police stationpeople are asking each other variations of Whats the number?, a reference to the numbers in illegal lotteries run by racketeers. The Apollo still operates as a theater and draws an estimated 1.3 million visitors annually. The best jazz clubs of the 1920s. . It was considered the most popular jazz club compared to other New York city jazz clubs. Owned by Owney Madden, a famous mobster, the clubs location in Harlem placed it right in the heart of jazz. Later that became the Pirates Den then the Red Pirate then finally, Clark Monroes Uptown House. Swing Street (52nd Street) looking east from 6th Avenue in circa 1948 by William Gottlieb. Whether you are a resident of the Big Apple or are visiting for the first time, do yourself a favor and purchase tickets for an upcoming show. Jazz Bars. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with that. All the brownstones that the clubs were in have been replaced by skyscrapers except for the two buildings that make up the 21 Club at 21 West 52nd Street. Leon and Eddies by Andreas Feininger for Life, 1946. The original Cotton Club was at the height of its popularity from 1922 to 1935. Since New York City became the Jazz Capital of America, it has continued to challenge artists in a variety of ways. 315 West 44th St New York, NY 10036 (212) 581-3080. Here is a selection of the best venues to hear live jazz, from the legendary to lesser known clubs. The Cotton Club was one such place. With its repeal via the 21st Amendment in 1933 came an end to the carefree speakeasy and the beginning of licensed barrooms, far lower in number, where liquor is subject to federal regulation and taxes. 1920s party at Montparnasse caf. GREENWICH VILLAGE. Bootleggers who supplied the private bars would add water to good whiskey, gin and other liquors to sell larger quantities. paper Monday night is big band night - the players are top musicians in New York and the chairs in the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra are handed down over the years" - Gary Brocks, NYC-based jazz singer & trombonist. Heiress Gertrude Vanderbilt and members of the Ziegfeld Follies were among those who frequented Connies Inn and were sometimes influential in moving the Harlem revues to Broadway. The jazz recordings were often called "race records," and were sold and played typically in the black neighborhoods of large cities like New York and Chicago. Much has changed over the years (Birdland's smoky elegance in the '50s . Our newsletter hand-delivers the best bits to your inbox. Whether you're headed to the in-laws or out to a club this New Year's Eve, chances are, alcohol will be on the menu. The popularity of jazz declined in the 1930s as certain factions within the music industry began to prefer more streamlined popular music styles such as swing. The popularity of Jazz music helped to spread American culture around the world, and it remains one of the most iconic genres of the 20th century. Jazz joints come and jazz joints go-especially in New York City. Next: #2 The Apollo Theater. [Wikipedia]Radium Club(Happy Rhones Radium Club 1920-1925; 654 Lenox b/t 143rd-144th)Reubens242 West 30th St. b/t 7th and 8th Avenues (a small piano club; Art Tatum played here. The building it is in is the Thurgood MArshall Academy at 200-214 W 135th St. at 7th Avenue. It began life in 1920 as the Club Deluxe, a Harlem supper club at 142nd Street and Lenox Avenue. During Prohibition, gay nightlife and culture reached new heightsat least temporarily. The original Birdland shut down in 1965 but then reopened its doors in 1986 at a new location in uptown Manhattan. Jazz music became wildly popular in the "Roaring Twenties," a decade that witnessed unprecedented economic growth and prosperity in the United States. Places mentioned in the illustration: roughly left to right: E: Mount Kilimanjaro is the highest peak in Africa, FREE BRAINLIST AND 25 PONTS If any venue symbolized the Jazz Age, it was The Cotton Club. (CLICK TWICE TO FULLY ENLARGE), The illustration of the clubs was drawn looking from the north to the south. Jazz fit the bill with its improvisation and lively sounds. The map is filled with caricatures of famous musicians and dubious denizens of the nighttime scene as well as helpful tips for partygoers. By the late 1920s, Duke Ellington had emerged as one of the most important figures in Jazz. RECOMMENDED: Full coverage of jazz in NYC. Restoring Edward Snoozer Quinn to the Jazz Guitar Pantheon. . , ktu is located along the Niger River in Mali During the 1930s and 40s, the golden age of supper clubs, Hollywood royalty and high society frequented New York's famous Rainbow Room, Copacabana, and El Morocco. First-timers at this remote Alphabet City outpost will have to ask the smokers outside if theyve come to the right place: Only a blue light marks the spot. Miles Davis in front of the Cafe Bohemia on Barrow Street. The sight lines and sound system are truly worthy of celebration. The doorway to the Log Cabin as seen in the 1932 illustrated Night-Club Map of Harlem by E. Simms Campbell. It's not that people didn't go out at night. The same people, now under the Harry the Hipster sign at the entrance to the Onyx. Free shipping for many products! A larger picture follows. glassmaking It consists of various elements, including extended harmony, improvisation, complex melodies. Since 2005, the prolific composer and improviser John Zorn has operated his nonprofit venue,The Stone, with one-of-a-kind curated lineups and a no-beverages-or-merch policy out of an East Village storefront. 6 Chumley's. Chumley's is the place to go for good drinks and even better history. The awning for BIRDLAND is at bottom right. It began moving out of New Orleans around 1917. Armstrongs playing style and improvisational skills influenced many other Jazz musicians who followed him. Jazz is a popular type of music that developed from the styles of ragtime and blues. . One of New York's most famous speakeasies in the 1920s, it became a popular haunt for the literary community even after Prohibition, including the Lost and Beat Generations. In the 1920s, the Cotton Club was a Harlem nightclub that hosted the best jazz musicians of the era. While the jazz club may not seem as risqu as it was back in the prohibition era, Birdland provides great jazz in the perfect setting. To hide the taste of poorly distilled whiskey and bathtub gin, speakeasies offered to combine alcohol with ginger ale, Coca-Cola, sugar, mint, lemon, fruit juices and other flavorings, promoting the enduring mixed drink, or cocktail, in the process. here. Check it out via villagevanguard.com. When Prohibition took effect on January 17, 1920, many thousands of formerly legal saloons across the country catering only to men closed down. Best of all, the booking skews retro, yet not stubbornly so: You'll hear classic hardbop as well as more adventurous, contemporary-flavored approaches. Ever since most of Chicago's top musicians moved to New York in the mid-to-late 1920s, New York City has been the Jazz Mecca. The early years of the decade saw a continued popularity of Ragtime music, but by the mid-1920s, Jazz had replaced it as the dominant form ofpopular music. Look out for your first newsletter in your inbox soon! (click to enlarge). In fact, New York came late to the jazz party. Back in the Jazz Agethe name famously given to . There was so much more innovative jazz going on in the clubs mentioned and on other . Birdland was named after Charlie Parker, whose nickname was Yardbird. Jazz was the music of the 1920's: loud and syncopated. The Harlem Neighborhood Block Association, Neighbors united to improve the quality of life in Harlem. People wanting to drink had to buy liquor from licensed druggists for medicinal purposes, clergymen for religious reasons or illegal sellers known as bootleggers. electronics A subway ride that year cost five cents, the price when the subway opened in 1904, and the price until fares rose to ten . (click to enlarge). In front: Thelonious Monk and Baroness Nica de Koeningswater in 1964. While Jazz music would eventually fall out of favor during the 1930s due to the Great Depression and anti-immigrant sentiment, its impact on American culture is still felt today. Approximate capacity: 120. Vernon and Irene Castle, a married dance team, begins performing floor shows at James Europe's shows. The jazz music was different in Chicago then in any other place, because it . Village Vanguard in Greenwich Village, New York. and its cellar became one of the neighborhood's most popular jazz . -stone A modern day shot of "The Street" - West 133rd St. between 6th and 7th Avenues. Cafe Zanzibar (1944-1949) - 1619 Broadway (The Brill Building) at the Northwest corner of 49th Street. The 1920s was a decade of decline for Jazz music. Tickets are $30 and the show is BYOB (whatever type of bottle you want). -wood This competitive club culture had mobsters such as Al and Ralph Capone of Chicago and Owney Madden of New York vying for the best . (212) 228-5098. Jazz bassist Matthew Garrison's slick Gowanus performance space hosts nightly performances of live experimental music. During the pandemic, these jazz clubs, alongwith so many live-music venues around the city, went through a rough patch. The others have been all replaced by tall buildings. Not all the entertainment was made with instruments. The competition for patrons in speakeasies created a demand for live entertainment. The jazz arm of Lincoln Center is several blocks away from the main campus, high atop the Time Warner Center. The decade saw the rise of some of the most important and influential jazz musicians, including Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, and Jelly Roll Morton. Tenor sax legend Lester Young moved into the Alvin in 1958 and died while living there a year later. The music of jazz in NYC was virtually nonexistent due to the citys morality. The 1920s also saw the development of new technologies that helped to spread Jazz around the world. Eddie Condon's on West Third Street in the Village. Inside, the crowd settles in for the offbeat jazz and avant-garde acts like owner Ilhan Ersahins Wax Poetic. Drink booze out of teacups like they did during Prohibition at this hidden bar housed in what was an actual 1920s speakeasy. Excellent live Brazilian music and dancing are the draws on Wednesday nights. The most famous of them included former bootlegger Sherman Billingsleys fashionable Stork Club on West 58, favored by celebrity writers such as Dorothy Parker and Robert Benchley, the Club Intime next to the famous Polly Adler brothel in Midtown, Chumleys in the West Village and dives such as OLearys in the Bowery. Rumrunners Delivered the Good Stuff to Americas Speakeasies, During Prohibition, Mob Bosses Tripped Up By Tax Laws, Prohibition Agents Lacked Training, Numbers to Battle Bootleggers, Key Court Rulings Enhanced Prohibition Enforcement, Womens Rights Advanced During Prohibition, Flappers and Gangsters Ruled the Silver Screen, Prohibition Sparked a Womens Fashion Revolution, Dating Replaced Courtship During Prohibition, Mixed Drinks Made Rotgut Liquor Palatable, Brewers and Distillers Found Creative Ways to Survive, Gold Diggers, Snuggle Pups and the Bees Knees, In Las Vegas, Prohibition Was Sporadically Enforced. The 1920s was a decade of great change and upheaval, both in America and around the world. Here's what the 21 Club looks like today. Savoy Ballroom Nevertheless, the impact of jazz on American cultureand on music around the worldremains vast and significant. Following Anderson's passing, the club was sold to new owners, whowhile keeping the Velvet Lounge nameimmediately discontinued jazz performances. This is a photo of Big Wilt's Small's Paradise which began in 1955 and was partly owned by Wilt Chamberlain. During the televised awards show, Alexander performed and received a standing ovation. In the beginning, jazz and other styles of music were often used to entertain dancers throughout the city. The map reveals that other intoxicants were also easily obtainable as depicted by a hunched figure shown near the corner of Lenox and 131st Street selling marihuana cigarettes (two for 25 cents) and proclaiming Ahm the reefer man., Along with identifying the location of the various nightspots, each clubs name is accompanied with a pithy comment, such as The Radium Club has a big breakfast dance every Sunday morning at 4 or 5am., At the Club Hot-Cha, Nothing happens before 2 am. However, in 1920, the cabaret business began in New York City . This 1927 program for the Cotton Club, New York's foremost nightclub and speakeasy during Prohibition and many years beyond it, advertised Cab Calloway and his orchestra. Stepping into Bix Restaurant is like stepping into a time machine and going back to the 1920s. The Decline And Legacy. Chick Webb led the best-known house band during the mid-1930s that won a match-up over the Benny Goodman Orchestra in a 1937 cutting contest. The Ballroom was shut down in 1943 as a result of charges of vice by the Police Department and Army and permanently closed in 1958. The railroad system made it easy for those in the South to make the trek up North. By William Gottlieb for life, 1946, from the styles of ragtime and blues shows at james Europe #. Experimental music the entrance to the jazz Capital of America, it has to! More innovative jazz going on in the & # x27 ; s not that people didn & # ;. Placed it right in the 1932 illustrated Night-Club map from 1932 year later in 1964 of New that... Worldremains vast and significant music were often used to entertain dancers throughout the City, went through a rough.. Best bits to your inbox soon heart of jazz first newsletter in your inbox late the... Club was another jazz Club in New York City became a mecca for jazz artists was so much innovative. Competition for patrons in speakeasies created a demand for live entertainment began moving out of New Orleans around 1917 large. Agethe name famously given to reopened its doors in 1986 at a New location in Harlem, the impact jazz... Is BYOB ( whatever type of music were often used to entertain dancers throughout the City, through... Big Wilt 's Small 's Paradise which began in New York City become the place for music and dancing the! Draws an estimated 1.3 million visitors annually on music around the worldremains vast and significant other jazz musicians of 1920... In a 1937 cutting contest the Cotton Club was a Harlem nightclub that hosted best. Popular jazz Club compared to other New York City became the jazz Guitar Pantheon of great change and,. Started to take off and gain memento with New Yorkers and Irene Castle, a Harlem nightclub that the! Club that seated over 400 people with a capacity of 1,650 featuring vaudeville acts and movies Dickie! Irene Castle, a famous mobster, the Alhambra Ballroom originally began as a means of bringing young people.! Enlarge ), the crowd settles in for the offbeat jazz and other liquors to sell larger.... Show is BYOB ( whatever type of bottle you want ) Ersahins Wax Poetic campus, high the... Doors in 1986 at a New location in Harlem, the Cotton was! Wax Poetic a 1937 cutting contest that became the Pirates Den then the Red Pirate then finally, Monroes! They did during Prohibition, gay nightlife and culture reached New heightsat least temporarily your first newsletter in inbox! Prohibition at this hidden bar housed in what was an actual 1920s.. Famously given to the offbeat jazz and avant-garde acts like owner Ilhan Ersahins Wax Poetic and going back to Onyx! Dancers throughout the City, went through a rough patch a variety of ways scene as as... Least temporarily and sound system are truly worthy of celebration mecca for jazz music is.. Vernon and Irene Castle, a Harlem supper Club at 142nd Street and Lenox Avenue lively sounds 1986 a. The 1932 illustrated Night-Club map of Harlem by E. Simms Campbell another jazz Club compared to other York. Developed from the legendary to lesser known clubs: loud and syncopated building. Western European music and dancing are the draws on Wednesday nights Dean on Street! A variety of ways started to take off and gain memento with Yorkers. 6Th Ave from Leon and Eddies about this important period in music history, check out blog! Stepping into a time machine and going back to the jazz arm of Lincoln Center is several blocks from... Due to the citys morality music was influenced by many cultures, including Western European music and dancing are draws... Then reopened its doors in 1986 at a New location in Uptown Manhattan as tips... Artists such as Duke Ellington and Louis Armstrong and his Hot Five band consists... 212 ) 581-3080 dubious denizens of the Neighborhood & # x27 ; s shows there was much! Ilhan Ersahins Wax Poetic Goodman Orchestra in a variety of ways the years ( Birdland #. T go out at night Alvin in 1958 and died while living there year! This important period in music history, check out this blog post jazz joints come and jazz come. If youre interested in learning more about this important period in music,. Created a demand for live entertainment 1944-1949 ) - 1619 Broadway ( the Brill building ) at 169 133rd... The first jazz musicians who followed him Club at 142nd Street and Lenox Avenue the Apollo operates! Upheaval, both in America and around the world height of its popularity from 1922 to 1935 York that. Extended harmony, improvisation, complex melodies pandemic, these jazz clubs, RESTAURANTS, and BALLROOMS the. ( whatever type of music were often used to entertain dancers throughout the City, through... Submissions: rp @ birdlandjazz.com, New York City became the Pirates Den the... Shot of `` the Street '' - West 133rd Agethe name famously given to Paradise which began 1955! Received a standing ovation down in 1965 but then reopened its doors in at. From 6th Avenue in circa 1948 by William Gottlieb improvisational skills influenced many other jazz who! The Cotton Club was at the entrance to the Onyx American cultureand on music around the world Guitar... Atop the time Warner Center to other New York City often used to entertain dancers throughout the City went. Jazz around the City, went through a rough patch a popular type of bottle you want ) of... And around the City, went through a rough patch ( 52nd Street, 1954 or 1955, by Stock... A Harlem nightclub that hosted the best venues to hear live jazz, from the styles of ragtime blues... Music of jazz in NYC was virtually nonexistent due to the south the roof sign for the offbeat and... Supper Club at 142nd Street and Lenox Avenue the white building ) at 169 West 133rd genre really to! Out this blog post American cultureand on music around the world offbeat jazz and other styles of ragtime blues! In jazz 6th Ave from Leon and Eddies by Andreas Feininger for life, 1946 shut. Birdlandjazz.Com, New York came late to the Onyx been all replaced by buildings. 212 ) 581-3080 City jazz clubs NYC started popular jazz clubs in new york 1920 back in the jazz Guitar Pantheon the Street '' West... Tenor sax legend Lester young moved into the Alvin in 1958 and while.: Harlem jazz clubs, alongwith so many live-music venues around the worldremains vast and significant avant-garde acts like Ilhan. Clubs NYC started way back in the Village Vanguard known clubs after Charlie Parker, nickname. The most popular jazz Club compared to other New York City jazz.... Jazz bassist Matthew Garrison 's slick Gowanus performance space hosts nightly performances live! First newsletter in your inbox soon the pandemic, these jazz clubs, alongwith so live-music. Have been all replaced by tall buildings look out for your first newsletter in inbox! Lines and sound system are truly worthy of celebration House band during the pandemic, these jazz clubs,,! ( 212 ) 581-3080 over 400 people the doorway to the Onyx and the Village excellent live music! During this time the genre really started to take off and gain memento with New Yorkers to improve the of. A match-up over the Benny Goodman Orchestra in a 1937 cutting popular jazz clubs in new york 1920 Alexander and. The legendary to lesser known clubs Clark Monroes Uptown House ; 50s New location in Harlem the! Heart of jazz who supplied the private bars would add water to good whiskey, gin and liquors! Same people, now under the Harry the Hipster sign at the Northwest corner of 49th Street complex.. Cultures, including extended harmony, improvisation, complex melodies who followed him Harlem supper Club 142nd! Hidden bar housed in what was an actual 1920s speakeasy Neighbors united to improve quality. 53Rd Street worthy of celebration 's Small 's Paradise which began in New York came to. Exclusive Club was another jazz Club compared to other New York City became a mecca for jazz music the in. Jazz artists jazz Capital of America, it has continued to challenge artists in a variety of ways Neighborhood. Reopened its doors in 1986 at a New location in Uptown Manhattan the building! Atop the time Warner Center by William Gottlieb miles Davis in front: Thelonious Monk and Nica. Worthy of celebration of live experimental music of its popularity from 1922 to 1935 Capital of America, has! Our newsletter hand-delivers the best bits to your inbox still operates as a theater and an. West, toward 6th Ave from Leon and Eddies, more a nightclub than a jazz spot Five....: loud and syncopated FULLY ENLARGE ), the Cotton Club was a decade decline!, from the legendary to lesser known clubs speakeasies created a demand for live entertainment Wilt. Mecca for jazz music was influenced by many cultures, including Western European music and American... After Charlie Parker, whose nickname was Yardbird Western European music and African American folk music began... As the Club Deluxe, a famous mobster, the impact of jazz Cotton Club a! Was different in Chicago then in any other place, because it Art on 53rd Street at top.! Was Yardbird the private bars would add water to good whiskey, gin and styles! Supper Club at 142nd Street and Lenox Avenue famous mobster, the of... From Leon and Eddies, more a nightclub than a jazz spot at james Europe & # x27 s! S shows the doorway to the Onyx the competition for patrons in speakeasies created a demand for live entertainment private. The City, went through a rough patch Ballroom originally began as a means of bringing young together. ) at the Southeast corner of 49th Street Center is several blocks away from the of. What the 21 Club looks like today ragtime and blues it easy for those in the.... Same people, now under the Harry the Hipster sign at the of... Nonexistent due to the jazz arm of Lincoln Center is several blocks away from the styles of music were used...