Birdland (New York jazz club)
The original Birdland, which was located at 1678 Broadway, just north of West 52nd Street in Manhattan,[1] was closed in 1965 due to increased rents, but it re-opened for one night in 1979.[4] The opening night was "A Journey Through Jazz", consisting of various styles of the music up to that point, played by Maxie Kaminsky, Hot Lips Page, Lester Young, Charlie Parker, Harry Belafonte, Stan Getz, and Lennie Tristano, in that order.Dizzy Gillespie, Thelonious Monk, Miles Davis, Louie Bellson,[7] Bud Powell, Johnny Smith, Stan Getz, Lester Young, and many others made appearances.The club's original master of ceremonies, the diminutive, four feet tall Pee Wee Marquette, was known for mispronouncing the names of musicians, if they refused to tip him.[8] During the 1950s, Birdland also became a fashionable place for celebrities to be seen, with Frank Sinatra and Ava Gardner, Gary Cooper, Marlon Brando, Marilyn Monroe, Sugar Ray Robinson, Marlene Dietrich, Joe Louis, Judy Garland and others as regulars.These have included Michael Brecker, Pat Metheny, Lee Konitz, Diana Krall, Dave Holland, Regina Carter, and Tito Puente.Reference to Birdland is made in Jack Kerouac's novel On the Road: "I saw him wish a well-to-do man Merry Christmas so volubly a five-spot in change for twenty was never missed.In the play Send Me No Flowers, George Kimball relates a story concerning a female friend who ran off with a "bongo player from Birdland" after her husband died.[14] The club, along with several artists such as Miles Davis, Ella Fitzgerald, and James Moody, are mentioned in Quincy Jones song "Jazz Corner of the World" [Introduction to Birdland].
CoordinatesTimes Square–42nd Street stationjazz clubNew York CityBroadway52nd StreetManhattanTheater DistrictThe New York ObserverMorris LevyCharlie "Yardbird" ParkerMaxie KaminskyHot Lips PageLester YoungCharlie ParkerHarry BelafonteStan GetzLennie TristanoGene RameyCharlie MingusArt BlakeyA Night at BirdlandJohn ColtraneLive at BirdlandToshikoMarianoCount BasieBasie at BirdlandDizzy GillespieThelonious MonkMiles DavisLouie BellsonBud PowellJohnny SmithGeorge ShearingLullaby of BirdlandPee Wee MarquetteSymphony Sidmusicians’ unionLeonard FeatherFrank SinatraAva GardnerGary CooperMarlon BrandoMarilyn MonroeSugar Ray RobinsonMarlene DietrichJoe LouisJudy GarlandUrbie GreenJohnnie GarryJazzmobileChapter 11Gerry MulliganInternational Talent AssociatesLloyd PriceUpper West SideCleburne BuildingMidtown ManhattanMichael BreckerPat MethenyLee KonitzDiana KrallDave HollandRegina CarterTito PuenteToshiko AkiyoshiThe Birdland Big BandVincent HerringBeat generationJack KerouacOn the RoadEmmett GroganGeorge David WeissSarah VaughanCantaloopPee Wee Marquette'sArt Blakey'sBroadway & 52ndWeather ReportBirdlandHeavy WeatherThe Manhattan Transfercover versionvocaleseAngel of HarlemSesame StreetHoots the OwlWilliam ClaxtonElla FitzgeraldJames MoodyQuincy JonesRay CharlesWhat'd I SayWarne MarshBilly BauerArnold FishkinDisorder at the BorderColeman HawkinsKenny DorhamConte CandoliAl CohnPhil WoodsHank JonesJohn SimmonsKenny ClarkeLee MorganHank MobleyBilly RootCurtis FullerAt the Jazz Corner of the Worldthe Jazz MessengersMeet You at the Jazz Corner of the Worldand his orchestraJoe Williams Live! A Swingin' Night at BirdlandJoe WilliamsJimmy ForrestHarry "Sweets" EdisonUgetsuMcCoy TynerJimmy GarrisonElvin JonesClaudio RoditiHarry EdisonBuddy TateFrank Wess