Ever since most of Chicago\u2019s top musicians moved to New York in the mid-to-late 1920s, New York City has been the Jazz Mecca. Nearly every major jazz style of the past seventy years has been initiated in the Big Apple.<\/p>[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_2″ module_class=”inline-button” _builder_version=”4.21.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_text module_id=”general” _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” text_font=”|600|||||||” text_text_color=”#FFFFFF” text_font_size=”18px” text_line_height=”1.6em” header_2_font=”|700|||||||” header_2_text_color=”#FFFFFF” header_2_font_size=”29px” header_2_letter_spacing=”4px” header_2_line_height=”1.5em” header_3_font=”||||||||” header_3_letter_spacing=”1px” header_3_line_height=”1.3em” custom_margin=”||||false|false” custom_padding=”||0px||false|false” text_font_size_tablet=”18px” text_font_size_phone=”16px” text_font_size_last_edited=”on|phone” header_2_font_size_tablet=”29px” header_2_font_size_phone=”28px” header_2_font_size_last_edited=”on|phone” header_2_letter_spacing_tablet=”4px” header_2_letter_spacing_phone=”2px” header_2_letter_spacing_last_edited=”on|phone” header_2_line_height_tablet=”1.5em” header_2_line_height_phone=”1.3em” header_2_line_height_last_edited=”on|phone” header_3_font_size_tablet=”” header_3_font_size_phone=”20px” header_3_font_size_last_edited=”on|phone” border_color_bottom=”RGBA(255,255,255,0)” global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_enabled=”0″ text_orientation_tablet=”center” text_orientation_phone=”center” text_orientation_last_edited=”on|tablet” hover_enabled=”0″]
It was Charlie Parker, familiarly known to his fans and fellow musicians as \u201cBird,\u201d a contraction of Yardbird, his formal nickname, who was the dynamic creative personality and genius of the alto saxophone who served as the inspiration for Birdland.<\/p>[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row custom_padding_last_edited=”on|phone” _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” background_enable_color=”off” max_width=”100%” custom_margin=”||||false|false” custom_padding=”|42px|0px|42px|false|false” custom_padding_tablet=”|42px||42px|false|false” custom_padding_phone=”|15px||15px|false|true” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_enabled=”0″][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ module_class=”inline-button” _builder_version=”4.21.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_divider _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” custom_padding=”20px||0px||false|false” hover_enabled=”0″ sticky_enabled=”0″][\/et_pb_divider][et_pb_text module_id=”general” _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” text_font=”|600|||||||” text_text_color=”#FFFFFF” text_font_size=”18px” text_line_height=”1.6em” header_2_font=”|700|||||||” header_2_text_color=”#FFFFFF” header_2_font_size=”29px” header_2_letter_spacing=”4px” header_2_line_height=”1.5em” header_3_font=”||||||||” header_3_letter_spacing=”1px” header_3_line_height=”1.3em” custom_margin=”||||false|false” custom_padding=”||0px||false|false” hover_enabled=”0″ text_font_size_tablet=”18px” text_font_size_phone=”16px” text_font_size_last_edited=”on|phone” header_2_font_size_tablet=”29px” header_2_font_size_phone=”28px” header_2_font_size_last_edited=”on|phone” header_2_letter_spacing_tablet=”4px” header_2_letter_spacing_phone=”2px” header_2_letter_spacing_last_edited=”on|phone” header_2_line_height_tablet=”1.5em” header_2_line_height_phone=”1.3em” header_2_line_height_last_edited=”on|phone” header_3_font_size_tablet=”” header_3_font_size_phone=”20px” header_3_font_size_last_edited=”on|phone” text_orientation_tablet=”center” text_orientation_phone=”center” text_orientation_last_edited=”on|tablet” border_color_bottom=”RGBA(255,255,255,0)” global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_enabled=”0″]
When the original Birdland opened in December of 1949,\u00a0Charlie Parker was the headliner\u00a0and the club was located on Broadway at 52nd Street, which was a hotbed of jazz in the 1930s and 40s.<\/p>\n
Birdland was born and quickly came to prominence. For the next fifteen years, the club\u2019s survival formula was built upon memorable double and triple bills, commencing at 9 p.m. and sometimes lasting \u2019til dawn.<\/p>\n
In addition to Bird, many jazz legends were regulars at the club. Count Basie and his Smokin\u2019 Big Band made Birdland their New York headquarters, eventually recording George Shearing\u2019s \u201cLullaby of Birdland\u201d live at the club. John Coltrane\u2019s classic Quartet regularly appeared at the club in the early 1960s, recording \u201cLive at Birdland.\u201d And the famous DJ, Symphony Sid Torin made a name for himself broadcasting live from the club to radio listeners up and down the eastern seaboard.<\/p>\n
In its first five years of existence, 1,400,000 guests paid the $1.50 admission to made their way either to the right side cabaret section or left side listening bullpen to hear Birdland\u2019s attractions. Birdland\u2019s booking history reads like a who\u2019s who of jazz: Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Ella Fitzgerald, Thelonious Monk, Sarah Vaughan, Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Bud Powell, Stan Getz, Lester Young, Erroll Garner, and many, many others.<\/p>\n
Considering the excitement that Birdland generated on a daily basis, it\u2019s no surprise that the club attracted its share of celebrities. Regulars to the nightly festivities included such household names as Gary Cooper, Marilyn Monroe, Frank Sinatra, Joe Louis, Marlene Dietrich, Ava Gardner, Sammy Davis, Jr. and Sugar Ray Robinson.<\/p>\n
As Allan Morrison, the long-time editor of Ebony once put it, \u201cBirdland was both a cultural vantage point and a barometer of trends where all the big names in jazz performed.\u201d<\/p>\n
As Rock & Roll emerged in the 1960\u2019s, Birdland\u2019s fortunes declined and its doors were closed on Broadway and 52nd in 1965.<\/p>[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row custom_padding_last_edited=”on|phone” _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” background_enable_color=”off” max_width=”100%” custom_margin=”||||false|false” custom_padding=”|42px|0px|42px|false|false” custom_padding_tablet=”|42px||42px|false|false” custom_padding_phone=”|15px||15px|false|true” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_enabled=”0″][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ module_class=”inline-button” _builder_version=”4.21.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_divider _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” custom_padding=”20px||0px||false|false” hover_enabled=”0″ sticky_enabled=”0″][\/et_pb_divider][et_pb_text module_id=”general” _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” text_font=”|600|||||||” text_text_color=”#FFFFFF” text_font_size=”18px” text_line_height=”1.6em” header_2_font=”|700|||||||” header_2_text_color=”#FFFFFF” header_2_font_size=”29px” header_2_letter_spacing=”4px” header_2_line_height=”1.5em” header_3_font=”||||||||” header_3_letter_spacing=”1px” header_3_line_height=”1.3em” custom_margin=”||||false|false” custom_padding=”||0px||false|false” hover_enabled=”0″ text_font_size_tablet=”18px” text_font_size_phone=”16px” text_font_size_last_edited=”on|phone” header_2_font_size_tablet=”29px” header_2_font_size_phone=”28px” header_2_font_size_last_edited=”on|phone” header_2_letter_spacing_tablet=”4px” header_2_letter_spacing_phone=”2px” header_2_letter_spacing_last_edited=”on|phone” header_2_line_height_tablet=”1.5em” header_2_line_height_phone=”1.3em” header_2_line_height_last_edited=”on|phone” header_3_font_size_tablet=”” header_3_font_size_phone=”20px” header_3_font_size_last_edited=”on|phone” text_orientation_tablet=”center” text_orientation_phone=”center” text_orientation_last_edited=”on|tablet” border_color_bottom=”RGBA(255,255,255,0)” global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_enabled=”0″]
Birdland reopened in 1986. In the first ten years, more than 2,000 emerging artists performed at the club. On many occasions, artists who performed at the original club on Broadway graced the stage of the second version of Birdland as well.<\/p>\n
At it\u2019s new location on 44th St, Birdland has been called \u201cclose to perfection for serious fans and musicians,\u201d by The New York Times, and offers top-flight jazz in a world class setting, good sight lines and acoustics, elbow room, and\u00a0an award-winning menu<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row custom_padding_last_edited=”on|phone” _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” background_enable_color=”off” max_width=”100%” custom_margin=”||||false|false” custom_padding=”|42px|0px|42px|false|false” custom_padding_tablet=”|42px||42px|false|false” custom_padding_phone=”|15px||15px|false|true” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_enabled=”0″][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ module_class=”inline-button” _builder_version=”4.21.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_divider _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” custom_padding=”20px||0px||false|false” hover_enabled=”0″ sticky_enabled=”0″][\/et_pb_divider][et_pb_text module_id=”general” _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” text_font=”|600|||||||” text_text_color=”#FFFFFF” text_font_size=”18px” text_line_height=”1.6em” header_2_font=”|700|||||||” header_2_text_color=”#FFFFFF” header_2_font_size=”29px” header_2_letter_spacing=”4px” header_2_line_height=”1.5em” header_3_font=”||||||||” header_3_letter_spacing=”1px” header_3_line_height=”1.3em” custom_margin=”||||false|false” custom_padding=”||0px||false|false” hover_enabled=”0″ text_font_size_tablet=”18px” text_font_size_phone=”16px” text_font_size_last_edited=”on|phone” header_2_font_size_tablet=”29px” header_2_font_size_phone=”28px” header_2_font_size_last_edited=”on|phone” header_2_letter_spacing_tablet=”4px” header_2_letter_spacing_phone=”2px” header_2_letter_spacing_last_edited=”on|phone” header_2_line_height_tablet=”1.5em” header_2_line_height_phone=”1.3em” header_2_line_height_last_edited=”on|phone” header_3_font_size_tablet=”” header_3_font_size_phone=”20px” header_3_font_size_last_edited=”on|phone” text_orientation_tablet=”center” text_orientation_phone=”center” text_orientation_last_edited=”on|tablet” border_color_bottom=”RGBA(255,255,255,0)” global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_enabled=”0″] Over the past two decades, Birdland has greatly expanded it\u2019s musical outreach. Jim Caruso\u2019s Cast Party, our weekly impromptu variety show, has helped make Birdland the late-night place to rub shoulders with show folk every Monday since 2004. And the 2018 addition of the state-of-the-art Birdland Theater has made it possible to present the most buzzed-about up-and-comers and world-class resident bands such as Vince Giordano & The Nighthawks, The Louis Armstrong Eternity Band, Frank Vignola\u2019s Guitar Night, and the High Society New Orleans Jazz Band.<\/p>\n Since 1949, Birdland has established itself as an essential part of New York City culture and musical history.<\/p>[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" About BirdlandBirdland HistoryEver since most of Chicago\u2019s top musicians moved to New York in the mid-to-late 1920s, New York City has been the Jazz Mecca. Nearly every major jazz style of the past seventy years has been initiated in the Big Apple.It was Charlie Parker, familiarly known to his fans and fellow musicians as \u201cBird,\u201d […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-31","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"yoast_head":"\nModern Jazz in Manhattan<\/h3>[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row custom_padding_last_edited=”on|phone” _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” background_enable_color=”off” max_width=”100%” custom_margin=”||||false|false” custom_padding=”|42px|0px|42px|false|false” custom_padding_tablet=”|42px||42px|false|false” custom_padding_phone=”|15px||15px|false|true” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” column_structure=”1_2,1_2″ sticky_enabled=”0″][et_pb_column type=”1_2″ module_class=”inline-button” _builder_version=”4.21.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_text module_id=”general” _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” text_font=”|600|||||||” text_text_color=”#FFFFFF” text_font_size=”18px” text_line_height=”1.6em” header_2_font=”|700|||||||” header_2_text_color=”#FFFFFF” header_2_font_size=”29px” header_2_letter_spacing=”4px” header_2_line_height=”1.5em” header_3_font=”||||||||” header_3_letter_spacing=”1px” header_3_line_height=”1.3em” custom_margin=”||||false|false” custom_padding=”||0px||false|false” text_font_size_tablet=”18px” text_font_size_phone=”16px” text_font_size_last_edited=”on|phone” header_2_font_size_tablet=”29px” header_2_font_size_phone=”28px” header_2_font_size_last_edited=”on|phone” header_2_letter_spacing_tablet=”4px” header_2_letter_spacing_phone=”2px” header_2_letter_spacing_last_edited=”on|phone” header_2_line_height_tablet=”1.5em” header_2_line_height_phone=”1.3em” header_2_line_height_last_edited=”on|phone” header_3_font_size_tablet=”” header_3_font_size_phone=”20px” header_3_font_size_last_edited=”on|phone” border_color_bottom=”RGBA(255,255,255,0)” global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_enabled=”0″ text_orientation_tablet=”center” text_orientation_phone=”center” text_orientation_last_edited=”on|tablet” hover_enabled=”0″]Since the reemergence of the club, midtown Manhattan has been treated to\u00a0some of the best jazz on the planet<\/a><\/strong>, including memorable sets by such musicians as Oscar Peterson, Pat Metheny, Diana Krall, Roy Haynes, Michel Legrand, Dave Brubeck, Pat Martino, Tony Williams, Hank Jones, Michel Petrucciani, Maynard Ferguson, Freddie Hubbard, Marian McPartland, John Pizzarelli, Kurt Elling, Joe Lovano, McCoy Tyner, Michael Brecker, Clark Terry, Ron Carter, Jon Hendricks, George Shearing, James Moody, Yellowjackets, John Scofield, Phoebe Snow, Dave Holland, and Tito Puente, as well as the big bands of Chico O\u2019Farrill, Duke Ellington, Toshiko Akiyoshi, and Maria Schneider.[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_2″ module_class=”inline-button” _builder_version=”4.21.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_text module_id=”general” _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” text_font=”|600|||||||” text_text_color=”#FFFFFF” text_font_size=”18px” text_line_height=”1.6em” header_2_font=”|700|||||||” header_2_text_color=”#FFFFFF” header_2_font_size=”29px” header_2_letter_spacing=”4px” header_2_line_height=”1.5em” header_3_font=”||||||||” header_3_letter_spacing=”1px” header_3_line_height=”1.3em” custom_margin=”||||false|false” custom_padding=”||0px||false|false” text_font_size_tablet=”18px” text_font_size_phone=”16px” text_font_size_last_edited=”on|phone” header_2_font_size_tablet=”29px” header_2_font_size_phone=”28px” header_2_font_size_last_edited=”on|phone” header_2_letter_spacing_tablet=”4px” header_2_letter_spacing_phone=”2px” header_2_letter_spacing_last_edited=”on|phone” header_2_line_height_tablet=”1.5em” header_2_line_height_phone=”1.3em” header_2_line_height_last_edited=”on|phone” header_3_font_size_tablet=”” header_3_font_size_phone=”20px” header_3_font_size_last_edited=”on|phone” border_color_bottom=”RGBA(255,255,255,0)” global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_enabled=”0″ text_orientation_tablet=”center” text_orientation_phone=”center” text_orientation_last_edited=”on|tablet” hover_enabled=”0″]