Birdland (New York)

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Sammy Davis Jr. in Birdland (1956)

The Birdland , also known as The Jazz Corner of the World , was a jazz club founded in 1949 on Broadway in New York . The club was named after the jazz saxophonist Charlie "Bird" Parker . Although Birdland was initially one of New York's most popular clubs, it closed in 1965.

history

The original Birdland (1949-1965)

The Birdland was opened in 1949 by Morris Levy and Erving Levy (later it was run by Oscar Goodstein). One of the founders was the jazz entrepreneur Monte Kay , the owner of the New York jazz club Royal Roost . The Birdland was located on 1678 Broadway between 52nd - also called The Street of Jazz or simply The Street - and 53rd Street (although closer to 53rd, mostly 52nd), this location also gave the club the nickname The Jazz Corner of the World . The Birdland owes its actual name to the jazz saxophonist Charlie Parker , who was also called Yardbird or Bird for short.

The grand opening of the Birdland on December 15, 1949 was announced as the All-American Jazz Festival and offered jazz from Dixieland to Bebop . In addition to Parker, Lester Young , Stan Getz , Harry Belafonte , Hot Lips Page , to name a few, also played. Subsequently, in addition to Parker, other notable musicians also appeared, including Dizzy Gillespie and Miles Davis . For the first time, control studios were installed behind a pane of glass in the back of the auditorium, from which the performances were broadcast live as radio shows. Carpeted stairs led to the 400-seat auditorium. In the initial phase, at least 20 bird cages with real finches, the "Bird" from Birdland, hung from the ceiling. In the 1950s, Birdland was, among other things, the New York headquarters of the Count Basie Band . During the first five years, Birdland had approximately 1.4 million visitors (for an entry price of $ 1.50). Regular guests at Birdland were actors Gary Cooper , Marilyn Monroe , Frank Sinatra , Marlene Dietrich , Ava Gardner and Sammy Davis Jr. as well as boxers Joe Louis and Sugar Ray Robinson .

The trademark of Birdland was the title Lullaby of Birdland by George Shearing from 1952, which originally served as the theme song. Over time , the title developed into a jazz standard , which was interpreted by a large number of musicians - including a vocal version with a text by George David Weiss .

Birdland shows were partially broadcast live on the radio, such as the Miles Davis shows from June 2, 1951, in which Davis appeared with " side men " such as Charles Mingus , JJ Johnson and Art Blakey . Broadcasts by radio DJ Symphony Sid Torin were particularly popular . In addition, the Birdland - like the Village Vanguard - was used to produce live recordings. The hallmark of many recordings is the distinctive voice of the house announcer Pee Wee Marquette. Pee Wee Marquette's famous announcement from February 21, 1954 can be heard as a sample in the song " Cantaloop " by the British group Us3 .

In addition to the Birdland, there were 12 other larger jazz clubs of this type such as the Vanguard . While the Vanguard still exists today, the Birdland lost interest in the early 1960s, and in 1965 the now legendary Birdland had to close due to increased rents. Under the last owner, Lloyd Price, rock and rhythm and blues were played there. Today there is a “Gentlemen's Club” in the building.

The new Birdland (since 1986)

Vincent Herring in the new Birdland (2005), the logo in the background

In 1986, a new Birdland opened on 105th Street near Harlem, featuring mostly internationally less well-known musicians and aimed at the local, Afro-American audience. After the move to 44th Street in 1996, the concept was completely changed over to a tourist audience and stars like Michael Brecker or Pat Metheny .

Recordings from the Birdland

Mentions in literature and music

  • In 1957, Jack Kerouac described a visit to Birdland in On the Road . He and Dean Moriarty attended the George Shearing Quartet's gig on the long New Year's weekend in 1949 (from its "big 1949 days" before it "got cool and commercial").
  • In 1977 the American fusion band Weather Report published the tribute Birdland
  • In 1988 the Irish rock band U2 wrote in their title Angel of Harlem : "Birdland on 53, the streets sounds like a symphony".
  • In 1994 the British band Us3 released the single Cantaloop , the creative head of which Geoff Wilkinson had gained access to the archives of the record company Blue Note Records and had permission to create samples from the old multi-track tapes . The result can be heard on the single Cantaloop as well as on the CD Hand on the Torch : Wilkinson sampled parts of Birdland's announcement Pee Wee Marquettes from 1954, as well as parts of the piano part of Herbie Hancock's Original from 1964 .

Footnotes

  1. ↑ They took it over from the mafioso "Joe the Wop" Catalano. Morris Levy, who later owned Roulette Records , had ties to the Mafia ( Genovese family ) himself .
  2. ^ Monte Kay Dies at 63; Founder of nightclubs. In: The New York Times. May 28, 1988. Retrieved May 22, 2007 .
  3. ↑ here the renowned representatives of swing such as Count Basie, Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie "Bird" Parker played, broadcast live as radio shows. In the Royal Roost debuted in 1948 Miles Davis.
  4. ↑ Ira Gitler : Miles at Birdland 1951 (liner notes to the Blue Note album of the same name )
  5. ↑ Parker's last appearance in Birdland was on March 5, 1955, a week before his death on March 12. Source: Charlie Parker - biography. (No longer available online.) In: JazzEcho. July 2005, archived from the original on September 30, 2007 ; Retrieved July 23, 2007 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.jazzecho.de
  6. ↑ Momorabilia ( Memento of the original dated May 11, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. on the website of the new Birdland .  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.birdlandjazz.com
  7. ↑ Dietrich Schulz-Köhn, I Got Rhythm: 40 Jazz Evergreens and Their History , 1994, p. 213
  8. ↑ Dietrich Schulz-Köhn, I Got Rhythm: 40 Jazz Evergreens and Their History , 1994, p. 214
  9. ↑ Although Marquette gained a certain prominence through his striking voice, very little is known about the man whom the musicians disparagingly called "the midget". Marquette is described as a person who the more tips the musicians gave, the more enthusiastically they announced. People who didn't want to pay him are more likely to offend offstage. Source: Fred Jung: My Conversation with Bobby Hutcherson. (No longer available online.) In: AllAboutJazz.com. February 1999, archived from the original on November 27, 2006 ; Retrieved July 23, 2007 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.allaboutjazz.com
  10. ↑ The 58-second announcement "Ladies and gentlemen, as you know, we have something special down here at Birdland this evening" comes from Art Blakey's first Birdland album on February 21, 1954
  11. ↑ Mitchell Seidel: Birdland. (No longer available online.) In: AllAboutJazz.com. March 9, 2004, archived from the original on November 22, 2006 ; Retrieved May 24, 2008 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.allaboutjazz.com
  12. ↑ Jack Kerouac: On The Road - The original version , Reinbek near Hamburg, December 2011, pp. 181–182.

Web links

Commons : Birdland  - album with pictures, videos and audio files

Coordinates: 40 ° 45 ′ 46.5 "  N , 73 ° 58 ′ 58.3"  W.