September 26, 2024 2024 Big Apple Jazz Scene: Harlem Jazz Clubs: Minton’s Playhouse and Beyond 2024 Big Apple Jazz Scene: Harlem Jazz Clubs: Minton’s Playhouse and Beyond NAMA – New Amsterdam Musical Association – photo by Gordon Polatnick Happy Autumn Friends: The Good News First: This has been a bounce-back year in the storied […]
Author: Big Apple Jazz
Harlem Jazz Tour Recap
February 27, 2023 Jazzy Fun with ChatGPT and the Duke Ellington Memorial Jazzy Fun with ChatGPT and the Duke Ellington Memorial I was wondering if ChatGPT, the latest Artificial Intelligence phenomenon, would be a useful tool for blogging about jazz subjects that I’m interested in, so I started a chat about Billie Holiday and I found […]
The “No Tour For Me” Option: Jazz Club Consultation
November 5, 2021 The “No Tour For Me” Option: Jazz Club Consultation The “No Tour For Me” Option: Jazz Club Consultation Harlem Jazz Crawl and Harlem Joint Tour guide, Gordon Polatnick. When I started leading jazz tours in New York City back in 1997, part of my business model was to […]
Manhattan Jazz Clubs Open Oct 2021
October 7, 2021 COVID Current List of Open Manhattan Jazz Clubs – OCT. 2021 COVID Current List of Open Manhattan Jazz Clubs – OCT. 2021 The light at the end of the tunnel report – We are finding it difficult to pull together jazz tours that can get to three clubs a night within 4-5-hours […]
NYC Jazz Clubs: COVID Survival
December 29, 2020 Still Life: NYC Jazz Clubs – COVID – Survival Score Card Still Life: NYC Jazz Clubs – COVID – Survival Score Card As we head into the 9th month of pandemic deprivation, we are not confident that jazz life will ever resemble pre-COVID status. All music venues struggle […]
Bill Saxton’s Holiday Jazz Stream
December 23, 2020 Bill Saxton – Harlem’s Saxa Claus – Streaming Holiday Cheer Bill Saxton – Harlem’s Saxa Claus – Streaming Holiday Cheer I met Bill Saxton at St. Nick’s Pub one Friday night in 1997 during one of his weekly gigs. Over the years we have remained friendly, our lives intersecting significantly in […]
Church of Coltrane Jazz Legacy
December 23, 2020 The Church of Saint John Coltrane – A Blast from the Past The Church of Saint John Coltrane – A Blast from the Past The Jazz Churchby Gordon PolatnickOriginally published in the Haight Ashbury Free Press circa 1995 Sometimes I think I’m the only one who understands what true religion […]
Harlem Beat of the Streets
November 16, 2020 Harlem Beat of the Streets Harlem Beat of the Streets As the winter of 2020 sets in, Big Apple Jazz is offering private tours during the day with a “Harlem Beat of the Streets” theme. After owning a Harlem jazz cafe, and decades of experience as […]
WSJ – The Alhambra Ballroom in Harlem
November 12, 2020 WSJ – The Alhambra Ballroom in Harlem WSJ – The Alhambra Ballroom in Harlem If you’re a hopeless romantic pining for a sepia toned, 100 year ago version of New York City you will marvel at how well-preserved Harlem still appears to be. If coming from the […]
Harlem Jazz Clubs During COVID
October 26, 2020 Live Jazz In Harlem Clubs during COVID-19 in Autumn 2020 Live Jazz In Harlem Clubs during COVID-19 in Autumn 2020 Everyone is asking the same question and dealing with the same conundrum: Is indoor jazz clubbing out of the question during COVID in NYC, and if not, how does it work? […]