Harlem Jazz Clubs

NAMA – New Amsterdam Musical Association – photo by Gordon PolatnickExclusive Big Apple Jazz’s Insider’s Guide to Harlem Jazz by Gordon Polatnick The longest standing jazz venues in Harlem are at the opposite ends of the neighborhood and two right in the middle. Parlor Entertainment is up at 160th Street and Minton’s Playhouse is down…

Marcus Persiani, Avi Cohen, Patience Higgins, Wayne Escoffery – St. Nick’s Pub jam session Having just discovered this vintage blog post from the “smoking-in-clubs-days” on an old hard drive, I rush now to chuck it up here to give New York city’s live jazz fans, a chance to feel nostalgic and maybe a little old….

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 Harlem jazz club world, (which we’ve been tracking since 1997). The pandemic and resulting inflationary economy has done a number on the scene.  Minton’s Playhouse, which had a…

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 as we did prior to March 2020.  In March 2021 we were able to start touring again – taking guests to live jazz performances in only one club per night, which was a blessing, hearing some of the most joyous nights of music we ever witnessed.   Nowadays, we are happy to report that hearing live jazz in two clubs per night is becoming typical on certain nights of the week.  Importantly, some regularly scheduled outdoor jazz events have been produced by local heroes throughout the pre-vaccine pandemic to great effect – bringing all-star players into intimate settings with little or no fanfare.  These events helped sustain the scene through…

     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 against all odds to remain in business during this extended lockdown.        Performers and performance venues were likely hit the hardest as precautionary health…

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 the early 2000’s when we each opened a Harlem jazz spot within a few blocks of the other.   Bill’s Place, 148 West 133rd…

 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 laughably tall and thin sky-scraper race to the clouds on 57th Street, it’s strangely comforting to note that the buildings on the…

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?  New York got hit so hard at the start of Covid that the lockdown period was followed by a very prudent and organized phased…

We wanted to share this video of photos and clips from our time on the Harlem jazz scene.  It covers the underground clubs and magnificent players we’ve been enjoying during our over 20 years in business. Some close friends: Gary Samuels, Alex Layne, Linda Carr, Samuel Hargress Jr.,  were lost at the start of the…

“Living the Jazz Life” by Jacqueline Bischof Autumn 2008 It’s 11.30 on a Friday night in early Fall, and Dennis Davis is standing outside St. Nick’s pub in Sugar Hill, one of Harlem’s oldest and most famous jazz establishments.  Tall and wiry, Davis is wearing a weathered, ankle – length leather coat. Standing under the…