Greenwich Village Jazz Crawl

A Greenwich Village Jazz Tour with a Personal Touch

This intimate underground jazz tour through Greenwich Village explores the hidden haunts below the winding streets of  New York’s historic Artists’ Quarter.  This is an easy-paced jazz walking tour, dedicated to exploring this charming neighborhood’s swinging hidden jazz joints and speakeasies.

Learn about Billie Holiday and her debut of the controversial song Strange Fruit at Cafe Society; and where Charlie Parker got a gig toward the end of his life to help pay off his tab at a strip club he often visited.  Also, stories about Bob Dylan’s time in the Village and how that connects to Billie Holiday a generation prior.

Our expert guides point out defunct legendary clubs like Cafe Society; and other long gone clubs like Sweet Basil’s, The Village Gate, and the hard-bopping Cafe Bohemia, where Charles Mingus, Art Blakey and Miles Davis introduced their latest compositions. 

We move from club to club (at least two jazz clubs per night) seeking out the energy and excitement for which the Village jazz scene is famous. We intersperse the live music with lively and interesting insights into the Village’s rich jazz and social history with some fascinating sightseeing along the way.

If you choose a Sunday-Tuesday Village tour, there is a chance to hear some Trad Jazz (Dixieland) in tiny spots that evoke the early music of Luis Armstrong and his peers.

No lines, no crowds, just amazing live music – up-close and personal. Book your Greenwich Village Jazz Crawl and discover how the musicians, artists and activists of the Greenwich Village changed the world!