All the reasons are good to visit the Big Apple. Do you want an inspiring and rewarding stay? Discover New York through the history of jazz. Moreover, no need to be a connoisseur in the field to fully enjoy this escapade to the rhythm of the Roaring Twenties!
While taking root in the southern United States, jazz is moving rapidly north. “With the closure of the red light district in New Orleans, many musicians moved to Chicago, which in the early 1920s will be the second historic epicenter of jazz,” explains writer Stanley Péan, who hosts When the jazz is there on ICI Musique.
In order to immerse yourself in the atmosphere of the cabarets of the 1920s, largely influenced by jazz music, we spent our first evening at the Ambassador Theater to see the musical. Chicago, one of New York’s most typical tourist attractions. Featured on Broadway since 1977, the new 1996 release is the longest-running musical revival in Broadway history for an American production.
Those who loved Bill Condon’s 2002 film adaptation, starring Renée Zellweger and Catherine Zeta-Jones as Roxy and Velma, certainly can’t help but hum a few tunes and stomp their feet all the way. throughout the show.
At the beginning of the 20th century
It was at the beginning of the 20th century that jazz moved to New York. In 1919, prohibition was ratified nationally. While this could have marked the heralded death of jazz, it is experiencing a meteoric rise in the city, as jazz musicians set sail for New York. In the process, New Yorkers opened many speakeasies, which are also experiencing a certain renaissance all over the city in recent years.
“In 1928, Ben Pollack’s orchestra left Chicago to settle in New York,” says Stanley Péan. The following year, it was the turn of Louisiana trumpeter and singer Louis Armstrong to move there. “New York gradually established itself in the 1930s as the new jazz capital, capturing the title in Chicago,” he continues.
It was also in Queens, east of Manhattan, that Louis Armstrong moved to New York in 1929. In 1943, he moved with his wife, Lucille, to a house in the Corona district. in the same arrondissement. He died there of a cardiac arrest while sleeping on July 6, 1971.
At the wish of his wife, who wanted to promote the cultural, historical and humanitarian legacy of her legendary trumpeter husband, this home became the Louis Armstrong House Museum. On the spot, almost nothing has changed. We discover all kinds of archives that tell the story of his life, including several pieces from the impressive personal collection of photographer Jack Bradley. Temporary exhibitions, concerts and film screenings related to the life of this great jazz artist are regularly presented there.
With jazz having settled comfortably in New York City, the big names will continue to make history and turn places into world-class venues, including the Apollo Theater in Harlem, north Manhattan. It is also in this mythical place, in 1934, that a certain Ella Fitzgerald, then aged 16, sings during one of the first evenings. Amateur Night.
Even today, these evenings take place on Wednesday evenings. However, it is a Saturday summer evening that we attend the show of Shoshana Bean, who heats the stage of the Apollo Theater in the company of his impressive ensemble of 18 musicians. No matter the time of year, the Apollo Theater has live performances almost every day, ranging from soul music to R&B, music writing workshops, and a few free events.
Among the good addresses to remember, note the Smoke Jazz Supper Club, where Patricia Williams offers some 50 guests a dinner-show formula. A follower of market cuisine, this chef is delighted to charm the taste buds of jazz lovers who come to listen to the big names in jazz performing there every night of the week.
With happiness, we discover that an inspiring feminine jazz movement is gaining momentum in New York. Led by Montrealer Myriam Phiro, Mariposa (“butterfly” in Spanish) is a quintet made up exclusively of women. Its mission: to promote social justice through music.
At the end of the evening, we settle in at The Rose Club bar at The Plaza hotel, Manhattan icon opened in 1890. Located above the prestigious lobby, the club was first The Persian Room from 1934 to 1975. As Patty Farmer says in her book The Persian Room Presents (Vantage, 2012), the crème de la crème of cabaret artists paraded here. Think of Hildegarde, of Kay Thompson – creator of the famous series of children’s books Eloise – and to Liza Minnelli.
The Persian Room was also the scene of recordings live important jazz albums, such as classical Jazz at The Plaza Vol. 1 by Miles Davis, recorded in 1958 and released in 1973. At the same event hosted by Columbia Records in 1958, Duke Ellington’s tracks were also picked up for production of the second volume.
It is with a touch of nostalgia that we sip our glasses, imagining all the artists who have passed through here and who at the same time have deeply marked the history of New York jazz. Fortunately, the atmosphere and the decor remain sumptuous and captivating as in the heyday of jazz.
Beyond the big establishments where you can hear the biggest names in current jazz and museums where you can deepen your knowledge in the field, you just have to listen slightly to see how jazz is doing. part of the New York soundtrack. Whether it’s a simple saxophonist on a bench in Central Park or a flirtatious singer on the subway, it still rings out everywhere in the jazz capital.
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