Take a look at the sign on your right. Birdland. Just the word alone swings, doesn't it? You are standing outside the modern incarnation of the jazz corner of the world.
The original club opened its doors back in December nineteen forty-nine, just up Broadway. They named it to capitalize on the fame of the legendary saxophonist Charlie Parker, whose nickname was Yardbird, or simply Bird. But here is the ironic twist. Parker barely ever played at his namesake club. The reason was pretty straightforward. According to the club's management, he simply demanded too much money every time he was booked.
Imagine stepping down into that original, below-street-level room back in the nineteen fifties. The neon sign outside glowed like a beacon. If you had one dollar and fifty cents, which is about eighteen bucks today, you could walk right past the high rollers and grab a folding chair in a fenced-in section right next to the bandstand. They called it the bullpen, and it was so casual that even teenagers were allowed in. To really hammer home the theme, they actually kept live finches in cages right inside the club. It was a fashionable place to be seen, pulling in regulars like Frank Sinatra, Marilyn Monroe, and Marlon Brando.
The vibe was electric, but it was heavily steered by a master of ceremonies named Pee Wee Marquette. Pee Wee was exactly four feet tall and ran his stage with ruthless confidence. If a musician refused to tip him, Pee Wee would deliberately mispronounce their name over the microphone when introducing them to the crowd.
But the club saw its share of dark, heavy moments, too. In August nineteen fifty-nine, the brilliant trumpeter Miles Davis was brutally beaten by a New York City police officer on the sidewalk right outside the club during a performance engagement. And just months earlier, co-owner Irving Levy was stabbed to death near the service area in the back.... The truly surreal part is that a trombonist was playing on stage at the time, and the crowd was so mesmerized by the music that the murder happened completely unnoticed by the patrons.
Eventually, the original joint filed for Chapter Eleven bankruptcy, a legal process where a struggling business reorganizes its debts to try and survive, but it officially closed down in nineteen sixty-five. Still, you cannot keep a good rhythm down forever. A brand new Birdland opened uptown in nineteen eighty-six, and eventually relocated right here to West Forty-Fourth Street in nineteen ninety-six.
Take a quick glance at your screen to see an image of the current interior. It is a vibrant, moody space that keeps the old spirit alive, hosting modern giants of jazz.
This name is woven deeply into American culture. Jack Kerouac wrote about dropping a five-dollar bill here in his novel On the Road, and the band U-Two even sang about it. If you want to catch a show, be prepared for an expensive ticket, but the doors stay open well into the midnight hours all week long. Imagine that classic jazz soundtrack echoing in your head as we walk on over to our next location.
