Domingo 26 Oct 2008, 5:47

If you are into Jazz at all I highly recommend the NPR Jazz Profiles Podcast to all of you. This particular one struck me as really inspiring. It covers the story of the world's most recognized jazz club: The Village Vanguard in NYC.

Here's an excerpt from the NPR article:

NPR.org, August 27, 2008 - It has become, perhaps, the most famous basement in New York City. The small room with low ceilings and remarkable acoustics has staged more than 100 live commercial recordings, several of which are essential works in the history of jazz on record. The Village Vanguard, open since 1935, is the oldest continuously operated jazz club in the world.

When founder Max Gordon originally launched the Greenwich Village club, it provided a stage for folk musicians, poets, actors and comedians, as well as jazz musicians. From its inception, the Vanguard attracted hip, well-informed audiences. Gordon gave singer Harry Belafonte his first big break, and Belafonte remembers both an eclectic group of performers and the support of the club owner. The Vanguard was also one of the first places Woody Allen ever performed as a comedian, and he recalls that Gordon was warm and supportive even of "difficult" acts.

The club and the audiences it attracted reflected Gordon's sensibility. The legendary Broadway writing team of Betty Comden and Adolph Green gained its first performing experience at the Vanguard in 1938. With a 16-year-old Judy Holliday, not yet the famous film star, the pair formed a variety group called The Reviewers that attracted large crowds. Gordon, they say, was not a stereotypical nightclub boss. Widow Lorraine Gordon says that her husband was "very gentle with people, and they liked that about him."

In the mid-1950s, Max Gordon narrowed the club's scope to only jazz, and it soon became well-known for its fierce, no-frills commitment to the music. A string of classic albums recorded on-site certainly helped bolster the venue's public profile. In 1957, the first Vanguard recording was made; Sonny Rollins' A Night at the Village Vanguard has since been widely recognized as one of the best live albums in jazz. Saxophonist Joshua Redman calls it a benchmark for improvisers and performers.

To read the full story and download the podcast, follow this link: The Village Vanguard NPR Podcast