Birdland is a jazz club started in New York City on December 15, 1949. The original Birdland, which was located at 1678 Broadway, just north of West 52nd Street in Manhattan, was closed in 1965 due to increased rents, but it re-opened for one night in 1979. A revival began in 1986 with the opening of the second nightclub by the same name that is now located in Manhattan's Theater District, not far from the original nightclub's location. The current location is in the same building as the previous New York Observer headquarters.
Ever since most of Chicago’s top musicians moved to New York in the mid-to-late 1920s, New York City has been the Jazz Mecca. Nearly every major jazz style of the past seventy years has been initiated in the Big Apple. It was Charlie Parker, familiarly known to his fans and fellow musicians as “Bird,” a contraction of Yardbird, his formal nickname, who was the dynamic creative personality and genius of the alto saxophone who served as the inspiration for Birdland. The neon sign at the front of the club read, "Birdland, Jazz Corner of the World". The venue seated 500 people and had space for a full orchestra. It had a long bar, tables, booths, and
a fenced-in bullpen — a drinkless area, nicknamed "the peanut gallery", where teenagers were sometimes allowed to watch. Irving Levy and Morris Levy were the main owners but the club was operated by Oscar Goodstein, who took tickets and tended the bar. In the late 50s, he moved his post to the back hallway where he could compare the trays from the kitchen with the order tickets. Some lucky few could spend the wee hours chatting with him and reading letters musicians like Charlie Mingus sent him. Goldstein called Mingus a prolific writer. The name was carried through into the feature of caged finches inside the club.
2745 Broadway at 105th (1986–1996) The current version of Birdland, initially owned by John R. Valenti, opened in the Upper West Side of Manhattan in 1985, at 2745 Broadway at 105th Street, and presented emerging artists to a neighborhood audience. 315 West 44th Street, between 8th & 9th Avenues (1996–present) In 1996, Valenti moved the club to West 44th Street, in Midtown Manhattan where it features a full weekly schedule of performers. Notable performers have included Pat Metheny, Lee Konitz, Dave Holland, Regina Carter, and Tito Puente. It is also notable as the club where Toshiko Akiyoshi's jazz orchestra, on December 29, 2003, played its final concert. She had also played at the original Birdland.
Studio albums by famous jazz artists recorded here at the Birdland Jazz Club.
