Tales from the USA: A (Short) Musical Journey Through NYC
Jazz clubs, jams, instruments, and tap dancers
In 2010 I took a trip to New York, and vowed to return as soon as possible. “As soon as possible” turned out to be 13 years later, but I finally made it back - and this time I was keen to explore some of the city’s rich musical history.
One of my first stops was Harlem, the former stomping ground of Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, Louis Armstrong, and countless other musicians, writers and comedians. I was delighted to pass by the famous Apollo Theater, having recently learned about its history from the book Showtime at the Apollo by Ted Fox.
A walking tour of the area introduced me to Shrine, a world music venue on Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Boulevard. As soon as I stepped inside, I knew this was a special place. The walls and ceiling are entirely covered by album covers, and you can look around and pick out familiar faces – Diana Ross, Neil Young, The Wailers, Nat King Cole, Thelonious Monk – from every different genre and generation. There are African masks and drums, old boomboxes, and a small, low stage that would mean almost no separation between audience and performer on a busy night.
There were a few shows scheduled at Shrine that evening, so I came back at 7pm to see South African singer Naledi Masilo perform with her band. The venue certainly lived up to expectations – I’m no sound engineer, but I suspect that covering the walls with record covers might have a positive effect on the sound in the room. Whether that’s the case or not, this was a great singer backed by a great band, well versed in jazz and South African pop standards.
From one musically historic area of New York to another, my next stop after Harlem was Greenwich Village. I mainly associated the Village with folk music; specifically the folk scene of the early 1960s, where singers like Carolyn Hester, Tom Paxton, Dave Van Ronk, Phil Ochs, and many others would have performed at clubs and coffeehouses like Gerde’s and Café Wha?. But Greenwich Village also has a thriving jazz scene, as I discovered when I called into Small’s Jazz Club for their Saturday afternoon jam session.
A jam generally begins with the house band playing a few tunes, before the floor is opened up for any musicians in the audience who want to join in (or, as is often the case, take over from one of the band). People show up from all walks of life, ready to share what is probably for many of them a hidden talent. On this afternoon at Small’s, we had singers, piano players, double bassists, drummers, a trombonist, a cornet player, and even a tap dancer.
Partway into the jam a young man walked in with his girlfriend. It looked like he was trying to work up the courage to join the jam, but wasn’t sure about it – at one point it looked like he was ready to abandon the whole idea and leave. Thankfully he didn’t: he made it to the stage and played some great double bass, complete with solos. When he shuffled back to his seat, the row behind him (my row) gave him a round of applause and many pats on the back, much to his surprise and joy.
While in Greenwich Village I also stopped by Jones Street, where the cover photo of The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan was taken. Just across the road on West 4th Street is an amazing store called Music Inn World Instruments, which contains almost every type of instrument you could imagine: guitars, mandolins, dulcimers, accordions, banduras, djembes. When I walked in there was a man sitting on the floor playing a sitar, which sounded beautiful. The store was also home to possibly the oldest cash register I’ve ever seen, which I sadly forgot to photograph.
Crammed in between all the instruments (which, as you can see, were literally hanging from the ceiling) were shelves of old records, from folk to jazz and everything in between. I was happy to find a copy of The Midnight Special by Harry Belafonte, which also contains the debut released performance of the aforementioned Mr Dylan, playing harmonica on the title track.
And that was my NYC music experience. I realise that I barely scratched the surface of the music New York City has to offer, but that’s okay – I’ll be back.
Beautiful shot of the Freewheelin' street. Your post made me remember the disappointment I felt on discovering that the Oh Mercy mural (over on the west side somewhere, if memory serves) was gone.
I lived in New York for seventeen years and was unable, at the time, to appreciate it. If I'd known that giants of music like Ryuichi Sakamoto and Yoko Ono -- not to mention Peter Stampfel, my favorite singer on earth, who was playing god knows how many 30-capacity NYC gigs every year -- were roaming those same streets -- if I had known them to be the giants I now recognise them as! -- I might have felt differently about it all.