The drummer Roy Haynes throws back his head and laughs, his voice a mixture of Village Vanguard. Man, anything can happen at the Vanguard. rdquo; A year ago, Haynes, a jazz icon who has played with some of the music rsquo;s biggest names mdash; Miles Davis, Sarah Vaughan, Thelonious Monk and John London.
Yet here he is on a tiny stage in a cramped, dimly lit Seventh walls. The images of past greats who have played here amount to a who rsquo;s who of modern jazz. Fans, meanwhile, view a night at the club as some sort of pilgrimage.
ldquo;You rsquo;re from Berlin? rdquo; I overheard one say to his neighbour. ldquo;I rsquo;m from Boston.
How you doin rsquo;? rdquo; As the Vanguard approaches its 75th year, it rsquo;s still a place where anything can happen. But this is New York, after all, the city that took the dance music of New Orleans, mixed it with Midwest blues and blended in immigrant And, as far as the music goes, New York rsquo;s clubs are still setting the pace.
Ignore those who say that big European festivals, with their roll-call of visiting stars, offer the same opportunities as a visit to the Big Apple. When it comes to jazz venues in New York, the main problem is the dazzling Want something more up-market than a downtown basement venue? For sheer style, Dizzy rsquo;s Club Coca-Cola on the fifth floor of the Lincoln Centre, close to Central Park, can rsquo;t be beaten.
With its panoramic views, Southern-inspired food, and the trumpeter Wynton Marsalis as artistic director, it has won a legion of admirers, including the singer Tony Bennett, who describes it as Too tired after a day rsquo;s shopping to make the trek to Greenwich Village? The Iridium on Broadway, a few blocks north of Times Square, may be a tourist haunt, but wait until the midnight session and for a mere $10 ( 5) you can Theatre in Harlem, a national landmark that launched the careers of artists including Ella Fitzgerald and James Brown with its famous amateur nights, a Harlem fixture since 1931. The theatre rsquo;s spectacular stage productions are Afterwards, step out of the past and leap into the future with a cab trip to the Knitting Factory on the edge of SoHo.
The ldquo;Knit rdquo; has been at the heart of New York rsquo;s experimental scene since the Eighties. But be warned: acts Ears ringing from the final set at the Factory? Desperate for some tunes that you can, er, hum?
A brisk walk north to the Village will take you to an informal, intimate venue, Smalls. This basement club features up to three bands nightly, with nonstop music on weekends. It is a favourite with closed.
The manager sits outside on the sidewalk chatting with passers-by and is happy to explain what acts are playing. If you rsquo;re not sure about the music, take a look before you decide. For just 5 you can see out the rest As you stagger out into the predawn light, turn left on to Seventh Avenue, walk a couple of blocks north, and you rsquo;ll find yourself once more outside the Village Vanguard, where the notices have already gone up for the next which offers a two-night stay at the five-star Mandarin Oriental, New York, ldquo;Welcome ladies and gentlemen, rdquo; the white-jacketed band leader purred into his microphone.
ldquo;It is 1939 and we are live across the nation on WAOK from Chicago rsquo;s North Side. The band is hoppin rsquo;, the joint is jumpin rsquo;, the sorority girls are runnin rsquo; amok. rdquo; as the orchestra launched into the opening phrases of Minnie the Moocher.
In an instant the dancefloor was packed. Couples swung one another about like extras in a Fred Astaire film. A woman I had never met before grabbed me and American town, built on sweat and bacon, on hard work and an honest buck.
Maybe, somewhere, Chicago is like that mdash; maybe there are ordered streets Avenue, the fast-talking, rip-roaring, disreputable town with the racy reputation, ain rsquo;t that kind of place. Everything that has made this city playmates, the malted milkshake mdash; was created by late-night people who the speak-easies. A hundred years ago in juke joints on the South Side boogie-woogie piano players were getting everyone hot and sweaty.
When Dixieland began to drift north from New Orleans it headed for Chicago. When party, and the Jazz Age was born of bootleg liquor and wailing saxophones. I went in search of the jazz clubs of the modern city.
Like most evenings in Chicago, it was a happy descent into madness. Showcase. The atmosphere was a trifle reverential.
The punters sat silently at candlelit tables, all facing front, like a congregation. The dark walls were crowded with portraits of jazz icons. On stage was Hank Crawford, a sax player who played like an angel.
Or even like Charlie Parker, whose huge neighbourhoods that is north Chicago mdash; Old Town, Lincoln Park, Lake View, Wicker Park mdash; gentrified residential areas of leafy streets and big parks, In the Back Room, a stylish joint on the edges of the Gold Coast, Chicago rsquo;s most prestigious neighbourhood, I chatted to Dave while Bob Perna rsquo;s ten-piece band was sliding happily between jazz, R B and Motown. ldquo;Thing about Chicago, rdquo; Dave confided, ldquo;is that it rsquo;s the American city. New York is too cosmopolitan.
LA too Californian. Chicago is America. And jazz is Chicago rsquo;s soundtrack.
rdquo; Next stop was Green Dolphin Street. The Jose Valdes Trio were wooing the crowd musical ambitions. It was flamenco night.
A singer with a rose in her hair was clapping her hands in an intricate rhythm. In a moment we were on to the main action, a throaty fantastic heart-rend of a song that inevitably worked itself to a thrilling foot-stomping climax. It wasn rsquo;t jazz but who cared?
After Katerina rsquo;s, things were a bit of a blur frankly. In Davenports two gay It was a relief to get back to the mainstream jazz at the Green Mill Tavern, where it was Swing Night with the Alan Gresik Swing Shift Orchestra. The place was packed.
Everyone was in hilarious mood and dancing like they It was 2am. No one would be catching the 8:10.
which has five-night breaks at the Fairmount Hotel, Chicago, from 831pp.
Further information: Chicago and Illinois Tourist Office (0870 0503410, ); ; relax, indulge, escape or explore, short breaks in Ireland offer something for everyone
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