I had first heard about this place called Birdland through my friends in high school who were in jazz band and went on some trips there. Birdland opened as a jazz club on Broadway, a block away from the popular jazz scene on 52nd Street 61 years ago, in December, 1949. In the first five years that it had opened, already 1,400,000 paid the $1.50 admission to go to the increasingly popular club. It attracted many celebrities in its early years, such as Gary Cooper, Marilyn Monroe, Frank Sinatra, Joe Louis, Marlene Dietrich, Ava Gardner, Sammy Davis Jr, and Sugar Ray Robinson. As rock-n-roll emerged in the 60s, Birdland was losing popularity and needed to take a break. In 1968, the jazz club reopened on the corner of 105th Street and Broadway, and started to regain popularity.
Since the re-emergence of Birdland in 1968, the jazz club has been continually adding daily programs and events. Many famous musicians have appeared at the club and it is now home to the Umbria Jazz Festival in NYC and the Annual Django Reinhardt NY Festival. On the website, there is a schedule of events. Some upcoming events include the Frank Wess Quintet, the Microscopic Septet, and Chico O’Farrill’s Afro-Cuban Jazz Orchestra. Besides hosting special events, Birdland also holds regular events, such as the Birdland Big Band which performs every Friday night and David Otswald’s Louis Armstrong Continental Band which performs every Wednesday night.
Below is a clip of David Otswald’s Louis Armstrong Continental Band (they start playing at about 24 seconds, be patient). I like the old fashion feel to this music, enjoy.
This is what is known as Dixieland Jazz. typical of this is the use of the tuba, and the lack of a piano (though sometimes a piano is included.) A tone color that would complete this sound would be a banjo.