Category: Genres

  • Acid Dad Announce June Album, ‘Take It From The Dead’

    Brooklyn-based psychedelic rock bank, Acid Dad, are excited to announce their sophomore album – Take It From The Dead. The album is due out June 11, 2021 via Greenway Records / The Reverberation Appreciation Society.

    acid dad

    In preparation for the new album, the band has released visuals for the albums first single – “RC Driver.” The video debuted on FLOOD Magazine. Singer-guitarist Vaughn Hunt comments on his inspiration behind the song:

    RC Driver is about how I wish I raced cars for a living. All I wanna do is go fast and do stunts. I grew up near a lake, so jet skis are the next closest thing. Ain’t nothing like rippin’ a supercharged Sea-Doo going 90mph on pure glass, baby. 

    Vaughn Hunt, Singer-guitarist

    Acid Dad consists of Trevor Mustoe on drums, Vaughn Hunt and Sean Fahey on vocals and guitar. The band was started in Hunt’s basement in Bushwick, NY – releasing their first single “Brain Body” and EP Let’s Plan a Robbery. Acid Dad quickly rose up through the ranks in the New York rock scene, releasing their debut album to widespread acclaim.

    The band spent much of 2020 creating a new studio space in Queens, while building their own guitars and continuing to independently produce their new music. With a new space and vision, the band produced their second LP, Take It From The Dead, set to be co-released in June 2021 by Brooklyn’s Greenway Records and psych powerhouse LEVITATION’s label, The Reverberation Appreciation Society.

    Take It From The Dead’s influences range from the likes of 90’s neo-psych, modern post-punk and 70’s rock-n-roll. Acid Dad’s album is innovation, but still shows love for its roots. In contrast to their earlier work, they make use of slower tempos and expand their sound to include songs that are both more intricate and more hypnotic. To accompany the new record, the band spent the last year collaborating with video artist Webb Hunt, producing psych and glitch art videos that form a visual counterpart to the dreamy distortions of their sound.

  • Alt-pop Artist Sulene drops new single, “i still think you’re so fake”

    Addressing past-heartbreaks during the midst of post-Valentine’s Day gloom, Sulene dropped a new indie-pop single off of her upcoming EP, he·don·ic, set to release on March 5.

    Sulene
    Photo Credit: Spencer Kohn

    I wrote it after I got a text from an ex that he was getting married. I guess I hadn’t thought about this relationship for a long time and it brought up all sorts of things. Sometimes the gift of time and growing up is being able to look back and sorta see things differently, more clearly. I found myself feeling angry. My friend group is really close with this person so I constantly hear about him, and I’d always act like it doesn’t bother me even though I felt hurt by the things that had happened surrounding our breakup. I wrote this song after that text and I guess I stopped pretending that I feel the same way all my friends feel and just said my truth.

    Sulene, on “i still think you’re so fake”

    The definition behind the EP’s title, he·don·ic, implies that the album as a whole relates to pleasant or unpleasant sensations, a theme that is present in the newest single. The topic of past heartbreak is never easy for an artist to revisit, and even harder to express through song. Sulene cites a painful and difficult process behind he·don·ic, but also a liberating aspect to exploring new music styles and providing closure. You can stream her newest single, “I still think you’re so fake” here on platforms such as Spotify and Apple Music.

  • NYC Loft Jazz of the 1970s Comes Alive with “Frequency Equilibrium Koan” by Michael Gregory Jackson


    CBGB wasn’t the only club/scene to birth a new musical genre in the low-rent, dirty and deliciously dangerous Downtown NYC of the mid- to late-1970s.  Alongside the wannabe punks, there were a slew of fiercely talented young jazz immigrants from St. Louis, Chicago and beyond who worked to make free jazz even freer than Coleman and Coltrane. They plied their exploratory path not at traditional clubs but a series of short-lived, musician-led NYC loft scene like Coltrane drummer Rashid Ali’s Studio 77, Studio We, The Ladies’ Fort and, most notably, Studio RivBea, founded by saxman Sam Rivers and his wife Bea. 

    New York’s so-called Loft Jazz scene would launch the careers of many luminaries who would define jazz’s more creative edge in the post-Coltrane era. These included Muhal Richard Abrams, Anthony Braxton, Henry Threadgill, David Murray, Arthur Blythe, Butch Morris, Lester Bowie, Oliver Lake and Julius Hemphill to name but a few. 

    NYC Loft

    Their music was technically accomplished, exploratory, impulsive, spiritual and often politically-minded. It could flow from angry and dissonant to heavenly melodic, all in the space of a few bars. It had elements of jazz, modern classical, folk, world music and more. It also utilized instruments not often associated with jazz, like the oboe and cello. The intimacy of the scene led to much cross pollination among the players. This is something reflected in a bold new release from the archives of Michael Gregory Jackson, a versatile innovator and guitarists’ guitarist who first came to light in the scene.

    One look at the list of progressive jazz guitar all-stars who have named Michael Gregory Jackson as an influence demonstrates the continued resonance and relevance of his four-decades of exceptionally creative music-making. 

    “Michael Gregory Jackson has long been one of my favorite musicians,” said Pat Metheny. “I always considered him one of the most significantly original guitars of our generation, with his own distinctive sound and point of view.”

    Bill Frisell adds: “I first heard Michael Gregory Jackson in 1975 when I moved to Boston. He blew my mind and influenced me a lot. I believe he’s one of the unsung innovators.”

    Frequency Equilibrium Koan is an authentic document of the without-a-net creativity and exhuberance of no-hold-barred this era. It is a performance of four lengthy compositions recorded by Jackson on his trusty Sony cassette machine in 1977 at The Ladies’ Fort. It finds the then 23-year-old guitarist leading a quartet featuring saxophonist Julius Hemphill, drummer Pheeroan akLaff and cellist Abdul Wadud.

    NYC Loft

    Hemphill was one of the true giants of the era, perhaps best known for his work with the World Saxophone Quartet alongside Oliver Lake, who helped launch Jackson’s career in a quartet which also included akLaff. 

    A little like Hendrix before him, cellist Wadud literally reinvented his instrument for a new musical genre. With furious plucking, bowing and percussives, it became a tool of jazz that would skirt the territory between groove-keeping acoustic bass, a soaring solo instrument and drum. Wadud and Hemphill were frequent collaborators. One of their best performances together is on “Hard Blues,” from Hemphill’s 1975 album Coon Bid’ness.

    Jackson’s new/old album kicks off with the nine-plus minute title track. After a fragmentary head, the piece moves into improvisation, with Hemphill coming to the fore with a long forceful tenor solo. At times, the improvisation becomes collective, a kind of outré New Orleans ragtime.  Jackson’s bag of tricks is on full display here – volume swells, detuned swooshery, bleeps, slides and long tricky melodic lines, a blend of Cubist post-bebop and twelve-tone classical. Wadud plucks and bows away, creating both rhythmic pulse and solo lines that dance off his partners’ musical conversation. 

    The next track, “Heart and Center,” is a radical extension of what would become the title offering for Jackson’s wonderfully diversified 1979 album of the same name. This is as straight-ahead as this album gets, with Hemphill again out of the gate on a solo charge. Jackson leads the way with choppy irregular chording that provides a rich harmonic backdrop for Hemphill and his own soloing. Again, the flavor here is improvisation that is collective, with lots of call-and-response. As usual, akLaff keeps it all moving, with jungle like tom tom heavy percussion. 

    “Clarity 3” is the most challenging listening experience in the set. It begins with akLaff’s circular swirl of percussion, which leads to a solo spotlight for Wadud.   With Hemphill and Jackson’s entry, the music comes to a fast boil then overflows.  It’s jazz roller coaster, with the instruments almost seeming to merge into one howl at times.  In the last minute, Jackson finds and rides a broad chord that sounds like a car horn, together with Wadud’s cello groans.  The album ends on a mellow tone with “A Meditation.”  Hemphill sits this one out and Jackson forsakes his trusty 1961 Gibson SG for a bamboo flute.  It’s a wind down of chill temple bells and malleted cymbals, bowed cello and modal flute melody, an East Asian-flavored sunset brought to the dark and dirty Downtown NYC of the 1970s.

    In the liner notes to the album, guitar master Bill Frisell observes:

    These guys are all heroes of mine. I’ve learned so much and am still learning from all of them. To hear them all together like this is a real gift. What a combo!  I can’t believe this happened more than 40 years ago. It sounds like the future. I’m so thankful the tape was running to document this extraordinary moment.

    Like many good things in New York City, the loft jazz scene was killed by the rising rents that came with gentrification. For more detail on this vibrant scene, read Michael Heller’s Loft Jazz: Improvising New York in the 1970s.  For a great sampling of the musicians and the scene, check out Wildflowers: The New York Loft Jazz Sessions.  This five album/three CD set captures edge-pushing performances by many of loft jazz’s leading lights over nine days at Studio RivBea in May 1976. For more about Jackson, see our review of his jazz suite for Nelson Mandela, Change or purchase the album on Bandcamp

    Key Tracks:  Heart and Center, Frequency Equilibrium Koan

  • D’Angelo Announces Verzuz DJ Battle at Apollo Theater

    D’Angelo will hold a Verzuz DJ battle against unnamed “friends,” taking place on February 27 at 8 pm EST, at the historical Apollo Theater in Harlem.

    d'angelo
    (Photo by Cheryl Gerber/Invision/AP, File)

    He announced another episode of Verzuz, an online DJ-battle series, in which artists face off their contemporaries. The competition is fun, friendly, and fans cheer on artists as they DJ hit songs against each other. Previous sets have included Alicia Keys vs. John Legend. Beginning during lockdown, Verzuz has become a staple respite for music fans everywhere. The notoriously reclusive artist, D’Angelo, who champions quality over quantity will take the stage at the Apollo Theater for the first time since 2014.

    D’Angelo will be challenging several guests at his performance, which expands the online show to a larger spectacle. Due to his sparse public performances, rumors have arisen of new music, although the artist has released one album in 21 years.

    In the early 1990s, D’Angelo exploded onto the “new retro soul” scene with artists such as Erykah Badu. His 2000 hit album, Voodoo, catapulted him into the spotlight, and he retracted, rarely playing shows. The next D’Angelo album did not come to fruition until 2014, and he vanished from the public eye quickly after a supporting tour. On that tour, it was the last time D’Angelo played the Apollo Theater. This return is long anticipated, and you can stream it on February 27 at 8pm EST through Verzuz.

    On Soundcloud, Mick Brooklyn has created Re/Angelo, featuring rarities and D’Angelo remixes from The Roots, Common, Erykah Badu, and J. Dilla.

  • Electronica Duo Daft Punk Announce Break Up

    Electronica pioneers Daft Punk, who are responsible for some of the most well known dance and pop songs of the past two decades, announced their break up. Their retirement was announced to the world in a video titled “Epilogue,” posted on the morning of February 22. 

    Daft Punk

    Daft Punk is an electronic due that started back in Paris in 1993. The duo consists of Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo and Thomas Bangalter; they are known for being influential members of the electronic dance genre helping create the French touch style of house music. Their sound combines elements of house music with funk, techno, disco, rock and synth pop. They are known for wearing their ornate helmets and gloves to assume robot personas for most of their public appearances. Some of their most known songs include “One More Time,” “Harder, Faster, Better, Stronger,” “Get Lucky,” and “Around the World.” 

    https://youtu.be/udvYSd2TIkg

    Their announcement video “Epilogue,” was an excerpt from their 2006 film Electroma and was posted to their website and social media accounts. The video is eight minutes long and features the two in full costume silently walking away from each other in a vast sandy landscape with one of them blowing up and then sliding into music with the caption saying 1993-2021 with a setting sun on the horizon. 

    Kathryn Frazier, who was the duo’s long time publicist, has officially confirmed the split to Variety. Frazier declined to provide further details behind the duo’s disbandment and retirement at this time. 

    https://youtu.be/LYuD9ydQr3w

    It is still unknown if the duo will be working together under different names or whether other new projects are in the works. Considering the group’s history of popping back out of the woodworks, fans hope they will continue to release music, videos and whatever other projects strike their fancy. We hope the era isn’t truly over. Some wonder if this announcement is in fact the beginning of a new project.

    For the time being, Daft Punk has called it quits. For more information on it visit the duo’s website.

  • 2020 Flashback: America Starts Their 50th Anniversary Tour

    1 year ago today on February 21st 2020, America played a sold out show at The Tilles Center on the LIU Post campus in Brookville, Long Island. This was the first show of the bands 50th Anniversary tour celebrating the release of their 1971 self titled album. 

    “A Horse With No Name,” originally titled “Desert Song” was released in the US a few weeks before the album came out and sold over a million copies being awarded a gold disc by the RIAA. The album went platinum shortly after. The band was opening for acts like The Who, Elton John, Pink Floyd and worked with Beatles producer George Martin from 1974-1979.

    The show was filled with hit after hit spanning through their 50 year and counting career. Gerry and Dewey sounded just as good today as they did when they started harmonizing 50 years ago. Songs from the setlist included “Tin Man,” “Ventura Highway,” “Sister Golden Hair” as well as a covers of The Beatles “Eleanor Rigby” and  The Mamas & Papas “California Dreamin’.” The 18 song set concluded with  “A Horse With No Name.” 

    The band’s current lineup includes original founding members Gerry Beckley and Dewey Bunnell, as well as Ryland Steen on drums, Steve Fekete on guitar and Richard Campbell on bass. The tour continues across United States and Canada until July when they head to Europe for shows in France, the U.K. and Germany. You can see all the tour dates here.

    There is also a biography about the band written by Jude Warne, titled America The Band: An Authorized Biography that is available now.

    Setlist: Tin Man, You Can Do Magic, Don’t Cross The River, Daisy Jane, Riverside, I Need You, Here, Ventura Highway, Eleanor Rigby, Cornwall Blank, Hollywood, The Border, Woman Tonight, Only In Your Heart, California Dreamin, Lonely People, Sandman, Sister Golden Hair, A Horse With No Name

  • boys cruise Release Groovy Indie Track “Room for Reason”

    boys cruise has released “Room for Reason” as their first single off of their upcoming self-titled sophomore album.

    boys cruise

    Their new jangly, poppy, but also garage-rock song is the first taste of boys cruise’s music since their acclaimed 2019 debut record Jerry. Mastered by Felix Davis, who worked with artists such as Lana Del Rey, HMLTD, and Swim Deep, added extra flair to boys cruise’s unique, playful sound. Their musical style combines several genres, creating a colorful blend that could make anybody want to dance. Zach Bloomstein produced their upcoming album.

    Drummer and bassist Jack Parker spoke about the newest single: “Johnny Clarke (lead vocals/guitar) and myself, Jack Parker (bass/drums), wrote the main ideas before linking up with Sammy Josh (guitar) to really flesh everything out. I wrote Room for Reason over the span of a few days this past summer when I fell terribly ill with 102 degree fever.”

    He continues that “the song is about how I felt trapped in my mind palace and how I was longing for rest. This past summer was a generally manic and confusing time for all of us in boys cruise, and the lyrics are just sort of a reflection of that confusion and some of the weirdness that was simultaneously going on in my personal relationships.

    Based in Burlington, VT, boys cruise had its genesis in 2018 in the Northeast DIY scene. Their wild stage presence and riveting shows made them a notorious and beloved name in the northeast underground circuit. From cutting the lead singer’s hair mid-set to boxing matches between members on stage, they began selling out Vermont venues.

    Their sound has evolved on their upcoming record in a new artful and noisy direction, compared to the poppier 2019 LP Jerry. boys cruise is Johnny Clarke (lead vocals/guitar), Jack Parker (vocals/bass/drums), and Sammy Josh (vocals/guitar).

    Find out more about boys cruise on Instagram and Facebook.

  • 22 Years Later: Trey Anastasio Band makes Landmark Theatre Debut

    Thursday, February 22, 2001 was a frigid night in Syracuse, yet Armory Square was alive and well. With no Phish for the foreseeable future, and no New Year’s Eve performance that past December, the energy this evening was unmistakably palpable as Trey Anastasio Band made their debut performance at Syracuse’s Landmark Theatre.

    Only their second show of 2001’s Winter Tour, Trey Anastasio Band (TAB) offered fans a glimpse of what was to come from this new yet familiar cast of supporting musicians joining Trey, and how the void left by Phish’s hiatus would be filled by the band leader.

    trey anastasio landmark theatre 2001 winter tour

    Trey had originally played with drummer Russ Lawton and bassist Tony Markellis in 8 Foot Fluorescent Tubes in 1998, making the trio the core of a band that continues to perform today, even through the pandemic. Trey added in a three-piece horn section alongside Russ and Tony, bringing in Andy Moroz (trombone), Giant Country Horns member Dave “The Truth” Grippo (saxophone) and Jennifer Hartswick (trumpet/tuba). The sextet was an early version of the TAB lineup Trey has modified over the years, and did not yet include soon-to-join members Ray Paczkowski, Natalie Cressman and Cyro Baptista.

    The night began with the Chuck Berry number “In the Wee Wee Hours,” a perfect way to start an evening where the setlist was anyone’s guess. The first original of the night, “Push On ‘Til the Day” would follow, and when the horns stepped out into the light, the crowd roared with approval. “Push On” segued neatly into “Tube Top Flop” (later Tube Top Wobble), and then the emotion-heavy “Sunday Morning” (later “Ether Sunday”).

    trey anastasio landmark theatre

    “Mozambique” was raucous, a funky tune with a big band-meets-Salsa sound; the prize in the early versions of these new compositions was how they allowed for room to improvise both individually and collectively. Althought not played this night, “Last Tube” would serve the same purpose in 2001 for TAB’s cohesiveness.

    The first Phish cover of the night, “Gotta Jibboo” included Trey’s signature ‘whale call‘ making an appearance early in the song and continuing on a loop as the band found a groove to tuck into for nearly 12 minutes. In the final two minutes of “Jibboo,” listen closely and you can hear the band hinting at the song to follow, “Burlap Sack and Pumps,” soon to be a funky fan favorite.

    To close the set, Trey dispatched the band and brought out his acoustic guitar for “Guyute.” With the audience whistling along, the attention focused on the Bad Lieutenant sitting center stage.

    trey anastasio landmark theatre

    After a 43-minute set break, Set 2 began with a snare beat that perked ears up, signaling the start of Bob Dylan’s “Rainy Day Woman #12 & #35,” which the audience ate up and sang along to. An 18-minute “Sand” followed, with horns chiming in and Trey on keys, both soon to be staples of TAB shows.

    The Band’s “It Makes No Difference” felt especially touching, as did Bob Marley’s “Mellow Mood,” a cover debuted by Phish just a few months prior in Albany, and which Trey admitted the band had only practiced once prior to the show. Dedicated to sound engineer Paul Languedoc, “Happy Coffee Song,” off Trey’s initial solo album One Man’s Trash, stayed true to the original recording and worked nicely for the larger band format.

    Listen below, and if “Nothing But an E Thing” sounds familiar, that’s because it eventually came to be known as “Pebbles and Marbles,” debuted here as a fully instrumental piece, with horns taking turns on what amounts to the current “Pebbles and Marbles” intro section.

    Rounding out Set 2 was another One Man’s Trash track, “At the Gazebo,” later outfitted for performance with orchestras and string quartets, and “Drifting,” which included band intros, notably for Tony “the Meaning of Life” Markellis. An encore of Billy Preston’s “Will It Go Round in Circles” would close the night, one that saw the start of Trey’s next musical venture, one that continues to evolve and grow, 20 years later.

    Listen to a recording of the show here.

    Trey Anastasio Band, Landmark Theatre, Syracuse, NY – February 22, 2001

    Set 1: In the Wee Wee Hours [1], Push On ‘Til the Day > Tube Top Flop, Ether Sunday, Mozambique, Gotta Jibboo, Burlap Sack and Pumps, Guyute [2]

    Set 2: Rainy Day Women #12 & 35[1], Sand, It Makes No Difference, Mellow Mood[1], Happy Coffee Song [3], Nothing But an ‘E’ Thing[3], At the Gazebo [4], Drifting

    Encore: Will It Go Round in Circles

    [1] TAB debut.
    [2] Trey solo acoustic.
    [3] Debut.
    [4] Trey acoustic.
    This show at the Landmark Theatre features the debuts of Happy Coffee Song and Nothing But an ‘E’ Thing, and the Trey Anastasio Band debuts of In the Wee Wee Hours, Rainy Day Women #12 and 35, and Mellow Mood. Gotta Jibboo contained Burlap Sack and Pumps teases. Trey performed Guyute solo acoustic. The Happy Coffee Song was dedicated to sound engineer Paul Languedoc. At the Gazebo also featured Trey acoustic.

    strangefolk armory high feb 2001

    After the show, fans headed out into the cold night around Downtown Syracuse, with plenty of bars and restaurants to choose from. Over at Armory High (also known as Styleen’s Rhythm Palace) Strangefolk was playing a post-show to a packed crowd. Trey stopped by around 12:15-12:30am, and joined the band for a jam in the song “Neighbor” before taking off. Give a listen here and read below for Strangefolk guitarist Jon Trafton as he recalls the night.

    That was such a fun night. The story behind Trey’s sit in is that a good friend of ours was Trey’s daughters’ nanny for several years around that time, and she put the bug in his ear leading up to that night. TAB was playing in Syracuse and the timing worked out perfectly because he was in a theater, so his show ended around 11 pm. We were in a bar with a 1 or 2 am curfew so it just lined up. We knew he might come by, but it was one of those things where we weren’t expecting it to happen. It was cool to look up mid-song and see him standing by the side door. I think we were already into our song “Neighbor,” which has a nice open jam section, so I waved him on. (Guitarist Luke) Patchen graciously switched to acoustic so Trey could play his Fender Strat, and off we went. My recall of it was that we stayed in kind of a mellow groove. I was sort of hoping we would launch into the stratosphere but we had a nice little floaty thing going for a little while. Then, just like he appeared, he was off again into the night.

    Jon Trafton, Strangefolk
    Strangefolk guitarist Luke Patchen Montgomery performing at Armory High, February 22, 2001. Photo/clipping via The Daily Orange

    Although Trey was only on stage with Strangefolk for a few minutes, the memory and record of that night is one fans and band members alike have not forgotten. After the jam in “Neighbor,” Strangefolk worked into a “Norwegian Wood” jam, as Trafton puts it, “a way of saying, ‘Wow, that happened, and now he’s gone, this bird has flown.’” That tip of the hat from Strangefolk saw Trey take off into the night and head downstate for the next night’s show at Roseland Ballroom in New York City.

  • The National Jazz Museum in Harlem Announces Online Museum Access Through Google Arts and Culture

    Beginning on February 18, 2021, the National Jazz Museum in Harlem is available for anybody in the world to visit virtually on the Google Arts and Culture platform.

    Google Arts and Culture harlem
    The National Jazz Museum in Harlem

    The free, virtual tour allows viewers to experience videos and high-resolution pictures of jazz artifacts from the Museum’s collections as a part of the Google Arts & Culture Black History Month project.

    “Jazz was born in New Orleans but spent a lot of time growing up in Harlem,” says award winning bandleader Christian McBride who, with award winning bandleader Jon Batiste, serves as National Jazz Museum in Harlem (NJMH) Artistic Director. The Black History and Culture project celebrates and recognizes Black creatives. NJMH joins over 80 partners on the platform with their own expertise and storytelling about Black history and jazz.

    “Jazz music is a centerpiece of Black history, culture and art,” said Simon Delacroix, US Lead for Google Arts & Culture. “During Black History Month, we’re proud to welcome the National Jazz Museum in Harlem to the Google Arts and Culture platform. Now everyone can experience the magic of the genre and the artists who created it.”

    The Museum wishes to reopen its doors to the public for the indelible, energetic performances and captivating history contained in its walls. Executive Director Tracey Hyter-Suffern says that “During the pandemic we have seen the effect on the jazz community and vital role this music and the arts, in general, play in anchoring us. We are a gathering space for jazz artists, educators, scholars and the community. Jazz engages us with each other. Jazz is history you can feel. It’s physical. The Museum is physical. It’s a place, in Harlem, where the community can connect, renew and celebrate.”

    Google Arts and Culture harlem
    Outside the National Jazz Museum in Harlem

    The pandemic has had a severe, disastrous impact on Black and other communities of color. Black, Latino, and senior jazz artists and performers are among the highest risk categories, and many have sadly passed away during this time. This makes it especially critical to share and celebrate the history and legacy of jazz, the uniquely American art form. The Museum serves as a force to keep jazz and its message alive and its artists working, never letting the passion and importance of it fade.

    Inspired by news of the Museum’s partnership with Google Arts & Culture, the Ella Fitzgerald Charitable Foundation has offered to match every dollar contributed to the National Jazz Museum in Harlem during Black History Month up to $5,000. To contribute, visit .

  • Revisit 1930s Jazz from Hickory House

    Where else can you get a steak and jazz performances all in one spot? Step back nearly 90 years and visit Hickory House.

    A New York jazz club located on West 52nd Street, Hickory House was opened in 1933 by John Popkin and was a swinging venue and a great spot to grab cocktails and dinner before a show.

    Hickory House

    Located in a stretch of midtown that was crowded with jazz clubs in the 1940s and 1950s, Hickory House stood out because they also had a branch in Miami Beach, as seen on the menu cover.

    Hickory House
    Vintage menu – source

    With the 18th Amendment repealed in 1933, post-prohibition New York City hit the bars and drank without abandon, and the cheap prices for the time show it.

    Hickory House
    drink menu – source

    The music from the club is somewhat lost to time, but we know that Marian McPartland, as well as the Jimmy McPartland Sextet performed at Hickory House, as well as Hot Lips Page, Zutty Singleton and Jutta Hipp.

    In 2014, NPR profiled Hickory House Trio, a 1950s group of Marian McPartland, Bill Crow and Joe Morello, the latter of whom was part of a reunion session in 1990. Morello fielded offers from both Benny Goodman and Tommy Dorsey, but ultimately went on to work with a small group taking a new direction in jazz led by Dave Brubeck, notably on his “Take Five.”

    NPR notes that during the 1950s when McPartland and company were playing the Hickory House, jazz musicians including Duke Ellington, Billy Strayhorn, Oscar Pettiford and Thelonious Monk, would stop by the club for a meal and to watch the band. Some would even sit in with the trio, and after coaxing, Ellington might join them on the bandstand (it didn’t hurt that he shared a publicist with the club.)

    Although all trace of Hickory House is gone, it continued to be in operation at least until 1964. See more images of the venue, and what 52nd Street looks like now, at JAZZ LIVES.

    A similarly named venue, The Hickory Log, located on 47th St., and known simply as Lou Terrassi’s. also hosted jazz performances. While the two venues share a name, they do not seem to be related, and a connection between the two venues is unable to be discerned.

    One recording from The Hickory Log, made available by JAZZ LIVES, provides a glance at a half-hour broadcast recorded at the lost venue. With host Aime Gauvin, a.k.a. “Dr. Jazz,” featuring musicians from the Jimmy McPartland Sextet: McPartland (cornet), Dicky Wells (trombone), Cecil Scott (clarinet), Joe Sullivan (piano), Walter Page (string bass), George Wettling (drums) and Marian McPartland (piano).

    Hickory House
    Hickory House, 1937

    The band is introduced by Leonard Feather, who chats with both McPartlands, amid serene ambiance that is comparable to Central Plaza or Stuyvesant Casino at the time. Listen closely and you’ll hear the crash of dishes, as the stage and kitchen were located near each other.

    Performances on Jazz Club U.S.A. from 1952 include “Love Is Just Around The Corner,” “Tin Roof Blues,” “Embraceable You,” “Baby Won’t You Please Come Home,” and “Sweet Georgia Brown.”

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