Tag: Carnegie Hall

Chicago at Carnegie Hall Complete’ Deluxe Edition Coming Soon

In honor of the 50th anniversary of Chicago’s historic 1971 concerts, the band will release all eight Carnegie Hall shows in their entirety for the first time. Chicago at Carnegie Hall Complete will be accessible on July 16.

Fifty years ago, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees Chicago became the first non-classical group to perform six nights in a row at Carnegie Hall. Between April 5 and 10, 1971, the band played and recorded eight shows at the celebrated venue. Performance highlights from those shows were featured on the band’s first live album, Chicago at Carnegie Hall. This quadruple LP of theirs reached #3 on the Billboard 200, was certified platinum, and remained Chicago’s best-selling live album.

Known as the “rock band with horns,” Chicago is one of the longest-running and best-selling groups. They have won countless awards over the years, not limited to two Grammy Awards, 11 Number One singles, five Number One albums, and a Lifetime Achievement Award. Additionally, Chicago was the first American band to ever chart albums in Billboard’s Pop Top 40 in six consecutive decades.

Chicago at Carnegie Hall Complete includes memorabilia that commemorates the iconic event. The collection consists of replicas of the three posters that accompanied the original vinyl release. Also included are images of the original concert program, tickets, and other memorabilia from the historic event. Also included with the 16-disc set is a 28-page booklet illustrated with photos from the concerts. Alongside this will be new liner notes with contributions from Lee Loughnane, archivist Jeff Magid, writer/producer David Wild, and comedian/Chicago fanatic Jimmy Pardo.

Lee Loughnane, Chicago founding member, and trumpeter teamed up with engineer Tim Jessup to develop this work. The two spent nearly a year going through more than 40 concert tapes and remastered each concert in the studio. Their dedication led to the development of the eight shared shows. The performances featured contributions from every band member, including guitar work from Terry Kath, vocals by Kath, Robert Lamm, and Peter Cetera. Also featured are memorable work by Loughnane, James Pankow, Walt Prazaider, and Danny Seraphine’s jazz-influenced drumming.

Chicago at Carnegie Hall Complete will be available shortly and can be preordered exclusively here.

April 12, 2021
Michael Dorf Presents Carnegie Hall Livestream Show

Michael Dorf, Owner of City Winery, will present “The Best of Music ‘The Music of’ 2004-2020” live stream concert on April 15 from Carnegie Hall.

In 1986 Dorf founded the Knitting Factory, a venue in New York City celebrating independent music. He managed to make the Knitting Factory an international success by expanding to Europe and Asia with tours, record deals and more. His relationships with Apple, Intel, MCI and Bell Atlantic made him a pioneer for producing music on the web.

Dorf left the Knitting Factory and worked on the Carnegie Hall concert fundraising series, founded a Hebrew School and ventured into winemaking. In 2008 combined his love for winemaking and music and founded City Winery. It became notorious as it is the city’s first winery, restaurant, music venue and space for private events. The company is now in six different states and Washington D.C.

Michael Dorf Presents’ began in 2004 and became an annual Carnegie Hall Tribute Series called Music of. The fundraising series honored many major legends throughout the years including Aretha Franklin, Prince, David Bowie and much more. Through these concerts, they raised over $1.5 million and donated to organizations dedicated to music education for children.

With COVID-19 precautions still in effect, Michael Dorf Presents’ “The Best of Music ‘The Music of’ 2004-2020” will be virtual this year. The show will be live streaming from Carnegie Hall with a lineup of 21 artists including Billy Gibbons from ZZ Top, Patti Smith, and Glen Hansard to name a few.

Tickets for the live stream are $25 and there are also some VIP packages available. Viewers can pay $50 for entry to the live stream and for a signed poster or $50 for entry and a chance to talk to Michael Dorf on zoom before the show. There is also the $1,500 Give more donation package which includes entry to 20 upcoming streams and 100 percent of the donation going towards the donors chosen music education program.

“The Best of Music ‘The Music of’ of 2004-2020” is presented by City Winery and is powered by concert streaming platform, Mandolin. It streams on April 15 and begins at 8 p.m. Tickets are available for purchase on the City Winery website.

March 19, 2021
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.

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.

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.

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 47^th 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, 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.”

February 21, 2021

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