A Jazz club in New York City that opened in 1949. The original Birdland, located on Broadway, a few blocks west of 52nd Street in the '40s, was named for Charles "Yardbird" Parker. For 15 years, the club’s survival formula was double and triple bills, commencing at 9 p.m.; sometimes lasting ‘til dawn. "Birdland was both a cultural vantage point and a barometer of trends where all the big names in jazz have performed".
As a point of interest, when the club first opened, they actually had birds in cages. But the birds quickly expired because of the voluminous amounts of cigarette smoke. The cages were kept for a time, empty. Too bad the warning was not heeded...
See
Musicians who played Birdland,
Charlie Parker
Other famous Jazz Clubs in the New York City area include:
A 1979 piece of music written by
Joe Zawinul of
Weather Report, and subsequently covered by many people including
The Manhattan Transfer,
Maynard Fergusun
Source:
http://www.birdlandjazz.com/
Last Updated 06.14.03