Village Vanguard

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Long-time jazz club

Place Details

Place Matters Profile

In February 2010, the Village Vanguard turned 75. It would be hard to find a jazz musician or fan anywhere in the world who does not know of or long to visit or play at this tiny club in the heart of Greenwich Village. The Vanguard occupies a triangular sliver of space on heavily trafficked Seventh Avenue South, next to a pizza parlor and below a nail salon. It has a big neon sign and a shabby awning. Inside, at the bottom of a precipitous, narrow flight of stairs there’s a low-ceilinged, wedge-shaped room with a stage at its tip. The walls are lined with photos of performers who played at the club and, to the right of the stage, there’s a mural with images of the awning, audience and artists. The mural has changed over time (the first depicted a rally in Union Square) but, consonant with the passions of the late Max Gordon (the founder and original owner),

In February 2010, the Village Vanguard turned 75. It would be hard to find a jazz musician or fan anywhere in the world who does not know of or long to visit or play at this tiny club in the heart of Greenwich Village. The Vanguard occupies a triangular sliver of space on heavily trafficked Seventh Avenue South, next to a pizza parlor and below a nail salon. It has a big neon sign and a shabby awning. Inside, at the bottom of a precipitous, narrow flight of stairs there’s a low-ceilinged, wedge-shaped room with a stage at its tip. The walls are lined with photos of performers who played at the club and, to the right of the stage, there’s a mural with images of the awning, audience and artists. The mural has changed over time (the first depicted a rally in Union Square) but, consonant with the passions of the late Max Gordon (the founder and original owner), his wife, Lorraine (the current owner) and the club’ steadfast supporters, the themes remain jazz and social justice.

No matter where you sit, the sound quality is pristine, the acoustics as perfect for live performance as for live recordings. That’s because of the stage’s all-important location at the point of the triangle. The Vanguard is one of several triangular lots that border Seventh Avenue South and they came about when, in 1914, the city sheared off the corners of buildings to make room for the subway. Between sets you can hear the muffled rumble of the 1, 2, or 3 train going by but nothing interferes with the connection between musicians and their audience in this intimate space.

Not much has changed here over the years, although the smell of stale smoke has gone. Small round white tables are set close together throughout the room, which seats just 123 people. And then there’s the “Mingus Light.” Apparently, Charles Mingus in a moment of either pique or enthusiasm, lifted his bass and jammed it into the ceiling, making a hole. The hole is still there, but now it’s the Mingus Light. “We left the framework,” says Lorraine. She likes to keep things simple. For $35 dollars at the door you get a night of jazz and a coupon to cover the ten-dollar drink minimum. As for food, Lorraine notes on the Vanguard’s Web site: “We do not serve food. We haven’t served food here in twenty-five years. So if someone offers you a hamburger, check the expiration date.”

Lorraine is at the club every night of the week, just as Max used to be, embodying the appreciative, hospitable spirit that nurtured the careers of so many artists. Singers such as Leadbelly, Josh White, Pearl Bailey, Woody Guthrie, the Weavers. Comics–Wally Cox, Mort Sahl, Lenny Bruce, Woody Allen, Nichols and May. And, above all, the musicians who made the Vanguard the world’s pre-eminent jazz club. Dizzy Gillespie, Charles Mingus, Thelonious Monk, Dinah Washington, Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Betty Carter, Sonny Rollins, Dexter Gordon, Stan Getz, Gerry Mulligan, Bill Evans, and many more. In 1957 Gordon initiated the “Live from the Village Vanguard” recordings; there are more than a hundred albums in the series, most of which are still available.

Nominations

Originally opened by Max Gordon in 1934 as a venue for poets, Gordon soon decided to add music to the club's presentations. Being refused a cabaret license, Gordon was forced to move the club to its current location, a basement at 178 Seventh Avenue. The venue offered many styles of jazz, popular music, folk music, dancing and cabaret acts. But it wasn't until the 1950s, that the Village Vanguard made its name as one of New York's main jazz venues. The most significant of the venue's events were John Coltrane's many performances there, which resulted in some of his finest recordings and carried the club's name in their titles.