Iridium Jazz Club
Encyclopedia
The Iridium Jazz Club is a jazz club
located on Broadway
in New York City
. The club hosts weekly performances by John Colianni
, and also featured weekly performances by Les Paul
for nearly fifteen years.
. That first location, known as the "Iridium Room Jazz Club", was a basement room below the Merlot restaurant across from Lincoln Center; it initially booked "traditional, swinging jazz musicians of the second or third level"; Ronald Sturm, the club's manager and booker, told The New York Times
his goal was to "hire people like the trumpeter Marcus Printup, or Cyrus Chestnut
or Carl Allen
"— the goal was to give a chance to "younger, mainstream
musicians while still booking the legends." In the opening months of its existence, local, unknown jazz groups and solo artists were given the opportunity to perform in front of an audience The original location underwent three renovations, then in August 2001 the club moved to its current location at 1650 Broadway on 51st Street.
Unlike many of New York City's jazz clubs, it has remained open to the present day, with the help of some major renovations to keep up with the number of attendees. There have been many major releases recorded live at Iridium, from artists like Kenny Garrett
, Jacky Terrasson
, Charlie Haden
, Kenny Barron
, Benny Carter
, The Jazz Messengers, Sweets Edison
, and Clark Terry
.
Beginning in 1995 and continuing until his death at age 94, guitar legend Les Paul
performed weekly at the club.
magazine, "the Iridium does its best to recreate the halcyon days
of the 1920s and 1930s. Sure, the air’s no longer smoky, the décor’s a shadow of what it was and you’re sitting knee-to-knee with the European
tourists at the next table, but true jazz aficionados overlook those minor details to hear sets played by some of the best-known names in the biz: vocalist Jimmy Scott
, guitarist
Mike Stern
, saxophonist Pharoah Sanders
, and the Mingus
Legacy bands, to name a few."
Jazz club
A jazz club is a venue where the primary entertainment is the performance of live jazz music. Jazz clubs have been in large rooms in the eras of Orchestral jazz and big band jazz and when its popularity as a dance music was common...
located on Broadway
Broadway (New York City)
Broadway is a prominent avenue in New York City, United States, which runs through the full length of the borough of Manhattan and continues northward through the Bronx borough before terminating in Westchester County, New York. It is the oldest north–south main thoroughfare in the city, dating to...
in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. The club hosts weekly performances by John Colianni
John Colianni
John Colianni is an American Jazz pianist, soloist, band leader, recording artist and accompanist. Recorded John Colianni Blues-O-Matic and Live at the Maybeck for Concord Records. Two Three other records followed, the latest being "Johnny Chops," recorded with his quintet...
, and also featured weekly performances by Les Paul
Les Paul
Lester William Polsfuss —known as Les Paul—was an American jazz and country guitarist, songwriter and inventor. He was a pioneer in the development of the solid-body electric guitar which made the sound of rock and roll possible. He is credited with many recording innovations...
for nearly fifteen years.
History
The club opened in January 1994 at its original location, at 63rd Street and 8th Avenue, with a minimal cover chargeCover charge
At bars and nightclubs, or restaurants with live entertainment a flat fee for entry, sometimes known as a cover charge, is made, in addition to payment for food and drink...
. That first location, known as the "Iridium Room Jazz Club", was a basement room below the Merlot restaurant across from Lincoln Center; it initially booked "traditional, swinging jazz musicians of the second or third level"; Ronald Sturm, the club's manager and booker, told The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
his goal was to "hire people like the trumpeter Marcus Printup, or Cyrus Chestnut
Cyrus Chestnut
Cyrus Chestnut is an American jazz pianist, songwriter, and producer. In 2006, Josh Tyrangiel, music critic for Time Magazine, wrote: "What makes Chestnut the best jazz pianist of his generation is a willingness to abandon notes and play space." Chestnut enjoys mixing styles and resists being...
or Carl Allen
Carl Allen (drummer)
Carl Allen is an American jazz drummer.He has worked with a wide variety of musicians, including Freddie Hubbard, Jackie McLean, George Coleman and Phil Woods. and the Benny Green Trio....
"— the goal was to give a chance to "younger, mainstream
Mainstream
Mainstream is, generally, the common current thought of the majority. However, the mainstream is far from cohesive; rather the concept is often considered a cultural construct....
musicians while still booking the legends." In the opening months of its existence, local, unknown jazz groups and solo artists were given the opportunity to perform in front of an audience The original location underwent three renovations, then in August 2001 the club moved to its current location at 1650 Broadway on 51st Street.
Unlike many of New York City's jazz clubs, it has remained open to the present day, with the help of some major renovations to keep up with the number of attendees. There have been many major releases recorded live at Iridium, from artists like Kenny Garrett
Kenny Garrett
Kenny Garrett is a Grammy Award-winning American post bop jazz saxophonist and flautist who gained fame in his youth as a member of the Duke Ellington Orchestra and of Miles Davis's band. He has since pursued a critically acclaimed solo career...
, Jacky Terrasson
Jacky Terrasson
Jacques-Laurent Terrasson is a jazz pianist better known as Jacky Terrasson.He was born in Germany, but his mother was American and his father French. He studied at the Berklee College of Music before playing in Chicago and New York City clubs. He gained increased attention on winning the 1993...
, Charlie Haden
Charlie Haden
Charles Edward Haden is an American jazz musician. He is a double bassist, probably best known for his long association with saxophonist Ornette Coleman...
, Kenny Barron
Kenny Barron
Kenny Barron , is an American jazz pianist. He is the younger brother of tenor saxophonist Bill Barron, and known for his lyrical, adaptive style.-Biography:...
, Benny Carter
Benny Carter
Bennett Lester Carter was an American jazz alto saxophonist, clarinetist, trumpeter, composer, arranger, and bandleader. He was a major figure in jazz from the 1930s to the 1990s, and was recognized as such by other jazz musicians who called him King...
, The Jazz Messengers, Sweets Edison
Sweets Edison
Harry "Sweets" Edison , born in Columbus, Ohio, was an American jazz trumpeter and member of the Count Basie Orchestra.-Biography:He spent his early childhood in Kentucky, where he was introduced to music by an uncle...
, and Clark Terry
Clark Terry
Clark Terry is an American swing and bop trumpeter, a pioneer of the fluegelhorn in jazz, educator, NEA Jazz Masters inductee, and recipient of the 2010 Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award...
.
Beginning in 1995 and continuing until his death at age 94, guitar legend Les Paul
Les Paul
Lester William Polsfuss —known as Les Paul—was an American jazz and country guitarist, songwriter and inventor. He was a pioneer in the development of the solid-body electric guitar which made the sound of rock and roll possible. He is credited with many recording innovations...
performed weekly at the club.
Critical response
According to New YorkNew York (magazine)
New York is a weekly magazine principally concerned with the life, culture, politics, and style of New York City. Founded by Milton Glaser and Clay Felker in 1968 as a competitor to The New Yorker, it was brasher and less polite than that magazine, and established itself as a cradle of New...
magazine, "the Iridium does its best to recreate the halcyon days
Halcyon Days
Halcyon Days is a collaborative album by the ambient musicians Steve Roach, Stephen Kent and Kenneth Newby. This album was recorded in the period from December 17 to 28, 1995...
of the 1920s and 1930s. Sure, the air’s no longer smoky, the décor’s a shadow of what it was and you’re sitting knee-to-knee with the European
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
tourists at the next table, but true jazz aficionados overlook those minor details to hear sets played by some of the best-known names in the biz: vocalist Jimmy Scott
Jimmy Scott
Jimmy Scott , aka "Little" Jimmy Scott, is an American jazz vocalist famous for his unusually high contralto voice which is due to Kallmann's syndrome, a very rare genetic condition. The condition stunted his growth at four feet eleven inches until, at age 37, he grew another 8 inches to the...
, guitarist
Guitarist
A guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar while singing.- Versatility :The guitarist controls an extremely...
Mike Stern
Mike Stern
Mike Stern is an American jazz guitarist. After playing for a few years with Blood, Sweat & Tears, he landed a gig with Billy Cobham and then broke through with Miles Davis' comeback band from 1981 to 1983, and again in 1985. Since then, he launched a solo career, releasing more than a dozen albums...
, saxophonist Pharoah Sanders
Pharoah Sanders
Pharoah Sanders is a Grammy Award–winning American jazz saxophonist.Saxophonist Ornette Coleman once described him as "probably the best tenor player in the world." Emerging from John Coltrane's groups of the mid-60s Sanders is known for his overblowing, harmonic, and multiphonic techniques on...
, and the Mingus
Charles Mingus
Charles Mingus Jr. was an American jazz musician, composer, bandleader, and civil rights activist.Mingus's compositions retained the hot and soulful feel of hard bop and drew heavily from black gospel music while sometimes drawing on elements of Third stream, free jazz, and classical music...
Legacy bands, to name a few."