Trip to NYC

[sheldonm]

Hi all,

I will be making a trip to NYC during the first full week of May and am looking for any help I can get. I will probably hit many jazz clubs and will stay somewhere in Manhattan. Any dos/don't I should adhere to. As it get's closer, I'll look for recommendations on food, getting around, music stores, museums, galleries to see and will check the websites for shows while we are there.

Interested in any thoughts any of you may have. If anyone NYorkers want to get together for a night or lunch one day, I would be into that as well.

Preceding the trip, I have been invited to photograph Joe Segal's 80th Birthday bash as the Symphony Center in Chicago, which will include Ira Sullivan, Yusef Lateef, Jimmy Heath, Junior Mance, Von Freeman, Rufus Reid, Larry Gray and Tootie Heath.....will be an absolute blast. Jazz Krow, Sal and Jim Neumann will be there as well.

Thanks!

m~

[Chuck Nessa]

Please provide details on the Segal "party". I'd like to attend.

[catesta]

Obviously try and book your hotel ASAP. The rates are always high, but will only get higher during that time of year.

If possible look for something in mid-town.

Another option is to check some of the vacation rental services online. You can sometimes find great deals on very nice apartments in Manahttan that are rented by the day or week. Rates will be better than most hotels, considering what you are getting.

Example

Another

It would be cool to hang, so let me know after you finalize plans.

Edited January 19, 2006 by catesta

[sheldonm]

Please provide details on the Segal "party". I'd like to attend.

Chuck,

Joe's bash at the Chicago Symphony Center is Friday April 28th at 8:00. Band will include the players I mentioned. There is also pre-concert Q&A with Joe and some other Chicago jazz guys, but don't know who at this time. Tickets are currently on sale through the CSO website. Tickets for the pre-concert deal are free but you must call for tickets. There is also a birthday party at Joe's Bebop Cafe on Navy Pier (invitation only). I did get an invite but it's on the Monday I'll be in NYC; it kills me to miss it but I hope someone will make some nice photos.

Because this show was part of the "Jazz at the Symphony" Series, many of the seats were already glommed up. I did manage to get a few tickets not too far from the stage. None of the seats are really that bad; I'm sure you have probably been there before. I have credentials to shoot the show but they make you shoot from the wings, which is not ideal but better than a "rap in the nuts with a hoe handle"!!!

m~

Let me know if you'll make it, it would be great to get together before the show!

[Joe G]

Damn! We have a gig that day.

[Chuck Nessa]

Damn! We have a gig that day.

Musicians are famous for not showing up.

[kh1958]

I usually use this site to book a hotel in New York.

http://www.quikbook.com/

For information about who is playing where, I prefer Time Out New York and All About Jazz (this is available on allaboutjazz.com), supplemented by the Village Voice.

For clubs, in New York you should usually call to make a reservation.

If you stay in the Times Square area, both Birdland and the Iridium are in walking distance. I like both clubs but they are a bit expensive. I've had better experiences at both clubs on weeknights. On Tuesday nights, the Mingus Big Band plays at the Iridium.

If you stay in the Murray Hill area, Jazz Standard and the Kitano are in walking distance. I really like both of these clubs. Jazz Standard is probably the friendliest of the major clubs. Kitano is a very intimate bar/club in a Japanese owned hotel.

In Greenwich Village, there is of course a relatively small area on or near Seventh Avenue where there are five clubs close together--the Village Vanguard (my favorite of course), Fat Cat, Small's, 55 Bar (Mike Stern plays many Mondays and Wednesdays), and Sweet Rhythm (used to be Sweet Basil).

A block or so over, the Cornelia Street Cafe sometimes has jazz in its basement. Over on Sixth Avenue, there's the Blue Note (not my favorite but sometimes one can't resist who's playing there).

A bit further downtown, there's the Jazz Gallery, which has music Thursday to Sunday. This is more like a small concert hall, and I really like it. (Roy Hargrove seems to play there alot.)

It's been a number of years it seems since I've found anything I wanted to hear on my visits at the Knitting Factory.

[sheldonm]

Thanks guys, I appreciate the info. Hopefully some of our other New Yorkers will chime in as well. I'll revive this as it gets a little closer.

Mark

[Parkertown]

I'm jealous...have fun, bud!

[sheldonm]

I'm jealous...have fun, bud!

....you're always welcome to join us!!!!!

m~