Village Jazz Shop, anybody remember this store?

[Dmitry]

...but passed by many times, as I used to have dinners with my dates at the Tanti Baci downstairs many times from 1997 till I somehow got married. VJS closed about 5 or 6 years ago and I never managed to step foot in it.

What was it like?

[brownie]

Yes, I remember the shop. Tried to visit the place but every time I went there, found it closed

[skeith]

You talking about that place that was on West 10th around 6th Ave or thereabouts?

IT was a tiny place with a pretty sad selection of new and used cds, they may have had some Lps but I wasn't looking for those.

After one visit, I never felt a desire to return.

[Guest akanalog]

it was usually closed, but i do remember it was open once and i bought lonnie smith's "drives" there.

nothing too great...the name promised more than it delivered.

plus, as said many times here...it was never open.

[robviti]

thanks for jogging my memory, dmitry. it must have been around ten years ago on one of my early jazz trips to the city. it was during the winter and the snow was coming down pretty hard. i was walking in the village and i came across this little jazz shop. i don't recall if i bought anything, but i remember looking through a lot of old vinyl and feeling rather nostalgic. i never could remember the name of that place, until now. i guess i was quite lucky to have found it open.

here's an excerpt i found from a short article called Bebopping the Night Away in New York City by Gordon Polatnick, a nyc tour guide specializing in jazz tours:

Right across 7th Ave. from Smalls at 163 W10th is the jazz shop that would be king. With no set hours of operation, the tiny Village Jazz Shop [now closed] is the place where musicians and patrons mingle among stacks of cds, vintage lps, books, T-shirts, and a collection of appropriate art. Owner and jazz raconteur Russ Musto has a special room dedicated to his heroic rare lp collection which is opened by appointment only -- made in person. He runs the store as an indulgence, stating that he'd be embarrassed to live in a city that didn't have a store like his. It's a one of kind place which graces you with the intangible benefits of mom and pop authenticity.

[robviti]

btw, gordon polatnick runs bigapplejazz.com, which now has a brick-and-mortar operation in Harlem at

2236 7th ave (131st/132nd streets). anyone know anything about this guy or the place? here's the link: bigapplejazz

[Dmitry]

Good. At least now I'm not sorry I never went there.