Birdland

It was Charlie Parker, familiarly known to his fans and fellow musicians as “Bird,”, who was the dynamic creative personality and genius of the alto saxophone who served as the inspiration for Birdland. Beginning on Broadway in 1949, it moved Uptown in 1986, then the Upper West Side, before settling into Midtown where now The New York Times calls it “close to perfection for serious fans and musicians.” It offers top-flight jazz in a world class setting, good sight lines and acoustics, elbow room, and an award-winning menu featuring American cuisine with a Cajun flair. Birdland’s booking history reads like a who’s who of jazz: Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Thelonious Monk, Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Bud Powell, Stan Getz, Lester Young, Erroll Garner, and many, many others. In addition, Birdland is home to such popular musical events as the Umbria Jazz Festival in NYC and the Annual Django Reinhardt NY Festival. The club itself is an essential part of New York jazz history.