Dizzy’s
Club Coca-Cola, named after jazz trumpeter John Birks “Dizzy”
Gillespie, is located at Columbus Circle and West 60th
Street in Manhattan, New York City. As part of the Jazz at Lincoln
Center performing arts complex on the fifth floor of the Time-Warner
Center, Dizzy’s Club opened in October of 2004 just about in
conjunction with what would have been Dizzy Gillespie’s 87th
birthday. Photo by Jenifer Samuel
This
140 seat jazz room provides an intimate setting for the music due to
an expanse of wood walls and a wood floor. The walls are curved with
the exception of the bandstand wall which features a floor to ceiling
window overlooking Central Park and the lights of Fifth Avenue in the
distance. On a moonlit, New York City night the view is
breathtaking. The bandstand is equipped with a Steinway and can
comfortably fit a quintet if necessary. The bar is located on the
back wall along with counterspace and stools along the rest of the
wood walls. Tables fill the rest of the room. There is no bad sight
line in the room and the acoustics are superb.
The
club has a no smoking policy and serves beverages and food on a seven
day a week basis. The club has a full menu with some interestingly
named dishes that reflect the diversity of jazz and a connection with
places that were touched by Dizzy’s music.
The
music is diversified, contemporary jazz. Instrumental duos, trios,
quartets and quintets perform, as well as vocalists. The month of
September 2005 featured a special Women In Jazz event for
twenty-five nights. Some of the best known female jazz
instrumentalists and vocalists performed. The event was well
received and there is the possibility of WOMEN IN JAZZ
becoming an annual feature.
There
are two sets per night (7:30 PM and 9:30 PM) with additional late
sets on Friday and Saturday (11:30 PM). Late night sets, called
After Hours, occur nightly at 11 PM (12:30 AM on Fridays and
Saturdays). The program on Mondays is called UPSTARTS! and
features younger student jazz musicians from area college/university
programs playing with well known rhythm sections.
There
is a $30 cover charge for music from Tuesday through Sunday. On
Mondays, there is a $15 music charge for UPSTARTS!. The AFTER
HOURS set cover is $10. There is no additional music charge for
patrons who stay after the last artist set. Students with valid IDs
pay $15 for the 9:30 PM set on Sunday, $10 for Monday’s 7:30 PM and
9:30 PM sets, $15 for Tuesday and Wednesday 9:30 PM, and $5 for the
AFTER HOURS set.
There
is a standard food and beverage minimum of $10 at the tables and a $5
minimum at the bar. Food and beverage minimum applies to student
rates.
This
“new kid on the block” is a very classy addition to the list of
New York’s famous jazz clubs. According to the club’s manager,
Roland Chassange, “I can tell you an overwhelming number of artists
who performed here have marveled about the acoustics. So much so,
many of the artists return time and again to hear other performers
because they like the natural acoustics of the room. The audience is
also blown away, not only by the sound of the room, but the whole
experience. We have great music, great food and the best view of any
jazz club in the city. Very few clubs have achieved this trifecta.”
Dizzy’s
Club Coca-Cola is fast becoming the place to hang out and hear
good jazz in a relaxed but elegant environment.
|