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How The Big Apple Got Its Name

1920's era jazz musicians picked it up from stable guys and horseracing people from New Orleans who considered NY races and NY gigs to be where the big money was.  And since the winning horse, up for a big purse in NYC, can't get satisfied with big money itself, the lingo promised him a Big Apple.  So high paying New York City gigs and record dates were thought of as a "Big Apple" for musicians too.  A sports writer in those days, John Fitzpatrick, picked up on the lingo and called his column “Around the Big Apple.”  If you go to 54th and Broadway you will see that the city officially recognized him by renaming the corner where he lived, "Big Apple Corner."  There was a club called The Big Apple on the corner of 135th and 7th Ave (across the street from Small's Paradise). The corner was marked by a whimsical display of an upside-down apple announcing the location.  See these sites and more on a
Big Apple Jazz Tour.

Tour References
from a long list of
satisfied customers since 1997

We contributed to the July 7, 2009 NYTimes Article:
Mystery of the Big Apple Jazz Club Sign

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New York's Hottest Pianist
Jean-Michel Pilc

 

This is the online home of EZ's Woodshed up in Harlem, New York, USA...To get to EZ's you have to walk in the footsteps of Louis Armstrong, Billie Holiday, Miles Davis, Count Basie, Fats Waller, Charlie Parker, Jimmy Smith and all the jazz legends that hit this historic boulevard back in the days when it was simply known as THE STROLL;  We invite you to the epicenter of the jazz explosion that continues to knock us out today as it has since the beginning of syncopated time
EZ'S WOODSHED
up in Big Apple Jazz

MINTON'S PLAYHOUSE REOPENING

Private Jazz Tours
to New York's Hidden Jazz Haunts
Tour References

EZ's Fine Art Gallery
 

 Jazz Clubs Listings throughout New York City
 

Jazz Musicians of New York
 

Important Jazz Links and NYC Jazz Calendars
 

Jazz Internet Shopping
Chic and unique gifts
 

Big Apple Jazz Gift Certificates
 

Jazz Photo Gallery of Local Scene
 

Selected Jazz Club Reviews
for All About Jazz by Gordon Polatnick

Harlem's Tree of Hope

See our recent feature in ELMORE MAGAZINE - 2009

Woodshedding & The Jazz Tradition
By Paul Klemperer

Jazz Obituaries

Jazz Festivals

Big Apple Jazz / EZ's Woodshed in the Media

UNIQUE
BIG APPLE JAZZ
GIFTS

EZ'S WOODSHED
up in Big Apple Jazz

We are no longer a "bricks and mortar" operation, located on a historic strip of Harlem's Jazz District.  This street, once known throughout the jazz world as "The Corner," hosts the ghosts of Louie Armstrong, Fats Waller, Eubie Blake, Duke Ellington, Bird, Diz, and Miles, as well as Count Basie's Club, Well's Chicken and Waffles, Connie's Inn, Clark Monroe's Uptown House, Small's Paradise, the Lafayette Theater and legendary Tree of Hope.  Come up and see us sometime, we'll show you where Billie Holiday was discovered and where Bird used to jam in the 40's.  We are celebrating New York City Jazz both past and present with cd's recorded live in all the historic and current night spots; and we sell the city's only collection of indie cd's by our outstanding pool of local talent seen on the scene nightly in hidden jazz haunts along the Big Apple Jazz tour route. 
Call for info. Tel: (718) 606-8442. Let us show you around.

Rent Jazz DVD's
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The Big Apple Jazz Boutique and EZ's Woodshed Cafe
Now Closed

2236 Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Blvd.

 (131st/132nd Streets)

gordon@bigapplejazz.com

B/C or 2/3 train to 135th
M2 Bus to front of venue

Music Calendar

MAP

Email Gordon Polatnick's BigAppleJazz.com
New York City's Jazz Club Authority, and Harlem Jazz Day Club:
Tel: (718) 606-8442
New York City Jazz Clubs listed,
and Private Jazz Tours offered
to the core of the Big Apple's hidden jazz haunts. 
Visit our Harlem Jazz Day Club: EZ's Woodshed

The New York City Jazz Scene: 24 hours a day
See which artists' tracks are top rated this month

Closed for business July 2008:

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seen by 4000 NYC jazz fans per week.

Chic and unique gifts

Duke Ellington Coaster: $8.99 online
($7.00 in store)

Harlem Storefront Photo Mug: $13.99

Light switch cover: $12.99

 
Big Apple Jazz Baby Doll T: $24.00

and so much more

Tour Photos

Jazz Clubs in NY...Buy the book!

Thanks for visiting www.Bigapplejazz.com

Tour References
from a long list of satisfied customers since 1997

Our mission is to reinvigorate the jazz scene in NYC, by introducing fans to the more authentic and hidden jazz events that occur below the radar of most visitors. ~ Gordon Polatnick

We are also a receptive tour operator providing professional tour services for groups and families wishing to see all that New York has to offer.

Services Including:

• Enjoyable sight-seeing guides and tours
• Locally-favored restaurants
• Transportation solutions
• Fine and affordable hotel rooms
• Special events planning

NEW YORK CITY SIGHTSEEING
Guides and Services

Get in the Bag (or T-shirt or mug)
and see all the other Big Apple Jazz products and designs

Jazz Site Guide:

• Private NYC Jazz Club Tour Guide
  -- Gordon Polatnick will give you a private tour of NYC's hidden jazz haunts.
   
• NY Jazz Clubs Bible
  -- A hand-picked list of New York's only true jazz joints.  With link, phone and address and review and photo.
   
• Lower Manhattan Jazz Clubs
  -- A comprehensive,  linked list of venues most likely to book jazz music.

• Harlem Jazz Clubs

• Midtown Manhattan Jazz Clubs

• Upper East & Upper Westside Jazz Clubs

• Brooklyn/Queens/Bronx Jazz Clubs
   
• Best links
  -- What's happening tonight, this week, or next month in New York City jazz; and excellent links to the jazz world.

• Jazz Club Reviews
  -- A review of the current scene and a call to arms.

• Artists Pages
  -- NY area jazz musicians are welcomed to add their link.  Websites, web design and bigapplejazz.com email addresses available.

• Gallery of Photos.
  Exhibit features Harlem's current hidden jazz haunts.

• Shopping -- Recommended Books  and more to come.
  (Click here to view  Jazz DVDs)

• Festivals
  -- New York is itself a year round jazz festival, but here are some of the brand named festivals.

• Discounts
  -- Check here for an updated list of exclusive giveaways and discounted tickets to area jazz events.

• Obituaries
  -- Fuller Up, The Dead Musician Directory.  Updated notices of jazz and other musicians who've recently passed on.

• Email: Gordon Polatnick: Gordon@BigAppleJazz.com This site is just getting underway.  Email Gordon to find out about advertising, employment, and listings.