Radio LBB: Live At the Village Vanguard
Cem Bayazıt, senior creative at amp, shares a playlist of recordings from the Village Vanguard
Jazz has many sacred temples, but when it comes to live recordings, few are as iconic as the Village Vanguard in the West Village of New York City.
Founded in 1935 by Max Gordon, later run by his wife Lorraine Gordon, and now overseen by their daughter Deborah Gordon, the small basement club has remained one of jazz’s most celebrated spaces. Its intimate atmosphere and open-minded crowd – once described by Cannonball Adderley as 'the real jazz audience' - have made it the backdrop for some of the genre’s most pivotal moments.
When Sonny Rollins released A Night at the Village Vanguard in 1958, he helped establish a long tradition of live recordings from the club, many of which later became legendary. These include the final recordings of bassist Scott LaFaro before his untimely death at the age of 25, landmark residencies by John Coltrane, and Dexter Gordon’s celebrated return to the United States after years spent living in Europe.
Today, performing at the Village Vanguard is considered a rite of passage among jazz musicians. For this Radio LBB episode, we wanted to highlight some of our favourite performances that were recorded at this landmark club.
