New York City jazz in the 1940s

The history of jazz has seen many cities and many eras influence this great art form. But few cities and eras have had an effect on the music like New York City had on jazz in the 1940s.  During this time, the music changed: the orchestral, big band sound was replaced by the smaller combo sound, which was symbolized by the rise of bebop.

Legendary jazz photographer William Gottlieb captured this period in a series of evocative photos that are now featured on the Library of Congress website. These images are both in black and white and color, but they are all a time capsule of jazz in a period when it was at its most influential and creative. Here are some of the great -- and some of the most obscure -- artists and images featured in Gottlieb's series:

1. Nat "King" Cole

Nat "King" Cole and (rear) guitarist Oscar Moore in New York City in 1947. (Photo by William Gottlieb)

Nat "King" Cole later became one of the more popular singers in the world. But in the 1940s, he was primarily seen as a pianist who sang with his popular jazz and rhythm and blues trio. He's seen in this photo recording one of his many hits for Capitol Records. He would maintain the trio until the early 1950s, when he became a singer only. Cole died of lung cancer in 1965.

2. 52nd Street

A rain-soaked, evocative 52nd Street in 1947. (Photo by William Gottlieb)

Artists like Nat "King" Cole performed on 52nd Street, a 1.9-mile throughfare traveling west to east across Midtown Manhattan. A short section of it was known as the city's center of jazz performance from the 1930s to the 1950s. Every major jazz artist peformed on this street -- and its where greats like Charlie Parker and Miles Davis got their starts. Most of the jazz clubs on this street were eliminated by urban renewal in the 1960s. The last remaining club, the 21 Club, was closed permanently after the rise of the Covid 19 pandemic in 2020.

3. Stan Kenton 

Stan Kenton (center in tan shirt) conducts his orchestra during rehearsals at Nico Studios in New York City in 1947. (Photo by William Gottlieb)

Stan Kenton was a pioneering modern big band leader, who  commissioned and promoted the works of many modern composer-arrangers. He started out as a conventional swing musician in the 1940s. But with the advance of bebop, Kenton also progressed in his style, hiring creative bebop musicians like Stan Getz and Conte Candoli. His efforts in encouraging moder composition set the stage for the concert band movement of the 1960s and '70s. Kenton would be a thriving, innovative leader until he passed away in Los Angeles in 1979.

4. Doris Day

Singer Doris Day performing at the Aquarium Nightclub in New York City in July 1947. (Photo by William P. Gottlieb)

Doris Day became known as one of Hollywood's most bankable superstars in the 1950s and 1960s. But she was only a singer and musician in the 1940s, when she was seen in the above photo, performing with the Les Brown band. Day was influenced by the style of Ella Fitzgerald, a performer Day worshipped. But by the late 1940s, she had moved to Hollywood, where she quickly embarked on a solo singing career and a movie career. Day died at the age of 97 in 2020.

5. Charlie Parker and Miles Davis

Charlie Parker (front) and Miles Davis (rear) performing at the Three Deuces Club in New York City in October 1947. (Photo by William Gottlieb)

Charlie Parker was perhaps the most innovative musician in jazz. Here he is seen with his protege, Miles Davis, performing on 52nd Street in New York, where he made his name as a brilliant improviser. Parker started in the big bands but was best known for his work as a small band artist. He would die in 1955, but Davis would become a major star in jazz for the next five decades, changing the music every decade.

6. Cat Anderson

Trumpeter Cat Anderson plays a solo in the Duke Ellington Orchestra during a nightclub performance at the Aquarium Night Club n New York City in 1947. (Photo by William Gottlieb)

William "Cat" Anderson was one of the jazz community's first high-note trumpeters in history. He is best know for his 25 years with the Duke Ellington Orchestra, where he starred from 1944 to 1971. He also played fro Lionel Hampton and others. His technique was unrivaled; he was one of the few trumpeters who could cleanly hit a high C.

 

7. Thelonious Monk 

 

Thelonius Monk playing on 52nd Street in New York in 1947. (Photo by William Gottlieb)

Jazz pianist Thelonious Monk was part of a modernist wave in the music that occured during the 1940s. He was aligned with the be-bop movement, although his original music touched on many genres of jazz.

8. Apollo Theatre

Harlem residents enter the Apollo Theatre in New York City in 1947. (Photo by William Gottlieb)

The Apollo Theatre remains one of the most vibrant entertainment halls featuring African-American entertainers. It first opened in 1934, when it featured primarily jazz and blues artists, along with movies. The venue began featuring rhythm and blues artists in the 1950s, and stopped its movie policy in the 1970s.

9. Louis Armstrong

 

 

 

 

 

 

My favorite multimedia websites

Tom Seaver at Shea Stadium, 1974 (Shelley S./Flicker)

I am a fan of many types of websites, but the ones that I like the most are the ones that have robust multimedia. One of my favorite website with multimedia is the New York Times presentation which looks at the history of the skyscraper. This was produced in 2013, but remains vital and current almost 10 years later. I also appreciate the New York Times presentation, "The 1619 Project". This elaborate webiste uses a combination of text, photos and videos to tell the story of how slavery continues to affect us to this day. I also like the work done on the page about the 1985 film "The Goonies" because it was so elaborate. This is correction. 

I'm also a big fan of the Chicago Tribune's Glass Plate photo galleries, which primarily consist of photos taken in the early 20th century. I also like the New York Times's multimedia gallery, because it displays the photos of some of the best photographers in the world.

The great Sarah Vaughn is one of the jazz scene's most immortal singers. Her rendition of "Misty" has hersinging in multiple registers James Brown is another great artist. His screams during "The Payback" are worth the price of admission. Check out this song here by Ty Dollar

The great Sarah Vaughn is a master storyteller. Her rendition of Misty has her singing in multiple registers

Wrigley Field -- Its history

 

Wrigley Field, 2018 (Photo by Flicker)

 

 

 

 

 

One of the oldest sports stadiums in the United States, Wrigley Field has always been known for its flexibility and character. Blah blah blah, history history history. The famous ballpark has been the scene of the most storied games in the sport, not only in baseball, but also in football. Here is a split-screen, showing how Wrigley Field looked when the Bears played there (a photo from 1965 is on the left), along with a photo on the right of Wrigley in 2018. Surprisingly, the park's bleacher set-up was built in 1938, when the park was already over 20 years old. Before that, it had a different oufield look, with no ivy on the walls and group of bleachers located closer to the field. 

 

 

 

 

 

Blah blah blah. More copy here.

John Owens: My life story

 

I was born in Chicago’s Avalon Park neighborhood in 1965. At the time of my birth, this bedroom community on Chicago’s Southeast Side was nearly entirely white. But by 1970, the entire neighborhood was African-Americans, as white families fled due to panic peddling realtors and block busters. Ironically, the median family income in Avalon Park increased after white families, and the neighborhood was still solidly middle class. The neighborhood was fun for children. I vividly recall attending double-features at the beautiful Avalon Theatre on Stony Island Avenue. This was (and is) a beautiful movie palace which I felt privileged to attend. 

1967 photo of my mom and dad with me (center) and my sister, Donna and brother, Donald (far right)

 

 

My mom, Ruth Owens, and my dad, James Owens, were both hard-working children of the South, who moved up to Chicago in the late 1940s. My dad worked at the U.S. Steel South Works plant on the Southeast Side for many years. But later in life, he became a tradesman, working as a painter in numerous buildings owned by Katz Realtors. My mom worked at Little Company of Mary Hospital in Evergreen Park, where she was employed for over 40 years as a nurses’ assistant. I feel blessed that I grew up where I did, when I did. I wouldn’t trade my life as a child on the Chicago’s Southeast Side for that of any other child in the United States.