Lullaby Of Birdland
Birdland, one of the famous jazz clubs in New York City, started its operations on December 15, 1949. It soon became one of the most popular night spots in NYC. Seeking to capitalize on the the popularity of Charlie “Bird” Parker (hence the name of the club: Birdland) it offered the opportunities to the guests to listen to good jazz by some of the most popular musicians of the 1950’s, such as Stan Getz, Lester Young, Count Basie and Duke Ellington. The venue could seat approx. 500 people and could cater for small groups as well as big bands. It was also a meetin place for celebrities, especially actors. One of the smaller groups that played there was George Shearings group, the latter composer of the popular tune, Lullaby Of Birdland.
In the Goodies Room, DESS members will find the first part of an NBC broadcast from November 25, 1952. Strangely enough, this broadcast is not mentioned in Ellington discographies. Duke and his men played at Birdland from Nov. 20 to 26, the majority of these dates were broadcasted by NBC. They were in fact part of a Silver Jubilee Program series to celebrate Duke’s 25 years in the music business.
The broadcast includes the following numbers:
*Theme & intro*Rock Skippin’ At The Blue Note*Ko-Ko*My Little Brown Book*Vagabonds* The Hawk Talks*Mood Indigo*Love You Madly*
The soloists are the usual suspects. Vocals are by Jimmy Grissom in My Little Brown Book and Vagabonds, and and byBetty Roché in Take The A Train. It is interesting to note that Vagabonds during its short stay in the band book is either an instrumental or a feature for Jimmy Grissom. NDESOR shows five different recordings, three with Jimmy Grissom and two intstrumentals, the one referred to above not counted.
We hope that we within short can come back with the second part of this NBC broadcast. Hope you will enjoy this first part of the broadcast. The second one will be published in early February.