Village Vanguard - Strictly Jazz

Strictly Jazz

By 1957, one commentator writes, “Gordon reversed his policy, putting jazz at the top of the bill and letting the folknicks…and the comics…fill it out. Thus the Vanguard booked Miles Davis, Horace Silver, Thelonious Monk, Gerry Mulligan, the Modern Jazz Quartet, Jimmy Giuffre, Anita O’Day, Charlie Mingus, Bill Evans (a regular), Stan Getz, Carmen McRae.” The booking of Thelonious Monk was a particularly interesting story that demonstrated the Vanguard’s ability to take a relatively unknown musician and help launch his career. The story of Monk’s introduction to the Vanguard began with the first ever encounter between Max and Lorraine. Max and Lorraine first met each other in the Bluebell Bakery, a “homey little Fire Island joint.” After she walked in and spotted Max (who she knew to be the owner of the Village Vanguard), Lorraine proposed to him that he showcase Thelonious Monk at the Club for a week. He agreed and on September 14th 1948, Monk opened for the Vanguard. The reception was not ideal. “obody came. None of the so-called jazz critics. None of the so-called cognoscenti. Zilch.” But Lorraine continued to sponsor Monk as a genius and through her persistence helped him grow into the pillar of jazz he is today. From the 1950s on, the Vanguard was the leading small venue for jazz, launching many celebrated careers and sustaining others that were already aloft.