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Storyville (nightclub)

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Coordinates: 42°20′54″N 71°04′43″W / 42.3482°N 71.0787°W / 42.3482; -71.0787
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For much of its history, Storyville was located on the ground floor of Hotel Buckminster, Kenmore Square in the space shown here occupied by Pizzeria Uno.

Storyville was a Boston jazz nightclub organized by Boston-native, jazz promoter and producer George Wein during the 1940s.[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11]

WNAC at Hotel Buckminster

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In 1929, WNAC Radio moved to new studios inside the Hotel and remained for the next four decades. An FM station was added in the late 1930s. In June, 1948, WNAC-TV began broadcasting from the Hotel. Until 1968, WNAC operated an AM, FM and television station in the hotel basement.[12]

"Compared to the other clubs in town, listening to a jazz musician at Storyville is like sitting at home with a pair of earphones"
— Nat Hentoff, 1953 (WMEX Announcer, host of Storyville broadcasts[13][14]

Recordings

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Many jazz legends made live radio broadcasts from the club, especially at the Hotel Buckminster, and many audio recordings from these sessions are still available.[15][16][17][18][19][20]

Performers

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A number of notable jazz musicians, performed in this venue, including:

Chronology

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Originally a jazz club, it was named after Storyville district of New Orleans. It was first located in the 1940s at the Copley Square Hotel, but soon relocated to Harvard Square.

In 1950[9] it was relocated again to the ground floor of the Hotel Buckminster in Kenmore Square.[46][47][11]

In 1953, Storyville was relocated to the Copley Square Hotel, at street level.[48]

In 1959, Storyville moved to the Bradford Hotel on Tremont Street for one year.[12][49][11][50]

In the 1970s, under the glow of the historic Citgo sign, Kenmore Square, Storyville was located near The Rathskeller, Where It’s At, Lucifer’s, and Psychedelic Supermarket.[51]

In 1983 and 1984, at 645 Beacon Street,[52] Storyville hosted performers such as the Del Fuegos,[53] Bush Tetras,[54] Til Tuesday, Barrence Whitfield & the Savages,[55][56] and the Violent Femmes.[57][58][59][18]

Present day Locations

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The space that housed Storyville at Hotel Buckminster in Kenmore Square is now occupied by a Pizzeria Uno restaurant.[12]

In September 2011, at the Copley Square Hotel, a new nightclub opened, using the name Storyville, 90 Exeter Street.[60][61][62][63][64]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Johnson, David. "Jazz From Storyville". Night Lights Classic Jazz. Indiana Public Media.
  2. ^ "Fred Taylor". Music Museum of New England. Feb 19, 2013.
  3. ^ "George Wein". NEA. Jan 24, 2013.
  4. ^ "George Wein". Yamaha Artists Services, New York.
  5. ^ Giuliano, Charles. "Fred Taylor on Jazz in Boston, Part One". Berkshire Fine Arts.
  6. ^ "George Wein, 2005 NEA Jazz Master". NEA. Apr 4, 2013.
  7. ^ Wein, George; Chinen, Nate (Feb 18, 2009). Myself Among Others: A Life In Music. Hachette Books. ISBN 9780786745180 – via Google Books.
  8. ^ Ron Wynn, ed. (1994), "Venues", All Music Guide to Jazz, M. Erlewine, V. Bogdanov, San Francisco: Miller Freeman, p. 720, ISBN 0-87930-308-5
  9. ^ a b "George Wein". The Jazz Museum in Harlem.
  10. ^ "The Boston Jazz Chronicles". Seacoast Jazz Society.
  11. ^ a b c Meyers, Marc, "Interview: George Wein", 2008 July 23, JazzWaxx.com
  12. ^ a b c "About Us". Boston Hotel Buckminster. Archived from the original on 2010-10-26. Retrieved 2010-07-25.
  13. ^ "Storyville". Music Museum of New England. May 29, 2018.
  14. ^ "Billy Taylor and Charles Mingus at Storyville".
  15. ^ "Storyville Records Archives". The Troy Street Observer.
  16. ^ "Storyville -- All Categories (LP, CD)". Dusty Groove : Chicago's Online Record Store.
  17. ^ "Cheat Suite: A little piece of baseball scandal right in Kenmore Square". MySecretBoston. Mar 26, 2014.
  18. ^ a b "The History of Kenmore Square". Grahm Junior College.
  19. ^ "Boston's Jazz History". JazzBoston. Archived from the original on 2010-05-29. Retrieved 2010-07-25.
  20. ^ Losin, Peter. "Charlie Parker Session Details (March 10, 1953), Storyville, Boston MA, WHDH radio broadcast". Peter Losin.
  21. ^ "Dave Brubeck - At Storyville 1954". Blue Sounds.
  22. ^ "Dave Brubeck - At Storyville 1954 (Recordings)". Dave Brubeck Jazz.
  23. ^ Dave Brubeck Quartet: Complete Storyville Broadcasts amazon.com
  24. ^ a b c "Guest Column: Hub Cats of Jazz". Jazz Collector.
  25. ^ "Ella Fitzgerald - Feb 7, 1953" – via Wolfgang's Vault.
  26. ^ "Stan Getz Quintet: Jazz At Storyville (album review)". All About Jazz.
  27. ^ a b "Billie Holiday at Storyville". July 7, 2011. Archived from the original on July 7, 2011.
  28. ^ "Stan Getz at Storyville Vols. I and II (1951)". Foresight and afterthought. Jan 2, 2018.
  29. ^ Hentoff, Nat (Feb 12, 2008). "Billie Holiday, Live: A Biography in Music". Wall Street Journal.
  30. ^ Billie Holiday: Complete Storyville Broadcasts amazon.com
  31. ^ "At Storyville". 1990.
  32. ^ "At Storyville - Billie Holiday" – via AllMusic.
  33. ^ A Rare Live Recording of Billie Holiday amazon.com
  34. ^ "Gerry Mulligan Quartet - Recorded In Boston At Storyville". Discogs.
  35. ^ Charlie Parker. Groovin' High (Live From The Storyville Club, Boston, 1953)
  36. ^ "Charlie Parker - At Storyville". Discogs.
  37. ^ "Charlie Parker - Complete Storyville Performances". Blue Sounds.
  38. ^ "Mar 12, 1955: Bird a No-Show at Storyville". The Troy Street Observer. Mar 12, 2013.
  39. ^ "Listen to Herb: Herb Pomeroy Jazz Collection". MIT Libraries.
  40. ^ "Fred Taylor, impresario of jazz in Boston for decades, dies at 90". The Boston Globe.
  41. ^ Fleming, Colin. "When Billie Holiday Came to Boston". JazzTimes.
  42. ^ "Billboard". Nielsen Business Media, Inc. Jun 9, 1958 – via Google Books.
  43. ^ "At Storyville 1954". Jazz Messengers.
  44. ^ "Wayne State University Library System / Entire Collection". elibrary.wayne.edu.
  45. ^ Souza, Johnny. "The jazz beat: Al Vega, Boston's living legend of jazz". Wicked Local: Plymouth.
  46. ^ "Historic Hotel Buckminster in Boston's Kenmore Square closes due to coronavirus". Apr 7, 2020.
  47. ^ "Tracing the Changing Face of Kenmore Square | BU Today". Boston University.
  48. ^ Spice, Anton (Feb 10, 2016). "Boston's creative jazz scene: How the '70s avant garde found a home outside New York City". The Vinyl Factory Limited.
  49. ^ "History". JazzBoston. Archived from the original on May 29, 2010.
  50. ^ "Billboard". Nielsen Business Media, Inc. Jun 29, 1959 – via Google Books.
  51. ^ "A Brief History of Boston Punk Rock Venues: From "The Rat" to Rat City". WECB.
  52. ^ "Storyville". rocktourdatabase.com.
  53. ^ "Del Fuegos". rocktourdatabase.com.
  54. ^ "GigList Various years". www.bostongroupienews.com.
  55. ^ "Barrence Whitfield & the Savages". rocktourdatabase.com.
  56. ^ "His Real Name is Barry White". thechronopages.com.
  57. ^ "She's Such a Bitch: The Oral History of Juliana Hatfield Three's 'My Sister'". Spin. Aug 28, 2013.
  58. ^ "Violent Femmes". rocktourdatabase.com.
  59. ^ The Longest Day by the Del Fuegos - iTunes
  60. ^ "For the Record". The Boston Sun.
  61. ^ "Storyville". Time Out Boston.
  62. ^ "Licensing Board Hearing". Boston.gov. Oct 17, 2017.
  63. ^ "Brian Lesser: The (Almost) Silent Partner". Sep 17, 2017.
  64. ^ House, Samantha (February 20, 2021). "Panorama's Guide to Mixing and Mingling in the Hub" (PDF). Panorama. p. 11.
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42°20′54″N 71°04′43″W / 42.3482°N 71.0787°W / 42.3482; -71.0787

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