When people think of jazz history in lower Manhattan, they often think about acclaimed, long-running venues like the Village Vanguard, the Village Gate, and the Five Spot. But during the 60s and 70s, an underground network of obscure dive bars and DIY loft venues nurtured an experimental jazz community that rebelled against the hegemony of those larger, established venues. In this virtual tour, music historian and Walk on the Wild Side Tours owner Jesse Rifkin will examine the birth of free jazz in the 1960s and the blossoming of the loft jazz scene in the 70s. The tour will look at significant venues like Slugs’ Saloon, Artists’ House, Studio Rivbea, Studio We, Tin Palace, Ali’s Alley, Environ, Ladies’ Fort, and 501 Canal, and groundbreaking artists including (but certainly not limited to) Ornette Coleman, Albert Ayler, Sun Ra, Lee Morgan, Sam Rivers, Anthony Braxton, Rashied Ali, David Murray, and Stanley Crouch.

Walk on the Wild Side Tours NYC is owned and operated by Jesse Rifkin, who has been a working musician in New York for over a decade.

Members events special links:

Join or Renew Today!

Check on your Membership

Note: This event will not be recorded.