Sign-In
Cart
Swing Street, NYC: Jazz's Golden Era in the Alleyways of 52nd Street, New York City: The Rise and Fall of Jazz on 52nd Street
Paperback
Series: Masters of Jazz
Publisher: Independently Published
Published: Aug 3 2025
Pages: 112
Weight: 0.26
Height: 0.23 Width: 5.00 Depth: 8.00
Language: English
Swing Street, NYC is a ferocious excavation of the one city block that briefly became the molten core of American music. From the mid-1930s through the early 1950s, Manhattan's 52nd Street-unassuming, narrow, overbuilt-hosted the nightly revolution of jazz. Cramped clubs like The Three Deuces, Onyx, and the Famous Door gave birth to bebop and shattered the conventions of swing, even as the city looked the other way.
This book doesn't romanticize. It remembers. It charts the rise of the scene through the stories of musicians who made it: Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Thelonious Monk, Billie Holiday, Bud Powell, Mary Lou Williams, and dozens more. It follows the landlords, the club owners, the hustlers, and the drummers who slept under pool tables. It digs into the racial politics, the cabaret cards, the police raids, and the improvisational genius that refused to be institutionalized.
With an obsessive eye for detail and a voice that channels the rhythm of the very music it documents, Swing Street, NYC is not just a history-it's a confrontation. It asks why the city that gave these artists a stage also gave them so few exit routes. It interrogates how sound survives erasure. And it insists that 52nd Street, though mostly vanished from the skyline, remains etched into the DNA of every note that refuses to behave.
This is the story of a street that never stood still-and of the artists who, night after night, taught the city how to listen.
Also from
Publishing, Spang-A-Lang
Blue Note Women: Solos in a Male Ensemble: A Feminist Excavation of Forgotten Jazz Legacies from Blue Note to Bebop, 1940-1970
Publishing, Spang-A-Lang
Paperback
Chasing the Eight Bar Rest: Heroin, Genius, and Oblivion in the Golden Age of Jazz: Inside the Drug-Fueled Reality of Jazz Musicians in 1950s and 60s
Publishing, Spang-A-Lang
Paperback
Also in
Jazz
3 Shades of Blue: Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Bill Evans, and the Lost Empire of Cool
Kaplan, James
Paperback
Jazz: Best of the Apollo, Village Vanguard, and Riverside Sessions
Schapiro, Steve
Scheinin, Richard
Hardcover
The Jazz Barn: Music Inn, the Berkshires, and the Place of Jazz in American Life
Gennari, John
Hardcover
R. Crumb's Heroes of Blues, Jazz & Country: Portraits of the Pioneers Who Shaped American Music [With CD Audio]
Crumb, R.
Hardcover
Jazz, TX: A Love Letter to Live Music, Community, and the Little Club That Could
Watkins, Doc
Hardcover
The Jazzmen: How Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong, and Count Basie Transformed America
Tye, Larry
Paperback
How to Go Mad Without Losing Your Mind: Madness and Black Radical Creativity
Bruce, La Marr Jurelle
Paperback
Advanced Jazz-Fusion Guitar Techniques: Discover the Art of Modern Jazz-Fusion Soloing using Lines, Phrasing and Harmonic Concepts
Pettingale, Tim
Alexander, Joseph
Meader, Josh
Paperback
The Jazzmen: How Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong, and Count Basie Transformed America
Tye, Larry
Hardcover
After The Final Curtain Call: The Road Was Long And Hard, But I Finally Made It Home
Hicks, Alan
Hardcover
Bill Frisell, Beautiful Dreamer: The Guitarist Who Changed the Sound of American Music
Watson, Philip
Hardcover
Triad Soloing For Modern Guitar: Master Triad Shapes, Creative Patterns & Triad Pairs for Articulate, Melodic Guitar Soloing
Alexander, Joseph
Noy, Oz
Pettingale, Tim
Paperback
Guitar: Guitar Music Book For Beginners, Guide How To Play Guitar Within 24 Hours
Mahalo, Tom
Paperback
The Penguin Jazz Guide: The History of the Music in the 1,001 Best Albums
Cook, Richard
Morton, Brian
Paperback
Whistle Stop: Kenny Dorham, Jazz, and the Journey of a Texas Family
Melendez, John A.
Pallitto, Robert M.
Paperback
Playing Solo Jazz Piano: A New Approach for Creative Pianists (2nd Edition)
Siskind, Jeremy
Paperback
Beginner Gypsy Jazz Guitar: Master the Essential Skills of Gypsy Jazz Guitar Rhythm & Soloing
Nolan, Robin
Alexander, Joseph
Paperback
100 Modern Jazz Licks For Piano: Learn 100 Modern Jazz Piano Licks In The Style of 10 Legendary Players
Hayward, Nathan
Alexander, Joseph
Paperback
Melodic Jazz Guitar Chord Phrasing: A Step-by-Step Guide to Creating Advanced Jazz Guitar Chord Phrases from Melodic Lines
Whitfield, Mark
Paperback
Leave It for the Children: A Visual History of the Pan Afrikan Peoples Arkestra
Kae, Darol Olu
Lamontagne, Samuel
Hardcover
Have Horn, Will Travel: The Life and Music of Herman "Junior" Cook Volume 21
Nero, Courtney M.
Hardcover
Living Space: John Coltrane, Miles Davis, and Free Jazz, from Analog to Digital
Veal, Michael E.
Paperback
Jazz Soloing Basics for Guitar: A step-by-step method for learning jazz phrasing with chromaticism and swing-feel lines
Tagliarino, Barrett
Paperback
Hating Jazz: A History of Its Disparagement, Mockery, and Other Forms of Abuse
Berish, Andrew S.
Paperback
Guitar: Guitar Lessons For Beginners, Simple Guide Through Easy Techniques, How T
Mahalo, Tom
Paperback
Gypsy Jazz Guitar Soloing Etudes - Volume Two: Learn Guitar Soloing Strategies & Techniques For 6 Essential Gypsy Jazz Standards
Harris, Remi
Pettingale, Tim
Alexander, Joseph
Paperback
101 Walking Jazz Bass Lines: Learn to Build & Play Walking Basslines on Every Essential Jazz Chord Sequence
Cox, Johnny
Alexander, Joseph
Paperback
Christmas with Nat King Cole: A Legacy of Merry Music and Holiday Memories
Nat King Cole Estate
McGevna, Allison
Hardcover
Miles & Me: Miles Davis, the Man, the Musician, and His Friendship with the Journalist and Poet Quincy Troupe
Troupe, Quincy
Paperback
The Baroness: The Baroness: The Search for Nica, the Rebellious Rothschild and Jazz's Secret Muse
Rothschild, Hannah
Paperback
100 Gypsy Jazz Guitar Licks: Learn Gypsy Jazz Guitar Soloing Technique with 100 Authentic Licks
Harris, Remi
Pettingale, Tim
Alexander, Joseph
Paperback
Martin Taylor: A Step-by-Step Pathway to Turn Traditional Blues Playing Into Sophisticated Jazz Guitar
Taylor, Martin
Alexander, Joseph
Pettingale, Tim
Paperback
Gypsy Jazz Guitar Soloing Etudes - Volume One: Learn Guitar Soloing Strategies & Techniques For 8 Essential Gypsy Jazz Standards
Harris, Remi
Alexander, Joseph
Paperback
Keys That Fit: How a Common-Sense Innovation Is Transforming the Musical Lives of Pianists Around The World
Tessler, Michael
Paperback
Black Music, White Business: Illuminating the History and Political Economy of Jazz
Kofsky, Frank
Paperback
Soundtrack to the Revolution: Free Jazz and Leftist Nationalism in Quebec 1967-1975
Fillion, Eric
Paperback
Kurt Rosenwinkel: A Creative Guide to Soloing With Modes & Chords to Create Cutting Edge Jazz Guitar Language
Alexander, Joseph
Rosenwinkel, Kurt
Pettingale, Tim
Paperback
John Patitucci Walking Bass: How to Play Walking Basslines On Any Chord Sequence - For Upright & Electric Bass
Alexander, Joseph
Patitucci, John
Pettingale, Tim
Paperback
Beginner Jazz Soloing For Trumpet: The Beginner's Guide To Jazz Improvisation For Trumpet
Pettingale, Tim
Birch, Buster
Paperback
Jazz, TX: A Love Letter to Live Music, Community, and the Little Club That Could
Watkins, Doc
Paperback