Podcast 787: A Conversation with Jeff Gold about "Sittin' In"

The great jazz clubs of the 1940's and 1950's are fondly remembered, but what do we actually have to show from that era? There are live recordings for sure, but how do we try to recapture the magic that happened inside those hallowed halls?   In Sittin' In: Jazz Clubs of the 1940s and 1950s (Harper Design), Grammy-nominated historian, archivist, author, and record executive Jeff Gold offers an unprecedented look inside the jazz clubs from this era across the United States. In exclusive interviews, iconic musicians Sonny Rollins and Quincy Jones as well as preeminent jazz historian Dan Morgenstern give first-person accounts of the clubs that Rollins called "a paradisiacal place to be."   Decades before Jackie Robinson broke baseball's color barrier, jazz clubs were among the first places in Jim Crow America where Black and white people mixed in audiences and onstage. Drawing on an incredible trove of photos and memorabilia, most of which have never been seen before, Gold gives us a glimpse at a world that was rich in culture, music, dining, fashion, and more. There is a fascinating selection of hundreds of souvenir photos from clubs across the United States to give a clubgoer's perspective on a vital side of the jazz club experience that's rarely been seen before now.   Podcast 787 is my conversation with Jeff Gold, as we talk about how he acquired access to such incredible material, and how he went about letting the world back into both famous and obscure clubs of the past. Musical selections include a recording of Thelonius Monk's "52nd Street Theme" from the Royal Roost in 1948, as performed by Charlie Parker (sax), Miles Davis (trumpet), Curly Russell (bass), and Tadd Dameron Ipiano).