The Half Note was a jazz club in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, New York that flourished in two

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

locations – from 1957 to 1972 in

SoHo SoHo, short for "South of Houston Street, Houston Street", is a neighborhood in Lower Manhattan, New York City. Since the 1970s, the neighborhood has been the location of many artists' lofts and art galleries, art installations such as The Wall ...

(then known as the

Village A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban v ...

) at 289 Hudson Street at Spring Street and from 1972 to 1974 in Midtown at 149 West 54th Street, one block west of the

Museum of Modern Art The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street (Manhattan), 53rd Street between Fifth Avenue, Fifth and Sixth Avenues. MoMA's collection spans the late 19th century to the present, a ...

History

The club was owned by the Canterino family: Michael Canterino (1932–2013) his brother, Sonny Canterino (né Dominic Canterino), their sister, Rosemarie Canterino, and their parents, Frank Canterino (né Francesco Canterino; 1906–1979) and Jean Canterino (née Concetta Italiano; 1906–1989). Judi Marie Canterino (née Derwin), a jazz vocalist, became a family owner by marrying Michael Canterino in 1960. The Half Note was renowned for showcasing up and coming jazz musicians in the 1950s and 1960s, defraying costs with a Friday night live WABC radio show called ''Portraits in Jazz'', hosted by Alan Grant (né Abraham Grochowsky; 1919–2012). The Half Note was one of a handful of nationally acclaimed Manhattan nightclubs, including the Village Vanguard, the Village Gate, the Five Spot, and Slug's Saloon – that featured renowned jazz artists on a regular basis. Forgoing standard set times, musicians were allowed to play onstage for as long as they wanted to. In 1972, Mike and Sonny Canterino moved the Half Note Midtown to 149 West 54th Street, in what had formerly been a carriage house. Roger Brousso, a record distributor from Connecticut, invested $240,000 in the new venue. Bookings included Budd Johnson and Buddy Tate,

bebop Bebop or bop is a style of jazz developed in the early to mid-1940s in the United States. The style features compositions characterized by a fast tempo (usually exceeding 200 bpm), complex chord progressions with rapid chord changes and numerou ...

pers

Al Cohn Al Cohn (November 24, 1925 – February 15, 1988) was an American jazz saxophonist, arranger and composer. He came to prominence in the band of clarinetist Woody Herman and was known for his longtime musical partnership with fellow saxophonist ...

and Zoot Sims, avant-gardists

John Coltrane John William Coltrane (September 23, 1926 – July 17, 1967) was an American jazz saxophonist, bandleader and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the Jazz#Post-war jazz, history of jazz and 20th-century musi ...

, Charles Mingus, Wes Montgomery,

Herbie Mann Herbert Jay Solomon (April 16, 1930 – July 1, 2003), known by his stage name Herbie Mann, was an American jazz Flute, flute player and important early practitioner of world music. Early in his career, he also played tenor saxophone and clarinet ...

and

Cannonball Adderley Julian Edwin "Cannonball" Adderley (September 15, 1928August 8, 1975) was an American jazz Alto saxophone, alto saxophonist of the hard bop era of the 1950s and 1960s. Adderley is perhaps best remembered by the general public for the 1966 soul ...

. Singers Anita O'Day,

Billie Holiday Billie Holiday (born Eleanora Fagan; April 7, 1915 – July 17, 1959) was an American jazz and swing music singer. Nicknamed "Lady Day" by her friend and music partner, Lester Young, Holiday made significant contributions to jazz music and pop ...

, and, one evening Judy Garland also made an appearance. According to the book "Funny Valentine" by Matthew Ruddick,

Chet Baker Chesney Henry "Chet" Baker Jr. (December 23, 1929 – May 13, 1988) was an American jazz trumpeter and vocalist. He is known for major innovations in cool jazz that led him to be nicknamed the "Prince of Cool". Baker earned much attention and ...

was a regular performer at The Half Note also. The Half Note closed January 1, 1975. Its second location, in Midtown, is now occupied by The London NYC hotel. The movie '' Soul'' by Pixar features a reference to this club.

Live recordings

* Donald Byrd – '' At the Half Note Cafe'' (Blue Note, 1960) * Kenny Dorham Quintet - '' Live at the ''Half Note'' 1966'' (Magnetic Records)) * '' Bob Brookmeyer, Clark Terry'' ( Verve, 1973); *

– '' Live at the Half Note: One Down, One Up'' (Impulse!, 1965 005 *

Art Farmer Arthur Stewart Farmer (August 21, 1928 – October 4, 1999) was an American jazz trumpeter and flugelhorn player. He also played flumpet, a trumpet–flugelhorn combination especially designed for him. He and his identical twin brother, doub ...

Quartet featuring Jim Hall – '' Live at the Half-Note'' (Atlantic, 1963) * Clifford Jordan – '' Half Note'' (SteepleChase, 1974 985 * Richard "Groove" Holmes – '' Onsaya Joy'' (Flying Dutchman, 1975) * Lee Konitz – '' Live at the Half Note'' (Verve, 1959 994 * Wes Montgomery with the Wynton Kelly Trio – '' Smokin' at the Half Note'' (Verve, 1965) * Zoot Sims,

& Phil Woods – '' Jazz Alive! A Night at the Half Note'' (United Artists, 1959) * Horace Silver – '' Live at the Half Note'' (Hi Hat, 1966) * '' Lew Anderson Big Band Live'' (March 8, 1974) Other live radio recordings have been released, including those by

and

. * ''New York City '65'' (Vol. 1):

McCoy Tyner Alfred McCoy Tyner (December 11, 1938March 6, 2020) was an American jazz piano, jazz pianist and composer known for his work with the John Coltrane Quartet from 1960 to 1965, and his long solo career afterwards. He was an NEA Jazz Masters, NEA J ...

, Jimmy Garrison,

Elvin Jones Elvin Ray Jones (September 9, 1927 – May 18, 2004) was an American jazz drummer of the post-bop era. Most famously a member of John Coltrane's quartet, with whom he recorded from late 1960 to late 1965, Jones appeared on such albums as ''My Fa ...

, ''Live at the Half Note'', March 19, 1965; (NOTE: Track titled "One Up, One Down" was from a performance at Birdland, NYC, February 23, 1963) * ''New York City '65'' (Vol. 2):

, Jimmy Garrison,

, ''Live at the Half Note'', April 2 and May 7, 1965; On June 6, 1964, the Lennie Tristano quintet – with Lee Konitz,

Warne Marsh Warne Marion Marsh (October 26, 1927 – December 18, 1987) was an American tenor saxophonist. Born in Los Angeles, his playing first came to prominence in the 1950s as a protégé of pianist Lennie Tristano and earned attention in the 1970s as ...

, Sonny Dallas, and Nick Stabulas – was recorded and broadcast on television as "Jazz at the Half Note", an episode of the television series on CBS, '' Look Up and Live'', narrated by William Hamilton of the Colgate Rochester Divinity School.

References

{{Authority control 1957 establishments in New York City 1972 disestablishments in New York City Defunct jazz clubs in New York City Former music venues in New York City de:The Half Note