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Friday May 16th, 2003

Baldwin named official piano of the 'jazz corner of the world'

A Baldwin artist grand will debut Memorial Day weekend as the official piano of the New York City jazz landmark, Birdland. Baldwin artist Marian McPartland will perform with her trio at the "jazz corner of the world," 315 West 44th Street between 8th and 9th Avenues in Manhattan.

Legendary jazz icon Charlie "Yardbird" Parker is the club's namesake and was on the bandstand when the club first opened in 1949 on Broadway off 52nd Street. Fellow Baldwin artist and jazz icon Count Basie made Birdland the New York headquarters for his big band and recorded George Shearing's "Lullaby of Birdland" live at the club. John Coltrane's classic Quartet regularly appeared at the club in the early 1960s, recording "Live at Birdland."

"Birdland was both a cultural vantage point and a barometer of trends where all the big names in jazz performed," says Ebony editor Allan Morrison.

With the emergence of rock 'n roll, Birdland was forced to close in 1965. It emerged a year later in Manhattan's Upper West Side to host more than 2,000 emerging jazz artists over the next ten years. "After ten successful years uptown, I felt the mystique of Birdland returning to midtown - it would be the natural continuation of the legendary jazz corner of the world," said Birdland owner John Valenti.

Birdland was reborn in midtown Manhattan near its original location. A host of contemporary jazz musicians appear regularly including Michael Brecker, Pat Metheny, Roy Haynes, Lee Konitz, Tony Williams, Mark Murphy, Michel Petrucciani, John Scofield, Bill Charlap, Kevin Mahogany, Dave Holland, and Tito Puente, as well as the big bands of Chico O'Farrill, Toshiko Akiyoshi, and Maria Schneider.

Birdland is here and Baldwin Piano here.

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