Apollo Club Harlem

On Monday evening, I opened my closet and looked for clothing that could be considered jazz age attire. I settled on a straight dress, tights, and my beloved Camper Kim shoes. I accessorized with a long thin gold necklace, a black knit cap and red lipstick. Then I strutted to the A train and headed to the opening evening of Apollo Club Harlem. I didn't quite look like the decked out women in old black and white photos I'd seen on the net. But I was excited and anxious to relive a time when jazz music represented popular music in America.   


Apollo Club Harlem, which was put together in only two weeks, attempted to recapture the nightclub feel of the 30s and 50s when crooners who are now legends, dancers and big bands ruled. The orchestra section of the Apollo was converted into nightclub with table service seating. Host Maurice Hines charmed the audience and even treated us to a few moves. What can I say? At age 70, he is still going strong. The younger Manzari Brothers showed us what tap dancing is about. Jazz singers Dee Dee Bridgewater and Cécile McLorin Salvant wowed. And the orchestra delivered, reinforcing that jazz, an American art form, is the bomb!! 

As I exited the theater, there was nothing but accolades about the evening. From the excitement in the air and the recent acclaim that Cotton Club Parade at City Center received and its expected transfer to Broadway this fall, there is definitely an audience for the Cotton Club experience. However, wouldn't it be great if this experience could be a permanent fixture in Harlem, where it started? Wouldn't it be great if locals and tourist alike can flock uptown on any evening, not just on three winter evenings in February 2013, and get a taste of the Jazz Age?   

Apollo Club Harlem - The Program:

• Diminuendo in Blue
• Crescendo in Blue
• Drop Me Off in Harlem
• Rhythm is Our Business
• Fine & Mellow
• Them There Eyes
• Petite Fleur
• One O'clock Jump
• The Mooche 
• It's Only a Paper Moon
• Route 66
• Flying Home
• A Night in Tunisia 

• Knock Me a Kiss
• Mango Mangue
• Evil Gal Blues
• Blue Gardenia
• What a Difference A Day Makes
• Kind of Dukish
• A-Tisket, A Tasket
• I Cried For You
• How High The Moon
• Just in Time
• It Don't Mean a Thing
• Rockin' in Rhythm
• Drop Me Off in Harlem