We introduce our new podcast, the first season of which aims to examine the development of new music in New York in the first half of the 1970s.

We then skip back to the period following the repeal of Prohibition to discuss the restrictive effect of the 1926 Cabaret Laws which massively affected how small music clubs were able to operate in New York, and the personal impact of the regulations on artists such as Billie Holiday, Miles Davis, and Thelonius Monk. We also consider how the administrative reforms introduced by progressive Mayor John Lindsay removed some of the more destructive effects on performing musicians. 

Books:

Paul Chevigny: "Gigs: Jazz and the Cabaret Laws in New York City"

Songs:

Fats Waller - "Aint Misbehavin'" / Billie Holiday - "T'Aint Nobody's Business If I Do" / Thelonius Monk - "Blue Monk" (Live at The Five Spot 1968) / Zoot Sims - "“Lover Come Back to Me” – Live at The Half Note NYC 1959

EMCK