Kelly’s Stables, also referred to as Kelly’s Stable, was a jazz club on

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

52nd Street 52nd Street is a -long one-way street traveling west to east across Midtown Manhattan, New York City. A short section of it was known as the city's center of jazz performance from the 1930s to the 1950s. Jazz center Following the repeal of ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

, opened by jazz band leader Bert Kelly.

History

Following the success of his Chicago nightclub, Kelly's Stables, in

Tower Town The Old Chicago Water Tower District is a historic district along the Magnificent Mile shopping district in the Near North Side community area of Chicago, Illinois. The district is located on both sides of North Michigan Avenue between Eas ...

, one of the jazz hotspots of the 1920s, Kelly opened a second venue in New York. 141 West 51st Street : The original Kelly's Stable(s) was located on 51st Street, near 7th Avenue. 137 West 52nd Street : Arthur Jarwood, who was a part owner in the 51st Street location, had also built O'Leary's Barn on West 52nd Street, which he sold to Ralph Watkins (1907–1979) and George Lynch, and in March of 1940, O'Leary's Barn became Kelly's Stable(s) — at 137 W 52nd Street.
52nd Street, The Street of Jazz
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Arnold Shaw Arnold Shaw may refer to: * Arnold Shaw (politician) (1909–1984), British politician * Arnold Shaw (writer) (1909–1989), American music writer {{hndis, Shaw, Arnold ...

, Da Capo Press (1977) Musicians : In 1939,

Coleman Hawkins Coleman Randolph Hawkins (November 21, 1904 – May 19, 1969), nicknamed "Hawk" and sometimes "Bean", was an American jazz tenor saxophonist.Yanow, Scot"Coleman Hawkins: Artist Biography" AllMusic. Retrieved December 27, 2013. One of the first p ...

led a band at the original location featuring trumpeter Joe Guy and others with whom he had been performing " Body and Soul", the standard first recorded in a jazz interpretation by Louis Armstrong. Following his gig at the Stables, Hawkins recorded it himself with this group, and his RCA Victor recording of it is now considered "one of the best-known recorded jazz performances in history."The National Recording Registry

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library ...

. Retrieved 14 August 2013. It was inducted into the

National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences The Recording Academy (formally the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences; abbreviated NARAS) is an American learned academy of musicians, producers, recording engineers, and other musical professionals. It is famous for its Grammy Aw ...

’

Grammy Hall of Fame The Grammy Hall of Fame is a hall of fame to honor musical recordings of lasting qualitative or historical significance. Inductees are selected annually by a special member committee of eminent and knowledgeable professionals from all branches of ...

in 1973. :

Red Allen Henry James "Red" Allen, Jr. (January 7, 1908 – April 17, 1967) was an American jazz trumpeter and vocalist whose playing has been claimed by Joachim-Ernst Berendt and others as the first to fully incorporate the innovations of Louis Armst ...

would have a six-week residency in 1941, and Hawkins would play the venue again later that year, followed by Dizzy Gillespie spending a week there during the year as a member of

Benny Carter Bennett Lester Carter (August 8, 1907 – July 12, 2003) was an American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, trumpeter, composer, arranger, and bandleader. With Johnny Hodges, he was a pioneer on the alto saxophone. From the beginning of his career ...

's septet, which featured John Collins, Charlie Drayton,

Sonny White Ellerton Oswald White (November 11, 1917, Panama City, Panama - April 28, 1971, New York City), better known as Sonny White, was a jazz pianist. White took on the nickname Sonny while a member of Jesse Stone's band in the middle of the 1930s. La ...

Kenny Clarke Kenneth Clarke Spearman (January 9, 1914January 26, 1985), nicknamed Klook, was an American jazz drummer and bandleader. A major innovator of the bebop style of drumming, he pioneered the use of the ride cymbal to keep time rather than the hi-ha ...

, and Al Gibson. Gillespie, Dizzy (2009
''To Be, Or Not... to Bop'', pp. 152–3. U of Minnesota Press
At Google Books. Retrieved 14 August 2013. Gillespie returned to Kelly's Stables in 1943, sharing the billing with Allen and

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 had an innovative influence on jazz music and pop s ...

for a month’s residency.Chilton, John (2011
''Ride, Red, Ride: The Life of Henry 'Red' Allen'', pp. 118–123. Continuum Publishing
At Google Books. Retrieved 14 August 2013. : The

King Cole Coel (Old Welsh: ''Coil''), also called ''Coel Hen'' (Coel the Old) and King Cole, is a figure prominent in Welsh literature and legend since the Middle Ages. Early Welsh tradition knew of a Coel Hen, a 4th-century leader in Roman or Sub-Roman ...

Trio had a four month residency at the Stables from January to April 1942.

References

{{Reflist, 30em Jazz clubs in New York City Music venues in Manhattan Defunct jazz clubs in New York City