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

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 ...

's 52nd Street 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 ...

, opened by jazz band leader

Bert Kelly Charles Robert "Bert" Kelly (22 June 1912 – 17 January 1997) was an Australian politician. He was a member of the Liberal Party of Australia, Liberal Party and was an influential campaigner for free trade and the elimination of tariffs. He h ...

History

Following the success of his Chicago nightclub, Kelly's Stables, in Tower Town, 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
'' Arnold Shaw,

Da Capo Press Da Capo Press is an American publishing company with headquarters in Boston, Massachusetts. It is now an imprint of Hachette Books. History Founded in 1964 as a publisher of music books, as a division of Plenum Publishers, it had additional offi ...

(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 ...

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 Louis Daniel Armstrong (August 4, 1901 – July 6, 1971), nicknamed "Satchmo", "Satch", and "Pops", was an American trumpeter and vocalist. He was among the most influential figures in jazz. His career spanned five decades and several era ...

. Following his gig at the Stables, Hawkins recorded it himself with this group, and his

RCA Victor RCA Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Group Corporation. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside Columbia Records (its former longtime rival), Arista Records and Epic ...

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 a research library in Washington, D.C., serving as the library and research service for the United States Congress and the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It also administers Copyright law o ...

. Retrieved 14 August 2013. It was inducted into the

National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences, Inc. (NARAS), doing business as The Recording Academy, is an American Learned society, learned academy of musicians, producers, recording engineers, and other musical professionals. It is widely kno ...

’

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 described 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 John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie ( ; October 21, 1917 – January 6, 1993) was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, composer, educator and singer. He was a trumpet virtuoso and improvisation, improviser, building on the virtuosic style of Roy El ...

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,

Kenny Clarke Kenneth Clarke Spearman (January 9, 1914January 26, 1985), known professionally as Kenny Clarke and 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 ...

, 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 made significant contributions to jazz music and pop ...

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 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