Half Note Club


The Half Note was a jazz club in New York City, New York that flourished in two Manhattan locations – from 1957 to 1972 in SoHo at 289 Hudson Street at Spring Street and from 1972 to 1974 in Midtown at 149 West 54th Street, one block west of the Museum of Modern Art.

History

The club was owned by the Canterino family: Michael Canterino his brother, Sonny Canterino , their sister, Rosemarie Canterino, and their parents, Frank Canterino and Jean Canterino . Judi Marie Canterino , a jazz vocalist, became a family owner by marrying Michael Canterino in 1960.
The Half Note was renowned for showcasing up and coming jazz musicians in the 1950s and 1960s, defraying costs with a Friday night live WABC radio show called Portraits in Jazz, hosted by hosted by Alan Grant ''. The Half Note was one of a handful of nationally acclaimed Manhattan nightclubs, including the Village Vanguard, the Village Gate, the Five Spot, and Slug's Saloon – that featured renowned jazz artists on a regular basis.
Forgoing standard set times, musicians were allowed to play onstage for as long as they wanted to. In 1972, Mike and Sonny Canterino moved the Half Note Midtown to 149 West 54th Street, in what had a formerly been a carriage house. Roger Brousso, a record distributor from Connecticut, invested $240,000 in the new venue.
Bookings included Budd Johnson and Buddy Tate, beboppers Al Cohn and Zoot Sims, avant-gardists John Coltrane and Charles Mingus and Wes Montgomery, Herbie Mann, and Cannonball Adderley. Singers Anita O'Day, Billie Holiday, and, one evening, Judy Garland also made appearances. The Half Note closed January 1, 1975. Its Midtown location is now occupied by The London NYC hotel.

Live recordings

Other live radio recordings have been released, including those by John Coltrane and Cannonball Adderley.
On June 6, 1964, the Lennie Tristano quintet – with Lee Konitz, Warne Marsh, Sonny Dallas, and Nick Stabulas – was recorded and broadcast on television as "Jazz at the Half Note," an episode of the television series on CBS, Look Up and Live, narrated by William Hamilton of the Colgate Rochester Divinity School.