Village Vanguard, one of New York City's storied jazz venues, marked its 80th year Sunday and plans six nights of acts reflecting various chapters in its history.
The nightclub opened in 1935 in Greenwich Village under proprietor Max Gordon, who initially booked poets, not jazz musicians.
It wasn't until the 1950s that the club started to showcase jazz, featuring such performers as Miles Davis, Thelonious Monk and John Coltraine.
Gordon ran the club until his death in 1989, when management was taken over by his widow, Lorraine Gordon, now 91.
The club has scheduled six days of celebratory performances from March 10-15.
