Big Apple Jazz Tours

Our jazz tour of Harlem was hosted by Gordon, one of the most passionate and knowledgeable jazz devotees you would ever come across. He prepared for the tour by contacting us a couple of days prior to the tour to see what type of jazz we would be interested in and also asked if we would like to eat at one of the venues. The tour was arranged around this. He was puntual to collect us from a predetermined meeting place. The venues he selected were first rate and he was personally known by most of the musicians, some of whom came over and chatted to us about their music, band and experiences. The tour was leisurely and at no time did we feel that we were being hurried along to finish at a set time. It was after midnight that the other members of the party decided that they had to get home. I have already recommended this tour to friends from Australia.

fine

My husband thought the trumpet player at Creole was the best he had ever heard. All members of the band were equally good and were enjoying the music as well. We felt perfectly comfortable and safe there. It was such a fun experience all evening long.

Gordon provides an experience that is incomparable. I have been a Jazz fan for 34 years. I have never had such a deep and moving experience with strangers. Gordon is the real deal; a vibrating node in the big apple.

Gordon customised the tour for us based on our interest. We visited tourist attraction landmarks such as the Cotton Club first and Gordon told us the history of how the jazz scene developed in New York. We also met a few of Gordon's musician friends. We opted for an off the beaten path tour in search of the best local jazz on that night. We visited 2 clubs, the 2nd one was the most memorable. It looked like a house as opposed to a bar or a club, the lady owner filled our bottomless glasses with chilled sangria the whole night for a ridiculous small amount of money, and the music was sensational. We got to know the bass player and had a really good time! Crowd was friendly and down to earth, Harlem is not dangerous at all! Thanks Gordon we had a wonderful time :)

We met at Columbus circle and the stories began. Our gracious host offered a tour of fabulous Harlem jazz clubs . He was very informative. We had a wonderful time.

We enjoyed a pleasant and well organised evening, that met our expectations. Hosted by a a great guy, who was most knowlegable and supportive.

Wonderful tour, we've been at two jazz venues at Harlem, heard good jazz, had a fine meal - southern fried chicken, of course! - our guide was very polite and careful, so I would recommend this tour to anyone who wants to know historical jazz places and hacve a good jazz night.

Gordon was an excellent guide who gave interesting information. I felt safe but wouldn't recommend going alone to Harlem at night. The guide knew all the local people and we went to very small venues which regular tourists couldn't have found. It was a insiders' look at jazz.

After a brief but interesting tour of the Jazz Hall of Fame at Lincoln Center, we rode the A Train up to Harlem. We walked around with our guide, Gordon, who seemed to know lots of people on the street and in the clubs. Our favorite was American Legion Post 398, which is in the basement of a nondescript brownstone on 132nd street. Great food, cheap drinks, and fantastic music. We even met a couple of musicians there from Seattle, and learned that we have a couple of mutual friends! This is a unique experience - I would highly recommend it.

Gordon provided my wife and me with a unique and wonderful experience. We would never have explored Harlem and its jazz joints on our own. Gordon's deep knowledge of Harlem, its history, and jazz made every minute a rich learning experience. Londell's and LA??? showed off two very different types of jazz venues. Anyone interested in a rich jazz experience would enjoy one of Gordon's tours. He is easy to spend time with, you feel you have gotten your money's worth, and you have a great time.

The tour was great, we saw some great places and really enjoyed it. I would definitely recommend the tour to any jazz fan. Our guide, even though he took us to some great clubs, was disappointing in that he didn't share alot of knowledge / insight with us, and I think that because it was only the two of us he didn't really try all that much to be enthusiastic and interesting. The music, thankfully, was amazing, and saved the evening from not being worth it.

I liked Gordon. He was knowledgeable and made an attempt to fix things that went wrong. But, I had a better time with music and value for my dollar when accidentally stumbling on a Django Rheinhart show at Birdlands than on this tour. We only visited two locations in Harlem because one spot was unavailable due to the holiday weekend. I really enjoyed the keyboard player at the first stop. According to my wife who was in New York last year, the food wasn't the best in the area. The second location is the reason for me clicking a low activity score. I want to click not recommended - but what transpired was not Gordon's fault. It had to do with seating and ended up with my wife without a seat sitting in a bathroom fuming for ten minutes after the promised seating mess up. The band was good at the second location. I reread the advertising to see what got us to spend over $200 on the tour. Seven locations are mentioned - although there is no promise of seeing all seven. You would expect more than two. It also mentions no cover charges in the FAQ. There was an enforced two drink minimum for me and my wife at the second location which is similar to a cover charge. I only had one $8.00 drink and with the seating mixup, Gordon covered the second one (a water for $5:00). My wife paid the $16 plus tip. Gordon did offer us a two for one tour next time but we don't know when we will be back in New York city. I hate complaining -but the tour should indicate the possibility of visiting only two out of seven locations in its description and be clearer about cover charges and drink minimums. I could google and find two musical spots to visit in Harlem and could have eaten at the better known soul food restaurant that my wife enjoyed on her last visit. It would not have taken much to keep me from writing negatively - another entertainment location or two and better treatment at the second venue.

Great music, good food and a knowledgeable host! Gordon knows the district, the history and the music so well that as we walked from establishment to establishment he was able to weave all of the elements together to make us understand Harlem. We visited 3 clubs -- all offering such a different variety of music. Gordon is part of the community so we were welcomed more than we would have been if we had stumbled on them alone. Next time I am in New York I will be going on the tour again.

It was a great experience to go to the Apollo Theatre. Gordon is a nice guy, knowing nearly everything around jazz and the history of jazz in Harlem. I would have wished to visit more clubs - this evening we only went to Apollo and one other club.