Jazz at The Plaza

Modern jazz made a spectacular debut at The Plaza on September 9, 1958, when Columbia Records showcased selected artists at a by-invitation-only affair in the Persian Room. The invitation simply read “Come to a Jazz Party,” a marvel of understatement given its stellar cast of performers.

Duke Ellington and his orchestra led off the program with “Jazz Festival Suite,” and after a short set, they yielded the stage to the Miles Davis Sextet (which at the time included John Coltrane and Cannonball Adderley); among their offerings was Davis’s original composition “Jazz at The Plaza.” Ellington returned for the second half of the show, accompanying singer Jimmy Rushing, but before closing with a spirited version of “Take the ‘A’ Train,” a late arrival to the party took the stage: Lady Day herself, Miss Billie Holiday, who sang “Hush Now Don’t Explain” and “When Your Lover Has Gone,” and brought down the house. Sadly, this proved one of the singer’s last appearances in New York City; she had less than a year to live.

Happily, the concert was recorded, although with no immediate thought of commercial distribution. The tapes from this mythic evening lay in Columbia’s vaults until 1973, when they were released on two LPs entitled Jazz at The Plaza (jacket art here).

Here, photographer Don Hunstein’s portraits of Duke Ellington on the bandstand and Billie Holiday and Miles Davis after the show.