Birdland (New York jazz club)

Birdland opened in December 1949 as a basement club on Broadway, intentionally designed to capitalize on the rising fame of saxophonist Charlie Parker. Parker earned the nickname Bird because of his frenetic and revolutionary approach to improvisation, and the owners named the club in his honor to attract the growing crowds of bebop enthusiasts. In its earliest years, the venue featured a small, fenced-in area called the bullpen, where students and fans could stand or sit for a low price to watch the jazz giants of the era perform just feet away from the bandstand.