Get aboard the Jazz Trail ride

Some of the greatest musicians to play jazz music called Queens their home. By taking a ride on the Flushing Town Hall Queens Jazz Trail, which will take place again on Saturday, November 3, the community can see where some of these musicians lived and find out more about them.
The borough of Queens earned the nickname “Home of Jazz” since the 1920s because of the many jazz greats who decided to call it home. Some of its former residents include Louis Armstrong, Dizzy Gillespie, Count Basie, Lena Horne, Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, and John Coltrane. Benny Waters and Jimmy Heath still live in the borough.
Flushing Town Hall producer Clyde Bullard, who is also a musician, said Queens is “the one place that can claim to have more jazz icons live there than anywhere else on the planet.” He said that it was such a popular place for musicians to live because it was close to Manhattan and became an “enclave for successful black performers.”
The Jazz Trail begins at Flushing Town Hall, which is a New York City Landmark. While there, attendees can see the permanent photograph exhibit and memorabilia that is related to Queens jazz legends.
The Flushing Town Hall Trolley will then transport people to Corona, where they will visit the Louis Armstrong House and Museum, which is the actual home of Armstrong and his wife from 1943 to 1971. It is also near the former home of Dizzy Gillespie. The house and museum contains many of Louis’ personal belongings, including tapes, scrapbooks, photographs, trumpets and awards.
Also while in Corona, those on the Jazz Trail will bee the “Dorrie Miller” apartment complex. It is a former home of Cannonball and Nay Adderley and the current home of Jimmy Heath.
Next on the tour will be Addisleigh Park in St. Albans. This area is said to have “the highest concentration of jazz greats’ homes in the borough including Count Basie’s Tudor with a yard as big as a city block.”
The tour will conclude back at Flushing Town Hall, where Queens Jazz Trail mementos are available at the gift shop.
The Queens Jazz Trail, which is close to celebrating its 10th anniversary, will take place at 1 p.m. on Saturday, November 3. It takes place the first Saturday of every month and will also take place on Saturday, December 1.
“What they will go away with from the tour with is realizing that Queens was the home of jazz,” Bullard said. “New Orleans definitely is considered to be the birthplace of jazz, but Queens is definitely the home of jazz.”
The cost of the Jazz Trail is $35 or $25 for members.
Flushing Town Hall is located at 137-35 Northern Boulevard. For more information, visit www.flushingtownhall.org or call 718-463-7700.