Big Apple Jazz Tours

We just got back from the tour and to be honest found it a little disappointing — maybe Gordon was having a bad day. We met him at 6.30 but the other guests on the tour were late so didn’t leave till 6.50pm. Gordon chatted on the subway but little about jazz in NY. The first bar we went too wasn’t serving food that night so we stayed for 5 minutes then went to the next where we watched so relatively uninspiring college kids play jazz whilst waiting for food. Then we went to Showmans which had a great sax player but we sat at the bar and Gordon didn’t speak to us so other than know how old the bar was, we found out little information about who was playing, the history of the bar or the area. We then walked to Apollo Theatre where Gordon spoke to us for five minutes — again pretty minimal and could have got more from a guidebook. Then we went to Paris Blue which was brilliant — but again sat at the bar while Gordon sat on the old piano stool — no info about who was playing. For $ 99 each this is a pretty expensive tour plus food, tips for musicians, and drinks it was not worth it. In fact it would have been cheaper and just as informative to get a driver for the night and go to four bars that you could research beforehand. All the bars were welcoming and friendly so going in is no problem — the bars are amazing but this does not make a ‘tour’. Overall this tour in our opinion is not good value for money. Gordon is too relaxed and even indicated we were going to bars in Harlem where you could jam if you wanted — but this was not the case. Sorry Gordon but not worth $ 200!

My husband’s band students recently took a week-​long trip to NYC and our first experience was a tour of Harlem lead by Gordon of Big Apple Jazz. What a delightful experience for the group! The students and chaperones all had a great time and learned so much about Harlem, jazz, history and NYC in general.
Our tour began with Gordon personally meeting our group at our hotel in the Times Square area to escort us via subway up to Harlem. The students immediately took a shine to Gordon who has a very natural rapport with teens. Being our first day in NYC, we were more than a little unsure of how to navigate the subway, but Gordon did a wonderful job of getting us up to Harlem. We then took a fabulous walking tour where we saw many things including the Apollo Theater, the Tree of Hope, and the Jumel mansion. Part of our tour took us to the home of Marjorie Eliot who gave us a private performance in her apartment (if you’re not sure who she is, google her. Such a sweet lady!) For lunch, we ate at a wonderful soul food buffet restaurant that we all loved as well.
After our tour of Harlem, Gordon took us back down to Central Park where we saw John Lennon’s former apartment, Strawberry Fields, and more. Gordon was very knowledgeable and answered all the questions the students had. At the end of a long and fun day, Gordon saw us «home» to our hotel.
I cannot say enough good things about Big Apple Jazz Tours. Very professional, very informative, very enjoyable, and very reasonably priced. The students and chaperones all had a wonderful time and it was the perfect way to begin our exploration of NYC. I highly recommend this company for groups visiting the area! You will not be dissapointed!