how the big apple got its name

1920's era jazz musicians picked it up from stable guys and horseracing people from New Orleans who considered NY races and NY gigs to be where the big money was. And since a horse, up for a big purse in the NYC, can't get paid off in big money himself, the lingo promised him a big apple. So high paying New York City gigs and record dates were thought of as a "Big Apple" for musicians too. A sports writer in those days, John Fitzpatrick, picked up on the lingo and called his column "Around the Big Apple." If you go to 54th and Broadway you will see that the city officially recognized him by renaming the corner where he lived, "Big Apple Corner." There was a club called The Big Apple on the corner of 135th and 7th Ave (across the street from Small's Paradise). The corner is marked by a whimsical display of an upside-down apple announcing the location. See these sites and more on a Big Apple Jazz Tour.
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Dedicated to bigapplejazz.com, since that is where I just obtained this information from, cut and paste style ;) Their new store, which has just opened up in Harlem's historic jazz district, is having its first in-store perfomance this Friday night. Several lineups focus in on the work of the beloved Nina Simone. No cover, music will run from 6:30 to 9:30.

Also, since many February shows are now sold out, a fairly close to comprehensive NYC March music guide is beginning to be compiled for chainbreaker, stay tuned...