Big Apple Jazz Tours — Local services in New York

Heard from a friend that this Harlem Jazz Tour was a highlight of her NYC trip and she was 100% correct. Right from the moment I registered all five of us, Gordon was extremely responsive & helpful with every question & request, always getting back to me in a timely fashion with detailed & reassuring information.

Days before our scheduled jazz tour, I received a call from Amanda Humes, Gordon's colleague, imforming me that she would be our guide. She was extremely friendly, gave specific details about what to expect & most importantly, asked questions about each of us in order to tailor the tour to our interests & experiences. What a great introduction of what was to come! Amanda then sent each of us a detailed email the day before our tour & we easily knew where to meet her & what to expect in general.

This entire evening truly exceeded my expectations! Our group consisted of five women who are longtime friends, two friends from CA, a couple from the Netherlands & a woman from Ottawa and we just blended together so nicely, thanks to Amanda & her knowledge & introductions & games & celebration of special events. She obviously has a deep understanding & respect for the musicians & performers and for Harlem & the history of the area & contributions to jazz, blues, & music in general. She presented this during the experience throughout the night, kept us interested & enlightened us on so many levels of information that went beyond jazz. Her follow up email contained pictures, videos & even more facts, which gave us a wonderful memory of this special evening.

Thank you Gordon & Amanda for a fabulous experience! I can't wait to do this with you again. Big Apple Jazz Tours is at the top of my recommendations for anyone visiting NYC or the area. SO worth it - I feel like I made new friends, learned a lot & never would have found these great venues & musicians on my own ( Hamilton's & The Cloak Room).

It's hard to describe Amanda, but she definitely came as advertised! I loved her enthusiasm, knowledge, openness, willingness to share & ability to welcome each one of us into her home turf. She engaged us with the musicians & her friends, gave us hints about how react if we actually saw a "famous person" (which we did and he performed unexpectedly!!!) and overall provided an amazing experience.

GREAT TIME!!! ...

We had a really fun and memorable evening with Amanda and the rest of the group (seven in total). Our friends who live in New York had done a tour with her colleague Gordon before and recommended it to us. Amanda is so personable and gives off great energy; it was hard not to have a good time! She contacted us ahead of time to check our musical tastes, and we immediately felt a rapport and that we would have a great time on her tour. We just said we were in her hands, which we knew would be a good decision. She gave us detailed information before the tour on logistics, the venues and artists we’d see, food and drinks menus etc. Amanda is super organised and puts a lot of effort into organising everything in advance, and giving you background so you can really know who and what you’re seeing and enjoy it.

The first venue was the chapel at the Interchurch Center, where the Jazzmobile Organization was hosting bassist/vocalist Mimi Jones and her quartet. Well-attended concert and the band were seriously good, wow! Amanda got us great seats close to the stage.

Then we moved on to St Nick’s Jazz Club at the Comedy in Harlem club, where the drummer Craig Holiday Haynes and his trio (plus an excellent guest saxophonist) played a tribute gig to Craig’s late father and jazz icon, Roy Haynes. Again, tremendous musicianship on show, along with two great guest vocalists, including Amanda herself! The club was full of locals – always a good sign – with attentive food and drink service too. We would never have found the club on our own, nor dared to go in as we weren’t locals, but Amanda made everything easy, and we felt really welcome. And it was amazing when Amanda sang a blues number with the band, she was great, wish we could have heard more of her singing. And she added some lovely extra touches for the group like little mementos of the night.

We highly recommend this tour, and look forward to visiting some more venues with Amanda or Gordon the next time we’re in NYC. ...

The absolute best experience I've ever had in NYC. I took four semesters of Jazz History for my degree in jazz studies and even I found myself learning as if I were a novice! Amanda is not only a deep well of knowledge but also an amazing human being with a vibrant personality. If you're looking for someone to make you feel at home the minute you get off the plane she's the one! Our tour started out in a (literally and figuratively) underground jazz club which featured amazing jazz music, delicious home-made soul food, and the last Hammond B-3 in Harlem. Afterwards, we walked through the Harlem streets and got to learn about legends such as Billie Holiday and landmarks such as the Apollo Theater. The night ended at a beautiful speakeasy with tasty cocktails and a fun all-inclusive atmosphere. A fantastic journey that takes you from Harlem's roots to where it is today, without a doubt a five star experience. But the reason I would give six stars if I could is that Amanda took it upon herself to invite me to a blues show the following night, where I got to sit in with the house band! What an absolute thrill. If you're a musician, especially a jazz musician, this tour is a MUST! And if you don't play this tour is still a great way to uncover hidden treasures of New York, hear some great music, and make some new friends along the way. Make sure to ask for Amanda, it's the only way to GUARANTEE the time...