Ira Gitler nasceu em 1928. Frequentou a Universidade de Missouri, a Universidade de Columbia, e trabalhou para a marca de discos Prestige entre 1950 e 1955. Foi co-autor de ‘The Encyclopedia of Jazz’ (1955), de ‘The Encyclopedia of Jazz in the Sixties’ (1966), da ‘Biographical Encyclopedia of Jazz’ (1999). Foi ainda colaborador das revistas ‘Metronome’, ‘Jazz Magazine’, ‘Down Beat’ e ‘Jazz Times’ e o seu trabalho principal é o livro ‘Swing to Bop’ (1985), uma recolha oral entre músicos e acerca dos anos 40, anos de transição entre a Era Swing e o novo mundo BeBop. Visitou Portugal duas vezes: uma num dos primeiros Festivais Cascais Jazz, anos 70, outra nos anos 90.

Referring to the edition of the CD 'Miles Davis Birdland 1951', very recently published on Blue Note, with your precious liner notes, always a jazz lesson, first question for any jazz lover will be for sure: why only now? Two of the sessions were out on bootleg lp’s years ago via Boris Rose. There may have been bootlegs since but I am personally not aware of them. Maybe the sound could never be “cleaned up” sufficiently until this era of higher technology.

Your memory is fabulous, your words are always a History of jazz chapter. Quoting your liner notes "The sets of Miles Davis come from winter, spring and fall but are not offered in chronological order', do you know why?

I think it was producer Cuscuna's decision to present them this way for reasons of programming.

At the time - early fifties - was 'Birdland' the most important jazz club in NYC? Without a doubt. Did 'Birdland' have the same address as today: 315 West 44th Street, New York? Was it closed for years?

the Birdland we are talking about in 1951 lasted into the 1960s. in 1986 new ownership opened a Birdland at 2745 Broadway (corner of 105th street) 10 years later he moved to 315 west 44th street (between 8th and 9th avenues).

Was 'Jimmy Ryan's' the last 52nd street jazz club to close? In mid sixties Don Byas and Roy Eldridge still played there.

Jimmy Ryan's was the last 52nd street club to close. It closed in 1962. The one you refer to opened later on west 54th street under different management.

During the sixties, in the dangerous Far East side of Manhattan, which was the importance of 'Slugs'', in the NY jazz History? It presented some musicians that weren't being booked elsewhere--Lee Morgan, Hank Mobley and some more avant garde types. It served that neighbourhood’s economics--not as expensive as some other clubs. The neighbourhood was not great but not as dangerous as is was depicted

Names like Kermit Scott, Vic Coulson or Allen Tinney mentioned by Dexter Gordon or Charlie Parker as great musicians are not referred and popular in the History of jazz. Can you explain this to us? They took part in the sessions at Minton's and Nonroe's but were never recorded in that period so unless you heard them in person you didn't really know how they sounded. You obviously read what Tinney had to say in ‘Swing to Bop’.

Can you give us your opinion on Bernardo Moreira's and Jacinta's CDs? Due to the IAJE convention and a particularly heavy writing schedule at this time I haven't had a chance to listen to them as yet. When I do I will respond to this question. Thanks for your kind words. It was so good to see you after all these years. Would it be possible to get copies of the picture with Delaunay in Cascais and the one with Phil Woods last month in NYC? thanks, IRA