Legendary Detroit Jazz Club Awaits Its Fate

The Detroit Sound Conservancy is in the process of buying the building, but what happens next is “in the city’s hands,” explains executive director Carleton Gholz.

The Blue Bird Inn

Jake Neher/WDET

Click the audio player above to listen to the full conversation. CultureShift airs weekdays from 12 p.m. to 2 p.m. on 101.9 WDETFM Detroit Public Radio.

The Blue Bird Inn was a legendary jazz club in Detroit that welcomed massive talents like Miles Davis and Billy Mitchell.

By the late 1940s, it was the destination for bebop jazz in the city.

And now there’s an effort to save and renovate the club by the Detroit Sound Conservancy.

Last year, the non-profit bought the building but have encountered nothing but red tape since then. And it’s possible this iconic property could face demolition.

CultureShift’s Amanda LeClaire speaks with Carleton Gholz, the conservancy’s executive director and founder, about what’s next for the legendary venue.

“We are waiting for that final clearing of title (to own the building),” says Gholz. “What we just want the community to know is that we’re working very hard on this. This is a very important project for us. We’ve been working with our community partners and neighbors. At this point it’s in the city’s hands.”

Click on the audio player above to hear an update from the Detroit Sound Conservancy about the status of the legendary jazz club, the Blue Bird Inn. 

Author

  • Amanda LeClaire is an award-winning journalist and managing editor and lead reporter of WDET's new environmental series, the Detroit Tree Canopy Project, as well as WDET's CuriosiD podcast. She was the host of WDET’s CultureShift and a founding producer of the station’s flagship news talk show *Detroit Today*. Amanda also served as a Morning Edition host at WDET and previously worked as a host, audio and video producer, and reporter for Arizona Public Media.