WOODY ALLEN, MAYA ANGELOU, Pearl Bailey, Harry Belafonte, Lenny Bruce, Betty Carter, John Coltrane, Miles Davis, Woody Guthrie, Judy Holliday, Johnny Mathis, Wynton Marsalis, Charles Mingus, Thelonious Monk, Sonny Rollins, Mort Sahl and Peter, Paul and Mary and countless other legendary jazz and folk musicians, poets and entertainers all have one thing in common. They made their name at a basement dive in New York City called the Village Vanguard. Last week what may be the oldest nightclub in America threw itself a 60th birthday party, and the joint was more jumping than ever.
As they have since the Vanguard opened,...