Izzy and Art

When I saw these two men being interviewed with a boom mike overhead and a camera rolling at the recent Bluegrass reunion, I figured they may be important in the music world. So, I decided to take pictures first and ask questions later. Upon inquiring about their identity, someone very knowledgeable volunteered to educate me. Both were significant figures in the music world. The person on the right is Izzy Young and on the left, Art D'Lugoff. Izzy Young, born in NYC in 1928, is noted for his important role in folk music. In 1957 he opened the Folklore Center on MacDougal Street in the Village in NYC - a small walk-up shop, with books and records which became a meeting place, central to everything going on in the local folk scene at the time. Dylan was a frequenter of the shop, listening to music and reading books in the back room. Izzy arranged concerts with folk musicians and songwriters - he produced Dylan's first concert at Carnegie Chapter Hall in 1961. In 1973, Izzy closed shop here and moved to Stockholm, Sweden where he opened Folklore Centrum. Art D'Lugoff opened the Village Gate in the 1950s. Any New York resident who has been in the city for any time knows of this major nightclub on Bleecker Street. During its 38 years in operation, the Village Gate featured names like John Coltrane, Coleman Hawkins, Billie Holiday, Duke Ellington, Dizzy Gillespie, and even Jimi Hendrix, Jim Morrison and Allen Ginsberg in a benefit for Timothy Leary. The club closed in 1995 and the space is now occupied by a CVS pharmacy ...