Terry Jean Pollard was known in the Detroit jazz community as “the queen of the vibes” for her mastery of the instrument. A Detroit bred pianist/vibraphonist, Pollard was a powerhouse performer who started out playing at jazz clubs around the city including a famous stint with the Billy Mitchell band at the Blue Bird Inn […]
Very grateful to The Kresge Foundation for believing in our sonic vision for The Blue Bird neighborhood and community. The planning begins now thanks to their support. Detroit Sound Conservancy will conduct community engagement and initial design for the redevelopment of the Blue Bird Inn, an iconic jazz club on Detroit’s west side, into a […]
Has Detroit become a sonic desert? Musical expression has been a long-standing pivot point for debates about Detroit’s successes and failures. Though the Detroit area has a wide range of cultural expressions for which it is associated—including art, design, architecture, literature, and, critically, industrial production—music has been the dominant site for articulating exactly how Detroit […]
We are currently hard at work “restaging” the Blue Bird stage for transport to Biennale Internationale Design Saint-Etienne 2017. Here are some recent photos of our process. Read more about our work with the Blue Bird Inn since 2012 here.
Originally published in Model D. Tuesday, April 24, 2012 and written by Carleton Gholz Stirring the Blue Bird to sing: Introducing the Detroit Sound Conservancy Every day lovers of Detroit sound lose another hero. As I write this, I have heard that Michael Davis, bass player for the seminal Detroit rock band the MC5, has passed away. In a […]
The first meeting of the Detroit Sound Conservancy was a raging success. First meeting up at the wonderful Avalon bakery on Willis in the Midtown area of Detroit and discussing possibilities for our burgeoning group. Then going over to the now defunct (infamous jazz club) the Blue Bird Inn and taking pictures to mark what we hope will […]