Coming Soon
Friday, May 21, 7 to 11 pm, music charge $5
Bill Goodwin's “Bop Stew" with Special Guest Roseanna Vitro “The Texas Tornado" Bill, drums; Rosanna, vocals; Pat Blanchi, organ; Adam Niewood, saxophone
Saturday, May 22, 7 to 11 pm, music charge $12/$6 after 9:30
Donna Antonow Quartet: Donna, piano, vocals; Jay Rattman, saxophones; Tony Marino, bass; Tom Whaley, drums
Sunday, May 23, 5 to 8 pm, music charge $5
Skip Wilkins & Family Plus: Skip, piano; Emily Wilkins, vocals; Dan Wilkins, saxophone; Tony Marino, bass; Gary Rissmiller, drums
About the Deerhead Inn
The Deer Head Inn, Home of Jazz in the Pocono Mountains is situated in historic Delaware Water Gap, Pennsylvania. The Inn is on the corner of Main St. (PA 611) and Mountain Road, five minutes from Route 80 and the Delaware River.
The Inn is a four-story hotel with a restaurant, bar and jazz club. The main building was constructed by Samuel Overfield between 1853 and 1865, originally called the Central House. In the thirties it was renamed The Deer Head Inn. It is a Victorian style building with two stories of wrap around porches. One side is trellised with flourishing wisteria climbing toward the mansard roof (feed me Seymour, feed me) attracting photographers from near and far in May. Adjacent to the Inn, is the Appalachian Trail surrounded by the picturesque Delaware Water Gap National Park.
Good food, jazz and ambience have made the Deer Head Inn a Mecca for jazz artists and devoted fans since the end of WWII. In 1953, Bob and Fay Lehr purchased the Deer Head Inn and maintained the jazz venue. In 1962 Bob hired the young pianist John Coates, Jr., securing the Inn's legendary reputation in the world of jazz. John was the house pianist for the next 30 years and continues to perform here. Some jazz greats who came to the Inn and played with John include saxophonist Al Cohn and Zoot Sims--two of the Four Brothers--Stan Getz, Phil Woods, George Young, and Nelson Hill and pianist Keith Jarrett would frequently sit in on the drums, trombonist Urbie Green often stopped by, along with other greats as guitarist Harry Leahy, bassist Steve Gilmore and drummer Bill Goodwin. Additional performers at the Inn include saxophonist Dave Liebman, pianist/ songwriter Bob Dorough and more. Some live recordings were produced here with John Coates, Jr., leading the way along with Phil Woods, followed by Keith Jarrett, Dave Tofani, Jesse Green, Jerry Harris, Nancy Reed, and others.
Bob and Fay's daughter, Dona, and her husband Chris Solliday took the business over in 1992 and brought in a whole new list of musicians, including Bill Mays, Fred Hersch, David Fathead Newman, Pat Metheny, Mark Murphy and Bill Charlap.
In October of 2005, four long time fans of the club, Dennis Carrig, Bob Mancuso, Jason Wilson, and Mary Carrig purchased the Deer Head Inn. Denny and Mary are brother and sister, Bob and Jay, father and son. Work is underway to restore the Inn to its former beautiful state. The beautiful mansard roof and box gutters have been restored, as well as the third and fourth floors to accommodate overnight guests. The music focus will remain jazz. The Inn provides a full dinner and bar menu as well as being a full service bar. The Inn is non-smoking. Check back to the site to follow the progress.
Deer Head
Inn 5 Main Street
Delaware Water Gap, PA
18327
570-424-2000
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For more information contact All About Jazz.
