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Five Spot Café

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"Five Spot" redirects here. For other uses, seeFive spot (disambiguation).

Cooper Square,New York, 1957

TheFive Spot Caféwas a jazz club located at 5Cooper Square(1956–1962) in theBoweryneighborhood ofNew York City,between theEast and West Village.In 1962, it moved to 2 St. Marks Place until closing in 1967. Its friendly, non-commercial, and low-key atmosphere with affordable drinks and food and cutting edge bebop and progressive jazz attracted a host ofavant-gardeartists and writers. It was a venue of historic significance as well, a mecca for musicians, both local and out-of-state, who packed the small venue to listen to many of the most creative composers and performers of the era.

Early history

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In 1937, Salvatore Termini (born 1884) purchased what was then known as the Bowery Café, a working-class bar located under theThird Avenue El.In 1946, two of Termini's sons, Joe and Ignatze (Iggy), returned from the war and helped run the bar. In 1951, the sons purchased the business from their father and renamed it the No. 5 Bar.

In late 1955, theThird Avenue Elwas demolished and the city embarked on a revitalization of the Bowery, which had deteriorated to become askid row.During this time, many artists were drawn to the area due to the cheaper rents, as compared toGreenwich Village.Pianist Don Shoemaker was among the influx of artists who moved to the Bowery. Occupying a studio at 1 Cooper Square above the No. 5 Bar, Shoemaker hosted jam sessions during which he would purchase beer from the Terminis. Shoemaker eventually told Joe that if the bar would purchase a piano, he and his band would play. Joe bought a used upright piano, received a cabaret license on August 30, 1956, and opened a week later under the name the Five Spot Café.

Leading jazz venue

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Many musicians lived nearby and frequented the sessions, includingElvin JonesandBlossom Dearie.Some, likeLester Young,hung out, while others, such asCannonball Adderley,sat in. It shared many patrons with the nearbyCedar Tavern;artists includingDavid Smith,Willem de Kooning,Franz Kline,Joan Mitchell,Alfred Leslie,Larry Rivers,Grace Hartigan,Jack Tworkov,Michael Goldberg,Roy Newell,andHoward Kanovitz,as well as writers and poetsJack Kerouac,Allen Ginsberg,Frank O'Hara,Ted Joans,andGregory Corsowho began to frequent the club. TheBaroness Nica de Koenigswarterwas a regular. EvenPaul Newmancame to get a better understanding of the "scene."[1]

The first official engagement at the Five Spot wasCecil Taylor,whose band featuredBuell Neidlingeron bass andDennis Charleson drums. Later,Steve Lacy(then known as Steve Lackritz) was added to the band. Originally, Taylor's band was initially hired to accompany Dick Whitmore, but Whitmore quit after three nights, giving the job to Taylor.[2]The booking lasted from 29 November 1956 to 3 January 1957.

Not long afterward, Charles "Big Charlie" Turyn, aHolocaustsurvivor, began bartending and waiting tables at the club, and became another fixture, a walking repository of information about the music of the era and the club.[1]

On 18 July 1957,Thelonious Monk's quartet began a six-month residency at the club. The group featuredJohn Coltraneon tenor saxophone,Wilbur Wareon bass, andShadow Wilsonon drums. It was Monk's first engagement in New York City following a long suspension of hiscabaret card,a problem which was resolved with assistance from the Terminis. Monk had another extended booking at the club a year later, this time with Coltrane replaced byJohnny Griffin,Ware byAhmed Abdul-Malik,and Wilson byRoy Haynes.That group was recorded and issued on the albumsThelonious in ActionandMisterioso,(both 1958).

On 17 November 1959, theOrnette ColemanQuartet from Los Angeles made its New York debut at the Five Spot. The Quartet featured Coleman on alto saxophone,Don Cherryon cornet,Charlie Hadenon bass, andBilly Higginson drums. The engagement was originally scheduled to last two weeks, but due to its success was extended to ten weeks, ending in late January 1960. Musicians such asLeonard Bernstein,Miles Davis,andJohn Coltranewere among the attendees on the opening night. On 5 April 1960, the quartet returned to the Five Spot for a second engagement which lasted four months ending in late October 1960. This second engagement featuredEd Blackwellon drums instead of Higgins.

The original Café was demolished in 1962 to make way for senior housing and the club moved to nearby 2 St. Marks Place. That location discontinued live music in 1967 and the brothers let their cabaret license lapse as live jazz dipped in popularity.[3]It resumed jazz performances in 1974, having briefly changed its name to the Two Saints, but it closed in January 1976, having hosted final performances in 1975, because it was never able to regain a cabaret license.[3][4]

Live recordings

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See also

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References

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  1. ^abCharles Charlie Turyn-Learning on the job,Jazz Times,Sylvia Levine Leitch, April 28, 2011. Retrieved August 1, 2018.
  2. ^Spellman, A. B. (2004).Four Jazz Lives.Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press. p. 67.
  3. ^ab"The Highs and Lows of a Great Jazz Club" by Gary Giddons.The Village Voice,Feb 16, 1976
  4. ^"A Pizza Restaurant With Toppings Of Jazz" by Owen McNally.The Hartford CourantJune 05, 1997[1]
  5. ^Schwartz, Andy."Perfect Sound Forever: Soundscape".www.furious.com.RetrievedMay 11,2016.
  • Joey DeFrancesco -Live at the Five Spot(Columbia - 1993)
  • Kelley, Robin D. G.Thelonious Monk: The Life and Times of an American Original.New York: Free Press, 2009.
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