All that jazz

Mayor Michael Nutter speaking outside of the former home of jazz musician John Coltrane, Friday, (AP)

POSTED: Friday, August 16, 2013, 10:10 AM
“We need to work to rebuild appreciation of jazz and promote innovative presentations of jazz music to build the audiences that clubs need to survive,” Mayor Michael Nutter remarked in his keynote speech at the Jazz Connect Conference sponsored by the Association of Performing Arts Presenters this past January.


He has a point. Regardless of politics, Philadelphia needs to listen to their mayor. As the birthplace or temporary home of influential jazz musicians like Billie Holiday, Bessie Smith, Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, John Coltrane, Sun Ra Arkestra and a whole lot of other cool cats, Philadelphia has a connection to this music genre that is awe-inspiring and, lately, nostalgia-inducing. The jazz community of the early and mid-20th century was unlike any music scene Philadelphia had ever seen.

Not even the Philadelphia Soul, put out by Gamble and Huff in the 1970s, can compete with the longevity of Philly jazz. This “other sound of Philadelphia” had a longer buildup and staying power, but it definitely is still a “back in the day” kind of music trend.  As one of the bigger northern urban cities after World War I, Philadelphia saw an influx of African Americans who left the South during the Great Migration, which lasted for thirty years before World War II started, and the Second Great Migration, which lasted for thirty years after World War II ended.

The city’s black population jumped from 84,500 in 1910 to 220,600 in 1930 to make Philadelphia the country’s third-largest city from 1920 to 1950, with the population peaking at 2 million people in 1950. The prosperity of jobs and abundance of people allowed for the arts and the arts economy to flourish as more musicians and music-lovers frequently attended popular jazz and bebop music shows.   The city was home to over 30 jazz clubs from the 1940s to 1960s, 16 of them in North Philadelphia. Of course, none of these jazz clubs are open in present day.

Back then, the big streets that emerged as the hip places for jazz were “The Strip” on 52nd Street, which had the Aqua Lounge and Red Rooster, and Columbia Avenue (now Cecil B. Moore Avenue), with eight clubs conveniently located near, famous jazz musician, John Coltrane’s first Philly residence­–an apartment at 1450 North 12th Street between Jefferson and Master Streets. South Philly offered popular clubs like Pep’s Musical Bar and the Clef Club, which also served as a Philadelphia chapter of the independent black musicians' union affiliate, Local 274. The list of members reads like a who’s who in jazz: Coltrane, Gillespie, Nina Simone, Philly Joe Jonas, Jimmy Oliver, and Jimmy and Percy Heath.

Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/entertainment/art-attack/All-that-jazz.html#GHR21bxLi7O8mItf.99