40°43′43″N 73°59′26″W / 40.72861°N 73.99056°W / 40.72861; -73.99056
31-514: The Five Spot Café was a jazz club located at 5 Cooper Square (1956–1962) in the Bowery neighborhood of New York City , between the East 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 of avant-garde artists and writers. It
62-428: A band led by Walker's brother. Alto saxophone was still his instrument of choice when he joined Lionel Hampton 's big band, three days after his high school graduation, but Hampton encouraged him to take up the tenor, playing alongside Arnett Cobb . He first appeared on a Los Angeles recording with Hampton's band in 1945 at the age of 17. By mid-1947, Griffin and fellow Hampton band member Joe Morris , had formed
93-401: A full-tuition scholarship until 2014. Frederick A. Peterson's Cooper Union Foundation Building on the north end of the square, the oldest existing American building framed with steel beams, still stands where it was located when it opened in 1859, but the interior was extensively reconstructed in 1975 not only to modernize it, but also to fulfill one of Cooper's plans which was never realized at
124-418: A legion of tenor players, both in his hometown Chicago with Hank Mobley and Gene Ammons , and on the road. Diminutive, he was distinctive as a fashionable dresser, a good businessman, and a well-liked bandleader to other musicians. Griffin was leader on his first Blue Note album Introducing Johnny Griffin in 1956. Also featuring Wynton Kelly on piano, Curly Russell on bass and Max Roach on drums,
155-464: A member of Monk's Five Spot quartet; he can be heard on the albums Thelonious in Action and Misterioso . Griffin's unique style, based on an astounding technique, included a vast canon of bebop language. He was known to quote generously from classical, opera and other musical forms. A prodigious player, he was often subjected to "cutting sessions" (a musical battle between two musicians) involving
186-579: A member of the Kenny Clarke/Francy Boland Big Band after he moved to Europe in the 1960s. In 1995, Griffin was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Music from Berklee College of Music . Griffin studied music at DuSable High School in Chicago under Walter Dyett , starting out on clarinet before moving on to oboe and then alto saxophone. While still at high school at the age of 15, Griffin was playing with T-Bone Walker in
217-422: A new community park in the area. The redesign was completed in 2016. Lafayette Street, Cooper Square, and Fourth Avenue were converted to one-way streets with reduced lanes, and the park in the intersection was expanded. When the square was initially opened as a public space in 1850, it was named "Stuyvesant Square", despite there already being a " Stuyvesant Square " about a half-mile north on Second Avenue . It
248-464: A sextet made up of local musicians, including George Freeman , where he remained for the next two years. His playing can be heard on early rhythm and blues recordings for Atlantic Records . By 1951, Griffin was playing baritone saxophone in an R&B septet led by former bandmate Arnett Cobb . After returning to Chicago from two years in the Army, Griffin began to establish a reputation as one of
279-756: The Nat Adderley Quintet in 1978, having previously recorded with Adderley in 1958. In 1978, Griffin and Dexter Gordon returned to the U.S., and the two performed at the Ann Arbor's Eclipse Jazz Festival , before recording Live at Carnegie Hall . Griffin's last concert was in Hyères , France on July 21, 2008. On July 25, 2008, he died of a heart attack at the age of 80 in Mauprévoir , near Availles-Limouzine , France. With Ahmed Abdul-Malik With Nat Adderley With Art Blakey With
310-570: The Ornette Coleman Quartet from Los Angeles made its New York debut at the Five Spot. The Quartet featured Coleman on alto saxophone, Don Cherry on cornet, Charlie Haden on bass, and Billy Higgins on 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 as Leonard Bernstein , Miles Davis , and John Coltrane were among
341-400: The 2014-2016 redesign of the area, the intersection was difficult for pedestrians to navigate. Bowery, Third Avenue and both sides of Cooper Square were two-way streets, and the area was part of a city-approved through-truck route. The New York City Department of Transportation announced plans in 2009 to "normalize" traffic, increase the size of the park in the middle of the square, and create
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#1732780890709372-641: The Netherlands in 1978, where he settled in Bergambacht. His relocation was the result of several factors, including income tax problems, a failing marriage and feeling "embittered by the critical acceptance of free jazz " in the United States, as journalist Ben Ratliff wrote. Apart from appearing regularly under his own name at jazz clubs such as London's Ronnie Scott's , Griffin became a "first choice" sax player for visiting US musicians touring
403-416: 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 featured Ed Blackwell on 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
434-654: The brothers let their cabaret license lapse as live jazz dipped in popularity. 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. Cooper Square Cooper Square is a junction of streets in Lower Manhattan in New York City located at
465-471: The club. The Baroness Nica de Koenigswarter was a regular. Even Paul Newman came to get a better understanding of the "scene." The first official engagement at the Five Spot was Cecil Taylor , whose band featured Buell Neidlinger on bass and Dennis Charles on 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
496-675: The confluence of the neighborhoods of Bowery to the south, NoHo to the west and southwest, Greenwich Village to the west and northwest, the East Village to the north and east, and the Lower East Side to the southeast. Beginning at its southern end where the Bowery crosses East 4th Street , the road then splits in two, both with Cooper Square addresses, until they cross Astor Place between East 8th Street and St. Marks Place and become Fourth Avenue (the western street) and Third Avenue (the eastern street). Prior to
527-548: The continent during the 1960s and 1970s. In 1965, he recorded albums with Wes Montgomery . He briefly rejoined Monk's groups (an Octet and Nonet) in 1967. From 1967 to 1969, he was part of the Kenny Clarke/Francy Boland Big Band . Griffin and Davis met up again in 1970 and recorded Tough Tenors Again 'n' Again , and again with the Dizzy Gillespie Big 7 at the Montreux Jazz Festival . In
558-506: The job to Taylor. The booking lasted from 29 November 1956 to 3 January 1957. Not long afterward, Charles "Big Charlie" Turyn, a Holocaust survivor, 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. On 18 July 1957, Thelonious Monk 's quartet began a six-month residency at the club. The group featured John Coltrane on tenor saxophone, Wilbur Ware on bass, and Shadow Wilson on drums. It
589-400: The late 1970s, Griffin recorded with Peter Herbolzheimer and His Big Band, which also included, among others, Nat Adderley , Derek Watkins , Art Farmer , Slide Hampton , Jiggs Whigham , Herb Geller , Wilton Gaynair , Stan Getz , Gerry Mulligan , Rita Reys , Jean "Toots" Thielemans , Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen , Grady Tate , and Quincy Jones as arranger. He also recorded with
620-737: The name the Five Spot Café. Many musicians lived nearby and frequented the sessions, including Elvin Jones and Blossom Dearie . Some, like Lester Young , hung out, while others, such as Cannonball Adderley , sat in. It shared many patrons with the nearby Cedar Tavern ; artists including David Smith , Willem de Kooning , Franz Kline , Joan Mitchell , Alfred Leslie , Larry Rivers , Grace Hartigan , Jack Tworkov , Michael Goldberg , Roy Newell , and Howard Kanovitz , as well as writers and poets Jack Kerouac , Allen Ginsberg , Frank O'Hara , Ted Joans , and Gregory Corso who began to frequent
651-578: The premiere saxophonists in that city. Thelonious Monk enthusiastically encouraged Orrin Keepnews of the Riverside label to sign the young tenor, but before he could act Blue Note had signed Griffin. He joined Art Blakey 's Jazz Messengers in 1957, and his recordings from that time include an album joining together the Messengers and Thelonious Monk. Griffin then succeeded John Coltrane as
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#1732780890709682-552: The recording brought Griffin critical acclaim. The album A Blowin' Session (1957) featured John Coltrane and Hank Mobley . He played with Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers for a few months in 1957 and in the Thelonious Monk Sextet and Quartet (1958). During this period, he recorded a set with Clark Terry on Serenade to a Bus Seat , featuring the rhythm trio of Wynton Kelly , Paul Chambers , and Philly Joe Jones . Griffin moved to France in 1963 and to
713-682: The square on both sides. Notes Johnny Griffin John Arnold Griffin III (April 24, 1928 – July 25, 2008) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. Nicknamed "the Little Giant" for his short stature and forceful playing, Griffin's career began in the mid-1940s and continued until the month of his death. A pioneering figure in hard bop , Griffin recorded prolifically as a bandleader in addition to stints with pianist Thelonious Monk , drummer Art Blakey , in partnership with fellow tenor Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis and as
744-408: The square will be a northbound bus-only lane, from a two-way multi-use roadway. The confusing intersection of the two legs at Fifth Street would become a simple "Village Plaza", with sidewalk extensions and a small amphitheater on the western sidewalk. Finally, Cooper Triangle would be renovated, and expanded to make a new "Cooper Walk" leading up to Cooper Union. New trees would be planted up and down
775-576: The time: the installation of a round elevator. The exterior of the building was restored in 1999 as well. Downtown of the Foundation Building is a small park, Cooper Triangle, which includes a monument dedicated to Peter Cooper. Across the street, at 41 Cooper Square, is the school's newest building, the New Academic Building , designed by Thom Mayne of Morphosis . The Village Voice ' s old headquarters are on
806-580: 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, the Third Avenue El was demolished and the city embarked on a revitalization of the Bowery, which had deteriorated to become a skid row . During this time, many artists were drawn to the area due to the cheaper rents, as compared to Greenwich Village . Pianist Don Shoemaker
837-407: The western side of the square, as are classroom buildings of Grace Church School and Kaplan, Inc. The sleek, modern high-rise Cooper Square Hotel at 25 is one of the newest buildings on the square. The New York City Department of Transportation 's "Reconstruction of Astor Place and Cooper Square" plan calls for some changes to be made to Cooper Square beginning in 2013. The western leg of
868-579: Was Monk's first engagement in New York City following a long suspension of his cabaret 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 by Johnny Griffin , Ware by Ahmed Abdul-Malik , and Wilson by Roy Haynes . That group was recorded and issued on the albums Thelonious in Action and Misterioso , (both 1958). On 17 November 1959,
899-477: 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. In 1937, Salvatore Termini (born 1884) purchased what was then known as the Bowery Café, a working-class bar located under the Third Avenue El . In 1946, two of Termini's sons, Joe and Ignatze (Iggy), returned from
930-408: 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
961-487: Was renamed for Peter Cooper , the 19th Century industrialist and philanthropist, after his death in 1883. In 1853, Cooper had broken ground for Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art , an institution founded on the belief that high-quality education should be available to all who qualified, including women – a radical notion at the time – without cost. It continued to provide every student with