Featured Discussions - Pittsburgh Jazz Network2024-03-28T09:30:57Zhttp://jazzburgher.ning.com/group/thedestinyoflivemusicvenues/forum/topic/list?feed=yes&xn_auth=no&featured=1James Street Gastropub & Speakeasy goes silent permanentlytag:jazzburgher.ning.com,2018-08-03:1992552:Topic:4349822018-08-03T04:57:21.576ZDr. Nelson Harrisonhttp://jazzburgher.ning.com/profile/NelsonHarrison
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</p> Make Pittsburgh Great Againtag:jazzburgher.ning.com,2018-05-24:1992552:Topic:4308482018-05-24T14:52:36.014ZDr. Nelson Harrisonhttp://jazzburgher.ning.com/profile/NelsonHarrison
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<tbody><tr><td><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.facebook.com/n/?paul.cunningham&aref=1527149229392112&medium=email&mid=56ceed9c03e1eG1f0df5b8G56cef235640f0G52&bcode=2.1527149229.AbzEtjCRy2oNDZYjmPU&n_m=cybraxis%40verizon.net&lloc=image"><img width="50" height="50" src="https://scontent.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-1/p100x100/30714842_10155693010933877_2322758575948583970_n.jpg?_nc_cat=0&_nc_ad=z-m&_nc_cid=0&oh=55644b071e42b4d3d8797d3ce8ecc33c&oe=5B8EA6EE"/></a></td>
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<tbody><tr><td><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.facebook.com/n/?paul.cunningham&aref=1527149229392112&medium=email&mid=56ceed9c03e1eG1f0df5b8G56cef235640f0G52&bcode=2.1527149229.AbzEtjCRy2oNDZYjmPU&n_m=cybraxis%40verizon.net&lloc=image">Paul Cunningham</a></td>
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<tr><td>May 24 at 4:07am</td>
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<tr><td colspan="3"><span class="aolmail_mb_text">One of the many institutions that made Pittsburgh great is once again marginalized by the economic pressures that degrade and devalue our community as a whole. This change may be inevitable for many additional reasons beyond our control, but to know that this one in particular is what fostered the greatness in so many of our community members, and see it dying without even a whimper sometimes makes me feel hopeless for perpetuating any of our great institutions beyond what a heavily taxed dollar can buy.<span> </span><br/><br/>I didn’t take courses at Filmmakers or even go to see movies there with any frequency, but it was one of the first things I could readily identify about what made Pittsburgh truly special only hours after arriving here.<br/><br/>See also: WDUQ, James Street Tavern, Shadow Lounge, Graffiti, Your Inner Vagabond, Tele Ropa, 9th St, Lava Lounge, etal.<br/><br/>I’m humbled to see that despite these difficult and chronic setbacks, some truly exceptional artists and organizers such as<span> </span><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.facebook.com/n/?JStrong7th&aref=1527149229392112&medium=email&mid=56ceed9c03e1eG1f0df5b8G56cef235640f0G52&bcode=2.1527149229.AbzEtjCRy2oNDZYjmPU&n_m=cybraxis%40verizon.net">Justin Strong</a>,<span> </span><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.facebook.com/n/?roger.h.sr.7&aref=1527149229392112&medium=email&mid=56ceed9c03e1eG1f0df5b8G56cef235640f0G52&bcode=2.1527149229.AbzEtjCRy2oNDZYjmPU&n_m=cybraxis%40verizon.net">Roger Humphries Sr</a>,<a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.facebook.com/n/?LeMadameD&aref=1527149229392112&medium=email&mid=56ceed9c03e1eG1f0df5b8G56cef235640f0G52&bcode=2.1527149229.AbzEtjCRy2oNDZYjmPU&n_m=cybraxis%40verizon.net">Christiane Dolores</a>,<span> </span><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.facebook.com/n/?gena.nescoriaza&aref=1527149229392112&medium=email&mid=56ceed9c03e1eG1f0df5b8G56cef235640f0G52&bcode=2.1527149229.AbzEtjCRy2oNDZYjmPU&n_m=cybraxis%40verizon.net">Geña Música</a>,<span> </span><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.facebook.com/n/?benopie&aref=1527149229392112&medium=email&mid=56ceed9c03e1eG1f0df5b8G56cef235640f0G52&bcode=2.1527149229.AbzEtjCRy2oNDZYjmPU&n_m=cybraxis%40verizon.net">Ben Opie</a>,<span> </span><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.facebook.com/n/?Mandy.Kivowitz.Delfaver&aref=1527149229392112&medium=email&mid=56ceed9c03e1eG1f0df5b8G56cef235640f0G52&bcode=2.1527149229.AbzEtjCRy2oNDZYjmPU&n_m=cybraxis%40verizon.net">Mandy L Kivowitz-Delfaver</a>,<span> </span><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.facebook.com/n/?manny.theiner&aref=1527149229392112&medium=email&mid=56ceed9c03e1eG1f0df5b8G56cef235640f0G52&bcode=2.1527149229.AbzEtjCRy2oNDZYjmPU&n_m=cybraxis%40verizon.net">Manny Theiner</a>, Dr.<span> </span><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.facebook.com/n/?nelson.e.harrison&aref=1527149229392112&medium=email&mid=56ceed9c03e1eG1f0df5b8G56cef235640f0G52&bcode=2.1527149229.AbzEtjCRy2oNDZYjmPU&n_m=cybraxis%40verizon.net">Nelson E. Harrison</a>,<span> </span><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.facebook.com/n/?george.jones.3591267&aref=1527149229392112&medium=email&mid=56ceed9c03e1eG1f0df5b8G56cef235640f0G52&bcode=2.1527149229.AbzEtjCRy2oNDZYjmPU&n_m=cybraxis%40verizon.net">George C. Jones</a>,<span> </span><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.facebook.com/n/?hyperboymedia&aref=1527149229392112&medium=email&mid=56ceed9c03e1eG1f0df5b8G56cef235640f0G52&bcode=2.1527149229.AbzEtjCRy2oNDZYjmPU&n_m=cybraxis%40verizon.net">Chris Ivey</a>,<span> </span><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.facebook.com/n/?ChrisBelin&aref=1527149229392112&medium=email&mid=56ceed9c03e1eG1f0df5b8G56cef235640f0G52&bcode=2.1527149229.AbzEtjCRy2oNDZYjmPU&n_m=cybraxis%40verizon.net">Chris Belin</a>,<span> </span><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.facebook.com/n/?profile.php&id=600902387&aref=1527149229392112&medium=email&mid=56ceed9c03e1eG1f0df5b8G56cef235640f0G52&bcode=2.1527149229.AbzEtjCRy2oNDZYjmPU&n_m=cybraxis%40verizon.net">Dwayne Dolphin</a>,<span> </span><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.facebook.com/n/?ketan.bakrania.1&aref=1527149229392112&medium=email&mid=56ceed9c03e1eG1f0df5b8G56cef235640f0G52&bcode=2.1527149229.AbzEtjCRy2oNDZYjmPU&n_m=cybraxis%40verizon.net">Ketan Bakrania</a>, Tony Moad,<span> </span><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.facebook.com/n/?pauldthompson&aref=1527149229392112&medium=email&mid=56ceed9c03e1eG1f0df5b8G56cef235640f0G52&bcode=2.1527149229.AbzEtjCRy2oNDZYjmPU&n_m=cybraxis%40verizon.net">Paul Thompson</a>, Sean Jones, Lou Stellute,<a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.facebook.com/n/?dana.cannone&aref=1527149229392112&medium=email&mid=56ceed9c03e1eG1f0df5b8G56cef235640f0G52&bcode=2.1527149229.AbzEtjCRy2oNDZYjmPU&n_m=cybraxis%40verizon.net">Dana Cannone</a>, Howie Alexander, Mark Tamsula,<span> </span><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.facebook.com/n/?roman.70000BC&aref=1527149229392112&medium=email&mid=56ceed9c03e1eG1f0df5b8G56cef235640f0G52&bcode=2.1527149229.AbzEtjCRy2oNDZYjmPU&n_m=cybraxis%40verizon.net">John Roman</a>,<span> </span><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.facebook.com/n/?tommyamoeba&aref=1527149229392112&medium=email&mid=56ceed9c03e1eG1f0df5b8G56cef235640f0G52&bcode=2.1527149229.AbzEtjCRy2oNDZYjmPU&n_m=cybraxis%40verizon.net">Tommy Amoeba</a>,<span> </span><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.facebook.com/n/?joe.serkoch&aref=1527149229392112&medium=email&mid=56ceed9c03e1eG1f0df5b8G56cef235640f0G52&bcode=2.1527149229.AbzEtjCRy2oNDZYjmPU&n_m=cybraxis%40verizon.net">Joe Serkoch</a>,<span> </span><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.facebook.com/n/?kmasudi&aref=1527149229392112&medium=email&mid=56ceed9c03e1eG1f0df5b8G56cef235640f0G52&bcode=2.1527149229.AbzEtjCRy2oNDZYjmPU&n_m=cybraxis%40verizon.net">Katabu Masudi</a>, Weird Paul,<span> </span><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.facebook.com/n/?jim.canfield.568&aref=1527149229392112&medium=email&mid=56ceed9c03e1eG1f0df5b8G56cef235640f0G52&bcode=2.1527149229.AbzEtjCRy2oNDZYjmPU&n_m=cybraxis%40verizon.net">Jim Canfield</a>,<span> </span><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.facebook.com/n/?adam.kroloff&aref=1527149229392112&medium=email&mid=56ceed9c03e1eG1f0df5b8G56cef235640f0G52&bcode=2.1527149229.AbzEtjCRy2oNDZYjmPU&n_m=cybraxis%40verizon.net">Adam Kroloff</a>,<span> </span><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.facebook.com/n/?ron.buchanan.568&aref=1527149229392112&medium=email&mid=56ceed9c03e1eG1f0df5b8G56cef235640f0G52&bcode=2.1527149229.AbzEtjCRy2oNDZYjmPU&n_m=cybraxis%40verizon.net">Ron Buchanan</a>,<a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.facebook.com/n/?CindyAHarris&aref=1527149229392112&medium=email&mid=56ceed9c03e1eG1f0df5b8G56cef235640f0G52&bcode=2.1527149229.AbzEtjCRy2oNDZYjmPU&n_m=cybraxis%40verizon.net">Cindy Harris</a>,<span> </span><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.facebook.com/n/?jeffrey.schreckengost&aref=1527149229392112&medium=email&mid=56ceed9c03e1eG1f0df5b8G56cef235640f0G52&bcode=2.1527149229.AbzEtjCRy2oNDZYjmPU&n_m=cybraxis%40verizon.net">Jeffrey Schreckengost</a>,<span> </span><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.facebook.com/n/?billy.pilgrim.58367&aref=1527149229392112&medium=email&mid=56ceed9c03e1eG1f0df5b8G56cef235640f0G52&bcode=2.1527149229.AbzEtjCRy2oNDZYjmPU&n_m=cybraxis%40verizon.net">Otis Driftwood</a>,<span> </span><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.facebook.com/n/?miguel.i.sague&aref=1527149229392112&medium=email&mid=56ceed9c03e1eG1f0df5b8G56cef235640f0G52&bcode=2.1527149229.AbzEtjCRy2oNDZYjmPU&n_m=cybraxis%40verizon.net">Miguel Sague III</a>, and<span> </span><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.facebook.com/n/?herman.pearl&aref=1527149229392112&medium=email&mid=56ceed9c03e1eG1f0df5b8G56cef235640f0G52&bcode=2.1527149229.AbzEtjCRy2oNDZYjmPU&n_m=cybraxis%40verizon.net">Herman Soy Sos Pearl</a><span> </span>continue to find ways to revitalize their own creativity, and find new and innovative ways to add something substantial to Pittsburgh culture. I feel thankful, and I want you all to know you are all loved and would leave a sizable hole in my heart if you ever threw in the towel.<br/><br/>(Please forgive me: I’m sure to have left out many others who have lent me their kindness, inspiration and drive.)</span></td>
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</table> Feeling unwelcome, James Street Speakeasy owners to close uptag:jazzburgher.ning.com,2017-10-19:1992552:Topic:4167262017-10-19T03:39:08.117ZDr. Nelson Harrisonhttp://jazzburgher.ning.com/profile/NelsonHarrison
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1045066095?profile=original" target="_self"><img class="align-center" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1045066095?profile=original" width="720"></img></a></p>
<p><a href="http://www.post-gazette.com/ae/music/2017/10/18/James-Street-Speakeasy-to-close/stories/201710180224" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">http://www.post-gazette.com/ae/music/2017/10/18/James-Street-Speakeasy-to-close/stories/201710180224</a></p>
<p class="aolmail_MsoNormal">The venerable James Street Gastropub & Speakeasy, a popular North Side…</p>
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1045066095?profile=original" target="_self"><img src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1045066095?profile=original" class="align-center" width="720"/></a></p>
<p><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://www.post-gazette.com/ae/music/2017/10/18/James-Street-Speakeasy-to-close/stories/201710180224">http://www.post-gazette.com/ae/music/2017/10/18/James-Street-Speakeasy-to-close/stories/201710180224</a></p>
<p class="aolmail_MsoNormal">The venerable James Street Gastropub & Speakeasy, a popular North Side music venue and the site of a tavern dating back to Prohibition will close its doors on Nov. 11, co-owner Kevin Saftner said Wednesday evening. </p>
<p class="aolmail_MsoNormal">“We don’t feel welcome [on the North Side] anymore,” said Mr. Saftner, citing an ongoing dispute with neighbors regarding noise levels that has resulted in numerous fines, threat of legal action and the possible classification of James Street as a nuisance bar.</p>
<p class="aolmail_MsoNormal">The final straw came after an anonymous complaint last Thursday during a regular jazz jam session gig by veteran local musician Roger Humphries, who has been playing that room for years. </p>
<p class="aolmail_MsoNormal">“I’m still in shock,” Mr. Saftner said when reached by phone. “But it hit me that we had to do it. All the issues we’ve had, it’s been a heavy burden. This has been a long time coming.” </p>
<p class="aolmail_MsoNormal">And it comes despite Mr. Saftner having made numerous structural improvements to the building to mitigate noise — most notably a new air conditioning system installed last year so that the upstairs ballroom windows wouldn’t need to be opened during shows when the heat in the room would become stifling. He also installed other soundproofing measures. </p>
<p class="aolmail_MsoNormal">Mr. Saftner initially posted the announcement on his Facebook page Wednesday evening.</p>
<p class="aolmail_MsoNormal">“It is with a heavy heart that I must announce James Street will be closing on November 11th. THANK YOU FOR ALL OF THE SUPPORT over the past 6 years. It truly has meant the world to the entire James Street Family. It has been an incredible journey and we are thankful for every memory. James Street may be done, but the spirit of togetherness that made this place special will live on. Please continue to support the great musicians, bands, artists, Production companies, promoters, burlesque performers, drag kings and queens & numerous other amazing community organizations that became part of the family over the years.”</p>
<p class="aolmail_MsoNormal">The main floor’s back bar is among the most handsome in the city. A phalanx of lions carved into the tops of the African mahogany cabinetry that was carved by a neighborhood craftsman in 1926 (during Prohibition) for the then princely sum of $3,000. It was part of an upstairs speakeasy — now the main ballroom — and was later brought down piece by piece and reconstructed in the downstairs space where it now sits.</p>
<p class="aolmail_MsoNormal">Nicks, scrapes and scratches atop the bar, smoothed by time, create a patina of nearly 90 years of Pittsburgh barroom history. The oak paneling around it came from a mansion in nearby Manchester. </p>
<p class="aolmail_MsoNormal">Craig Poole, who owned it for 17 years as the James St. Tavern, said that Art Rooney Sr. once also owned the building, which dates at least to 1898 (the original deeds were destroyed in a fire). Founded as a bicycle and clock shop, the top floor was once also a secret meeting spot for socialist and labor groups.</p>
<p class="aolmail_MsoNormal">In the decades since, it’s had many names, notably Wiggin’s, Julian’s and the James St. Tavern — where legends like George Benson, Stanley Turrentine, Jeffrey Osborne and the Preservation Hall Jazz Band graced the stage. The downstairs speakeasy bar also is a popular venue, and there is a full-service kitchen.</p>
<p class="aolmail_MsoNormal">Mr. Saftner said he has leased the building for the past six years and does not know what the owner will do with it. He said that his most immediate priority is trying to help his staff find work.</p>
<p class="aolmail_MsoNormal">“I still have the liquor license and the kitchen and sound equipment, so the opportunites are endless, but I have no game plans at all right now other than to make sure my employees have a job.” </p>
<p class="aolmail_MsoNormal">He also said that they will likely plan some farewell events in the weeks to come. </p>
<p class="aolmail_MsoNormal">Mr. Saftner also helped to co-found the Deutschtown Music Festival, an annual summer event that has over the past five years brought hundreds of bands and thousands of music fans to the North Side.</p>
<p><em>Dan Gigler: <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="mailto:dgigler@post-gazette.com">dgigler@post-gazette.com</a>; Twitter @gigs412 <br/></em></p> Ex-Time Warner CEO reopens famed Harlem jazz clubtag:jazzburgher.ning.com,2017-01-18:1992552:Topic:3992672017-01-18T03:12:05.741ZDr. Nelson Harrisonhttp://jazzburgher.ning.com/profile/NelsonHarrison
<div id="author-byline"><p class="byline" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1045054053?profile=original" target="_self"><img class="align-center" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1045054053?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024" width="750"></img></a></p>
<p class="byline" style="text-align: left;">By <a class="jennifer-gould-keil" href="http://nypost.com/author/jennifer-gould-keil/">Jennifer Gould</a></p>
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<p class="byline-date">January 16, 2017 <span class="separator">|</span> 11:04pm <span class="separator">|…</span></p>
<div id="author-byline"><p class="byline" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1045054053?profile=original" target="_self"><img width="750" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1045054053?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024" class="align-center" width="750"/></a></p>
<p class="byline" style="text-align: left;">By <a class="jennifer-gould-keil" href="http://nypost.com/author/jennifer-gould-keil/">Jennifer Gould</a></p>
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<p class="byline-date">January 16, 2017 <span class="separator">|</span> 11:04pm <span class="separator">|</span> <a href="http://nypost.com/2017/01/16/ex-time-warner-ceo-reopens-famed-harlem-jazz-club/#" class="updated-post-date">Updated</a></p>
<div id="featured-image-wrapper"><a class="modal-trigger" href="http://nypost.com/2017/01/16/ex-time-warner-ceo-reopens-famed-harlem-jazz-club/#" title="Expand Image">Modal Trigger</a> <source media="(min-width: 640px)"></source> <source media="(max-width: 639px)"></source> <img alt="Ex-Time Warner CEO reopens famed Harlem jazz club"/><div class="wp-caption-text featured"><span class="credit">Gabi Porter</span></div>
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<p>Richard Parsons, ex-chief executive of Time Warner and Citigroup, as well as restaurateur and jazz fan extraordinaire, has reopened Minton’s, the Harlem jazz club at 206 West 118th St.</p>
<p>Its sister spot, The Cecil, remains closed to the public and, for now, open only for private events.</p>
<p>Minton’s kitchen is run by The Cecil’s executive chef, JJ Johnson, who will be cooking his Afro-Asian-American favorites at Minton’s five days a week for dinner and weekend brunches with live music.</p>
<p>(Parsons is also chairman of the Jazz Foundation of America.)</p>
<p>New dishes include short rib toast with spicy pickled okra and yogurt, and a rice fritter with crab and coconut. There will also be classics from The Cecil, including oxtail dumplings with green apple curry and taro root.</p>
<p>Cocktails will include Blood & Fire, with Del Maguey Vida Mezcal, Allspice Dram, Bissap and lemon juice, and an Ella Fitz, with gin, Aperol, lime and sparkling rose.</p> SAVE JAMES STREET FROM BEING CLOSED DOWNtag:jazzburgher.ning.com,2016-07-14:1992552:Topic:3877112016-07-14T01:58:45.472ZDr. Nelson Harrisonhttp://jazzburgher.ning.com/profile/NelsonHarrison
<div class="Txt1 FS16 CLRTitleH B Color3" title="#SaveJamesStreet from being closed down"></div>
<p>PLEASE HELP US KEEP OUR DOORS OPEN!<br></br> <br></br> Throughout the 1990âs, 422 Foreland Street in Pittsburgh's Northside, was the place to be if you were a jazz musician or a lover of jazz music. James Street Tavern was a place that is near and dear to the heart of so many.<br></br> <br></br> Fast forward to 2011. James Street Gastropub & Speakeasy opened the doors as a restaurant. Within two weeks,…</p>
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<p>PLEASE HELP US KEEP OUR DOORS OPEN!<br/> <br/> Throughout the 1990âs, 422 Foreland Street in Pittsburgh's Northside, was the place to be if you were a jazz musician or a lover of jazz music. James Street Tavern was a place that is near and dear to the heart of so many.<br/> <br/> Fast forward to 2011. James Street Gastropub & Speakeasy opened the doors as a restaurant. Within two weeks, we realized we needed to serve more than food. Local musicians were clamoring for a place to play. They regaled us with tales from âback in the dayâ, when they played at James Street Tavern. It was our honor to offer them a new home. We love jazz, blues, rock, acoustic, hip hop, EDM & more. You name it â odds are we've found talented musicians who love the opportunity to showcase their talents! Live music is the essence of James Street. We schedule over 300 performances every year. That's a lot of local musicians who get to do what they love and add to their income. We have 30 employees who depend on live music to fill the house so they too can provide for their families too.<br/> <br/> We love the Northside! It's been the home of live music for a long time now. We've brought life back to the dark, empty and neglected corner at James & Foreland since the music stopped at the old James Street Tavern. We want to stay for many years to come!<br/> <br/> But we need your help! We need to make extensive renovations in order to meet PLCB noise requirements. The law does not allow for the sound of amplified music to be heard beyond the licensed premises' property line. Step off the sidewalk, hear music, and we're in violation. Penalties include stiff fines, suspension of the liquor license, business closure due to being a nuisance bar, even jail time.<br/> <br/> We want to continue to be a good neighbor, we want to adhere to the law. Your kindness and generosity will help us do that. We appreciate your support of live, local music. And we are deeply grateful for your support this historical venue and James Street Gastropub & Speakeasy.<br/> <br/> #SaveJamesStreet<br/> Upcoming Fundraiser. Click for more details.<br/> July 23rd â Silent Disco <a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/1612066755750352/" class="parsedLink" target="_blank">https://www.facebook.com/events/1612066755750352/</a><br/> August 10th â All Star Jazz Jam <a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/640323256137572/" class="parsedLink" target="_blank">https://www.facebook.com/events/640323256137572/</a><br/> August 14th â Sunday Funday Festival https ://<a href="http://www.facebook.com/events/1653052191680023/" class="parsedLink" target="_blank">www.facebook.com/events/1653052191680023/</a><br/> August 18th â DiCelloâs Gallery at the Gastropub <a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/258001294582237/" class="parsedLink" target="_blank">https://www.facebook.com/events/258001294582237/</a><br/> August 26th â Deutschtown Music Festival Do-Over.</p> The jazz scene at Eileen’s in Homewoodtag:jazzburgher.ning.com,2015-09-11:1992552:Topic:3659392015-09-11T03:25:57.528ZDr. Nelson Harrisonhttp://jazzburgher.ning.com/profile/NelsonHarrison
<div class="entry-header"><h1 class="entry-title">The jazz scene at Eileen’s in Homewood…</h1>
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<div class="entry-header"><h1 class="entry-title">The jazz scene at Eileen’s in Homewood</h1>
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<p>Flip through those images, and it’s almost as if you can hear the soulful melodies <a href="http://newsinteractive.post-gazette.com/thedigs/2015/09/09/the-jazz-scene-at-eileens-in-homewood/eileens-bar-and-grill-jazz-in-the-zebra-room-16/"><img class="align-right" src="http://i0.wp.com/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com/thedigs/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/Eileens-Bar-and-Grill-jazz-in-the-Zebra-Room-16.jpg?resize=304%2C345" title="Eileen's Bar and Grill jazz in the Zebra Room 16" alt="" style="width: 269px; height: 306px;"/></a> reaching you 35 years in the future.</p>
<p>We at The Digs lifted the lid off a box of color negatives in the photo library last week. It’s the first time we’ve really taken a look at decades gone by through color negs, and we wish we had started browsing these much earlier. Amid dozens of envelopes of fall shots around southwest Pennsylvania from the 1970s (expect to see some of that timeless color posted here later this year), there was one of greater interest: “Jazz in Pittsburgh, 10-19-80.”</p>
<p style="text-align: right;">Pittsburgh’s contribution to American jazz history is not as well documented as one might hope. The city’s two daily newspapers, the Press and the Post-Gazette, did not begin to pay attention to African-American culture in any serious way until the second half of the 20th century.</p>
<p>Cultural spots inside neighborhoods like the Hill District and Homewood were not major destinations for photographers and reporters (except for those who worked at The Pittsburgh Courier). That deficit in the PG’s archive made this single envelope more prized.</p>
<p>It provided a rare look into a scene that — at least in this particular location — no longer exists.</p>
<p>Because there was no other writing on the envelope nor negative sleeves, we must try to imagine what and who these photos showed. (And, please, if you recognize anyone in the frames or know someone who might, let us know in the comments or email socialmedia@post-gazette.com.)</p>
<p>The scene: Eileen’s Bar and Grill, 708 N. Dallas Ave. in Homew<a href="http://newsinteractive.post-gazette.com/thedigs/2015/09/09/the-jazz-scene-at-eileens-in-homewood/eileens-bar-and-grill-jazz-in-the-zebra-room-21/"> </a> ood. T<a href="http://newsinteractive.post-gazette.com/thedigs/2015/09/09/the-jazz-scene-at-eileens-in-homewood/eileens-bar-and-grill-jazz-in-the-zebra-room-21/"> </a> hat much we found from <a href="http://archives.post-gazette.com/clip/3185799/jazz_at_eileens_bar_and_grill/">old event </a> <a href="http://newsinteractive.post-gazette.com/thedigs/2015/09/09/the-jazz-scene-at-eileens-in-homewood/eileens-bar-and-grill-jazz-in-the-zebra-room-21/"></a><a href="http://archives.post-gazette.com/clip/3185799/jazz_at_eileens_bar_and_grill/">lis</a><a href="http://newsinteractive.post-gazette.com/thedigs/2015/09/09/the-jazz-scene-at-eileens-in-homewood/eileens-bar-and-grill-jazz-in-the-zebra-room-21/"> </a> <a href="http://archives.post-gazette.com/clip/3185799/jazz_at_eileens_bar_and_grill/">tings</a>. <a href="http://newsinteractive.post-gazette.com/thedigs/2015/09/09/the-jazz-scene-at-eileens-in-homewood/eileens-bar-and-grill-jazz-in-the-zebra-room-21/"><img src="http://i2.wp.com/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com/thedigs/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/Eileens-Bar-and-Grill-jazz-in-the-Zebra-Room-21.jpg?resize=391%2C261" title="Eileen's Bar and Grill jazz in the Zebra Room 21" alt="" style="width: 347px; height: 231px;"/></a></p>
<p>The date: October 19, 1980. But that was a Sunday; that listing said Friday and Saturday nights in the Zebra Room.</p>
<p></p>
<img class="wp-image-5815 size-large" src="http://newsinteractive.post-gazette.com/thedigs/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/Eileens-Bar-and-Grill-jazz-in-the-Zebra-Room-3-1024x671.jpg" alt="I think we found the right place." height="524" width="800"/>“Zebra Room”? Looks like we found the right place.<br />
<p></p>
<p>And so maybe it was a special occasion — one worthy enough for a photographer to go check it out? Either way, take a moment to look at those photos.</p>
<p><em>Really</em> look at them. The faces. The joy. The clothes. The styles.The bowling trophy. The instruments. The lights. That just-about-brand-new Pittsburgh Pirates 1979 World Series champions pennant hanging on the wall. We wonder where that ended up?</p>
<p>Then close your eyes. Hear the smooth and lively jazz notes filling the air. And the laughter. It’s hard to imagine anyone failing to have themselves a good time that night.</p>
<p>Open your eyes, and here’s what you see:</p>
<p><img class="aligncenter wp-image-5836 size-large" src="http://newsinteractive.post-gazette.com/thedigs/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/Eileens-Bar-and-Grill-jazz-in-the-Zebra-Room-1024x683.jpg" alt="Eileen's Bar and Grill jazz in the Zebra Room" height="534" width="800"/></p>
<p>It’s all gone. On the side of the building, there’s a sign for a market that’s no longer there.</p>
<p>County records show <a href="http://www2.county.allegheny.pa.us/RealEstate/Sales.aspx?ParcelID=0125L00021000000%20%20%20%20&SearchType=2&CurrRow=0&SearchName=&SearchStreet=n%20dallas&SearchNum=708&SearchMuni=1&SearchParcel=&pin=0125L00021000000">it was most recently sold in 2012</a> to a business named EILLAV MEHCEB NAE, LLC.</p>
<p>The price? $1.</p> Remembering when Shadyside was the happening strip for entertainment...tag:jazzburgher.ning.com,2015-02-01:1992552:Topic:3469062015-02-01T18:57:58.572ZDr. Nelson Harrisonhttp://jazzburgher.ning.com/profile/NelsonHarrison
<div class="sites-layout-tile sites-tile-name-header"><div dir="ltr"><font face="arial, sans-serif" size="4"><b>Pittsburgh's Greenich Village Where the Music Played</b></font></div>
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<div class="sites-layout-tile sites-tile-name-content-1"><div dir="ltr"><div><a href="https://sites.google.com/site/pittsburghmusichistory/pittsburgh-music-story/venues/shadyside/Razzberry%20Rhino%20DC%20Band.jpg?attredirects=0"></a><img border="0" height="237" src="https://sites.google.com/site/pittsburghmusichistory/_/rsrc/1371753517868/pittsburgh-music-story/venues/shadyside/Razzberry%20Rhino%20DC%20Band.jpg?height=237&width=320" width="320"></img></div>
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<div class="sites-layout-tile sites-tile-name-header"><div dir="ltr"><font face="arial, sans-serif" size="4"><b>Pittsburgh's Greenich Village Where the Music Played</b></font></div>
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<div class="sites-layout-tile sites-tile-name-content-1"><div dir="ltr"><div><a href="https://sites.google.com/site/pittsburghmusichistory/pittsburgh-music-story/venues/shadyside/Razzberry%20Rhino%20DC%20Band.jpg?attredirects=0"></a><img border="0" height="237" src="https://sites.google.com/site/pittsburghmusichistory/_/rsrc/1371753517868/pittsburgh-music-story/venues/shadyside/Razzberry%20Rhino%20DC%20Band.jpg?height=237&width=320" width="320"/></div>
<div><font face="arial, sans-serif"><span>Walnut Street in Pittsburgh's Shadyside neighborhood </span><span>was a vibrant of center Pittsburgh music </span><span>from the 1960s into the 1990s. The Razzberry Rhino, the Fox Cafe, Lou's and the Casbah hosted solo musicians and small blues, folk, and rock acts. </span><font><span>National and Pittsburgh area jazz artists appeared at the Encore, the Gaslight Club and the Balcony. After the bars closed at 2 P.M. music fans and drinkers continued to party at the Gaslight Club, Madri Gras, the Hollywood Social Club on Walnut, or the Democratic Club on Ellsworth Avenue. </span></font></font></div>
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<font face="arial, sans-serif">Shadyside from the Sixties through the Nineties was inhabited by baby boom generation undergradute and graduate students from nearby Carnegie Mellon University, Chatham College, and the University of Pittsburgh along with young professionals and older long time residents. Apartments could be had for $100 to $200 a month. The shady green tree lined streets and large turn of the century homes made Shadyside a quiet neighborhood away from the noise and congestion of Oakland. On relaxing evenings Pittsburghers strolled the five blocks of Walnut Street wandering from bar to bar to sample the live music, enjoy adult beverages and run into friends. There was no cover charges at the bars. One could see several acts in one night just by crossing Walnut Street from the Rhino to pop into Lou's or the Casbah. You could catch a set of DC Fitzgerald or Frank Capelli at the Rhino and stroll across to Lou's hear the reggae rock band the Core and make it to the nightly Gorilla Toast, or saunter down to the Encore to watch trombonist Harold Betters. If you still wanted to party you climbed the steps of the after hours Democratic Club to watch Billy Price. -</font></div>
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<b><font size="3">1960s Brings Hippies & Music</font><br/></b><font face="arial, sans-serif"><font face="arial, sans-serif"><br/></font></font>
<div><a href="https://sites.google.com/site/pittsburghmusichistory/pittsburgh-music-story/venues/shadyside/Walnut%20Street.JPG?attredirects=0"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://sites.google.com/site/pittsburghmusichistory/_/rsrc/1371838570889/pittsburgh-music-story/venues/shadyside/Walnut%20Street.JPG?height=240&width=320" width="320"/></a></div>
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<div><font face="arial, sans-serif">The five block shopping district of Walnut Street before the late 1950s was a small neighborhood main street with an Isaly's that sold chipped ham and sky ice cream cones, a Kroger's grocery store, the Shadyside movie theater, Shiller's Drug Store, a post office, the Pet Pad, some coffee houses and book stores, the Fox Cafe bar, the Surrey and Gentry clothing stores and a corner Texaco gas station. Old timers played chess sitting outside of the coffee houses. The only people who shopped there were Shadyside residents. Walnut Street began to change in the beat era of the 1950s. Bohemian beatniks came to Walnut Street to hang out at Dalton Herbert's Cappuccino Coffee House and other Shadyside coffee houses. Walnut Street was renamed "Expresso Row". Students sipped coffee and discussed poetry and jazz. Patrons brought in their own guitars and bongo drums to perform. The Le Mardi Gras cocktail lounge opened in 1954 on Copeland Street. </font><span><span>Two businessmen, Will Shiner and Dick Handler began to transform the sleepy bohemian street into an entertainment mecca in 1959 opening the Encore jazz club, the Gaslight, and the Pizza Pub, Gazebo Deli, and Pup Tent restaurants.</span></span><div><a href="http://24.media.tumblr.com/40f4be3b8e4409eca38a4a444ad52fef/tumblr_mr4qddabtf1rr5swxo3_1280.jpg" rel="nofollow"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://24.media.tumblr.com/40f4be3b8e4409eca38a4a444ad52fef/tumblr_mr4qddabtf1rr5swxo3_1280.jpg" width="191"/></a></div>
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<div><font face="arial, sans-serif"><br/></font><div><font face="arial, sans-serif">Walnut Street became Pittsburgh's Haight-Ashbury/Greenwich Village area in the early 1960s. </font><span>In 1963 the Pittsburgh Press printed an story titled "Our Greenich Village" described standing room only crowds at the Encore, the Fox Cafe, and the Casbah. Crowds of young well dress people surged on the sidewalks waiting in lines to enter the bars. Police patrolled the streets. T</span><font face="arial, sans-serif">he Shadyside Theater showed art films by Andy Warhol and Frank Zappa. </font><span>On weekends the sidewalks were jammed with people. A constant flow of cars and motorcycles cruised Walnut Street to take in the scene. </span><span> </span></div>
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<div><span>In the anti-war era of the late 1960s </span><span>Shadyside was "peace, love and waterbeds."</span><span> a</span><font face="arial, sans-serif">ccording to Edward D'Alessandro a long time producer of the Shadyside Arts Festival. </font><span>Bags End, the first head shop in Pittsburgh, opened on Ellsworth Avenue selling rolling papers, army uniforms, and vintage clothes. They even sold </span><font face="arial, sans-serif">marijuana over the counter. The owners of the "Opening Nite" store were arrested for selling pants made out of U.S. flags. </font><font face="arial, sans-serif">District Attorney Robert W. Duggan said "<i>the Shadyside district is becoming a hangout for the maladjusted youth of Western Penna </i></font><font face="arial, sans-serif"><i>I don't think the people of Pittsburgh want a Greenwich Village in the heart of one its finest residential areas</i></font><font face="arial, sans-serif"><i> </i>". </font><font face="arial, sans-serif">The Loaves and Fishes coffee house which seated about 35 opened at </font><span>709 Bellefonte Street </span><font face="arial, sans-serif">in August of 1966 by </font><font face="arial, sans-serif">minister Dick Mowry of </font><font face="arial, sans-serif">the </font><font face="arial, sans-serif">Calvary Episcopal Church to reach disaffected youth. Pittsburgh Police arrested </font><font face="arial, sans-serif">thirty patrons of the Loaves and Fishes on suspicion of marijuana possession in May of 1967. Only two were charged and the Loaves and Fishes agreed to cooperate with Police to allow searches aand keep juveniles out of the coffee shop.</font></div>
<div><b>The Encore</b></div>
<div><div><div><div><a href="https://sites.google.com/site/pittsburghmusichistory/pittsburgh-music-story/venues/shadyside/will%20shiner.jpg?attredirects=0"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://sites.google.com/site/pittsburghmusichistory/_/rsrc/1371836871981/pittsburgh-music-story/venues/shadyside/will%20shiner.jpg?height=200&width=132" width="132"/></a></div>
<font face="arial, sans-serif">The first live music venue to open in Shadyside was the Encore. Will Shiner and his wife started going to the Casbah on Walnut for cocktails in 1957. He said that the small bar was so crowded that he could not get in on many nights. Seeing a business opportunity Shiner opened the Encore jazz club on 5505 Walnut Street in 1959. He served cocktails, steak, and live jazz. Shiner booked legendary jazz stars </font><span>Sonny Stitt, George Benson, Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Mingus, Charlie Byrd, Ella Fitzgerald, Admad Jamal, </span><span>Earl Hines,</span><span> </span><span>Mary Lou Williams, Roy Eldridge, Stanley Turrentine, Art Blakey, Slide Hampton, J.J. Johnson, Jonah Jones, Yank Larsen, Morganna King and many other jazz greats to appear at the Encore. </span><font face="arial, sans-serif">Art Swiden and Bobby Davis managed the club. With the success of the Encore in Shadyside Shiner in 1971opened the Encore II on Liberty Avenue in downtown Pittsburgh. </font></div>
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<div><div><a href="https://sites.google.com/site/pittsburghmusichistory/pittsburgh-music-story/venues/shadyside/herold%20betters%20at%20the%20encore.jpg?attredirects=0"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://sites.google.com/site/pittsburghmusichistory/_/rsrc/1371899975696/pittsburgh-music-story/venues/shadyside/herold%20betters%20at%20the%20encore.jpg?height=200&width=195" width="195"/></a></div>
<span>Trombonist Harold Betters was the main attraction at the Encore for 17 years. He started playing Saturday afternoons at the Encore in 1960 and expanded to play five nights a week. Fans line up around the block to get into his shows. His shows were so popular that the Encore became known as the "House that Betters Built". </span><font face="arial, sans-serif">Betters recorded his first album "Harold Betters at the Encore" live at the club in 1962. During his time at the Encore Betters earned national recognition. He scored a hit in 1964 with his recording “Do Anything You Wanna” which peaked at No. 74 on the Billboard Top 100. He released twelve albums on Reprise and Gateway Records. He performed nationally on the "Tonight Show", “The Merv Griffin Show” and did the “Mike Douglas Show” four times, including a performance with Louis Armstrong. He was named in the the "Best Trombonist" category of the Playboy readers’ poll. Downbeat Magazine called him "Mr. Versatility".</font></div>
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<div><font face="arial, sans-serif">Trombonist Randy Purcell and his band the Pittsburgh Rhythm Machine became the regular featured act at the Encore iin the late 1970s. </font><span>Shiner closed the Encore </span><span>on May 13, 1982</span><span> </span><span>ending its 25 year run. Harold Betters came back to play the final week of shows. Shiner remodel, enlarged, and relaunched it as Brendan's Restaurant. Today a Victoria's Secret occupies that location.</span></div>
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<div><b>The Gaslight Club</b></div>
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<div><div><font face="arial, sans-serif"><a href="https://sites.google.com/site/pittsburghmusichistory/pittsburgh-music-story/venues/shadyside/Gaslight%20Club.JPG?attredirects=0"><img border="0" height="248" src="https://sites.google.com/site/pittsburghmusichistory/_/rsrc/1371847788921/pittsburgh-music-story/venues/shadyside/Gaslight%20Club.JPG?height=248&width=320" width="320"/></a>The private Gaslight club at 738 Bellefonte Street decorated with 22 nude paintings opened in seamy controversy in 1961. Public Safety director Louis Rosenberg wanted the "obscene" pictures removed saying he would padlock the club before it ever opened. But an hour before the grand opening he relented and allowed the club to open on May 23, 1961. Owed by Will Shiner the Gaslignt was a posh three story private membership club that grew to 5,000 members. To join members had to pay a $25 fee. It was a males only club until 1972 when a judge ruled that it had to accept female members. As it was a private club it could operate after hours. The Gaslight was billed as a "Gay Nineties" style club. Shiner invested $200,000 to build and decorate the club. It featured a fine dining restaurant upstairs and speakeasy lounge downstairs where jazz artists performed. The Gaslight club presented Maxine Sullivan, Earl Hines, Harold Betters, and Jimmy McPartland in 1970. Pittsburgh performers who worked at the Gaslight include pianist Luke Riley. singer Teri Rini, the Bobby Martin Band, Frankie Vestri, and Neil Strecher. In November of 1972 it hosted a production of the racy play 'Oh Calcutta!". The Gaslight closed in the early eighties and became the Cheese Cellar and later Pasta Piatta. <br/><br/></font></div>
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<div><font face="arial, sans-serif"><b>The Fox Cafe</b></font></div>
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<div><div><a href="https://sites.google.com/site/pittsburghmusichistory/pittsburgh-music-story/venues/shadyside/Fox%20Cafe%20-%20Docs.JPG?attredirects=0"><img border="0" height="201" src="https://sites.google.com/site/pittsburghmusichistory/_/rsrc/1371847360674/pittsburgh-music-story/venues/shadyside/Fox%20Cafe%20-%20Docs.JPG?height=201&width=320" width="320"/></a></div>
<font face="arial, sans-serif">At 5442 Walnut Street stood a bar originally called the Nicholas. Harry Fox took ownership of the bar in January of 1945 and renamed it the Fox Cafe. During the early 1960s and early 1970s the Fox Cafe, owned by Fred Kushner, was a hot R&B Club. Janice Joplin appeared there in 1968. Gravel and the band the Pinto Beans were Fox headliners in 1970, The Rhythm Kings with lead singer Billy Price became the house band 1971. They performed six or seven nights a week and did matinees at the Encore. Price met guitarist Roy Buchanan's manager at the Fox in 1973 and left the Rhythms Kings to tour and record with Buchanan. Kushner closed the Fox Cafe in 1975. </font><span>The Fox stood empty for several years. </span><font face="arial, sans-serif">Dick Handler, owner of the Gazebo Restaurant, bought the Fox Cafe building in 1976 using it to store restaurant equipment. Handler opened </font><span>Humprehies Corner Saloon on that site in June of 1981. It is now called Doc's Place.</span></div>
<div><b>Razzberry Rhino</b></div>
<div><div><a href="https://sites.google.com/site/pittsburghmusichistory/pittsburgh-music-story/venues/shadyside/Froggy%20Morris.jpg?attredirects=0"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://sites.google.com/site/pittsburghmusichistory/_/rsrc/1371927408536/pittsburgh-music-story/venues/shadyside/Froggy%20Morris.jpg?height=200&width=103" width="103"/></a></div>
<font face="arial, sans-serif">Will Shiner purchased the building at 5534 Walnut Street near the corner of Ivy Street that had housed the had housed William Lifsitz's tavern in the 1940s. </font><font face="arial, sans-serif">Shiner and Handler parntered to open the Pizza Pub restaurant there around 1959. </font><span>The Pizza Pub obtained a liquor license in 1966 despite protests from Shadyside residents that there were too many bars bring in rowdy crowds to Shadyside. After the Pizza Pub became a bar it offered live music. </span><font face="arial, sans-serif">It became a hangout for bikers and ''bohemian junkies". In 1976 Shiner leased the pub to Froggy Morris owner of the very successful Zelda's Greenhouse disco music bar in Oakland. Froggy renamed the Pizza Pub the "Razzberry Rhino" and relaunched it as a disco in 1976. After the disco concept flopped at the Rhino, Froggy in 1978 made it a live music club. </font><span>It was an L shaped club with the bar upfront and a backroom room with a small stage. They were lots of tables. </span><span>The acts that performed at the Rhino included Red Hot and Blue, The Crackers, Leggs Diamond,Sunstroke, </span><font face="arial, sans-serif">Tom Anzalone, Little Ramus, </font><span>Tight Squeeze, Dynamo, the Loan Sharks, Dan Baker and the Hotshots, Jimmy and the Dukes, </span><font face="arial, sans-serif">Boystown, and The Shades</font><span>. The DC Fitzgerald Band became the house band in 1978, They had been playing the Gaslight Club regularly and when it closed due to fire damage Froggy offered them a regular spot at the Rhino. The DC Fitzgerald band played the Rhino every Sat afternoon, ran the jam night on Tuesdays and sometimes played on a Wednesday, Thursday or Friday. They worked at the Rhino through 1980.</span></div>
<div><div><a href="https://sites.google.com/site/pittsburghmusichistory/pittsburgh-music-story/venues/shadyside/Frank%20Cappelli.jpg?attredirects=0"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://sites.google.com/site/pittsburghmusichistory/_/rsrc/1371837690664/pittsburgh-music-story/venues/shadyside/Frank%20Cappelli.jpg?height=200&width=156" width="156"/></a></div>
<font face="arial, sans-serif">One of the most popular of the Rhino's frequent performers was singer and guitarist Frank Cappelli. He began playing the Rhino and Froggy Morris's Mt. Lebanon venue Bimbos in 1978 earning $100 to $200 a night He continued to perform regularly at the Rhino until he moved with his family to Denver in 1982. He returned to Pittsburgh in 1988 and signed with A&M records in 1989 to release four children albums. He also hosted the syndicated children's television show Cappelli and Company that was aired on WTAE and in Boston, Baltimore, Kansas City, Milwaukee, and Dayton from 1990 to 1993. The show went national in 1993 when </font><span>Nickelodeon's the Children’s Cable Network purchased </span><span>all 65 episodesand broadcast it to 57 million homes. </span><span> Frank won several awards including an regional Emmy for his television programs.</span></div>
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<div><span>Froggy sold the Rhino to his manager, John Plavetich in 1982 or 1983. The Rhino closed in 1986. A Banana Republic clothing store opened at the location in November of 1986. It was the first brand name retail chain store to open on Walnut Street,</span></div>
<div><b>The Balcony</b></div>
<div><div><div><a href="https://sites.google.com/site/pittsburghmusichistory/pittsburgh-music-story/venues/shadyside/balcony%20big%20band.jpg?attredirects=0"><img border="0" height="177" src="https://sites.google.com/site/pittsburghmusichistory/_/rsrc/1371838343598/pittsburgh-music-story/venues/shadyside/balcony%20big%20band.jpg?height=177&width=320" width="320"/></a></div>
<font face="arial, sans-serif">The Balcony was a nicely decorated upscale restaurant and jazz nightclub. Richard ''Muzz'' Meyers and Bob Feldman opened the Balcony at 5520 Walnut Street in March of 1980. Located in the building that once housed the Shadyside movie theater, the spacious club had a seating capacity of 120, a large wide stage, great sight lines, and good food. </font><span>During i's 18 year run the Balcony was the center of Pittsburgh's jazz scene. Many national acts wowed Pittsburgh jazz fans at the Balcony including MyCoy Tyner, Pat Martino, Mose Allison, </span><font face="arial, sans-serif">trumpeter Terence Blanchard, s</font><span>ax player Tim Eyermann,</span><span> </span><span>organist Jack McDuff, Archie Shepp, John Scofield, Joe Lavano, scat singer </span><font face="arial, sans-serif">Jon Hendricks, J</font><font face="arial, sans-serif">ack DeJohnette, Monty Alexander, </font><font face="arial, sans-serif">guitarist Phil Upchurch, and singer Mark Murphy. </font><span>Pittsburgh jazz greats who appeared regularly at the Balcony were pianist David Budway, Walt Harper, guitarist Joe Negri, saxophonist Kenny Blake, Etta Cox, guitarist Kenny Karsh, singers Billty Price and Chismo Charles, drummer Roger Humphries, singer Maureen Buday, Max Leake, Sandy Staley, </span><font face="arial, sans-serif">organist Gene Ludwig, </font><span>Randy Purcell, </span><font face="arial, sans-serif">Spider Rondinelli, </font><span>Tim Stevens and others. Drummer H.B. Bennett booked the acts and in 1988 formed the 18 piece Balcony Big Band that performed every Monday night. T</span><font face="arial, sans-serif">he Balcony Big Band recorded the album titled “Seasoned to Taste.” </font><span>The Balcony closed in December of 1997. The last show, held on New Years Eve, was star studded jam session with </span><span>Kenny Blake, Joe Negri, Eric Johnson, H.B. Bennett, Sandy Staley, the Budways, the Peck Family and more.</span><span> </span><span> </span><font face="arial, sans-serif"> The club was packed for the send off. The club became a </font><span>Pottery Barn store in 1998.</span></div>
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<div><b>The Casbah </b></div>
<div><div><a href="https://sites.google.com/site/pittsburghmusichistory/pittsburgh-music-story/venues/shadyside/Casbah%20Ad%20March%201971.jpg?attredirects=0"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://sites.google.com/site/pittsburghmusichistory/_/rsrc/1371919184017/pittsburgh-music-story/venues/shadyside/Casbah%20Ad%20March%201971.jpg?height=200&width=181" width="181"/></a></div>
The Casbah on 5431 Walnut Street started out as Pittsburgh first intimate cocktail lounge in 1952. It was owned by Pop Harter who sold it to Eddie Edlestein in 1957. In the early 1960s during the folk singing craze it became a folk music club. It was a small club with a bar along the back wall. Performers played in the corner behind the front door. In the early 1970s the Casbah ran an open Hootenanny audition every Monday night. Performers who appeared at the Casbah included the Coachman, Bill Besterman, Patti Florida, Masha & Bill, Joe Billota, Ralph Stand and the Brotherhood. Reported Joni Mitchell may have played there once. Today it is the site of Capppy's Cafe.</div>
<div><b>Lou's Bar and the Gorilla Toast</b></div>
<div><div><a href="https://sites.google.com/site/pittsburghmusichistory/pittsburgh-music-story/venues/shadyside/Emitt%20Frisbee%20at%20Lou-s%20Bar%201983.jpg?attredirects=0"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://sites.google.com/site/pittsburghmusichistory/_/rsrc/1371912089762/pittsburgh-music-story/venues/shadyside/Emitt%20Frisbee%20at%20Lou-s%20Bar%201983.jpg?height=240&width=320" width="320"/></a></div>
<font face="arial, sans-serif">Lou's Bar and Grill was a small one room saloon that stood on the corner of Walnut and Filbert Street. It was next door to Prantl’s Bakery, home of the almond Tort, and </font><span>across the street from Noah’s Waterbeds. Lou Fratangelo bought the building the house the bar and the bakery in 1946, His son Nick inherited and manager </span><font face="arial, sans-serif">Lou's. </font><span>Lou's began as a neighborhood shot and a beer place. It had an L shaped bar along the side and back walls and a few tables. In the 1970s when music took hold on Walnut Street Lou's built a stage to host live bands. H</span><span>aving limited space a "make do" the stage was built high above the back bar. Patrons sitting at the bar strained their necks looking up at the performers. </span><font face="arial, sans-serif">The rickety stage became a subject of heated betting pool. Regulars made bets on when the stage would collapse, but it survived an onslaught of performers. <span>Among the many performers who risked their </span>safety<span> to climb up to Lou's high stage were Harold Betters, Jimmy Spaienza with his band Jimmy and the Dukes, Bob Beach's Dixie Dogs, the Core, Force Field, Armadillo Brothers, Emmitt Frisbee, Endless Summer, Flow, Billy Jay Hood, the Sandhills, Brenda Jones, and Paradise. </span></font></div>
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<font face="arial, sans-serif">One summer owner Nick Fratenelo installed a top the side bar a nine-foot tall gorilla mannequin that a friend of his got from a fun house. One evening a bartender named Dennis tapped on a glass to get everyone's attention and lifted a waitress up into the furry arms of the Gorilla, a la Fay Wray. It was the beginning of a nightly ritual at Lou's. Every night the crown clamored for the "Gorilla Toast". At midnight a bartender lifted a waitress into the Gorilla's arm and everyone drank a toast.</font><br />
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<div><span>Nick Fratangelo closed Lou's in 1984 and it became the Walnut Street Pub. He held on to the property as the concern location was worth at least $2 million. Today the corner of Walnut and Filbert is the site of the Mercurio pizza and gelato shop. After Nick Fratangelo sold Lou's he went on to open the infamous Climax Gentlements Strip club along Route 22 in Delmont, Pa that featured the world's first drive through $5 peep show. </span></div>
<div><b>Shadyside Arts Festival</b></div>
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<font face="arial, sans-serif">The Shadyside Artist Festival was founded in 1970. To promote the event the organizers spread news flier, word of mouth, the then fledgling underground music radio station WDVE. A stage was set up in the parking lot behind Rollier's Hardware store. Rick Engler, who had the office of his concert promotion business "Go Attractions" on Walnut booked the bands. The psychedelic groups the the Marshmallow Steam Shovel, Children of Stone, Rebecca and the Sunnybrook Farmers, and Engler's band the Grains of Sand performed. A group of 18 local artists set up tables on the sidewalks of Walnut Street. Almost 10,000 people attended the first year. Since then the annual three days festival has grown to draw 200,000 with 140 artist booths and demonstrations by The Carnegie and the Pittsburgh Center for the Arts. The jazz singer Mark Murphy, Bo</font><span> </span><font face="arial, sans-serif">Diddley Jr., Chismo Charles, Kenny Blake, the Balcony Big Band, Deliberate Strangers, Pure Gold, the Jazz Explosion All Stars with Tony JanFlone Jr and Robbie Klein, the Duquense University Guitar Ensemble with Kenny Karsh, a</font><span>nd many others popular acts have appeared at the festival.</span></div>
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<div><b>Shadyside Goes Upscale</b></div>
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<div>In the 1990s national retail chains drove up the rents on the bars and clubs of Walnut Street driving them out of business. The music is gone from Walnut Street. Today upscale consumers visit Shadyside to shop at J Crew, The Apple Store, Talbots, the Banana Republic, Beneton, Moda, Pandora and the Gap. In the evenings Walnut street is now again a quite street. The music scene moved on to Carson Street on Pittsburgh's South Side which is home of the Rex Theater, Club Cafe, Diesel, Charlie Murdoch's Rock Piano Bar, Excuses, the Smiling Moose, and dozens of bars. The neighbors of the South Side now complain that there are too many bars and too many rowdy bar hoppers as Shadyside residents did back in the 1960s.</div>
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<div class="sites-layout-tile sites-tile-name-footer"><div dir="ltr"><font face="arial, sans-serif" size="4"><b>References</b></font><br/><div><span>Our 'Greenwich Village" - Gilbert Love Pittsburgh Press August 20 1963</span></div>
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<font face="arial, sans-serif">Groovy Times Shadyside Festival's Organizers Recall Ragged Beginnings As A Hippie Scene<br/>By Scott Mervis Pittsburgh Post-Gazette August 11, 1995<br/><br/></font><span>After 18 Years, Balcony Owner Marches To Different Drummer -By J. Mikel Ellcessor Pittsburgh Post-Gazette December 31, 1997</span>
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<div><font face="arial, sans-serif">Fox Cafe Opens - Pittsburgh Post Gazette January 29 1945<br/></font><div><font face="arial, sans-serif"> </font></div>
<div><div>Fred Kushner <span>Pittsburgh Post-Gazette - Apr 4, 1990</span></div>
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<div><span>Bravo! Bravo! Bravo! Another Encore Readied - By Roy McHugh Pittsburgh Post Press May 10, 1982</span></div>
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<div><div>At 85, Harold Betters remains ‘sentimental’ about jazz career – By Laura Szepes Daily Courier (Connellsville, PA) - March 21, 2013</div>
<div>Triangle Tattler: Encore Exits -By George Anderson <span>Pittsburgh Post-Gazette - Apr 27, 1982</span></div>
<div>Rosenberg Lifts Nude Ban .Gaslight Club In Shadyside Keeps Paintings by Vince Johnson <span>Pittsburgh Post-Gazette - Mar 24, 1961</span></div>
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<div><span>Shadyside -Pittsburgh Post Gazette July 3, 1985</span></div>
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<div>Woman's Suit Opens Men's Club To Women .<span>Pittsburgh Post-Gazette - Mar 7, 1972</span></div>
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<div><span>The Night Beat - by Lenny Litman Pittsburgh Press - April 27, 1970</span></div>
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<div><span>Casbah - The Night Beat - by Lenny Litman Pittsburgh Press - March 2, 1971</span></div>
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<div>Nightspot Off Hook ..Loaves And Fishes Police Reach Pact - Pittsburgh Press May 11, 1967</div>
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<div>Flour Power: From Lou's Bar to Mercurio's Pizza, The Turning Of A <span>Shadyside Corner </span><span>By Deborah McDonald </span><span>.. Pittsburgh Post Gazette -</span><span>- April 9, 2013</span></div>
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<div>As real estate prices soar, Walnut Street faces another life change <span>By Dan Fitzpatrick and Teresa F. Lindeman, Post-Gazette </span><span>September 26, 1999</span></div>
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<div>Strip Club Goers do laps for drive-through dances - Gainesville Sun September 18, 2000.</div>
<div>Local Lodge Loses Permit To Sell Liquor .<span>Pittsburgh Post-Gazette - Mar 31, 1942</span></div>
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<div><span>Nightlife Conditions Ripped in Shadyside Walnut Street Neighbors Protest Pizza Palor's Appeal for Liquor- Pittsburgh Press Oct. 27, 1966</span></div>
<div>Disco Madness Seizes City, More On Way .- <span>Pittsburgh Post-Gazette - Aug 16, 1976</span></div>
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</div> Kelly Strayhorn celebrates Regent Theatre’s 100 yearstag:jazzburgher.ning.com,2014-11-16:1992552:Topic:3414502014-11-16T07:11:22.471ZDr. Nelson Harrisonhttp://jazzburgher.ning.com/profile/NelsonHarrison
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<h1 class="post-title entry-title"><a href="http://newpittsburghcourieronline.com/2014/11/14/" rel="bookmark" style="font-size: 13px;" title="11:41 am">Nov 14, 2014</a></h1>
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<h1 class="post-title entry-title"><a href="http://newpittsburghcourieronline.com/2014/11/14/" title="11:41 am" rel="bookmark" style="font-size: 13px;">Nov 14, 2014</a></h1>
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<div class="post-content"><div class="featured"><div class="featured-thumb featured-landscape"><div id="attachment_120454" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-120454" src="https://ionenewpittsburghcourier.files.wordpress.com/2014/11/steeldrum.jpg" alt="SteelDrum" height="454" width="680"/><p class="wp-caption-text"><strong>SOUNDWAVES STEELBAND</strong> entertaining everyone outside the Kelly Strayhorn Theater. (Photo by J.L. Martello)</p>
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<div class="content-body"><p>Kelly Strayhorn Theater celebrated 100 years of the Regent Theatre—the building KST calls home—with a community day celebration and a toast. KST also allowed guests to participate in “Capsule 15206,” a time capsule where patrons submitted their favorite memories of the neighborhood.</p>
<div id="attachment_120456" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-120456" src="https://ionenewpittsburghcourier.files.wordpress.com/2014/11/capsulemaking.jpg?w=680&h=454" alt="capsulemaking" height="454" width="680"/><p class="wp-caption-text">PEOPLE MAKING MEMORABILIA FOR THE CAPSULE</p>
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<p>Residents and friends of the community were welcomed to join KST in celebrating the Regent Theatre centennial on Oct. 11 and beyond at the theater’s Penn Avenue location in East Liberty.</p>
<p>Patrons enjoyed family-friendly entertainment by Soundwaves Steelband and the YWCA Lighthouse Project, toured the historic building, and added memories to the time capsule.</p>
<div id="attachment_120455" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-120455" src="https://ionenewpittsburghcourier.files.wordpress.com/2014/11/timecapsule.jpg?w=615&h=723" alt="timecapsule" height="588" width="500"/><p class="wp-caption-text">THE TIME CAPSULE where the photographs and memorabilia everyone made were placed.</p>
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<p>The first 100 members who attended received complimentary vouchers to upcoming “KST Presents” performances.</p>
<p>Kelly Strayhorn Theater also invited the community to join them in a toast to honor the patrons, leaders and all those who have helped support the theater’s mission of providing the community with quality arts and cultural experiences.</p>
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<p></p> More on Walt Harper's Attictag:jazzburgher.ning.com,2014-10-07:1992552:Topic:3391562014-10-07T22:02:18.768ZDr. Nelson Harrisonhttp://jazzburgher.ning.com/profile/NelsonHarrison
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<div class="main-outer"><div class="fauxborder-left main-fauxborder-left"><div class="region-inner main-inner"><div class="columns fauxcolumns"><div class="columns-inner"><div class="column-center-outer"><div class="column-center-inner"><div class="main section" id="main"><div class="widget Blog" id="Blog1"><div class="blog-posts hfeed"><div class="date-outer"><h2 class="date-header"><span>SATURDAY, JANUARY 22, 2011</span></h2>
<h2 class="date-header"><span style="font-size: 1.17em;">Walt Harper</span></h2>
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<div class="post-body entry-content" id="post-body-7869557251144994093"><center><a href="http://s169.photobucket.com/albums/u217/rieraci/pittsburgh/pittsburgh%20music/?action=view&current=smharper.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u217/rieraci/pittsburgh/pittsburgh%20music/smharper.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"/></a><a href="http://www.waltharperandallthatjazz.com/a/p/legacy.html"><br/>Walt Harper</a></center>
<br/>Hey, Pittsburgh has been home to some of the world's greatest jazz players. And a lot of them have stayed home to play their music, too many to mention. But the guy that's arguably the most synonymous with jazz in the City may be none other than Walt Harper.<br/><br/>Harper was a jazz pianist, club owner, recording artist and producer while living in his hometown of Pittsburgh throughout virtually all of his sixty year musical journey. <br/><br/>He was born on July 3rd, 1926, the sixth of eight children. His dad Charles owned a home contracting and building business while his mom Lucinda was a homemaker with her own home-based beauty shop located on Clarissa Street in Schenley Heights, a middle-class neighborhood in the Upper Hill. <br/><br/>Harper didn't take to hammers and saws (or curlers, for that matter), but he did show an early interest in music. His parents were supportive as they were with all the kids, and his brothers Ernie and Nate ended up pretty fair musicians, too. <br/><br/>Ernie was a pianist and Nate a tenor saxophonist who would one day join his brother Walt's quartet. Walt credited older bro Ernie, who became a jazz fixture in Chicago, with being his earliest musical influence on the piano. Ernie was already playing piano around Pittsburgh with young drummer <a href="http://oldmonmusic.blogspot.com/2008/02/art-blakey.html">Art Blakey</a>, a fair jazz player himself.<br/><br/>Harper went to Oakland's Schenley High School as did two of his best friends, bassist <a href="http://oldmonmusic.blogspot.com/2008/03/mr-bass-man.html">Ray Brown</a> and saxophonist <a href="http://oldmonmusic.blogspot.com/2008/05/sugar-man.html">Stanley Turrentine</a>, the Sugar Man. Harper played valve trombone in the all-city band, but switched to piano. He was also a member of the Swinging Five, a jazz group he founded with Brown. <br/><br/>As teenagers, Harper and Brown would shoot hooky and go across town to Homewood and<a href="http://oldmonmusic.blogspot.com/2008/02/bulldog-boogie.html">Errol Garner</a>'s house to listen to him play the piano. Garner would have music scores piled on the keyboards; the school-skipping pair never realized that he couldn't read music and was playing by ear.<br/><br/>After graduating from high school in 1947, he studied at the Pittsburgh Musical Institute and the University of Pittsburgh for a couple of years. Harper then led a 10-piece band on the road from 1949 to 1954. The group appeared all over the East and Midwest with artists like Nat King Cole, Sarah Vaughan and George Shearing. But Harper never took to the road and came back home to stay.<br/><br/>Harper built a following by playing fraternity gigs and the tri-state area college circuit. Early on in his local career, he picked up the nickname "The Prom King" because his band played so many high school and college dates. <br/><br/>He was equally popular at the Mt. Lebanon High School as he was at the House, and throughout his playing days would entertain a racially mixed audience. In fact, the <i>Courier's</i>Teenie Harris photo collection shows white teens dancing to Harper's tune in the fifties.<br/><br/>In 1958, Harper's band started a gig at the popular <a href="http://oldmonmusic.blogspot.com/2008/11/crawford-grill.html">Crawford Grill</a> in the Hill District as the club's house band. It would run for over a decade during the fifties and sixties. The same fraternity guys and high school kids that he played for earlier followed him in droves to the Crawford.<br/><br/>At the same time, he began producing jazz festivals at the Hilton Hotel Ballroom in the early 1960s, selling out concerts by Carmen McRae, Chico Hamilton and the Ramsey Lewis Trio. <br/><br/>Later in the decade, he joined forces with the Catholic Youth Organization in producing larger festivals at the Civic Arena, featuring the Duke Ellington Orchestra, Thelonius Monk, Cannonball Adderley, the John Coltrane Quartet, and the Thad Jones-Mel Lewis Orchestra with Joe Williams among other acts.<br/><br/>Harper remained at the Crawford until 1969 when he opened his own club, Walt Harper's Attic, downtown in Market Square up a flight of stairs above a State store. Don't laugh; it ended up the perfect spot for a club.<br/><br/>He did a lot of his own work. First, there was no problem with generating goodwill with the City's jazz fans. He had a photographic memory, remembered names, even if he hadn't seen someone for years, and had a big smile for one and all. Plus he started with that built-in cadre of followers from the Crawford.<br/><br/>And he wasn't afraid to do a little personal tub-thumping. Harper made his rounds in those early days, personally delivering his publicity blurbs and photos to the newspaper desks each week.<br/><br/>Harper brought in the biggest names of jazz. Stan Getz, Ramsey Lewis, Dizzy Gillespie, the Modern Jazz Quartet, Joe Williams and Cannonball Adderley, along with local stars <a href="http://oldmonmusic.blogspot.com/2008/02/mr-b.html">Billy Eckstine</a>, <a href="http://oldmonmusic.blogspot.com/2008/09/maxine-sullivanloch-lomond-via.html">Maxine Sullivan</a>, Roy Eldridge, <a href="http://oldmonmusic.blogspot.com/2008/02/bulldog-boogie.html">Ahmad Jamal</a>, and his high school buds Turrentine and Brown graced the Attic.<br/><br/>He would pay those cats to improvise, while Harper, from his piano stool, led his band and played mainstream, get-down-and-boogie jazz jams between sets. A couple of his more popular tunes were "I'll Drink to That" and "It's My Pleasure," but there's no question that his signature song was "Satin Doll," a tune he played so often that many Pittsburghers thought he, not Duke Ellington/Billy Strayhorn, wrote the tune. <br/><br/>During the first year of operation, Harper had the doormen keep a count of the Attic customers coming up the stairs. They totaled more than 250,000, many of them repeat visits, and it was nothing to see a line snaking around the block to get into the club. And many were well known folk like Terry Bradshaw, L.C. Greenwood and Connie Hawkins, adding some cachet to the joint.<br/><br/>Things went swimmingly until 1976, when after seven years, Harper noisily bumped heads with his partners and sold the Attic. He took the time to perform and do his own projects, but he was back in business soon enough when he opened Harper's Jazz Club downstairs of the Grant Street Oxford Center in 1982.<br/><br/>The Club drew corporate and politco clientele in keeping with Harper's desire to move jazz from the back rooms to the mainstream.<br/><br/>Among the musicians featured at both of Harper's clubs were: Cannonball Adderley, Max Roach, Nancy Wilson, Mel Tormé, Wynton Marsalis, The Modern Jazz Quartet, Dave Brubeck, Dizzy Gillespie, Max Roach, Joe Williams, George Shearing, Carmen McCrae and Lionel Hampton; there were many others.<br/><br/>Harper found that the days of the downtown clubs were ending. It was just too hard to put together a business model to cover building and appearance expenses, and he pulled the plug on the Jazz Club in 1988.<br/><br/>And hey, it's not like he couldn't use the time off from the club hamster wheel. He honed his tennis game, and became one of the top celebrity players in the area, achy knees and all. Try doing that while you're running a club by day and a band by night. <br/><br/>Professionally, Harper performed up and down the East Coast, led jazz workshops and cultural programs, recorded, appeared numerous times on national and local TV, received awards, wrote and composed music (he scored a ballet for Dance Alloy)...oh, and he had that Steeler gig, too.<br/><br/>In the seventies, Harper and his group "All That Jazz" were hired by the Rooneys to play as the house band for the Steeler home games, a job they held until 2002. Ya think Three Rivers Stadium was a big enough room for the showman?<br/><br/>"Walt Harper at Fallingwater," filmed at the Kaufmann Home which was designed by Frank Lloyd-Wright, was aired nationally on WQED/PBS in 1975, and Harper was nominated for a local Emmy award for his performance. <br/><br/>Harper recorded four CD’s on his own Birmingham label with his lifelong friend Ray Brown. They were "West Coast On Line," produced by Ray Brown with arrangements by John Clayton; "Gee Baby Ain’t I Good To You," co-produced with Ray Brown and John Clayton; "In Very Good Company" with Ray Brown, Stanley Turrentine and Cecil Brooks III, and "Be My Guest" with Ray Brown and Stanley Turrentine. <br/><br/>Earlier in his career Harper recorded several other albums, "Eddie Jefferson With the Walt Harper Quintet," "Night Thoughts," "Walt Harper at Fallingwater," "Live at the Attic," "On the Road," "The College Jazz Beat," and "Harper's Ferry."<br/><br/>Heck, while we were searching we also found a bit of LP vinyl called "Open Pantry Presents Christmas Eve With Walt Harper" from 1974, which brings us up to an even dozen records for the jazzman.<br/><br/>He was recognized for his work with a variety of awards and honors. Harper was named as the 2006 Musician’s Union Man of the Year Award; was a recipient of the 2004 Harry Schwab Excellence in the Arts Award, and in 2001, he received the Mellon Jazz Community Award for his contributions to the jazz community. Harper was also posthumously recognized by Pittsburgh City Council, and The Legacy apartments across from the Crawford Grill building feature his mural inside along with the other jazz greats from the City.<br/><br/>Harper, who resided in Point Breeze, went to his reward suddenly on October 25th, 2006. He suffered a reported heart attack and died en route to UPMC Shadyside. He was 80 years old at the time (and he probably hated that his true age finally came out; he was famous for knocking five years or a decade off the years he spent on this mortal coil). <br/><br/>Active until the end, Harper was fully booked for the following year at jazz halls in Pittsburgh and the surrounding area. Harper is survived by his wife, Maggie Harper, and his only daughter from his first marriage, Sharynn Harper, a New York based writer/independent producer.<br/><br/>The Walt Harper Jazz Music Education Fund was established in Harper's memory to recognize youth (particularly in the Pittsburgh area) who show outstanding talent and promise in the jazz field. </div>
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</div> Walt Harper's Attic & All That Jazztag:jazzburgher.ning.com,2014-10-07:1992552:Topic:3389082014-10-07T21:52:33.105ZDr. Nelson Harrisonhttp://jazzburgher.ning.com/profile/NelsonHarrison
<p>2/02/2012</p>
<p>The Attic and All That Jazz</p>
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<p style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1045010563?profile=original" target="_self"><img class="align-full" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1045010563?profile=original" width="320"></img></a></p>
<p>Yes, the Square is alive with the sound of music these days. Whether it's a free lunchtime concert in the summer or bands entertaining during the evenings at NOLA and other night-life hot spots, you can tap your feet to the beat year-round in the Square. And if you listen closely…</p>
<p>2/02/2012</p>
<p>The Attic and All That Jazz</p>
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<p style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1045010563?profile=original" target="_self"><img src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1045010563?profile=original" width="320" class="align-full"/></a></p>
<p>Yes, the Square is alive with the sound of music these days. Whether it's a free lunchtime concert in the summer or bands entertaining during the evenings at NOLA and other night-life hot spots, you can tap your feet to the beat year-round in the Square. And if you listen closely enough, you almost hear the sweet sounds of Walt Harper tickling the ivories coming from the space above the current Bruegger's Bagel shop in a magical place Pittsburghers once knew simply as "the Attic."</p>
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1045013283?profile=original" target="_self"><img src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1045013283?profile=original" width="320" class="align-full"/></a></p>
<p>From 1969 to 1976, the Steel City's very own piano man ruled a musical kingdom that drew loyal followers from rank and file Downtown workers, local political and business movers and shakers, and sports superstars like Roberto Clemente, Terry Bradshaw, L.C. Greenwood, and basketball great Connie Hawkins. And on any given night, jazz greats such as Stan Getz, Dizzy Gillespie, Cannonball Adderley or the Modern Jazz Quartet would headline at the Attic. The music might start on the downbeat, but it was always an upbeat experience at the Attic with Walt Harper and his Quintet, described by music critics of the day as one of the tightest jazz combos in the entire U.S.</p>
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1045013360?profile=original" target="_self"><img src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1045013360?profile=original" width="320" class="align-full"/></a></p>
<p>What's especially noteworthy about the Attic is that it was one of the few Downtown jazz clubs in the country owned by an African American. But there was never a color line at the Attic as far as the talented Mr. Harper was concerned. With a following of loyal white fans who first discovered him when he entertained at the legendary Crawford Grill in the Hill District, Walt proved that music transcended race and other differences between people.</p>
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1045013346?profile=original" target="_self"><img src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1045013346?profile=original" width="162" class="align-full"/></a></p>
<p>Now, according to old news stories, the Attic is part of a story of a revived Market Square, drawing people in with exciting evening activity. Hmmm...kind of sounds familiar, doesn't it? Don't forget, the Market Houses came down only eight years earlier and were replaced by a flat park, leaving fewer reasons to come to the Square and less foot traffic for other businesses in the area. Back then, a state liquor store did its business in the Bruegger's location, and the Attic moved into the second floor above it, formerly the inscrutably named Mystic Tea Room (pictured here). With two dance floors, the Attic was designed to look like... a real attic. But whatever the decor, Walt and his musical guests shook the rafters with a specially designed sound system. For a lucky seven-year streak, Walt struck the right chord night after night and helped kick start one of the earlier transformations of the Square.</p>
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<p>The state store and many other businesses that were in the Square back then have long disappeared. But, the memories of Walt Harper, who died in 2006, still resonate within the hearts and minds of so many Pittsburghers who climbed the stairs to the Attic. Nearly 40 years after the final coda, Walt Harper fans remember a musical giant who lived his life the way he played jazz — with many a grace note. For more information on Walt Harper's life (off Market Square), we recommend checking out the Old Mon Music blog. POSTED BY MARKET SQUARE AT 11:27 AM LABELS: HISTORIC</p>