Misplaced Pages

#949050

24-506: 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

48-766: A daughter, Caroline, born a little more than a year after Jonathan Jr. Jonathan Tim Sr.'s death certificate not only confirms his birth in St. Vincent, it indicates that his father – Abdul-Malik's grandfather – James Tim, and his mother, Mary Daniels, were both from the Caribbean. City directories for Brooklyn, as well as the American Federation of Musicians Union Local 802 directory, confirm the bassist's birth name as Jonathan Tim Jr. The family lived at 545 Hopkinson Avenue, but moved to 1984 Atlantic Avenue before their son began school. Jonathan, Jr. had violin lessons from his father, who

72-401: 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

96-422: 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

120-469: A spot in the All-City Orchestra." Abdul-Malik was most active as a jazz musician from the mid-1950s to the mid-1960s. He recorded half a dozen albums as leader, which have been described as containing a "refreshing" fusion of jazz with Arabic and African music. During this time he was also described as "a hard bop bassist of some distinction". As an oud player he did a tour of South America for

144-555: 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

168-400: 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

192-416: 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

216-629: 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

240-471: 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

264-662: 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

SECTION 10

#1732891174950

288-506: 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

312-726: 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

336-466: The square on both sides. Notes Ahmed Abdul-Malik Ahmed Abdul-Malik (born Jonathan Tim, Jr. ; January 30, 1927 – October 2, 1993) was an American jazz double bassist and oud player. Abdul-Malik is remembered for integrating Middle Eastern and North African music styles in his jazz music. He was a bass player for Art Blakey , Earl Hines , Randy Weston , and Thelonious Monk , among others. Abdul-Malik claimed that his father

360-408: 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

384-558: 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

408-566: 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

432-407: 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

456-616: 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,

480-739: Was a plasterer and general laborer. Aged seven, Jonathan, Jr. attended the Vardi School of Music and Art, "to continue his violin training, and over time took up piano, cello, bass, and tuba." His parents divorced in the late 1930s, and he lived with his father and new wife, at 2117 Dean Street, but his father died on February 9, 1941, from a bleeding gastric ulcer. Jonathan, Jr. continued studying, including having lessons with local bassist Franklin Skeete, before joining The High School of Music & Art in Harlem. There, "his skills on violin and viola earned him

504-471: 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

SECTION 20

#1732891174950

528-408: 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

552-584: Was from Sudan and moved to the United States. Research by historian Robin Kelley , however, indicates that Abdul-Malik was born to Caribbean immigrants and changed his birth name: Ahmed Abdul-Malik was born Jonathan Tim Jr., (sometimes spelled "Timm") on January 30, 1927, to Matilda and Jonathan Tim Sr. – both of whom had immigrated from St. Vincent in the British West Indies three years earlier. They also had

576-481: 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

#949050