Black Hawk (nightclub)

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For other uses of Blackhawk/Black Hawk, see Black Hawk.
Black Hawk
Location(s) Turk Street and Hyde Street
Tenderloin District
Flag of the United States San Francisco, California, USA
Type Nightclub
Years active 1949 — 1963
Genre(s) Jazz, Bebop
Capacity 200


The Black Hawk was a legendary San Francisco nightclub hosting a spectacular range of jazz talents during its heyday from 1949 to 1963. Located on the corner of Turk Street and Hyde Street in San Francisco's Tenderloin District. The owners were Guido Caccienti, and Johnny & Helen Noga.

In 2004, a new building was constructed on the Black Hawk's old location, and is now the 222 Club (dance club & bar).[1]

Contents

[edit] History

The Black Hawk was a San Francisco jazz club whose intimate atmosphere was idea for small jazz groups. In 1959, The fees that the club was able to pay for its jazz acts rose from less than $300 to more than $3,000 a week.[2] For fourteen years, the best and the brightest in the world of jazz passed through Black Hawk portals. A number of musicians recorded albums at the club, including Cal Tjader, Miles Davis, Thelonious Monk, Shelly Manne, and Mongo Santamaria.

Billie Holiday and Lester Young played their last West Coast club dates here and the Modern Jazz Quartet played its firsts.[3] When Charlie Parker was supposed to be opening across town at the Say When Club, he could be found instead jamming at the Hawk. Other notable musicians include Dave Brubeck Quartet,[4] John Coltrane,[5] Dizzy Gillespie, Stan Getz,[6] Mary Stallings, Johnny Mathis,[7] Art Blakey, Shorty Rogers, Art Pepper, Art Farmer, Gerry Mulligan,[8] Horace Parlan, and Russ Freeman. Arthur "Art" Tatum, in the last 18 months of his life mainly did concert work, played Black Hawk Club in San Francisco in 1955.[9]

Sunday afternoon sessions at the Black Hawk offered blowing time to young musicians. A young sextet who was working at the Black Hawk nightclub brought Johnny Mathis in for a Sunday afternoon jam session. It was at the Black Hawk that Helen Noga, co-owner of the club, first heard him sing. She decided that she wanted to manage his career. In early September of 1955, Johnny landed a job singing weekends at Ann Dee's 440 Club. After repeated attempts, Helen convinced George Avakian, then head of Jazz A&R at Columbia, to see him. Avakian came to the club, heard Johnny sing and sent the now famous telegram to his record company: "Have found phenomenal 19 year old boy who could go all the way.[10]

Billie Holiday's old friend Dr. Herbert Henderson visited Billie when she played dates at the Black Hawk Club in San Francisco during September 1958. . . . Immediately after the Black Hawk booking Billie took part in the first Monterey Jazz Festival, final evening, Sunday October 5, 1958."[11] For several months each year, Dave Brubeck, who got his real start at the Black Hawk, returns to the Hawk for an extended series of appearances, playing for consecutive weekends, sometimes for three months at a time.[12]

Cal Tjader's Jazz at the Blackhawk (1959), recording during a long holiday season gig at San Francisco's Black Hawk club, Tjader patched together a superb program split between straight-ahead jazz and Afro-Cuban workouts. At the time, Tjader had both Willie Bobo and Mongo Santamaria in his rhythm section; Bobo handles the trap drums during the bop numbers, while the Latin tunes find Willie and Mongo creating even more heat on the timbales and congas. Pianist Vince Guaraldi swings like a madman on "A Night in Tunisia." Other tracks include "I Hadn't Anyone Till You," "Blue and Sentimental," Bill B.," "Stompin' at the Savoy," and "I Love Paris." The Black Hawk was breaking in some excellent new stereo recording equipment at the time of this gig; hence the clear, sharp sound. [13]

Shelly Manne's Quintet, At the Blackhawk, Vol. 1 - 4, was recorded extensively at San Francisco's Black Hawk club for three nights in 1959, four live albums recorded, now documented on five CDs. With trumpeter Joe Gordon, tenor saxophonist Richie Kamuca, pianist Victor Feldman, and bassist Monty Budwig was certainly capable of playing high-quality bebop. Highlights include "Step Lightly," "What's New," "Vamp's Blues"). These lengthy performances "Vamp's Blues" is over 19 minutes long. The third volume adds a long version of "Whisper Not" to the original rendition, Cole Porter's "I Am in Love" and the spontaneous 18-minute "Black Hawk Blues." As with the first three sets, the fourth volume adds an alternate take (of "Cabu") to the original program ("Cabu," "Just Squeeze Me," "Nightingale," and a full-length version of their theme, "A Gem from Tiffany"). The lengthy solos are consistently excellent, making this entire series recommended to straight-ahead jazz fans.[14]

Thelonious Monk Quartet At the Blackhawk (1960), also includes tenor saxophonist Charlie Rouse, bassist John Ore and (for a brief period) drummer Billy Higgins is augmented on this live session by two guests: trumpeter Joe Gordon and the tenor of Harold Land. The extra horns uplift the date and add some surprising moments to what otherwise might have been a conventional, but still spirited live session. Highlights include "Let's Call This," "Four in One" and a swinging version of "I'm Getting Sentimental over You." Other tracks "Epistrophy," "Evidence," "San Francisco Holiday," "Round Midnight," "Epistrophy (Closing Theme)"[15]

Miles Davis In Person Friday Night at the Blackhawk, Complete, Volume I: This was to be the first recording of a Davis band live in concert for an official album release, with tenor saxophone Hank Mobley, drums Jimmy Cobb, bass Paul Chambers, and piano Wynton Kelly – for two nights in 1961 at the Blackhawk club. Some of this music had been previously released in varying configurations.[16] Tracks includes "Oleo", "No Blues," "Bye Bye (Theme)," If I Were a Bell," "Fran Dance," "On Green Dolphin Street", "The Theme," "All Of You," "Neo," "I Thought About You," "Bye Bye Blackbird," "Walkin'," Love, I've Found You.[17]

Miles Davis In Person Saturday Night at the Blackhawk, Complete, Volume II: Tracks include "If I Were a Bell," "So What," "On Green Dolphin Street," "Walkin," "Round Midnight," "Well You Needn't," "Autumn Leaves," "Neo (Teo)," "Two Bass Hit," "Love, I've Found You," "I Thought About You," "Someday My Prince Will Come," "Softly As In a Morning Sunrise".[18]

Mongo Santamaria At The Black Hawk, in 1962, brought his recently-formed band to the legendary Black Hawk club, showing how an international cast of topflight musicians could be true to both Latin roots and jazz’s spirit of adventure. Cuba was well represented by tenor saxophonist José “Chombo” Silva, who also plays violin on the mellower charanga tracks recorded in New York, and Rolando Lozano, an incredible master of the wooden flute. Another key contributor is the Brazilian João Donato, who is heard on trombone as well as his more familiar piano, while jazz great Laurdine "Pat" Patrick, another of Mongo’s favorites, also puts in a guest appearance.[19]

[edit] Selective discography

Year Title Artist Genre Label Recorded
1959 Jazz at the Blackhawk (Live) Cal Tjader Jazz Fantasy January 20, 1957
1959 At the Blackhawk, Vol. 1 Shelly Manne Hard bop Contemporary September 1959
1959 At the Blackhawk, Vol. 2 Shelly Manne Hard bop Contemporary September 1959
1959 At the Blackhawk, Vol. 3 Shelly Manne Hard bop Contemporary September 1959
1959 At the Blackhawk, Vol. 4 Shelly Manne Hard bop Contemporary September 1959
1960 Thelonious Monk Quartet Plus Two at the Blackhawk Thelonious Monk Jazz Riverside April 1960
1960 At the Blackhawk Thelonious Monk Jazz Riverside April 1960
1961 In Person Friday Night At The Blackhawk, Complete, Volume I Miles Davis Jazz Columbia April 21, 1961
1961 In Person Saturday Night At The Blackhawk, Complete, Volume II Miles Davis Jazz Columbia April 22, 1961
1962 At The Black Hawk Mongo Santamaria Latin Jazz Fantasy 1962

[edit] See also

[edit] Footnotes

  1. ^ Miles Davis at the Blackhawk, San Francisco
  2. ^ New York Time (Monday, August 3, 1959
  3. ^ Selvin, Joel. San Francisco, the Musical History Tour: A Guide to Over 200 of the Bay Area, Chronicle Books, page 76, (1996) - ISBN 0811810070
  4. ^ New York Time: Dave Brubeck (Monday, December 2, 1957
  5. ^ Chambers, Jack. Milestones: The Music and Times of Miles, Da Capo Press, page 312, (1998) - ISBN 0306808498
  6. ^ Black Hawk: Stan Getz
  7. ^ Ewen, David. All the Years of American Popular Music, Prentice Hall, page 536, (1977) - ISBN 0130224421
  8. ^ Gerry Mulligan at Black Hawk
  9. ^ Chilton, John. Who's who of Jazz: Storyville to Swing Street, Da Capo Press, page 325, (1985) - ISBN 0306802430
  10. ^ Johnny Mathis bio
  11. ^ Chilton, John. Billie's Blues: The Billie Holiday Story, 1933-1959, Da Capo Press, page 185, (1989) - ISBN 0306803631
  12. ^ Michaels, Leonard. West of the West: Imagining California, University of California Press, page178, (1995) - ISBN 0520201647
  13. ^ Cal Tjader: Jazz at the Blackhawk
  14. ^ Shelly Manne's Black Hawk recordings
  15. ^ Thelonious Monk Quartet At the Blackhawk
  16. ^ Period of Transition: Miles @ the Blackhawk 1961
  17. ^ In Person Friday Night At The Blackhawk, Complete, Volume I
  18. ^ Miles Davis: In Person Friday Night At The Blackhawk
  19. ^ Mongo Santamaria At The Black Hawk

[edit] External links