I grew up in Brooklyn and went to
Nick’s as a high school kid in the
‘40s.
I am an 82 year old jazz fan, loving
both the Chicago style of jazz
played at Nick’s, as well and the
Swing of the '30s, exemplified by
Count Basie, The Duke, and others. I
even have enjoyed the later
permutations of the music. I cut my
eye teeth on jazz when I was 15 or
16 years old on the albums that
Decca put out on Chicago jazz,
Kansas City jazz and New Orleans
jazz. In my last year of high school
I would go to Nick’s on a Friday
night with 50 cents in my pocket.
The train fare was a nickel, a
bottle of beer was 25 cents, and one
could buy a hot dog for 10-15 cents.
My friends and I would stand near
the bandstand—there were three small
uprights that formed a barrier in
front of the band stand that we
would lean against. I could nurse
the beer for an hour. We often saw
Pee Wee Russell, Max Kaminsky, Brad
Gowans, George Brunies, Eddie
Condon, Joe Sullivan, and sometimes
Pops Foster and George Wettling.
When the guys finished their set,
Sammy Price would take over on one
of the pianos and would sometimes
take requests.
Interestingly, I was never asked for
an ID regarding my age and I am
pretty sure I was under-aged then.
It was during WWII and the place was
often filled with members of the
armed services. Sometimes, when the
musicians left for a break, they
would go to a bar around the corner
called Julius's, where they would
have a drink and might grab
something to eat. If you were bold
enough you could go up to them and
say hello and ask for an autograph.
Richard Blumenthal