BOSTON
ZZ JA HISTORY
TIMELINE PROPOSAL
BOSTON JAZZ HISTORY TIMELINE PROPOSAL
Z Z N A J TE N O C
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Concept
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Proposal 02 Hi-Hat History 05 Wally’s History 08 Savoy Café History 12 Timeline 14
MASSACHUSETTS AVENUE MASSACHUSETTS AVENUE
C Savoy Café Wally’s
Wally’s
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old
new
Savoy Café COLUMBUS AVENUE COLUMBUS AVENUE
Hi-Hat
old
CONCEPT I want to teach aspiring musicians about Boston’s rich jazz history and inspire them to help the jazz scene thrive once again.
Left; Map showing Boston’s formerly thriving jazz clubs.
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What most people don’t realize is that Boston was once a cradle for jazz music, attracting some of the country’s most seasoned musicians as well as younger ambitious student musicians who wanted to grow. Even though there were dozens of clubs and halls that hosted jazz in Boston from the 1930s -1960s, there were three main clubs that thrived, mostly located along Massachusetts Avenue, between Huntington Avenue and Columbus Avenue. These clubs were Hi-Hat, Savoy Café, and Wally’s Paradise/Café. My timeline will focus on teaching the great history of these clubs to the people who would benefit most — the musicians! Along Mass Ave is Symphony Hall and The New England Conservatory of Music nearby on Huntington Ave; these avenues are where many of the student musicians walk on a daily basis for either class, rehearsals, or concerts so my timeline will occupy this space. I will display all the history on light post banners that line Mass Ave. These printed banners will be double-panel and double-sided so no matter what direction the viewer is walking from they will always have a chance to read a part of the history. Rather than providing a traditional chronological timeline I will teach musicians the history by providing the name of famous musicians who helped bring these jazz clubs to life. With key musicians listed, I will show facts about them or quotes. Each club will also have its own double - sided panel so, again, regardless of which dirwection it is viewed from, the same information will be provided.
Right; Map showing where each light post banner will stand along the avenue.
PROPOSA
= banner
Symphony
MASSACHUSETTS AVENUE
HUNTINGTON AVENUE
Savoy Café Wally’s
AL Wally’s
new
old
new
Savoy Café
old
COLUMBUS AVENUE
Hi-Hat 3
Above; The Hi-Hat in the late 1930s. Photo is courtesy of the Bostonian Society /  Old State Museum. Right; Today the building is the Harriet Tubman House.
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HI-HAT The Hi-Hat, which called itself “America’s Smartest Barbeque”, opened in 1937 on 510 Columbus Ave. Being a haven for local musicians, it was one of the busiest jazz clubs in the city. On the first floor was the restaurant where the well known savory barbeque chicken was served, and on the second floor was the club where musicians, both amateur and experienced, lit up the small stage. The Hi-Hat’s great success was cut short due to a devastating fire in 1955. In 1958 it reopened and closed yet again due to a fire in 1959.
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Photos of a mural outside the Harriet Tubman House that was once home to the Hi-Hat. Even today it still embraces its jazz history through the lively mural art.
WALLY’S Sabby Lewis and an unknown man outside Wally’s Paradise, ca 1948. Photo courtesy of Elynor Walcott.
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Today the original 428 Mass Ave building of Wally’s Paradise is now Hepburn Chiropractic.
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Wally’s Paradise, later Café, was opened in 1947 by Joseph L. “Wally” Walcott on 428 Massachusetts Ave. It was one of the first racially integrated venues in New England and, like the Hi-Hat and Savoy Café, was also a hotspot for talented musicians, young and old. Of all the jazz clubs in the Mass. Ave. district, Wally’s Café is the only surviving club. In 1979 it moved across the street to 427 Mass. Ave. There’s music performed every day of the year and the weekly schedule consists of jazz, latin jazz, blues, funk fusion, vocal jam, and jazz sessions.
Wally’s current spot on 427 Mass. Ave.
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SAVOY C 12
The Savoy Café opened in 1935 on Columbus Ave and was the center of Boston jazz during the war years in the 1940s. It was too small to even fit a dance floor but musicians still lit up the stage. The greatest players there played in the bands of Frankie Newton and Sabby Lewis. One very famous person to hang around there frequently was Malcolm X. The club closed in 1942 and reopened on 410 Mass Ave in 1943. Then in 1956 it sadly closed its doors for good. It closed due to not making enough money. The main crowd by the mid 50s were college students. The last song ever played in the club, by the talented Excalibur Jazz Band, was the “Original Dixieland One - Step”
CAFÉ
Today the Savoy Café’s former location is a barber shop. Left is what the Savoy looked like in the 1930s.
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TIMELINE BANNERS
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FULL TIMELINE TEXT PEOPLE & PLACES 20
Hi-Hat: America’s Smartest Barbeque Opening in 1937, the Hi-Hat was one of the most important jazz spots in New England. Savoy Café Opening in 1935, Boston jazz grew up at the Savoy. The best players there were in the bands of Frankie Newton and Sabby Lewis. Wally’s Opening in 1947, Wally’s survived changes in taste, neighborhood decline, “urban removal,” and racial unrest. Joseph “Wally” Walcot Opened Wally’s Paradise to provide a place where black patrons were welcome. Nat Pierce: pianist, arranger Pierce created fun pieces mainly used in big bands. He played in the Woody Herman big band. Woody Herman: alto and soprano clarinetist, big band leader Woody was always willing to explore new directions, always keeping his music fun.
Jo Jones: drummer “You’re a musician. Don’t ever forget it. You can reach people, but to move them, you have to let everything out. ” George Frazier: journalist “You’re missing something authentic and heartfelt if you fail to hear them. William Sebastian “Sabby” Lewis: pianist, band leader, arranger In the 1940s no swing player was more successful than Sabby. He was key in the emergence of the Savoy in 1942. Rollins Griffith: pianist, bassist Griffith gigged around town and played in Boston’s biggest clubs, including the Hi-Hat. Jimmy Tyler: tenor saxophonist, band leader Tyler, leading his own Orchestra, played a pivotal transitional role in the Boston music scene. Frankie Newton: trumpeter Newton’s spare, expressive playing style marked him as a star.
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The previous spreads showed a few designs from the timeline banners, featuring just a few of the many musicians that impacted the great success of Boston Jazz, and some key places that let them shine. The red designs are the clubs themselves while the dark purple and dark blue are the individual people.
Top, a view down Mass. Ave. with Wally’s Cafe on the left. Left, comp of what lamp post banner would look like.
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Source: The Boston Jazz Chronicles: Faces, Places, and Nightlife 1937 - 1962, Richard Vacca Typefaces: Arno Pro 10/13 and Trade Gothic LT Std 8/10 Massachusetts College of Art and Design Maria Cesilia Lauer | Spring 2013
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