Charles Mingus and Horace Parlan playing at the Five Spot while Orson Welles listens, 1958 (Dennis Stock)

Anyone ringing in 1959 in Manhattan had options: Eartha Kitt at the Waldorf, Dizzy Gillespie at the Village Vanguard, Count Basie and Joe Williams at Birdland (which was broadcast nationally on CBS Radio’s “New Year’s Eve Dancing Party”), Teddy Wilson at The Embers (54th St. and 3rd Ave.), Willie “The Lion” Smith at Central Plaza (6th St. and 2nd Ave.), and Blossom Dearie at Versailles (9th St. and 6th Ave.) among many, many others.

But the most tantalizing line-up, in retrospect, might have been at humble East Village club the Five Spot (Bowery Ave. between 4th and 5th St.), where Sonny Rollins and Charles Mingus were performing with their ensembles.

An advertisement in the December 31, 1958 issue of the Village Voice.

It’s hard to know now what that night looked like, but Mingus and Rollins were nearing the conclusion of a several-week-long stint at the club where Mingus was accompanied by pianist Horace Parlan, drummer Roy Haynes (after his drummer Dannie Richmond was arrested), and saxophonists Booker Ervin and John Handy. Rollins’ ensemble seems likely to have been the trio he toured with shortly thereafter, with bassist Henry Grimes and drummer Pete LaRoca.

At that point, the Five Spot was still the sole province of downtown’s artists and intellectuals. Women’s Wear Daily offered the best description of the scene in a trend piece about coats:

As for “far out” modern jazz, places like the Five Spot on the Lower East Side draw listeners. Half the crow last Saturday night in sweaters and tights looked like regular customers. The college influx huddled silently under coats (often fur-like fabrics) while their dates listened to the Charlie Mingus and Sonny Rollins groups.

(Ed. note: The dates were probably also listening.)

Charles Mingus and John Handy playing at the Five Spot, 1958 (Dennis Scott)

According to Gene Santoro’s Mingus biography Myself When I Am Real: The Life and Music of Charles Mingus, he was memorably ornery during the December 1958 run: playing so long that Rollins didn’t even bother to show up some nights (John Coltrane once filled in), berating his bandmembers, and even threatening a table who kept talking during his set with a cleaver from the club’s kitchen.

But the music, by the looks of the packed club, made it worthwhile. Rollins had recently completed his last studio session before going on a three year hiatus, which resulted in the album Sonny Rollins And The Contemporary Leaders. Mingus had recorded music for the John Cassavetes film Shadows that wound up being scrapped in the final cut — thankfully, the records live on.

Charles Mingus, John Handy and Booker Ervin playing at the Five Spot, 1958 (Dennis Scott)



The Five Spot facade, 1957 (Michael Ochs)