



Both/And Jazz Club at 350 Divisadero was one of the neighborhood's liveliest jazz joints. Opening its doors in 1965, its small size didn't limit the shows it put on. Featuring Ike & Tina Turner, Wes Mongtomery, Big Mama Thornton, The Steve Miller Blues Band, and Miles Davis, it carried big acts. (Note: though we couldn't find many photos from back in the day, we're including some shots of musical greats that once performed in the neighborhood. If you have any photos, please let us know). Way back in the day on Hoodline, we talked about how theat 350 Divisadero was one of the neighborhood's liveliest jazz joints. Opening its doors in 1965, its small size didn't limit the shows it put on. Featuring Ike & Tina Turner, Wes Mongtomery, Big Mama Thornton, The Steve Miller Blues Band, and Miles Davis, it carried big acts. (Note: though we couldn't find many photos from back in the day, we're including some shots of musical greats that once performed in the neighborhood. If you have any photos, please let us know).

















The venue closed in the mid 1970s, and today it's the home of mixed martial arts gym Hybrid Training. Here are a few concert photos and signs from the Both/And days:

















Club Morocco , now our friendly Ethiopian dive bar When remembering jazz joints, we can't forget the still-standing, now our friendly Ethiopian dive bar Waziema . Walking inside is like stepping into a time-warp, with the original wallpaper still in place and the stage where prodigies like Billie Holiday, James Brown and BB King once performed. The space used to curve like a horseshoe, with another opening on the Hayes side of Popeyes. It shut its doors in 1979 and stood empty for 20 years, until it became Club Waziema.





Half Note . According to the long-time residents interviewed in There is one venue on Divisadero that still plays homage to its days as a jazz club: The Independent . In 1967 it was a coffee shop called Emanon, when jazz entrepreneur Herman Warren bought the space and converted into the. According to the long-time residents interviewed in this piece by The Corridor , The Half Note was truly a neighborhood place. The staff would occasionally organize "field trips", chartering a bus to take regulars to Tahoe and Reno to blow off some steam. Flirtatious Half Note bartender Frank McCoy became a local celebrity, and was known for having regulars' drinks at the counter as soon as they walked in the door.





The Both/And and Half Note were friendly competitors. Stories are told that each venue had its own softball team, and the losing team would have to drink at the winner's bar. As a 1965 edition of the Sun Reporter stated





“I think congratulations are doubly in order when seemingly every other club owner in town is hiring half-nude chicks in the rat race for a greedy dollar. It’s nice to know at least two club owners who didn't join the stampede.”

If you take a moment after handing in your tickets to stand in the Independent's hallway, you'll see photos of it from back in the day, when Thelonious Monk, Miles Davis, and Al Jarreau played there. A small backyard behind the stage features a patio in the shape of a half note, in memory of the club's history.











