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Nick's (Nick's Tavern) was a tavern and jazz club located in theGreenwich Village neighborhood of the borough inManhattan,New York City,[1] which peaked in popularity during the 1940s and 1950s. It was notable for its position, because most popular jazz clubs at this time were located on52nd street.[2] Nick's, however, was placed on an unusually-shaped property[3] off the northwest corner of 10th Street and 7th Avenue.
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Many artists performed at the club includingBill Saxton (a Friday night regular),[4]Sister Rosetta Tharpe,Duke Ellington,Billie Holiday, Pee Wee Russell,Muggsy Spanier,Miff Mole andJoe Grauso, among others.[5] Artists likeMiles Davis andJohn Coltrane used to visit the pub to relax after their own gigs.[6] During the early 1950s, the club was noted for its regularPhil Napoleon andThe Original Memphis FiveDixieland performances.[7]Dick Hyman, a regular at the club, remembered the club's "Sizzling Steaks," a kitchen specialty, and the signature wall decor. “We used to put lit cigarettes in the mouths of the moose heads, which would drive the maitre d’s crazy,” Hyman recalled. The club had a bar which served soft drinks and alcohol.[8]
Nick's was founded by Nick Rongetti in 1922, after 4 previous attempts to open a jazz club in New York. Rongetti was known fondly for his love ofDixieland jazz, which helped the club in amassing a close ring of like-minded followers. Immediately, Dixieland became a staple of the club's sound (so much so thatThe New York Times once referred to the music as "Nicksieland"). The Nick's style was also influenced by the use ofimprovisation, as there was no printed music and there were "no rules" when it came to improvising. In the mid 1940s, the term "Nicksieland" was further popularized whenMiff Mole, a frequent player at the club, formed an octet called "Miff Mole and his Nicksieland Band."[9] Mole's band consisted of members who played at Nick's frequently, includingBob Casey,Bobby Hackett,Eddie Condon,Ernie Caceres, Gene Schroeder, Joe Grauso andPee Wee Russell.[10]
The closure of Nick's left a hole where the heart New York's Dixieland scene had been, but lived on in the memories of its musicians and patrons. Nick's Tavern was the first notable jazz club to open on 7th Street and helped to spread the influence of Dixieland jazz throughout Greenwich Village. It was purchased and replaced by another jazz club the following year, "Your Father's Mustache,"[11] which was eventually replaced again in 1976. Nick's helped to bring jazz to Greenwich Village where other Jazz clubs now prosper, such asThe Village Vanguard[12] andBlue Note.[13]
40°44′3.9″N74°00′9.5″W / 40.734417°N 74.002639°W /40.734417; -74.002639