Mintons

A place in New Harlem, where a lot of new bebop was made. The owner of the club got together a band to play new music for them. Some names:

• Kenny Clarke
• Thelonius Monk
• Charlie Parker
• Dizzy Gillespie
• Nick Fenton
• Miles Davis

It was an uptown, mainly African American place to go. To paint a picture, in Miles's autobiography he talks about how he wanted to meet the people like Charlie Parker at Mintons, so that's why he went to NYC. He said:

"If you didn't know how to play ... you'll get laughed off... You had to put up or shut up, and there was no in-between." - Miles Davis

Bebop (Bop) started at this club. After Minton's, it'd go downtown throughout the other jazz clubs. But it was only the hottest and most innovative at Mintons. There were some white people that braved going to Minton's, but they were few and far between.