New owners determined to keep legacy alive for legendary Harlem jazz club Minton's Playhouse
HARLEM, Manhattan (WABC) -- In honor of Black History Month, we are taking a look inside a legendary jazz club in the heart of Harlem.
The stage at Minton's Playhouse has hosted many of the greats long before they were household names. Its walls echo with the sounds of Billie Holiday, Louis Armstrong, Dizzie Gillepsie and more.
It's where bebop was born some 80 years ago, and today, it's taking people back in time - serving up food, drinks, and of course, plenty of jazz.
In 1938, Henry Minton opened what would become an historic landmark in the story of Black music and culture -- and it became a magnet for legends.
Now, after nearly a century, four new owners are writing the next chapter.
"Sometimes we still pinch ourselves, you know, huge footsteps for us to step in," said Atiba Stevenson. "It's a huge responsibility, huge responsibility, absolutely, but we love it."
Joel Clacken is the marketing man, Atiba Stevenson is the self-proclaimed chairman of a good time, McKinley Lamarre, the operations guy and Sunil Rangila, the executive chef.
Rangila said the club will feature a wider variety of foods "from where modern American meets the Caribbean combined, and it just screams flavor."
You can feel the history inside Minton's, but to appropriately talk about the club, you need to go back to the Harlem Renaissance.
"Yes, the Harlem Renaissance from 1920 to 1937, we had a lot of creatives that came here into Harlem to New York City, right? Black creatives, there was a special time, and it was very political and Henry Minton was a first Black union delegate local 802," Stevenson said.
That meant that if you wanted to gather as a musician, you could get fined.
"And Minton's became very well known for the jam sessions," Stevenson said. "And what's important about that is the musicians did not get fined, and this was strictly because of Henry Minton being a union delegate."
The new owners say the presence of the jazz greats can still be felt throughout the jazz club.
"Listen every night the musicians, you know they hear and you can kind of see them transform... they are great at what they do," Stevenson said. "So this is not saying that it's not their own superpower, but the type of musicianship that I see on this stage, I truly see the legends. It's almost like they're taking over."
The new owners hope they are able to carry on the legendary jazz club's legacy to the next generation for decades to come.
They are also carrying on Henry Minton's legacy of giving back to the community. About 100 people live in the former Cecil Hotel above the club. It is lower income housing and once a week, the owners send meals to those residents.
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