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From the mid-1940s through the
late 1950’s, The Fillmore was known as
the “Harlem of the West,” a vibrant cultural
treasure that was one of the world’s leading centers
for jazz music and jazz culture. Jazz was popular in
the Fillmore as early as 1930, and as the black population
of San Francisco grew tenfold between 1940 and 1950,
more than two dozen nightclubs with live music dotted
Fillmore Street.
The nightspots and afterhours clubs of the era, such
as Bop City, Plantation Club, Elsie’s Breakfast
Nook, Havana Club, Jack’s Tavern of Sutter Street,
the Long Bar, the New Orleans Swing Club, the Blue Mirror
and the Booker T. Washington Hotel, to name a few, put
the neighborhood on the map. 
In those years, Fillmore’s jazz
clubs played host to the country’s leading jazz
greats, including Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong,
Dexter Gordon, Billie Holiday, Charlie Parker and John
Coltrane. Among the clubs, Jimbo’s Bob City gained
famed nationwide for its all-night jams in the back
of Jimbo Edward’s waffle shop.
It was there, according to many, that Louis Armstrong
went to check out Charlie Parker, the only known time
these two musicians were under the same roof at the
same time.
When national greats played in the Fillmore, local
jazz legends who lived in and around the Fillmore often
sat in, names like Saunders King, Vernon Alley, Frank
Jackson, John Handy, Allen Smith, Eddie Duran, and Al
Obidinski. Many of these “living legends”
continue to play in the region and the Jazz Heritage
Center plans to feature these jazz greats in its programs,
including special concerts and youth programs.
Fore more information on the Fillmore Jazz Era, please
visit these sites:
http://www.nobhillgazette.com/mo_better_jazz.htm
http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?p=7441
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5430278
http://www1.sfbg.com/printable_entry.php?entry_id=4976
http://www.amacord.com/jazz/fillmore/exhibit.html
http://www.sanfranmag.com/story/jazzing-joint
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