Minton's Playhouse

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After-hours hangout for jazz musicians and the birthplace of bebop

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From its opening in 1938, Minton's became a favorite venue for musicians to both perform and hang out. In addition to presenting a roster of some of the finest jazz musicians, they staged Monday night jam sessions in which visiting musicians took part. These weekly jam sessions provided an opportunity for musicians such as Dizzy Gillespie and Thelonious Monk to explore new ideas together, and their experiments played an important part in the development of bop.

This intimate jazz club was known as the "jazz musician's jazz spot," and the birthplace of bebop.