Le Chat Qui Pêche is a

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

ian jazz club and restaurant founded in the mid-1950s, located in a cellar in

rue de la Huchette The rue de la Huchette is one of the oldest streets running along the Rive Gauche in Paris, France. Running eastward just below the Seine river from the Place Saint-Michel, it is today an animated Latin Quarter artery with one of the highest co ...

in the Latin Quarter, on the left bank of the

Seine ) , mouth_location = Le Havre/Honfleur , mouth_coordinates = , mouth_elevation = , progression = , river_system = Seine basin , basin_size = , tributaries_left = Yonne, Loing, Eure, Risle , tributarie ...

. It was run by a woman called Madame Ricard, who had been in the

French Resistance The French Resistance (french: La Résistance) was a collection of organisations that fought the German occupation of France during World War II, Nazi occupation of France and the Collaborationism, collaborationist Vichy France, Vichy régim ...

during the war,"Jimmy Wormworth: The American Jazz Quintet in Paris (1957)-part two"
''Keep (It) Swinging'', 23 July 2011. and "who looked so small and delicate that people likened her to the 'Little Sparrow', Edith Piaf. According to legend, Ricard had become a heroine of the French Resistance by informing against the Nazis. As she floated through the club she was all maternal warmth, however, calling the musicians 'mes enfants' and housing them in an apartment she kept over the club."James Gavin
''Deep in a Dream: The Long Night of Chet Baker''
Chicago Review Press, 2011, p. 192. According to the recollections of

Jimmy Wormworth James Edward Wormworth III (born August 14, 1937, in Utica, New York) is an American jazz drummer. He was described by Leonard Feather in 1960 edition of ''The Encyclopedia of Jazz'' as "One of the most promising young drummers on the New York scen ...

, who was invited to perform at Le Chat Qui Pêche in August 1957 with his American Jazz Quintet (comprising Wormworth as drummer and leader, Roland Ashby on piano, Sal Amico on trumpet,

Barry Rogers Barron W. "Barry" Rogers (May 22, 1935 – April 18, 1991) was an American jazz and salsa trombonist. Career Born in The Bronx, he descended from Polish Jews and was raised in Spanish Harlem. His family (original name: Rogenstein) possessed a ...

on trombone and

George Braith George Braith (born George Timothy Braithwaite on June 26, 1939) is a soul-jazz saxophonist from New York. Career Braith is known for playing multiple horns at once, a technique pioneered by Roland Kirk. Braith is credited with the invention of ...

waite on alto saxophone): "I was told that we made her club so successful, because there were many bus tours coming to hear us, that, after us, Madame Ricard hired many famous American jazz musicians, so that she had the funds to add another floor in the club....I don't know if that's true, but I think it was the late

Al Levitt Alan Levitt (November 11, 1932 – November 28, 1994) was an American jazz drummer. Career Levitt was born in New York City to Ben Levitt (1908-1941) and Florence Cohen Levitt (1912-1950). Early in life he showed an interest in music. In the ea ...

, who told me that, because he stayed in Paris, after we came back to the USA." In the 1960s numerous jazz legends played there, including

Bud Powell Earl Rudolph "Bud" Powell (September 27, 1924 – July 31, 1966) was an American jazz pianist and composer. Along with Charlie Parker, Thelonious Monk, Kenny Clarke and Dizzy Gillespie, Powell was a leading figure in the development of modern ...

, Chuck Israels,

Chet Baker Chesney Henry "Chet" Baker Jr. (December 23, 1929 – May 13, 1988) was an American jazz trumpeter and vocalist. He is known for major innovations in cool jazz that led him to be nicknamed the "Prince of Cool". Baker earned much attention and ...

Eric Dolphy Eric Allan Dolphy Jr. (June 20, 1928 – June 29, 1964) was an American jazz alto saxophonist, bass clarinetist and flautist. On a few occasions, he also played the clarinet and piccolo. Dolphy was one of several multi-instrumentalists to gai ...

Jackie McLean,

Johnny Griffin John Arnold Griffin III (April 24, 1928 – July 25, 2008) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. Nicknamed "the Little Giant" for his short stature and forceful playing, Griffin's career began in the mid-1940s and continued until the month of ...

, Lucky Thompson, Oscar Pettiford Donald Byrd, whose 1958 ''Au Chat Qui Peche'' date (with pianist Walter Davis, Jr., bassist Doug Watkins, drummer Art Taylor and featuring Bobby Jaspar on tenor sax) was one of his earliest live recordings as a leader.Ken Dryden
"Donald Byrd - Au Chat Qui Peche"
All Music. The club lasted up to 1970, when Madame Ricard sold her license. A restaurant with the same name now operates at the location.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chat Qui Peche, le Jazz clubs in Paris Restaurants in Paris