Mikell's was a jazz club on the corner of 97th Street and Columbus Avenue, in New York City. Run by Mike MikellJon Pareles
"Mike Mikell, 80, Owner of an Influential R&B and Jazz Club, Dies"
'' The New York Times'', November 21, 2005. and Pat Mikell, from 1969 to 1991 it was a regular venue for New York's top

studio A studio is an artist or worker's workroom. This can be for the purpose of acting, architecture, painting, pottery (ceramics), sculpture, origami, woodworking, scrapbooking, photography, graphic design, filmmaking, animation, industrial design ...

and

session musician Session musicians, studio musicians, or backing musicians are musicians hired to perform in recording sessions or live performances. The term sideman is also used in the case of live performances, such as accompanying a recording artist on a ...

s, who would turn up for jam sessions with major soul, funk and jazz artists visiting the city.Jon Pareles
"For a Night, the Sweet Sounds of Mikell's"
''The New York Times'' January 24, 2004. Paul Shaffer, bandleader for CBS's ''

Late Show with David Letterman The ''Late Show with David Letterman'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by David Letterman on CBS, the first iteration of the The Late Show (franchise), ''Late Show'' franchise. The show debuted on August 30, 1993, and was produced by ...

'', called Mikell's "soul heaven". Among the performers and bands associated with Mikell’s are

Stuff Stuff, stuffed, and stuffing may refer to: *Physical matter *General, unspecific things, or entities Arts, media, and entertainment Books *''Stuff'' (1997), a novel by Joseph Connolly (author), Joseph Connolly *''Stuff'' (2005), a book by Jere ...

, the alliance of studio musicians that played almost weekly at Mikell's in the 1970s. Writer

James Baldwin James Arthur Baldwin (August 2, 1924 – December 1, 1987) was an American writer. He garnered acclaim across various media, including essays, novels, plays, and poems. His first novel, '' Go Tell It on the Mountain'', was published in 1953; de ...

's brother David worked as a bartender at the club in the 1970s and 1980s, thereby attracting patronage from Baldwin as well as other authors, including Toni Morrison,

Amiri Baraka Amiri Baraka (born Everett Leroy Jones; October 7, 1934 – January 9, 2014), previously known as LeRoi Jones and Imamu Amear Baraka, was an American writer of poetry, drama, fiction, essays and music criticism. He was the author of numerous bo ...

and

Maya Angelou Maya Angelou ( ; born Marguerite Annie Johnson; April 4, 1928 – May 28, 2014) was an American memoirist, popular poet, and civil rights activist. She published seven autobiographies, three books of essays, several books of poetry, and ...

, and musician friends such as

Art Blakey Arthur Blakey (October 11, 1919 – October 16, 1990) was an American jazz drummer and bandleader. He was also known as Abdullah Ibn Buhaina after he converted to Islam for a short time in the late 1940s. Blakey made a name for himself in the 1 ...

Roy Ayres Roy Ayres (December 10, 1929 – June 9, 2012) was an American pedal steel guitar player. A Grand Ole Opry musician known for full chords and smooth tone, Ayres played steel guitar on all of Pee Wee King’s major hits, including “The Tennes ...

and Wynton Marsalis.

1970s

Stephane Grappelli, French jazz violinist who co-founded the Quintette du Hot Club de France, performed at Mikell's in the mid-1970s. Other performers included guitarist Joe Beck and reedman Joe Farrell. The band Stuff, formed in 1974, was closely associated with Mikell's, playing there three nights a week until 1980, with jam sessions taking place with visiting soul, jazz and funk stars and singers such as

Stevie Wonder Stevland Hardaway Morris ( Judkins; May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, who is credited as a pioneer and influence by musicians across a range of genres that include rhythm and blues, Pop musi ...

and

Joe Cocker John Robert "Joe" Cocker (20 May 1944 – 22 December 2014) was an English singer known for his gritty, bluesy voice and dynamic stage performances that featured expressive body movements. Most of his best known singles were recordings of son ...

1980s

In early 1980, the club served for rehearsals for

and the Jazz Messengers Big Band, which included Wynton Marsalis, and which would result in the live album ''Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers Big Band - Live at Montreux and North Sea'' (1980). Other artists appearing at the club in the 1980s included

Milt Jackson Milton Jackson (January 1, 1923 – October 9, 1999), nicknamed "Bags", was an American jazz vibraphonist, usually thought of as a bebop player, although he performed in several jazz idioms. He is especially remembered for his cool swinging solo ...

, Ray Brown,

Cedar Walton Cedar Anthony Walton Jr. (January 17, 1934 – August 19, 2013) was an American hard bop jazz pianist. He came to prominence as a member of drummer Art Blakey's band, The Jazz Messengers, before establishing a long career as a bandleader and com ...

and Mickey Roker (June 1983), Paquito D'Rivera (January 1984). Mikell's closed in 1991.

Live albums recorded at Mikell's

Stuff "Live in NY" Recorded live in 1980 by David Hewitt on the Record Plant Black Truck * John Tropea - ''Live at Mikell’s New York'' - Recorded live in 1980 by David Hewitt on the Record Plant Black Truck, released 1994. *Art Blakey and Jazz Messengers - ''New York Scene'' - May 1984BBC Programmes.
/ref>

References

External links

*Pareles, Jon

''The New York Times'', November 21, 2005
All About Jazz
{{Coord, 40.79366, -73.96705, type:landmark_globe:earth_region:US-NY, display=title Jazz clubs in New York City Music venues in Manhattan Defunct jazz clubs in New York City 1969 establishments in the United States