Welcome

The Plugged Nickel Club in Chicago’s Old Town neighborhood was a jazz hotspot operated by Michael Pierpaoli between 1962 and early 1970’s. The top jazz artists of the day such as John Coltrane, Art Blakey, Thelonius Monk, Buddy Rich, Count Basie and others performed regularly at the Club which was limited to an audience of 200 people.

In late December 1965, the Miles Davis Quintet including Herbie Hancock, Ron Carter, Tony Williams and Wayne Shorter recorded what became know as “Cookin’ at the Plugged Nickel” and later “The Plugged Nickel Sessions”, a historic engagement that redefined jazz improvisation. The innovation in sound was suggested by Williams when he asked, "What if we play anti-music? Like, whatever somebody expects you to play, that's the last thing you play?" Today, these recordings have preserved a seminal moment in the history of modern music.

Ultimately, the doors of the Plugged Nickel closed at a time when the live jazz scene in Chicago was drying-up. It seems that the Clubs loss of their license to serve liquor and other factors contributed to its demise as well as changes in the Old Town area.

The closing of the Plugged Nickel also ended a chapter of history of the once flourishing jazz scene in Chicago. The intention of The Plugged Nickel Project is to bring together stories, recollections, and lost ephemera from the Club and the Chicago jazz scene as a whole during the 1950’s through the 1970’s.