FIVE SPOT JAZZ NEW YORK

In the late 1950s, the original Five Spot Café was a small, smoky club that became the cultural heartbeat of downtown New York. Musicians such as Thelonious Monk and John Coltrane performed there, while poets, painters, and writers gathered in the audience, making it a meeting place for art, music, and new ideas. The stage helped launch artists who would become giants of jazz, including Charles Mingus, Cecil Taylor, Eric Dolphy, and Randy Weston.

Today, we pay tribute to that spirit in the East Village, a neighborhood long known for its creative energy and fearless history. By day, we are Hi-Collar, a Japanese café serving coffee, omurice, and a curated selection of sake and whiskey at 231 E 9th St. On select nights, we dim the lights and bring the music back—Five Spot Jazz lives again, right here.