Jimmy Ryan's

Jimmy Ryan's was a jazz club in New York City, USA, located at 53 West 52nd Street from 1934 to 1962 and 154 West 54th Street from 1962–1983. It was a venue for performances of Dixieland jazz.

History
The location at 52nd Street was one of a row of brownstones with clubs operating in basements. As the last surviving jazz club on 52nd Street, its brownstone &mdash; along with all the other brownstones on the north side of the street &mdash; were demolished in 1962 to make way for construction of the new CBS Building. CBS had given Jimmy Ryan $9,000 to relocate. The club was owned by partners Matthew C. (Matty) Walsh (1914–2006) and Jimmy Ryan (1911–1963). Walsh, Ryan's brother-in-law, continued ownership following Ryan's death in July 1963 at the French Hospital. Gilbert J. Pincus (1907–1980) &mdash; who served as doorman from 1942 to 1962 at the original location and from about 1963 until his death in 1980 &mdash; became known as the "Mayor of 52nd Street."

Jazz style
During the 1940s, three New York nightclubs stood out as centers for traditional style jazz: Jimmy Ryan's, Nick's in Greenwich Village, and Eddie Condon's just a few blocks away.

Performing artists
Resident musicians from the 1940s


 * Mezz Mezzrow (1943)
 * James P. Johnson (1943)
 * Art Hodes (1945–1949)
 * J. C. Higginbotham (1946)
 * Henry "Red" Allen (1946)
 * Sidney De Paris (1947–1957)
 * Sidney Bechet (1948)
 * Max Kaminsky (1948–1949)
 * Wilbur De Paris (1951–1962)
 * Zutty Singleton (1963–1970)
 * Roy Eldridge (1970–1980)

Sunday jam sessions, organized and managed by Milt Gabler


 * Sidney Bechet
 * Pops Foster
 * Hot Lips Page
 * Pee Wee Russell
 * Eddie Condon
 * Mezz Mezzrow
 * Kaiser Marshall
 * Hank Duncan
 * Sandy Williams
 * Brad Gowans
 * Ben Webster
 * Chu Berry
 * Coleman Hawkins
 * Wildcats

Jazz tunes relating to the club

 * Tony Parenti and his Dean's of Dixieland, "A Night at Jimmy Ryan's," Jazzology (1967)
 * Max Kaminsky, Conrad Janis, Davis Quinn, Joe Henshaw, Zutty Singleton


 * "Down in Jungletown" (renamed "Down at Jimmy Ryan's")
 * "Blues for Jimmy Ryan"
 * "Live at Jimmy's", a complete album was recorded live there in 1973 by Maynard Ferguson.