HISTORY
The Philadelphia Clef Club of Jazz and Performing Arts (PCC), founded in 1966, was one of the most significant events in the history of Musicians’ Protective Union Local 274, American Federation of Musicians (AFM). Union President James Adams proposed the idea to the membership. They agreed that the establishment of a social wing was beneficial. Raymond L. Smith, Charles Gaines and Curtis Wilder proposed the name for PCC, adopted for the Clef Club in New York City. The social wing was designed to operate as a separate organization within the union. It was maintained inside the local building and all assets of Local 274 were transferred from the local into their social wing. At a time when the city’s African American musicians struggled for political, economic and cultural recognition, Local 274 gave them representation and broke a tradition of segregation. With members such as John Coltrane, McCoy Tyner, Dizzy Gillespie, Jimmy Smith, Lee Morgan, “Philly Joe Jones,” Grover Washington Jr, the Heath Brothers, Nina Simone, Bootsie Barnes, and Butch Ballard, Local 274 was crucial to the growth of a thriving jazz scene in Philadelphia. When the AFM cancelled Local 274’s charter in 1971 for refusing to become what they viewed as “submerged” in Local 77, it was the last independent African American musicians’ union in the AFM and the United States.
During its heyday, it was not unusual to see Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Art Blakely, Dinah Washington, Max Roach and others exchanging artistic ideas in the union hall. The PCC became a haven for jazz musicians and jazz lovers where they relaxed, socialized, and jammed. The PCC became so popular that it created a “B” membership for jazz lovers and out-of-town musicians. The PCC would be packed on weekends where patrons watched celebrities make their flashy entrances. In 1970, PCC was forced to relocate from 912 South Broad Street to 114 South 13th Street. Despite the disruption, the PCC continued to function as a social club. In 1978, PCC expanded its activities to include jazz performance, jazz instruction, and the preservation of Philadelphia’s rich jazz history.
In 1982, Dr. Bernard C. Watson, the former president of the William Penn Foundation, allocated funds to construct a new facility at 736 South Broad Street, as part of the development of cultural organizations in Philadelphia’s performing arts district, the Avenue of the Arts.
In 1985 Lovett Hines initiated the PCC Jazz Education Program. He mentored hundreds of accomplished musicians including Christian McBride, Ahmir Questlove Thompson and Kamal Grey of the Roots, Jaleel Shaw, and many others.
In January 1993, the Philadelphia Clef Club sponsored a concert in the Academy of Music in memory of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. An audience of nearly 2,600 applauded some of the leading jazz artists in the world, including Jimmy Smith, George Benson, Sonny Fortune, Peter Nero, Red Rodney, Johnny Coles, Lou Tobacin, Mickey Roker, Bobby Durham, Clifford Adams, Randy Brecker, Trudy Pitts, Shirley Scott, Tim Warfield, Charles Fambrough, Christian McBride and Kenny Barron.
In 1995, the Philadelphia Clef Club established a new facility on the corner of Broad and Fitzwater Streets that houses classrooms, a performance space, recording facilities, and executive offices. The Philadelphia Clef Club of Jazz and Performing Arts is the first facility ever constructed specifically as a jazz institution – a testament to our nation’s history. Considered a historic icon in the Philadelphia African American community, the PCC has since expanded its offerings to include public performances by leading jazz artists and a music education program which has a significant positive impact on youth participants.