![]() ![]() Beginning with the opening of Smalls Paradise, Smalls had his waiters dance the Charleston while serving guests patrons were also served drinks by waiters on roller skates. Smalls previously had some success in attracting a racially mixed clientele at his Sugar Cane Club with the quality entertainment and waiters who danced while balancing trays of drinks and sang during floor shows. The other clubs admitted only white patrons unless the person was an African-American celebrity. Smalls Paradise was the only major Harlem night spot which was owned by an African-American and was racially integrated. Ed Smalls commissioned original music for the stage productions of the night club. Like the other large and successful night clubs in Harlem, the Cotton Club and Connie's Inn, Smalls regularly showcased revues which featured the club's permanent staff of entertainers. Glenn Miller, Tommy Dorsey and Buddy Rich often came to Smalls Paradise to jam with the house band for the joy of it. Other musicians also made it a habit to drop in at Smalls Paradise after their engagements were over for the evening. īanjo player Elmer Snowden, whose band played at the Smalls Paradise Sunday matinees, would often jam with the Johnson band after he had finished his nightly performance at the Hot Feet Club. Wooding and his orchestra left the revue to perform in Europe and South America until 1927. The revue opened in Berlin in 1925, with Wooding and his band performing in the revue for a year. While performing at Smalls Paradise in 1925, Sam Wooding and his orchestra were heard by a Russian impresario Leonidoff promptly hired Wooding and his musicians for a European tour with the Chocolate Kiddies revue. The members of Johnson's band included Jabbo Smith, Benny Carter, Jimmy Harrison, Sidney De Paris and Sidney Bechet. Opening Day music was provided by Charlie Johnson and his musicians, who remained as the "house band" for ten years. Though Prohibition was in effect, patrons were able to bring their own liquor or purchase bootlegged liquor from the club's waiters. Smalls arranged a lavish gala for the club's opening on October 26, 1925, which was attended by almost 1,500 people. When Smalls opened Smalls Paradise in the basement of an office building at 2294 Seventh Avenue, he envisioned a night club which would not exclude his neighbors but would also be attractive to New Yorkers who lived in the city's downtown area. The building has been the site of Thurgood Marshall Academy since 2004.Įntrepreneur Ed Smalls owned a small venue in Harlem, the Sugar Cane Club, from 1917 to 1925, which catered primarily to local residents. Smalls Paradise was the longest-operating club in Harlem before it closed in 1986. The club was responsible for promoting popular dances such as the Charleston, the Madison and the Twist. Many well known musicians, both white and African-American, appeared at the club over the years and often came to Smalls after their evening engagements to jam with the Smalls Paradise band. It was later owned by Harlem businessman Pete McDougal and Wilt Chamberlain, and renamed Big Wilt's Smalls Paradise. Unlike most of the Harlem clubs which closed between 3 and 4 am, Smalls was open all night, offering a breakfast dance which featured a full floor show beginning at 6 am.Īfter 23 years as the owner of the night club, Ed Smalls sold the club to Tommy Smalls (no relation) in 1955. Waiters were also known to vocalize during the club's floor shows. The entertainment at Smalls Paradise was not limited to the stage waiters danced the Charleston or roller-skated as they delivered orders to customers. ![]() Other major Harlem night clubs admitted only white patrons unless the person was an African-American celebrity. At the time of the Harlem Renaissance, Smalls Paradise was the only one of the well-known Harlem night clubs to be owned by an African-American and integrated. Boulevard at 134th Street, it opened in 1925 and was owned by Ed Smalls (né Edwin Alexander Smalls 1882–1976). Located in the basement of 2294 Adam Clayton Powell Jr. ![]() Smalls Paradise (often called Small's Paradise and Smalls' Paradise), was a nightclub in the Harlem neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City.
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