Stu Katz

Just stumbled across this thread 12 years after the most recent post so it’s possible that nobody will see this. I write only because my parents moved to a 2nd floor apartment at 5024 N. Winthrop Avenue in 1941 (I was 4 years old at the time) where we lived for many years. It was a 2 minute walk from the Argyle Show Lounge as well as the Tailspin, the Dubonnet and the tiny Hour Glass, all located on Argyle Street and all featuring live modern jazz. Also on Argyle was Mickey’s Miracle Bar, featuring the traditional band of Danny Alvin for as long as I can remember. Directly below my bedroom was the bedroom of teenage trumpeter Howard (Hotsy) Katz (no relation) who played Diz and Bird records non-stop with his window open. I was hooked on bebop from that point forward and even though I was a little kid, Hotsy let me come to his bedroom to listen to his records (he wound up working steady his whole life as a big band jazz trumpeter). He told me that Argyle Street was loaded with bars featuring the live music of the best jazz musicians in the world, so as a grade schooler I would walk up and down Argyle Street in clement weather and be able to hear that celestial music pouring out of all of them, including the Argyle Show Lounge. My fate was sealed on that street.