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Five Spot Jazz

A Legacy Reimagined at Hi-Collar

About Me

In the late 1950s, the Five Spot Café was more than just a jazz club—it was the cultural heartbeat of downtown New York. Tucked away on Cooper Square and later at 2 St. Marks Place, the original Five Spot was a humble, smoky bar where legends were born and boundaries were broken.

On any given night, you might catch Thelonious Monk and John Coltrane on stage, while artists like Frank O’Hara, Jack Kerouac, and Helen Frankenthaler sipped drinks in the crowd. It was a meeting place for painters, poets, jazz fans, and anyone chasing the electric pulse of something new.

That tiny stage launched what would become the Giants of Jazz: Charles Mingus, Cecil Taylor, Eric Dolphy, and Randy Weston—a revolutionary scene alive with sound and soul.

Now, over half a century later, we pay tribute to that spirit—right here in the neighborhood where it all began.

We love the East Village. Its wild heart, its creative spirit, its fearless history—it’s where culture, art, and music have always collided. It’s where people come not just to eat or drink, but to feel something real. That’s why we brought Five Spot back— to honor what was, and to keep it alive.

By day, we are Hi-Collar: a stylish, compact Japanese café serving top-tier coffee, omurice, and a curated selection of sake and whiskey at 231 E 9th St in the East Village.

But on select nights, we dim the lights and bring the music back.

Five Spot Jazz lives again—right here.

The address has changed. The feeling hasn’t.