1940s-1950s
1238 S. Main St., corner 12th Ave. S.
The site of the old Entertainer’s Cabaret, where Jelly Roll Morton played in 1920, Sessions Playhouse (sometimes just called Sessions, and to make mattters more confusing, originally called Sheffield’s Playhouse, after its owner Roy Shieffield) was a modest bootleg joint that seated 100 or so customers who could buy their booze from the hotel next door. Floyd Standifer played Sessions and recalled that the manager, Jimmy Linegan, couldn’t play piano, but did, with his pistol laid on the top. Shake dancers were a specialty at Sessions. Elmer Gill played the club, as did Roscoe Weathers, and the great trombonist Jack Teagarden is said to have performed there, as well, with Gerald Wiggins on piano.
Jackson Street After Hours (print only). No known online links.