Philadelphia Clef Club Of Jazz
738 South Broad Street
Philadelphia, PA 19146
ph. 215-893-9912
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THE PHILADELPHIA CLEF CLUB OF THE PERFORMING ARTS (PCC) was founded in 1966 by members of Musicians' Protective Union Local #274, American Federation of Musicians (A F of M). Local #274 was chartered in 1935 as a separate Black local because Black musicians were denied membership in the racially segregated Local #77. Local #274 enjoyed its autonomy for more than 36 years. It was the longest surviving independent Black Musicians' Union in the United States, of the more than fifty chartered in major cities.
Local #274 and PCC its social unit are integral parts of the history of JAZZ in Philadelphia. They evolved out of the struggle of Black musicians for political, economic, and cultural recognition during Philadelphia's overt segregation period. Local #274's membership rolls included JAZZ greats like John Coltrane, Dizzy Gillespie, Shirley Scott, Lee Morgan, “Philly” Joe Jones, Grover Washington, Jr., the Heath Brothers, and Nina Simone to name a few. The word JAZZ was added to the name of PCC in 1994. The Philadelphia Clef Club of Jazz & Performing Arts, Inc. made history when it opened the doors of its new facility in October of 1995. The facility was the first ever designed and constructed specifically to be a JAZZ institution. The concept of a JAZZ Art Institution is a new one, because JAZZ has been traditionally presented and developed in the commercial sector through bars, clubs, concert halls, and the recording industry. It is Philadelphia's only major music institution solely devoted to this great American Art form. The Clef Club's vision is to have the broad community embrace, and support JAZZ as a great American Art Form, understand its roots in the African American experience, and recognize JAZZ as central to our national cultural heritage, and worthy of public and Institutional support.
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