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In March 1946, an important moment in jazz history took place when Miles Davis and Charlie Parker, two all-time jazz greats, performed together at the Finale Club in Bronzeville/Little Tokyo. During World War II, forced removal of Japanese Americans into concentration camps left Little Tokyo largely empty. African Americans coming West for defense jobs moved into Little Tokyo—one of the only neighborhoods without restricting housing covenants. Bronzeville was born.

Dozens of all night “Breakfast Clubs” sprang up in Bronzeville, patronized by jazz musicians and aficionados eager to continue listening to and making music after hours. One of these was the Finale Club which opened in the fall of 1944 at 230 ½ E. First Street, Los Angeles. This year, the Little Tokyo Historical Society (LTHS) unveiled the historic LA City plaque for the Finale Club on First Street to memorialize the extraordinary and rare performance of jazz greats Charlie Parker and Miles Davis at the Finale Club and to honor the continued relationship between the Black and Japanese American communities.

LTHS invites you to experience the rich artistic and musical history of Little Tokyo during the Bronzeville Era in a celebration of live music, Bronzeville scholars, photos, and videos. Performers and speakers will include the Ron Kobayashi band and historians Hillary Jenks and Kirk Silsbee, along with brief remarks by Miles Davis’ son, Erin Davis.

This live public program is free and open to all. Go to JANM’s YouTube channel at 2:00 PM (PDT) on October 11th to watch it live:

Image credit: William P. Gottlieb/Ira and Leonore S. Gershwin Fund Collection, Music Division, Library of Congress.

Funding has been provided by California Humanities and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) as a part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act economic stabilization plan of 2020.