Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Dexter Gordon. All the greats came to Wally’s in the South End. Now, nearly 75 years after the birth of the legendary nightspot, the people who lived it retell the making of the city’s coolest and most important jazz club ever.

When Wally’s Paradise opened its doors in 1947, it wasn’t just serving up stiff drinks and smokin’ jazz to patrons—it was making history. After all, proprietor Joseph “Wally” Walcott was the first Black man in New England to own a nightclub, and the first to be granted a liquor license in the city of Boston. Over time, the venue became more than just a place to watch tomorrow’s Grammy-winning jazz sensations cut their teeth: It emerged as a hub for Black culture that has endured for decades.

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