In some ways, the now-closed jazz club named Lennie’s on the Turnpike is exactly what it sounds like: a small establishment directly off a Route 1 turnpike, once owned and operated by a man named Lennie Sogoloff. Upon closer examination, however, Lennie’s on the Turnpike reveals itself as a cultural artifact that allowed the musicians who played there to expand upon the pivotal role that jazz served in the Civil Rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s.

How Lennie’s on the Turnpike Began

Lennie Sogoloff’s involvement in the music scene began in 1943, when he and his friend Penny Abell opened up a club in West Peabody, Massachusetts. During his time working there, a sales rep from Columbia Records solicited Lennie to sell records. For four years, Sogoloff immersed himself in selling and collecting vinyl, until Abell asked him to open a new club: this time, one right off Route 1 on what was then known as the Newburyport Turnpike. Sogoloff used his background as a record salesman and his own passionate interest in jazz to stock the club’s jukebox with every jazz record he could find. Meanwhile, he alchemized the warmth of his personality with the club’s small size in order to curate an intimate space that catered towards couples and individuals seeking a more cozy, personalized experience. By 1953, Sogoloff bought the club from Abell, changed the name to Lennie’s on the Turnpike. Aided by his passion for jazz music, his interpersonal skills, and his wife Barbara’s charm and business savvy, transformed the establishment’s mission: to become one of the best spots on the East Coast to experience live jazz.

Jazz’s History on the East Coast

It’s easy, at first glance, to understand jazz music as another form of entertainment. But just as Lennie’s on the Turnpike would eventually reveal itself to be much more than a hole-in-the-wall club off the freeway, jazz music’s contributions to the social and political climate of its times, as well its ability to speak to the African American condition and history, lends it a depth that is paralleled only by the complexity of its compositions. Scholars trace jazz’s influences back to the musical traditions of Africa. Many of the musical techniques that define jazz began overseas, to be carried over and sustained through the oral traditions of Southern plantation slaves. Over time, African American’s evolved their musical roots into the art form of jazz. Many jazz musicians started out in the South and came North in order to explore and expand the craft that their home states limited via racism and segregation. In the 1920s, Jazz began to find a new home on the East Coast and in Chicago. In New York, musicians could play more freely—although not without facing segregation. African American jazz musicians might very well find themselves performing at a venue that only catered towards whites, or being asked to use different entrances and exits. Attempts to take a stand against this type of discrimination in the 1920s and 1930s were severely limited and even dangerous. By the 1950s, however, more and more African American jazz musicians were using both their music and the platform it granted them, to give a voice and momentum to the Civil Rights movement.

Lennie’s on the Turnpike and its Jazz Performers

Sogoloff’s dream was to create a small, intimate music venue that introduced its audience to live jazz performances. It wasn’t long before the club did just that. Jazz enthusiast Mike Ruggello, who frequented Lennie’s on the Turnpike as a child, recalled how Sogoloff hosted a family night on Sundays that encouraged parents to bring their children to the club. On these evenings, the small size of Lennie’s on the Turnpike might place a patron elbow to elbow with a performer. Some performers—like Ruggello’s favorite, Buddy Rich—might even dedicate a good portion of their set to good-natured bantering with everyone in the club, including Lennie himself. In this setting, the segregation that often typified jazz concerts disappeared. For the duration of the evening, the racial divisions that hampered a jazz musician’s integrity melted away in order to make room for their music: which became increasingly vocal about the African American experience as the Civil Rights movement gained momentum. Artists like Nina Simone, Charles Mingus, Charlie Parker, Thelonious Monk, and John Coltrane—jazz greats then and now—played Lennie’s on the Turnpike, making it a regular stop on their tour circuit. Meanwhile, they also penned songs that spoke directly to the African American experience. Charles Mingus’ “Fables of Faubus,” for instance, contains lyrics speaking out against the violence inflicted upon African Americans. While his record label refused to record the vocals, Mingus didn’t allow that to stop him from performing them live and recording them two years later. Nina Simone wrote and covered several songs that were considered anthems of the Civil Rights movement, including “Mississippi Goddam,” which discusses racism, “Strange Fruit,” a song written by Billie Holiday about lynching, and “To Be Young, Gifted and Black,” an homage to her late friend Lorraine Hansberry, an African American playwright. Lennie’s on the Turnpike did not act in the same capacity as other jazz clubs that hosted benefit concerts or similar events for the Civil Rights movement. It did, however, serve as an anchor for jazz musicians. Performers knew they could show up at Lennie’s club and be greeted with an enthusiasm for their performance, a respect for their persona, and a chance to let their music speak for itself: whatever they decided to play. Lennie’s on the Turnpike enjoyed almost two decades of being the hole-in-the-wall club, right off Route 1, that hosted some of the best jazz musicians of that era and was also beloved by them: Louis Armstrong even celebrated his 60th birthday there. By the 1970s, jazz’s popularity was overshadowed by other genres, and when a fire erupted in 1971, it expedited Sogoloff’s decision to close the venue a year later. Today, Salem State University houses his collection of photographs, newspaper clippings, and other memorabilia from the club’s heyday. Lennie’s on the Turnpike lives on in the testimonies of jazz musicians who loved playing there, and the testimonies of those who experienced its magic firsthand. Please be sure to check out the YouTube link on this page. It leads you to a specially curated playlist by R1Views that highlights some of the great jazz that was played at Lennie’s.