Frog and Nightgown: Wrong place, wrong time, but….

“The existence of a successful jazz club in [Thelonious] Monk’s home state in May 1970 was an anomaly. Woodstock (August 1969) marked the era….Jazz clubs were closing in bigger cities across the country while Raleigh, with a population of 120,000, wrestled with integration. But Peter Ingram — a scientist from England recruited to work in the newly formed Research  Triangle Park — opened the Frog and Nightgown, a jazz club, in 1968 and his wife Robin managed it. Don Dixon, a house bassist at the club who later gained fame as co-producer of REM’s first album, Murmur, says ‘It took a native Brit like Peter to not know that a jazz club wouldn’t work in 1968.’

“The Frog, as it was known, thrived in a small, red-brick shopping center nestled in a residential neighborhood lined with 19th century oak trees. Surrounded by a barber shop, a laundry mat, a convenience store and a service station, the Frog often attracted large crowds; lines frequently wrapped around the corner. Patrons brown-bagged their alcohol (the Frog sold food, ice and mixers), bought cigarettes from machines, and some smoked joints in the parking lot….Due to its mixed clientele, the club came under threat of the Ku Klux Klan, but Ingram never blinked, and the Frog held on, exceeding all odds….”

— From “Thelonious Monk: Is This Home?” by Sam Stephenson in the Oxford American (Fall 2007)

Biographer Robin D. G. Kelley provides a well-detailed account of Monk’s 10-day gig at the Frog and Nightgown — his last visit to North Carolina before his death 12 years later.

 

5 thoughts on “Frog and Nightgown: Wrong place, wrong time, but….”

  1. What an amazing time..
    My father was an amazing talent and visionary..
    He always went to the beat of his own drum..literally
    He lived well and hop on regrets..

    Francis Ingram
    son #2

  2. Peter. My grandfather, passed away today. After being in the Jazz world for 50 years. It is a sad day for the jazz scene.

    1. Patrick:
      For some reason, the Frog and Nightgown came up in a conversation at a zoom call at my church. My parents went there when I was a kid and so I started googling it. I see your message about your grandfather. I am sorry to hear that he has passed away. My mother still talks about her dates with my father to hear the jazz greats. Your grandfather was a visionary.

    2. I used to do odd jobs for Peter and Ann for the last year or so before I went back to my career. My first time meeting Peter he had 15,000 unread emails on his screen, he looked at me, hit delete all, and said “oops, I hope they’re not important”. I always enjoyed his company, and he will be missed.

      The stories he told me of certain celebs who performed at the Frog were just fascinating.

  3. Just picked up this thread. As a Raleigh native I remember the Frog well. Attending NC State the Frog introduced me to jazz which has been a lifelong love of mine. Pioneers like Peter led many southern folks like myself along a wonderful jazz journey!

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