Ridge Crest Inn (1953-1963)
One of the most significant jazz venues in Rochester’s history was actually located in an old farmhouse in Irondequoit.
The Ridge Crest Inn at 1982 E. Ridge Road in Irondequoit. From: Plat Book including towns of Irondequoit and Brighton, Monroe Co., New York (1959).
Opened in 1953 by Wesley Morey, a longtime bank employee, and his wife, Jane, the Ridge Crest Inn only accommodated about 125 people, but hosted some of the biggest names in jazz that ever performed in Rochester.
From: Democrat & Chronicle, March 1, 1959.
The Moreys helped establish Rochester as a tour stop for major acts traveling between New York and Chicago. Their repute extended to jazz circles in those same cities.
According to local journalist, Phil Ungerer, Jane Morey was known by booking agents in New York City as the “headmistress of the East side school of the cool sound,” and “the biggest contractor for jazz talent in this area.”
From: Democrat & Chronicle, March 13, 1956.
Charlie Parker, Thelonius Monk, and The Modern Jazz Quartet were just some of the renowned artists that drew local jazz fans to the Ridge Crest on a weekly basis.
One such local jazz fan was budding drummer Steve Gadd, whose parents took him to the club’s Sunday matinees when he was still in grade school. There, Gadd observed the masterwork of drummer Gene Krupa, and sat in with Dizzy Gillespie when he was only 11 years old.
From: Democrat & Chronicle, May 29, 1956.
Chuck and Gap Mangione were also regular attendees of the matinee shows, and frequently invited touring musicians to dine in their family home. “The Ridge Crest Inn…had the greatest array of really spectacular jazz,” Gap Mangione fondly recalled to the D&C in 2002, “I saw Oscar Peterson there on a regular basis. And Billie Holiday, Miles, Dizzy.”
From: Democrat & Chronicle, April 8, 1956.
The club’s co-owner, Wesley Morey, passed away in 1958, after which Jane kept the business going until 1963. The famed farmhouse venue was torn down in the mid-1960s and replaced with a Lincoln Trust Co. bank in 1967.
The stretch of East Ridge Road where the Ridge Crest Inn once stood. From: Googlemaps, 2019.
Today, a Chase bank branch graces the site where jazz legends once made history.
The bank which now stands on the former club site. From: Googlemaps, 2019.
Hi-Land Inn (1949-1976)
While the Ridge Crest Inn is still remembered and revered by many locals today, the Moreys also ran a lesser-known venue in the Swillburg neighborhood called the Hi-Land Inn.
HI-Land Inn stood at 938 Clinton Avenue South, kitty-corner from the Cinema Theatre. From: City of Rochester Map, 2019.
The couple purchased the club at the corner of Clinton Avenue South and Goodman Street in 1949, and featured some of the same acts that would later grace the stage of the Ridge Crest.
The Hi-Land boasted performances by Zutty Singleton—billed as “the greatest Drummer of all time”—trumpeter Hot Lips Page, and “Mr. Saxophone,” Sonny Stitt.
From: Democrat & Chronicle, December 21, 1952.
It also hosted weekly “Blue Sunday” sessions featuring a stellar house band comprised of local talents Roy Dunlop (piano), Russ Musserl (sax), Chuck Cameron (drums), Bill Traikoff (trumpet), and Jamaica Jive (bass).
From: Democrat & Chronicle, April 19, 1953.
In the late 1950s, the Moreys focused their booking efforts on the Ridge Crest Inn, and the Hi-Land Inn shifted back to a restaurant and bar.
Though the establishment’s jazz identity faded in the Fifties, it retained the Hi-Land Inn moniker until 1976, after which it became the Friends & Players Pub, a tavern featuring shows by local rock groups. Today, the former music hub is home to The Angry Goat Pub.
The Hi-Land Inn building on the right circa 1950. From: the Collection of the Local History & Genealogy Division.
The former Hi-Land Inn today. From: Googlemaps, 2019.
The next blog post in this series will revisit the glory days of Squeezer’s Musical Bar and the Band Box.
-Emily Morry
Local History ROCs! 
Great article! Have you heard of the Jazz club on Lake avenue in Charlotte in that same era?
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