The Dude Ranch

The Dude Ranch was a jazz venue in Portland, Oregon that operated during World War II in the 1940s. It joined other jazz clubs along North Williams Avenue, an African-American neighborhood.

The Dude Ranch jazz supper club opened in 1945 and was open for just one year; in that time it brought world-class jazz musicianship to the city.[1] It was known one of Portland's "Black and Tan" jazz clubs in 1945. The club was owned by Pat Patterson, the first African American basketball player at the University of Oregon, and Sherman "Cowboy" Pickett.[2] The club's name was reflected in its decor, which included murals of black cowboys and waitresses in cowgirl outfits with holsters and cardboard pistols.[3] The club was also known for its shaker girls, jugglers and tap dancers.[1]

Dude Ranch owners, Pickett and Patterson, booked popular local and national musicians including Lionel Hampton, Art Tatum, Louis Armstrong, Billie Holiday, and the Nat “King” Cole trio. On December 5, 1945, Norman Granz’ touring show “Jazz at the Philharmonic” visited Portland and held an impromptu jam session at the Dude Ranch.[4] That night, saxophonist Coleman Hawkins led trumpeter Roy “Little Jazz” Eldridge, bassist Al McKibbon, and pianist Thelonious Monk. William McClendon stated in The Observer, Portland's African American newspaper, that “Never before in the history of the northwest has there been as much jazz music played per square minute by any group.”[3]

The Dude Ranch closed a few months later after a shooting on its 240 North Broadway location; though it reopened nearby, it did not have the same level of popularity.[1]