At the corner of Haight and Ashbury in San Francisco sits Club Deluxe, one of the city’s most storied live music venues. Opened in 1949, the bar at 1511 Haight Street built its identity around jazz long before the neighborhood became famous for anything else. By the early 1990s, it had become the beating heart of San Francisco’s swing revival — a scene that brought vintage fashion, hot jazz, and a packed dance floor back into style.
The atmosphere inside Club Deluxe was unmistakable. Red lights cast a warm glow over the room, and the air was thick with the sound of live music and easy conversation. Most patrons dressed the part — vintage suits, wide-brimmed hats, and dresses that looked pulled straight from a 1940s wardrobe. It wasn’t a costume; for the regulars, it was a way of life.
Photographer Dave Glass documented this world with a sharp eye during the early 1990s. His images capture not just the performances, but the whole texture of the scene — the bartenders, the regulars, the performers taking a smoke break, and the quiet moments between songs. The photos published here span 1991 to 1993, covering the venue’s most energetic years in the swing revival.
Among the club’s most beloved performers was Kim Gill, a French teacher by day and a jazz vocalist by night. Gill brought a polished, expressive voice to the Club Deluxe stage and was a fixture of the early 1990s lineup. She performed there regularly in both 1991 and 1992, drawing devoted crowds who came specifically to hear her sing.
Club Deluxe drew an eclectic crowd — artists, musicians, neighborhood characters, and curious newcomers all shared the same barstools. The venue hosted jazz and blues bands alongside monthly burlesque and comedy shows, which kept the programming fresh and the room always full of different faces.
One of the more visually striking regulars was artist Slimm Buick, captured by Glass in 1992. Buick embodied the club’s Old World New York jazz house aesthetic — the kind of personality that made Club Deluxe feel like it existed slightly outside of time.
The swing revival that Club Deluxe helped spark in San Francisco had national reach. Mondo Dorame, a jazz and swing tenor saxophonist, passed through the scene before joining Royal Crown Revue on Warner Bros. — one of the most prominent swing revival acts of the decade. The club served as a proving ground for musicians like him who went on to wider recognition.
Mr. Lucky — real name Pierre Merkl — was another standout performer at the venue in 1992. Known for his charismatic stage presence, Merkl brought an electric energy to Club Deluxe’s small but lively stage.
Blues performers were just as much a part of the club’s identity as jazz singers. Glass photographed an unidentified blues singer in 1992, mic in hand, working the room with the same intensity that defined every act that took the Club Deluxe stage.
By 1993, Glass was still documenting the scene. Jazz vocalist Eddie Nichols performed at the club that year, continuing the tradition of strong, vocally driven performances that defined Club Deluxe’s nightly offerings.
Jay Johnson was one of San Francisco’s true characters — a performer who regularly crooned Frank Sinatra standards with his big band at Club Deluxe. Johnson was exactly the kind of performer the venue was built for: a showman rooted in classic American music, playing it straight and playing it with heart.
