"Chuck Muer always took special
care to have on his menu the items
favored by his numerous Jewish clien-
tele, whose taste for quality and value
he respected highly.
"Biel and Chef Larry were fixtures as
were Muer's outrageously popular
'P'Jazz concerts on the outdoor terrace
at the Pontch.
"The concerts drew hundreds and
even thousands of both music lovers
and just lovers to the terrace one to
two nights a week r.-om June through
August.
"Top attendance was for a Maynard
Ferguson concert, and numbered more
than 2,400, much in excess of the
legal limit for the terrace. However,
included in this number were many
who came and then left because of the
crowded situation, so the crowd at any
one moment was probably legal.
"But to many, the crush at P'Jazz
was what they came for. You could
bump up against some very attractive
and interesting people just elbowing
your way through the crowd, between
the outdoor bars and barbecue grills.
"The hubbub on the terrace rose in
crescendo as the night wore on, and
sensitive performers like Dave Brubeck
vowed never to play P'Jazz again.
"Ramsey Lewis also vowed never to
return, because a sudden rain storm
had dampened the spirit of the out-
door piano beyond Ramsey's accept-
ance, and Chuck's manager, Ole
Christensen, couldn't get another one
in time.
"The rain never bothered Twist
impresario Chubby Checker. The
party was taken indoors to the ball-
room, where he twisted away, even
leaping onto the round eight-top
tables gyrating wildly and getting the
entire room in a happy uproar.
"Chuck Muer created the P'Jazz
concerts soon after the 1967 riots,
when Detroit Mayor Jerry Cavanagh
asked downtown merchants to come
up with ideas to keep people down-
town after 5 p.m.
"No one who ever experienced con-
certs by the likes of Count Basie, Stan
Kenton, Woody Herman and Lionel
Hampton and local groups like
Austin-Moro Big Band and Brookside
Jazz Ensemble will ever forget those
nights on the Pontch terrace.
"And especially tile nights when the
Trinidad Tripoli Steel Band played and
Chuck led a conga line of a hundred
or more imbibers snaking through the
crowd.
"Chuck Muer used P'Jazz to discov-
er and bring into the spotlight the
New McKinney Cotton Pickers. It N as

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