Irv has had several retirement parties, but still can be heard gigging around town. The Zander Cafe and Sophias occasionally feature him and he is well worth seeking out. He is also a very nice guy with quite a sense of humor.

Irv settled here after WWII, and following stints with Fletcher Henderson and Mary Lou Williams. He is the beloved elder statesman, the guy who remembers the Flame, the Key Club, Cassius's Bamboo Room, and countless other bygone joints that once dotted a lost, cool Twin Cities nightscape.

Photograph courtesy of Howard Gitelson