confined to dank spaces playing the rhythms of sin

epub or mobi, with thanks to the original sharer

Sonny played in the sweaty bars in Calumet City, south of Chicago—“Sin City,” as it was called, packed with sleazy clubs and strip joints run mostly by the mob. The money was good, but the hours were grueling, eight to twelve at a stretch, with strippers coming and going behind a flimsy partition hiding white bodies from black eyes. Bugs Hunter formed a trio with Sonny and Red Holloway on saxophone to comp the sex and sin that simmered in clubs such as the Capital Bar, Sid’s Oasis, and the Peacock Club. Their music was the usual dive-bar bump and grind. Sonny played it straight, honking and tonking while the dancers bobbed.