The Gerry Mulligan Quartet continued their engagement at The Haig in January of 1953. Bob Whitlock departed the quartet before Christmas and was replaced by Carson Smith, a logical choice by Mulligan as Smith had demonstrated his chops during the initial engagement at the Black Hawk in September of 1952. The quartet’s version of “My […]
Continue ReadingJazz Research
The Haig – Part One
The first major building to occupy the 3300 block of Wilshire Boulevard was the Gaylord Apartments, designed by the Walker & Eisen architectural firm in 1924. The apartments were named for Gaylord Wilshire who named the boulevard that bears his name. The vintage photograph below shows the surrounding area shortly after the building was completed. […]
Continue ReadingRuss Freeman – “The Wind”
Russ Freeman could not recall the exact date that he wrote “The Wind,” but he was certain that it was sometime in 1953. It might have been the fall of 1953 when he and Chet Baker were renting a house on Hollyridge Drive and Bronson in the Hollywood Hills. Southern California experiences hot winds in […]
Continue ReadingClaude Williamson – “Claude Reigns”
My introduction to the artistry of Claude Williamson occurred when I was in high school in the 1950s. Listening to jazz records with friends was a regular part of my introduction to jazz. We would frequently gather at Bill Emery’s home and he would play a selection from his collection to see if we could […]
Continue ReadingClifford Brown in California – The 1954 Sessions
THE GENE NORMAN PRESENTS, EMARCY, AND PACIFIC JAZZ SESSIONS Clifford Brown arrived in California in the spring of 1954. He came west at the invitation of Max Roach who had recently completed a six month tour of duty with Howard Rumsey’s Lighthouse All Stars replacing Shelly Manne in the drum chair. Roach and Brown shared […]
Continue ReadingART PEPPER: THE DISCOVERY SESSIONS ON ARISTA / SAVOY
The November 26, 1977, issue of Billboard devoted major space in the newspaper to saluting the achievements of Arista, its founder, and the significance of its place in the music industry. The following excerpt focuses on the acquisition of the Savoy and Freedom labels. Savoy / Freedom Labels Almost from the moment Arista Records began […]
Continue ReadingART PEPPER: THE DISCOVERY SESSIONS ON SAVOY RECORDS
The Art Pepper Discovery sessions experienced a rebirth when Herman Lubinsky acquired all of the Discovery masters from Jack Bergman and his partners. A column in the December 22, 1956, issue of The Billboard announced the transfer. “The Savoy Record company was founded late in 1942 in Newark, New Jersey, by Herman Lubinsky; among the […]
Continue ReadingART PEPPER: THE DISCOVERY SESSIONS
Albert Marx resigned as A&R vice president at Musicraft in the spring of 1948 when that label was undergoing reorganization. He moved to Los Angeles that summer and established Discovery Records, Hollywood, in the fall of 1948. A Hollywood column in the September 4, 1948, issue of Billboard magazine noted that “Marx leaves here September […]
Continue ReadingJAZZ CITY PART EIGHT JANUARY – MARCH 1957
Billie Holiday and the Pete Jolly Trio engagement from December of 1956 continued into the first few days of January 1957. Corky Hale provided piano accompaniment to Lady Day with Pete Jolly’s rhythm section of Bob Bertaux and Bob Neel continuing rhythm backup to Corky Hale and Billie Holiday.
Continue ReadingJAZZ CITY PART SEVEN JULY – DECEMBER 1956
The Australian Jazz Quartet/Quintet engagement that began in June carried over to July 5, 1956. The Chet Baker Quintet opened the following day, Friday, July 6, 1956. The Chet Baker Quintet appeared on Stars of Jazz the next Monday, July 9th, with the addition of Bill Loughborough on boo-bams, a percussion instrument consisting of calf skin stretched over varying lengths of timber bamboo. Chet would frequently play boo-bams during the engagement at Jazz City.
Continue ReadingJAZZ CITY PART SIX JANUARY – JUNE 1956
The December 28, 1955, issue of Down Beat magazine ran a short column announcing a series of West Coast bookings for Miles Davis’s current combo with Paul Chambers, Philly Joe Jones, Red Garland, and John Coltrane. The new quintet had a recent release on the Prestige label, MILES, that featured the new quintet. Miles Davis’s new quintet opened at Jazz City on Friday, January 6, 1956. The quintet’s engagement ran through Thursday, January 19, 1956. Prior to heading north to San Francisco for their booking at the Black Hawk, Paul Chambers joined a combo led by Kenny Drew for Jane Fielding’s second album for Herb Kimmel’s Jazz:West label.
Continue ReadingJAZZ CITY PART FIVE JULY – DECEMBER 1955
Jazz City patrons were treated to jazz vocals in February 1955 when the Chet Baker Quintet appeared at the club. Chet had introduced vocals in his sets after the successful introduction of this facet of his talents on his first vocal album, Chet Baker Sings, PJLP-11. Jazz vocals continued to be an attraction when Jackie Cain and Roy Kral joined the Conte Candoli Quintet at Jazz City in May of 1955.
Continue ReadingJAZZ CITY PART FOUR JANUARY – JUNE 1955
Barney Kessel opened Jazz City in October of 1954 and featured Art Pepper as a guest soloist for four weeks and then Zoot Sims for four weeks. Kessel continued to be the headliner until mid January of 1955 when Maynard Sloate hired Lee Konitz for a two week run at Jazz City. Konitz and his quartet, Jeff Morten, drums; Ronnie Ball, piano; and Peter Ind, bass played an extended gig at The Tiffany Club that ended mid January when the Bob Scobey group arrived. The Lee Konitz Quartet opened at Jazz City on Friday, January 14, 1955.
Continue ReadingJAZZ CITY PART THREE GRAND OPENING OCTOBER 22, 1954
When Maynard Sloate and Joe Abrahams leased the space at 5510 Hollywood Boulevard and opened Mambo City they essentially kept everything the way it was when it was known as the Mural Room. The wall murals were left intact, the cocktail tables and dance floor were left intact, and the only change needed was the exterior sign.
For Jazz City they remodeled the front using glass blocks, added a large marquee where guest jazz artists could be announced, and a new neon sign proclaiming Jazz City.
JAZZ CITY PART TWO THE MURAL ROOM – MAMBO CITY – STRIP CITY
The noun “city” had been used with modifying attributes over the years to define an entity that personified the ultimate of that “______” city. New York and San Francisco both had their “Bop City” clubs and in the spring of 1952 Roy Harte and Remo Belli opened “Drum City” in Hollywood as the headquarters for all things drumming. Maynard and his new partner, Joe Abrahams, opened “Mambo City” at 5510 Hollywood Boulevard in 1954 and at the same time opened a burlesque club, “Strip City” at the corner of Western Avenue and Pico Boulevard.
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