Zardi’s Jazzland kicked off 1956 with a double-bill – an Andre Previn combo plus Shorty Rogers and His Giants. Previn was recording for Decca Records at the time and his recent LP, let’s get away from it all!, Decca DL 3181, featured Al Hendrickson, Irv Cottler, and Red Mitchell. Shorty was recording for Atlantic Records […]
Continue ReadingCal Tjader
ZARDI’S – 1955
Zardi’s 1955 Sam Donato and Ben Arkin had been tinkering with the décor of Zardi’s ever since they acquired the club in 1953. The woven raffia ceiling that was framed in bamboo remained but the backdrop below the ceiling behind the musician bandstand changed several times. The strip below the bamboo termination of ceiling […]
Continue ReadingTiffany Club – 1953 – Part One
Tiffany Club had a stellar lineup during the first six months of 1953 – Nat “King” Cole – Billie Holiday – George Shearing – Dinah Washington – Johnny Hodges – Earl Bostic and others.
Continue ReadingTiffany Club – 1952 – Part One
Chuck Landis budgeted over one hundred thousand dollars for talent in his Tiffany Club in 1952.
Continue ReadingTiffany Club – 1950/1951
The Tiffany Club began to present top drawer jazz artists in the early 1950s like Art Tatum, Dave Brubeck, George Shearing, and Nat King Cole.
Continue ReadingThe 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 ReadingJAZZ SCENE USA #15 – CAL TJADER
The 15th episode of Steve Allen’s Jazz Scene USA featured Cal Tjader’s quintet: Cal Tjader, vibes; Lonnie Hewitt, piano; Freddie Schrieber, bass; John Rae, drums and Bill Fitch, conga.
Continue ReadingTHE DAVE BRUBECK TRIO
Fantasy Records reissued all of the Dave Brubeck Trio recordings in a gatefold two LP set in 1982 that had been released originally on three Fantasy 10” LPs, Fantasy 3-1, 3-2 and 3-4. These three 10” LPs reissued all of the Dave Brubeck Trio recordings that had been originally released on twelve 78 RPM single […]
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