Zardi’s – 1951/1952 Ray Hewitt’s “The Spotlighter” column in the January 4th edition of the Daily News highlighted the vibrant entertainment scene kicking off 1951 in Los Angeles. The list of artists ran the gamut from top name jazz vocalists like Billie Holiday, Sarah Vaughan, and Ella Fitzgerald to society orchestras like Phil Spitalny […]
Continue ReadingHoward Rumsey
FRANKLY JAZZ with Frank Evans
Jazz returned to the television screen in Los Angeles in the summer of 1962. The first program was created for syndication by Steve Allen who hired Jimmie Baker to produce the shows. Baker was a veteran jazz TV producer who had been one of the creative forces responsible for the award winning Stars of Jazz […]
Continue ReadingThe Haig – Part Four
Newspaper ads for the Haig in 1955 were sparse. It seems that John Bennett relied on the good graces of Down Beat for the occasional mention of who was performing at the club. The twice a month publication of the magazine required considerable lead time before each issue went to press. The “freebies” were noted […]
Continue ReadingLIGHTHOUSE AT LAGUNA
Jazz became a permanent fixture at the Lighthouse Cafe in Hermosa Beach when Howard Rumsey convinced the owner, John Levine, that a regular music offering would attract patrons to the bar/cafe who would linger and leave with a lighter wallet. Levine was skeptical at first but agreed to give Rumsey a trial run. The trial […]
Continue ReadingTHE FIRST LIGHTHOUSE ALL STARS RECORDINGS PT 4
TAMPA This research was originally published in the Dutch discography journal, Names & Numbers, No. 42, July 2007 and No. 44, January 2008 in slightly different form. The recordings to be examined are commercial recordings that were issued on the Skylark, Lighthouse, Contemporary and Tampa labels within the time frame of the […]
Continue ReadingTHE FIRST LIGHTHOUSE ALL STARS RECORDINGS PART THREE
CONTEMPORARY RECORDS This research was originally published in the Dutch discography journal, Names & Numbers, No. 42, July 2007 and No. 44, January 2008 in slightly different form. The recordings to be examined are commercial recordings that were issued on the Skylark, Lighthouse, Tampa and Contemporary labels within the time frame of the early […]
Continue ReadingTHE FIRST LIGHTHOUSE ALL STARS RECORDINGS PT 2 – THE LIGHTHOUSE RECORD COMPANY
This research was originally published in the Dutch discography journal, Names & Numbers, No. 42, July 2007 and No. 44, January 2008 in slightly different form. The recordings to be examined are commercial recordings that were issued on the Skylark, Lighthouse, Tampa and Contemporary labels within the time frame of the early 1950s when Howard […]
Continue ReadingTHE FIRST LIGHTHOUSE ALL STARS RECORDINGS PT 1 – SKYLARK
This research was originally published in the Dutch discography journal, Names & Numbers, No. 42, July 2007 and No. 44, January 2008 in slightly different form. The recordings to be examined are commercial recordings that were issued on the Skylark, Lighthouse, Tampa and Contemporary labels within the time frame of the early 1950s when Howard […]
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