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 ReadingShorty Rogers
Jazz Cabaret
The club space at 5510 Hollywood Boulevard was vacant for nearly a year after Maynard Sloate closed Jazz City. It gained new life in February of 1958 when Carl Greene opened Jazz Cabaret.
Continue ReadingJack Lewis / East Coast
Jack Lewis produced the RCA Victor Jazz Workshop series of albums while head of A&R in New York.
Continue ReadingJack Lewis / West Coast
Jack Lewis began his career as a jazz producer in Los Angeles in the early 1950s, most notably albums with Shorty Rogers and other West Coast artists.
Continue ReadingThe Haig – Part Three
The halcyon days of the original Gerry Mulligan Quartet at the Haig with a packed house and patrons waiting patiently in lines that stretched up to Wilshire Boulevard were long gone at the beginning of 1954. The small capacity of the club made it difficult to turn a profit when competing clubs like Zardi’s and […]
Continue ReadingThe Haig – Part Two
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 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 SCENE USA – VHS & DVD
JAZZ SCENE U.S.A. – CODA Commentary © James A. Harrod, Copyright Protected; All Rights Reserved Steve Allen had hoped to continue his Jazz Scene USA syndication series for a second round of twenty six shows so that the package would contain a year’s worth of programs for potential licensees who wanted to broadcast the series […]
Continue ReadingJAZZ SCENE USA #14 – SHORTY ROGERS
The 14th episode of Steve Allen’s Jazz Scene USA featured Shorty Rogers and His Giants: Lou Levy on piano, Gary LeFebvre on tenor sax and flute, Gary Peacock on bass and Larry Bunker on drums.
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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