One of Dick Bock’s last recording sessions as president and owner of Pacific Jazz Records took place on January 13, 1965, at Capitol Records Studio “B” as he taped the initial session for Gerald Wilson’s fourth big band album. Writer Leroy Robinson was present and documented the proceedings in detail, one of the finest evocations […]
Continue ReadingTeddy Edwards
Teddy Edwards – Sunset Eyes
Teddy Edwards’ Sunset Eyes is scheduled for release in the Tone Poet Audiophile Vinyl Reissue Series on April 4, 2025. Recording dates and personnel for the album have been muddled and unknown over the years. Teddy Edwards’ first album as leader for Pacific Jazz, It’s About Time, PJ/ST-6, evolved from Edwards’ sitting in with Les […]
Continue ReadingZARDI’S – 1951/1952
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 ReadingSHELLY’S MANNE-HOLE – FIFTH ANNIVERSARY
Shelly Manne opened his jazz club at 1608 North Cahuenga Boulevard in November of 1960. Noted jazz columnist Ralph J. Gleason profiled Shelly’s Manne-Hole in the Los Angles Mirror, View magazine. Gleason’s article is followed by an article that appeared five years later, an appraisal of Shelly’s Manne-Hole on the occasion of its fifth anniversary. […]
Continue ReadingFRANKLY 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 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 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 #4 – TEDDY EDWARDS
The 4th episode of Steve Allen’s Jazz Scene USA featured The Teddy Edwards Sextet: Freddie Hill, trumpet; Richard Boone, trombone; Teddy Edwards, tenor sax; John Houston, piano; Stan Gilbert, acoustic double bass; Doug Sides, drums.
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