Articles about jazz were a frequent feature of “men’s” magazines in the 1950’s. After the emergence of Playboy in 1953 a flock of “knock-offs” took flight in the mid 1950’s such as Caper, Eve, and Escapade to name a few. The September 1956 issue of Escapade published an extended article by Joe Knefler that documented […]
Continue ReadingWilliam Claxton
George Byron / Jerome Kern
George Rinker-Forbes Beuchler was born in Jacksonville, Florida, on July 29, 1908. He attended Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., and graduated when he was 18 years old. Beuchler was very active in musical productions at Georgetown including several Gilbert and Sullivan operas. After graduation he joined the National Opera Company where he was featured […]
Continue ReadingZARDI’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 ReadingZARDI’S – 1954
Zardi’s 1954. 1954 provided a cornucopia of modern jazz for Los Angeles jazz fans. In addition to booming business at the city’s leading jazz clubs, jazz impresarios Gene Norman and brothers Norman and Irving Granz staged sell out concerts to meet the growing demand for modern jazz. Gene Norman continued to wear several musical […]
Continue ReadingTiffany Club – 1955 – Part Two
Chris Connor opened at Tiffany Club on Friday, July 8, 1955. Slim Gaillard and his crew were held-over for the sixth time. Down Beat published a profile of Chris that started out on the wrong foot when they printed her last name as “Connors.” Corrected for entry here: New York—Young, energetic Chris Connor, the former […]
Continue ReadingJazz West Coast – A Portfolio of Photographs by William Claxton
The best known production from Linear Publications was a portfolio of photographs by William Claxton that coined the now famous “Jazz West Coast” moniker. Work on the publication began in the fall of 1954 and the finished product would be published in the spring of 1955. It measured 10.5 inches by 13.5 inches, paperbound, contained […]
Continue ReadingPacific Jazz EP Covers Pt 1
The Art of William Claxton William James Claxton was born on October 12, 1927, in Pasadena, California. His appreciation of music began at home as his mother was professionally trained and played piano, harp and violin. Young Claxton attended grammar & high school in Pasadena and La Canada. Early music influences were initially gained from […]
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