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| Table of Contents Index Introduction
About LAMW Honorees Music Links Calendar of Events Souvenir Journal Events Highlights Music History Synopsis Through the Years Historical Highlights A Musical Panorama Contact Sign our Guestbook Educational Links: Jazz & Blues History Black History Index Black History Classical Music Kids Domain Music History Asian History & Culture Latin History & Culture Gospel and Southern Gospel Folk & Country Music Classical Music and History  |
LOS
ANGELES
MUSIC WEEK
DECEMBER 1 TO 11, 2005   
 The Artistic Mission of Los Angeles Music Week Fulfilling the motto, "An Instrument of Unity, " Los Angeles Music Week serves all the residents of the Greater Los Angeles area, including its surrounding basins. The performances, projects and events impact people of diverse cultures, ages, ethnicities, religions and socio- economic groups. The scope of events offers Angelenos opportunities to hear musical genres that they have never experienced and invites them to explore venues in various parts of the city. The educational activities of LAMW are enabled in elementary, middle and high schools through various interactive resources. LAMW takes an active role in Los Angeles' cultural tourism industry by offering a wide variety of performances that showcase the city's musical heritage. Due to the drastic
cutbacks in music curricula in schools over the past decade, the
majority
of the city's children know little or nothing about the rich musical
heritage
of the city they live in and have no scope of the musical genres
available
to them, from classical to jazz to ethnic musics. Many children
have
very few musical skills or lack the resources for acquiring them.
LAMW's program elements, such as field trips, in-school presentations
and
opportunities to interface with living musical legends, broaden musical
understanding and have created musical bridges between the communities
over the past six years. The sponsors and
partnerships
listed on this page dutifully enable LAMW to accomplish the
educational
goals and facilitate field trips for the school children in order to
link
music with other aspects of culture and learning. The children
derive
so much pride and motivation from learning how many famous musicians
from
all aspects of the music business grew up in their own
communities.
Face-to-face dialogue with successful living legends gives them the
impetus
to explore their own God-given talents and capabilities, inspiring them
to learn. The Children's Day field trips open up a world of
amazing wonder and possibility. In the words of
Founder/Executive
Director Margie Evans describing the 1999 Children's Day event,
"Serious
joy was had by these wonderful children." One parent,
accompanying
her child to the California Science Museum trip, commented, "This is
what
it's all about, giving children a chance to succeed." During the
2001 LAMW celebration at the Warner Grand Theatre, selected schools
were
elated to receive a cash donation of $500 for their music departments,
while parents, honorees and children raved about everything from the
musical
performances, to the unique LAMW t-shirts provided by
Target,
to the superbly tasty submarine sandwiches from the Busy Bee in San
Pedro. |
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AFRICAN AMERICAN CLASSICAL MUSIC IN LOS ANGELES
My father, William Grant Still,
was, of course, the central figure for minority classical music in the
Los Angeles area. He arrived in Los Angeles in May of 1934, and
lived there until his death in December of 1978. No other city
can boast of having been home to an Afro-American with more “firsts” in
music:
He was, in short, long known as
the “Dean of Negro Composers,” and often, as the “Dean of American
Composers.” His “Afro-American Symphony” has had more concert
performances than any other symphony by an American
composer.
In addition, many famous African-Americans in the classical realm came to Los Angeles to work with William Grant Still on musical projects, especially Zora Neale Hurston, with the “Caribbean Melodies.” Composer Bruce Forsythe lived in Los Angeles before Still did, and worked with W.G. Still on the libretto to his first opera, “Blue Steel.” Great singers such as Marian Anderson, Paul Robeson and Roland Hayes gave concerts in Los Angeles. The Santa Monica appearances by Roland Hayes were the first time that Blacks and Whites sang together on the stage. The pioneering musician, Will Marion Cook, gave a concert with the American Syncopated Orchestra around 1919. Famous conductors in Los Angeles included Hall Johnson, Leroy Hurte, Allie Ross, Calvin Simmons and Henry Lewis, who married the well-known singer, Marilyn Horne. Other important names of composers and music educators included Margaret Bonds, Gertrude Rivers Robinson (Biola), the Gray School of Music and the Eubanks Conservatory. Lance Bowling has more information and assisted me in putting this summary together. |
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ON AMERICAN MUSIC Submitted by Jim Dawson and Tito Guizar; Excerpts by Margie Evans, LAMW Founder/Director This is a brief synopsis drawn from a more extensive document. R & B: Los Angeles has
been a center
for the recording and performance of rhythm and blues since its
inception
in the early 1940s, and a magnet for black musicians long before
that.
The Spikes Brothers owned one of the earliest black-owned records
labels
in the early 1920s, spearheading a tradition of black musical
entrepreneurs
that continued with the Rene Brothers, Al Patrick, Jack Lauderdale,
Dotsie
Williams and many other black label owners. Louis Armstrong and
Kid
Ory made some of their first recordings in Los Angeles. Around
1924,
Isaac McVea hosted what may be the first black radio show. In
1942,
the first recognized R & B hit, Lionel Hampton’s “Flying Home,” was
recorded by mostly Los Angeles Musicians. Afterward, all the
great
R & B and blues stars from T-Bone Walker and Louis Jordan to Big
Joe
Turner and B.B. King moved to Los Angeles or recorded extensively
here.
In the late 1930s, through the 1940s, Central Avenue’s “main stem” was
as storied and as busy as Beale Street, Bourbon Street or any street in
Harlem. Many of the top R & B labels were here, including
Imperial,
Modern and Aladdin.
Jazz: Many jazz greats
called Los
Angeles home. Jelly Roll Morton, whom some call the Father of
Jazz
moved here in 1914 and lived here until his death in the early
1940s.
Louis Armstrong often recorded here. Other jazz residents
included
Art Tatum, Red Callender, Charles Mingus, Hampton Hawes, Sonny Criss,
Art
Farmer, Buddy Collette, Wardell Gray, Al Killian, Ivy Anderson and
Howard
McGhee. Charlie Parker recorded some of his best-known classics
here,
including the hit “Ornithology.” Also, in the early 1050s Los
Angeles-based
white jazzmen such as Gerry Mulligan, Shorty Long, Chet Baker and
Shelly
Mann pioneered what was called Cool Jazz.
Country: The Father of country music, Jimmie Rodgers, recorded more than 10% of his entire phonographic output in Hollywood during a trip here in 1930, including his classic “Mule Skinner Blues.” Hawaiian bands in Los Angeles introduced the steel guitar to country music. Hilbilly boogie was practically invented in Los Angeles, where Capitol Records was a veritable hothouse of uptempo country music, recording Tennessee Ernie Ford, Merrill E. Moore, Tex Williams and Cliffie Stone. Hank Penny and the Maddox Brothers & Rose were top local acts who would later have a dramatic effect on rockabilly music. Since 1947, the famous Palomino Club in North Hollywood has been a major stopping point for any C & W act from Nashville, beginning with Hank Williams, Sr. 
Chicano Music: Myriad styles of
Mexican-American
Music exist in Los Angeles, including an indigenous form of R & B
found
nowhere else. Federico Arturo “Tito” Guizar y Tolentino was born
April 8, 1908. Tito was called “Mr. Amigo.” In later 1920s, Tito
was one of the growing number of legendary Mexican Artists who had
crossed
the border to Los Angeles. Artists like Jorge Negrete, Pedro
Vargas
and Pedro Infante. There was a growing market for Spanish
language
music and they found their answer well met in Tito Guizar. 1935
began
Guizar’s movie stardom, through which he met Roy Rogers. They
became
friends. Tito’s radio show on the CBS network in 1936 was a total
success for Latino music. America was becoming enamored of his
guitar
accompaniment, played against the thrilling Mariachi sound. One
hit
followed another, from “Solamente una vez,” “Malagüeña,”
“Cielito
lindo,” “Noche de ronda” and “Guadalajara.” Tito Guizar died
December
24, 1999 after a glorious performance while being honored by Los
Angeles
Music Week. Known as the Father of Chicano Music, Lalo
Guerrero
was also honored by Los Angeles Music Week in 1999. One of the hottest
East L.A. bands in the 1940s was the Pachuco Boogie Boys, lead by Raul
Diaz, who combined jump blues and Calo slang. In the early
1950s, Li’l Bobby Ray and Danny Flores aka Chuck Rio (who later wrote
and
recorded “Tequila,” played over heated R&B-style saxophones.
In the later ‘50s and early ‘60s, singing acts like Little Julian
Herrera,
The Premiers of “Farmer John” fame, The Midnightes (“Whittier
Boulevard”,
Cannibal & The Headhunters (“Land of 1000 Dances”), The Salas
Brothers
Ronnie & The Pomono Casuals, The Story Tellers, and of course, the
greatest Chicano star of all, Ritchie Valens, well known for the hit,
“La
Bamba,” all of whom forged their own East L.A. sound, which
continues
today with such stars as Tierra and Malo.
Rock ‘N’ Roll Young black
musicians from
South Central Los Angeles helped spearhead the early rock ‘n’ roll
revolution:
The Penguins (“Earth Angel”), The Teen Queens (“Eddie My Love”),
Jesse Belvin (“Goodnight My Love”), Gene & Eunice (“Ko Ko Mo”), The
Cadets (“Stranded in the Jungle”), The Jewels (“Hearts of Stone”), The
Platters (“Only You”), The Coasters (“Charlie Brown”), Larry Williams
(“Bony
Maronie”), Bobby Day (“Rocking Robin”) and Etta James (“Roll with Me
Henry”),
to name a few. Tenor Sax Honkers such as Joe Houston and Big Jay
McNeely were attracting unruly crowds of black, white and Chicano
teenagers
in 1950, a good four years before the phenomenon of mixed-race teens
caught
on elsewhere. Among this city’s white rock ‘n’ roll stars were
Eddie
Cochran, Ritchie Valens, The Collins Kid, Ricky Nelson and Sandy
Nelson,
as well as songwriters Leiber & Stoller, in addition to producer
Phil
Spector. Gospel: According to Horace
Clarence
Boyer, Los Angeles is the birthplace of gospel music in 1906 at the
Azusa
Street Revival, 312 Azusa Street, Los Angeles, California. My
friend,
Vilma Rakosi, shared this information with me April 28, 1999, and
RC 43501 “How Sweet the Sound: The Golden Age of Gospel,” by
Horace
Clarence Boyer details a history of gospel music from its origins
in early spirituals through the call-and-response hymns of the Deep
South
to the height of its popularity in the 1940s and 1950s. Boyer
provides
an overview of import composers and artists in gospel music, such as
Mahalia
Jackson, Thomas Dorsey, Sister Rosetta Tharpe and The Soul Stirrers.
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Los Angeles Music Week Artistic Mission Fulfilling the motto, "An Instrument of Unity, " Los Angeles Music Week serves all the residents of the Greater Los Angeles area, including its surrounding basins. The performances, projects and events impact people of diverse cultures, ages, ethnicities, religions and socio-economic groups. The scope of events offers Angelenos opportunities to hear musical genres that they have never experienced and invites them to explore venues in various parts of the city. The educational activities of LAMW are enabled in elementary, middle and high schools. LAMW takes an active role in Los Angeles' cultural tourism industry by offering a wide variety of performances that showcase the city's musical heritage. Due to the drastic cutbacks in music curricula in schools over the past decade, the majority of the city's children know little or nothing about the rich musical heritage of the city they live in and have no scope of the musical genres available to them, from classical to jazz to ethnic musics. Many children have very few musical skills or lack the resources for acquiring them. LAMW's program elements, such as field trips, in-school presentations and opportunities to interface with living musical legends, broaden musical understanding and have created musical bridges between the communities over the past six years. The sponsors and partnerships listed on this page dutifully enable LAMW to accomplish the educational goals and facilitate field trips for the school children in order to link music with other aspects of culture and learning. The children derive so much pride and motivation from learning how many famous musicians from all aspects of the music business grew up in their own communities. Face-to-face dialogue with successful living legends gives them the impetus to explore their own God-given talents and capabilities, inspiring them to learn. The Children's Day field trips open up a world of amazing wonder and possibility. In the words of Founder/Executive Director Margie Evans describing the Children's Day event, "Serious joy was had by these wonderful children." One parent, accompanying her child to the California Science Museum trip, commented, "This is what it's all about, giving children a chance to succeed." |
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