WFIU HD1 
Subscribe to theNovember 2, 2009
Come On Down to Central Avenue: Jazz in Mid-20th Century L.A.
By David Brent Johnson
In this program we explore the sounds of the mid-20th-century Los Angeles jazz scene with historian Steve Isoardi (editor of the oral history book Central Avenue Sounds). Jam sessions, bebop, r & b, big bands, visits from Hollywood celebrities—as the center of African-American culture in L.A., Central Avenue had it all. We’ll hear the music of artists such as Dexter Gordon, Howard McGhee, Hadda Brooks, Charles Mingus, Gerald Wilson, Lionel Hampton, and many other eventual jazz greats who got their start on the Avenue, or who spent significant time there…. and we’ll verbally stroll through the vibrant streets of the Central Avenue neighborhood circa 1945 with Mr. Isoardi.
Original broadcast date: February 17, 2007
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