I couldn’t tell a story about Los Angeles in the 1940s without some mention of Central Avenue, the road that, running due south from downtown, was the cultural epicenter of the city’s black community and a musical mecca where jazz greats like Duke Ellington, Billy Holliday, Nat King Cole and Ella Fitzgerald performed. Sadly, this fabulous “West Coast Harlem” no longer exists, but the memories of it passed down by those who experienced it not only keep it alive, but celebrate it.
If you are totally unfamiliar with Central Avenue, a wonderful introduction can be found in An L.A. legend reflects on Jazz Central, a superb article written by the inimitable Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for the Los Angeles Times. It was as a freshman at UCLA that Kareem, born and raised in New York, first learned about L.A.’s once vibrant jazz scene and became entranced.
This LAist Article on the Club Alabam provides detail about the hottest club on the Avenue. (The Lincoln Theater was L.A.’s equivalent of Harlem’s Apollo.) For something more in-depth, check out the excellent book Central Avenue Sounds, an oral history in which musicians who grew up in the Central Avenue neighborhood or performed there tell their stories.
In the first episode of Season 2, Ollie experiences Central Avenue. I’ll be posting about the real-life character he encounters there.
Looking so forward to sharing Season 2 with you!
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