“Central Avenue: A Unique Place in Black History”
Saturday, Feb. 27, 2010
4 to 8pm
SEIU Local 721
Auditorium
500 S. Virgil Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90020
– Black Music
Los Angeles Roots
– Central Ave. Jazz Legion
– 50/50 Drawing
(50% will be donated to the
SEIU 721 Helping Haiti Fund)
From approximately 1920 to 1955, Central Avenue was the heart of the African-American community in Los Angeles, with active Rhythm and Blues and Jazz music scenes. Local luminaries included Eric Dolphy, Art Pepper, Chico Hamilton, and Charles Mingus. Other jazz and R&B musicians associated with Central Avenue in LA include Benny Carter, Buddy Collette, Dexter Gordon, Lionel Hampton, Hampton Hawes, Big Jay McNeely, Johnny Otis, Shifty Henry, Charlie Parker, Gerald Wilson and Teddy Wilson. Commenting on its historical prominence, Wynton Marsallis once remarked that “Central Avenue was the 52nd Street of Los Angeles.”