At Cafe Largo, Impressions of L.A. From New ‘HollyWord’ Cassette

Atlantic Records has recently released a spoken-word anthology, “Sound Bites From the Counterculture.” Island has just issued compact discs by Allen Ginsberg and William S. Burroughs, Polygram has reissued a volume of Langston Hughes reading to music by jazzman Charles Mingus, and Rhino is enjoying great success with its boxed set of readings by beat icon Jack Kerouac.

Tonight at Cafe Largo in Hollywood, several local performers will gather to publicize the release of “HollyWord,” a 90-minute cassette reminiscing and philosophizing about life in Los Angeles. The album is available on the Rhino/Wordbeat label.

“Sept. 23 is John Coltrane’s birthday, Ray Charles’ birthday and Bruce Springsteen’s birthday,” Harvey Robert Kubernick offered as an explanation the other day, before confessing that the real reason that the show is tonight is that one of the participants had to wait until he’d completed his UCLA final exams.

Kubernick has produced several volumes of spoken-word recordings in the past, and “HollyWord” is his most recent effort. Among the poets--or spoken-word artists--on the album who are scheduled to read tonight are actor Harry Northrup, whose oeuvre includes 28 feature films and four books of poetry; Linda Albertano, a widely recognized spoken-word performer who appeared as the executioner on a recent Alice Cooper tour; and that UCLA student, Danny Weizmann, who wrote several perceptive pieces for L.A. Weekly under the pseudonym “Shredder.”

Cafe Largo is at 432 N. Fairfax Ave. in Hollywood. Doors open at 6 p.m., with readings to begin at 7:30. There’s no age limit or admission charge; food and drink are available. For further information or reservations, call (213) 852-1073.

Country music singers Alan Jackson and Jann Browne perform tonight at the Gene Autry Western Heritage Museum in Griffith Park. It’s the fourth large-scale concert sponsored by the museum as a fund-raiser for its art acquisitions, and the largest.

“Clint Black played here last September and sold out 3,000 seats,” said Bob Coontz, museum director of marketing and development, “and we had Restless Heart here in May, just after they’d won the Academy of Country Music’s Group of the Year award--they hadn’t been nominated when we signed them to play. For this show, we’ve expanded seating to allow for an audience of 5,000.”

Jackson is hot on Billboard’s country chart with the single “Wanted.” San Diego-based Browne’s album, “Tell Me Why,” includes her recent hit, “Mexican Wind.”

Alan Jackson and Jann Browne’s show begins at 7:30 tonight at the Gene Autry Western Heritage Museum, 4700 Zoo Drive in Griffith Park. Tickets, which include admission to the museum, are $9.39, and are available through Ticketmaster or at the museum box office beginning at 4 this afternoon. The museum opens for concert-goers at 5:30 p.m. Don’t bring picnic baskets, Coons said, but there will be plenty of food and drink for sale. For further information, call (213) 667-2000.