‘Jazz West Coast’ to Honor Lighthouse’s Legendary Past

Ornette Coleman, Billy Higgins, Dexter Gordon, Howard Rumsey’s Lighthouse All-Stars, Shelly Manne and His Men: These artists and bands are all considered giants of jazz. And they all made their mark in Southern California.

Jazz has long had a healthy tradition here, and one of the strongest centers for the music was the Lighthouse Cafe in Hermosa Beach, where, from 1949 until the late ‘60s, bassist Rumsey’s band held forth six nights a week--including the legendary 2 p.m. to 2 a.m. Sunday performance/jam session.

Located just steps from the sand, the Lighthouse was a rectangular room with hard wooden bench seats that served as home to such notables as trumpeters Shorty Rogers and Conte Candoli, saxophonists Bud Shank and Bob Cooper, trombonist Frank Rosolino, pianists Pete Jolly, Claude Williamson and Sonny Clark, and drummers Manne, Max Roach and Stan Levey. There music was king--you might be ejected if you talked during the performances--and it stayed that way until the mid-’80s. Today, it’s a bar like so many others in Southern California, serving up anything from rock to R&B; on a nightly basis.

But the Lighthouse’s historic past will be one of the centerpieces of “Jazz West Coast,” which celebrates jazz in Los Angeles from 1944 to the early 1960s. The four-day symposium of concerts, discussions and films will be held Oct. 27-30 at the Holiday Inn Crowne Plaza in Redondo Beach, at the nearby Redondo Beach Performing Arts Center and at the Lighthouse.

Ken Poston, who is producing the fund-raising event for KLON-FM radio, anticipates that about 4,000 fans--from all over the United States, Europe and Japan--will attend. He says it was essential that he hold the affair in the South Bay because of its close proximity to the legendary cafe.

“Just using the theme of ‘Jazz West Coast’ makes it one of the most important locations, and I knew a lot of people from around the country, and the world, would relate to that and feel it too,” he says. “For people from Europe to go to where the Lighthouse is located is a big deal.” (A special dinner/concert with Buddy Collette’s quintet to be held at the Lighthouse Oct. 28 is close to sold out at press time.)

The primary thrust of “Jazz West Coast” is to demonstrate the lengthy heritage that jazz has had in this area. “Some important things happened here, and not just the cool style which was synonymous with West Coast jazz,” Poston says. “There were hard bop bands, Ornette Coleman got his start here, there was a lot of straight-ahead jazz. A lot of musicians deserve credit, and ‘Jazz West Coast’ is a small way to do that.”

Many jazz greats who made major marks in Los Angeles jazz history will be on hand at the bash, among them Gerry Mulligan, Dave Brubeck, Harold Land, Rogers, Jack Sheldon, Collette, Gerald Wilson, Herb Geller, Charlie Haden, Shank, Candoli and Bill Holman.

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Seventeen concerts are scheduled, including “Innovations in Modern Music,” which will focus on material written for Stan Kenton’s 1950-51 band that in many ways gave birth to the experimentation in West Coast Jazz. The band, which includes a string section, will play the rarely heard, with-strings version of Bob Graettinger’s “City of Glass.” “Central Avenue Revisited,” with Collette, Gerald Wiggins, Ernie Andrews and many more, will spotlight the myriad of activities that took place on that Los Angeles street, which was also a jazz hotbed in the ‘40s and early ‘50s. “The Lighthouse All-Stars Revisited” will be a look at Rumsey’s band and the legendary musicians who played with it through the years.

Concerts--others featuring orchestras led by Holman and Pete Rugolo, and small bands led by Land, Bill Perkins and Haden--will be held at the Crowne Plaza, where the Grand Ballroom and the poolside Harbor Terrace seat 800 and 600, respectively--and at the new Redondo Beach Performing Arts Center, which holds 1,400.

The four-day event is priced at $250, with individual tickets at $8-$50 also available. Information: (310) 985-5566, 985-7000.

Mum’s Not Mom’s: Club Cohiva (above Mum’s at 144 Pine Ave. in Long Beach) is hosting jazz on Wednesdays. Teddy Edwards, Sal Marquez and Ernie Andrews have appeared, and pianist Billy Mitchell and reedman John Bolivar are set for Wednesday, with Paul Smith arriving Sept. 28. All bands play with Jim DiJulio’s trio. $5 cover, no minimum. Information: (310) 437-7700.

Old Eyes: The name of Sonny Rollins’ most recent album was incorrect in last week’s column. “Old Flames,” which features Tommy Flanagan with Rollins, is out on Milestone Records.

Critic’s Choice: Guillerme Vergiero’s wild, propulsive Brazilian-jazz big band will emit even more sparks when Wayne Shorter guests with the ensemble Monday at the Jazz Bakery. Information: (310) 271-9039.