More L.A. Jazz Echoes

It’s good to see that Don Heckman mentions books that deal with jazz on Central Avenue (“Echoes of Central Avenue,” July 30).

However, he did not mention “California Soul: Music of African Americans in the West,” a book recently published by the University of California Press. Co-edited by myself and Eddie Meadows, it contains several articles on Los Angeles jazz, popular music and gospel.

J.C. DJEDJE, Los Angeles

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Allow me to add two items to Heckman’s Central Avenue study guide: Harvey Kubernik has produced two spoken-word CDs that document the music and careers of saxophonist Buddy Collette (“A Jazz Audio Biography,” on Issues Records) and bandleader Gerald Wilson (“Suite Memories,” on MAMA Foundation).

Both men give a tangible representation of Los Angeles’ contributions to jazz and what they each have participated in. I was lucky enough to be associate producer and annotator on each project.

KIRK SILSBEE, Santa Monica