Why Jazz Isn’t Central

Regarding Don Heckman’s “Sounds That (Should Have) Made L.A. Famous” and “L.A.’s Lost Street of Dreams” by Kamau Daaood (Aug. 29):

Certainly Central Avenue’s decline had plenty to do with the rise of West Coast cool jazz, the ongoing exodus of some of L.A.’s best and brightest to the East Coast (Eric Dolphy, Charles Mingus, Billy Higgins), and shifting demographic patterns and changing legal institutions (especially the 1948 Supreme Court decision to ban restrictive covenants).

But there are two other key culprits in this crime: Angelenos’ tendency to bury our culture and to forget our histories, and Americans’ baffling neglect of jazz music. We have almost no jazz on the commercial radio dial. Those that have found a home on the noncommercial frequencies rarely have the money to adequately promote themselves or the music they play. As a culture, we’re killing jazz music in this country out of sheer stupidity and neglect.

I’m happy to see good books and good releases being made to document and disseminate information about the Central Avenue scene and the larger jazz world of past decades. I only hope that more will indulge themselves in the beauty and wonder that are there to enjoy again.

TITUS LEVI

Los Angeles