Central Ave with Ernie Andrews and Dwight Trible at the Disney Hall
by jazzcat on Jan.22, 2004, under News
Sounds of the Avenue
When you speak of “The Avenue” and the words “Jazz Music” are in the sentence, those of us from Los Angeles know and remember one place, “Central Avenue”. The best in jazz music was played on that street from some of our very own; Charles
Mingus, Eric Dolphy, Art Farmer, Dexter Gordon, Harold Land, Teddy
Edwards. People came from all over to experience the sound, even the
Duke!
Tonight
at the brand new Disney Complex, we got another chance to experience
those days. The show started out with poetry by Wanda Coleman. Born and
raised in South Central she remembers her father, his love for the
music, and those early days as a child on Central Avenue. Ivy Anderson’s Chicken Shack, The Elks Lodge and the Dunbar Hotel, it was the Sunset Blvd of yesterday.
Ernie
Andrews the coolest of cool was on hand. He and Phil Wright together
played and sang the stories of “Old Man Jazz”. Ernie is one of Los Angeles’s
greatest treasures and he sings and tells the stories of back in the
day so vividly, that you can see the room transform to clubs of the day
on Central Ave
right before your eyes. “Lucky So and So”, “Jump for Joy”, and the
comic “I’d Love Me” were just of few of the tunes Ernie belted out for
us. He says that there are plenty more tunes and recordings locked in
the vaults of Capital records. A virtual gold mine just waiting for
issue and re-issue. Well, Ernie is our goldmine and we are certainly
proud of that. He always leaves me with a big smile on my face!
The music in Los Angeles moved up the street and around the corner from Central Ave to the streets of Lemeirt Park.
A place where legends have played. Billy Higgins, Horace Tapscott and
many others have inspired so many. One of those being the supreme of
love, spirituality, goodness and the sound that represents the love in
jazz music, Mr. Dwight Trible!
DAMN!
Thou hath been haled the “Kick-ass Holyman” by critics. For those of
you who have experienced the waves of sound and love, you understand.
Dwight, fantastic as usual sang. It just feels like the heavens open up
and the music pours in. We don’t drown but instead, we are uplifted as
we float on the power of the spirit of the music. Harold Land Jr. on
piano, Trevor Ware on Bass and Daniel Bejarano on Drums. Talk about the
sound of Trane! This band goes to the source, puts it’s hand on the
pulse and delivers the ultimate in (close your eyes and become one with
the music) experience.
The
evening ends as it began, with poetry accompanied by the guitar sound
of Tommy Tedesco. A brilliant ending to a wonderful night!
LeRoy Downs