Because at one time in
my life I collected movie soundtrack albums, I thoroughly enjoyed recently
reading Gary Marmostein’s book,
Hollywood Rhapsody: Movie Music and its Makers, 1900-1975, and getting some backstory
about them and other aspects of music used in Hollywood. In the section about
jazz and the movies he cites a book,
West Coast Jazz: Modern Jazz in California 1945-1960 by Ted Gioia. So I jumped
on it. I have an ok collection of LA jazz from that period, so I enjoyed learning
more about what I have and what I’ve been missing. There’s a nice chapter about
The Lighthouse in Hermosa Beach. Another about Art Pepper. And there’s plenty
of new to me biographical information about artists like Hampton Hawes, Harold
Land, Ornette Coleman, et. al.
The reason for
the
Sandy Dennis photo is when I was a sensitive, romantic, artistic teenager I
had a huge crush on her, especially due to
Up the Down Staircase. I owned the original soundtrack album, music by Fred
Karlin, one of the movie music makers. And she
was living with Gerry Mulligan, who earlier in his career was part of the LA
jazz scene.
And still speaking of movies, I've got a part in a film that starts shooting next week. I've got to get my hair cut a la 1962 Idaho.
www.randystark.com
The reason for
the Sandy Dennis photo is when I was a sensitive, romantic, artistic teenager I
had a huge crush on her, especially due to Up the Down Staircase. I owned the original soundtrack album, music by Fred
Karlin, one of the movie music makers. And she
was living with Gerry Mulligan, who earlier in his career was part of the LA
jazz scene. 