![Central Avenue jazz marker - Los Angeles](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a9/Central_Avenue_jazz_marker_-_Los_Angeles.jpg)
Central Avenue is a major north–south
thoroughfare
A thoroughfare is a primary passage or way as a transit route through regularly trafficked areas, whether by road on dry land or, by
extension, via watercraft or aircraft. On land, a thoroughfare may refer to anything from a multi-lane highway ...
in the central portion of the
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
metropolitan area. Located just to the west of the
Alameda Corridor
The Alameda Corridor is a freight rail "expressway" owned by the Alameda Corridor Transportation Authority that connects the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach with the transcontinental mainlines of the BNSF Railway and the Union Pacific Rail ...
, it runs south from the eastern end of the
Los Angeles Civic Center
The Civic Center neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, is the administrative core of the City of Los Angeles, County of Los Angeles, and a complex of city, county, state, and federal government offices, buildings, and courthouses. It is locate ...
down to the east side of
California State University, Dominguez Hills
California State University, Dominguez Hills (CSUDH, CSU Dominguez Hills, or Cal State Dominguez Hills) is a public university in Carson, California. It was founded in 1960 and is part of the California State University (CSU) system.
In 2020, ...
and terminating at East
Del Amo Boulevard
Del, or nabla, is an operator used in mathematics (particularly in vector calculus) as a vector differential operator, usually represented by the nabla symbol ∇. When applied to a function defined on a one-dimensional domain, it denotes t ...
in
Carson
Carson may refer to:
People
*Carson (surname), people with the surname
*Carson (given name), people with the given name
Places
;In the United States
* Carson, California, a city
* Carson Township, Fayette County, Illinois
*Carson, Iowa, a city
* ...
.
From north to south, Central Avenue passes through
Downtown Los Angeles
Downtown Los Angeles (DTLA) contains the central business district of Los Angeles. In addition, it contains a diverse residential area of some 85,000 people, and covers . A 2013 study found that the district is home to over 500,000 jobs. It is ...
, the areas of
South Los Angeles
South Los Angeles, also known as South Central Los Angeles or simply South Central, is a region in southwestern Los Angeles County, lying mostly within the city limits of Los Angeles, south of downtown.
It is "defined on Los Angeles city maps as ...
(including
Watts
Watts is plural for ''watt'', the unit of power.
Watts may also refer to:
People
*Watts (surname), list of people with the surname Watts Fictional characters
*Watts, main character in the film '' Some Kind of Wonderful''
*Watts family, six chara ...
,
Florence-Graham
Florence-Graham (locally known as Florence-Firestone) is an unincorporated community in Los Angeles County. The population was 61,983 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, down from 63,387 at the 2010 United States census, 2010 census. The ...
,
Willowbrook), the city of
Compton
Compton may refer to:
Places
Canada
* Compton (electoral district), a former Quebec federal electoral district
* Compton (provincial electoral district), a former Quebec provincial electoral district now part of Mégantic-Compton
* Compton, Que ...
, and the city of Carson, which is part of the 17-city South Bay area of Los Angeles County.
History
Central Avenue had two all-black segregated fire stations.
Fire Station No. 30 and
Fire Station No. 14 were segregated in 1924. They remained segregated until 1956 when the
Los Angeles Fire Department
The Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD or LA City Fire) provides emergency medical services, fire cause determination, fire prevention, fire suppression, hazardous materials mitigation, and technical rescue services to the city of Los Angeles ...
was integrated. The listing on the National Register says, "All-black fire stations were simultaneous representations of
racial segregation
Racial segregation is the systematic separation of people into race (human classification), racial or other Ethnicity, ethnic groups in daily life. Racial segregation can amount to the international crime of apartheid and a crimes against hum ...
and sources of community pride."
Significance in music history
From approximately 1920 to 1955, Central Avenue was the heart of the African-American community in Los Angeles, with active
rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues, frequently abbreviated as R&B or R'n'B, is a genre of popular music that originated in African-American communities in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly ...
and
jazz music
Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major f ...
scenes.
Local luminaries included
Eric Dolphy
Eric Allan Dolphy Jr. (June 20, 1928 – June 29, 1964) was an American jazz alto saxophonist, bass clarinetist and flautist. On a few occasions, he also played the clarinet and piccolo. Dolphy was one of several multi-instrumentalists to gai ...
,
Art Pepper
Arthur Edward Pepper Jr. (September 1, 1925 – June 15, 1982) was an American alto saxophonist and very occasional tenor saxophonist and clarinetist. Active in West Coast jazz, Pepper came to prominence in Stan Kenton's big band. He was known ...
,
Chico Hamilton
Foreststorn "Chico" Hamilton (September 20, 1921 – November 25, 2013) was an American jazz drummer and bandleader. He came to prominence as sideman for Lester Young, Gerry Mulligan, Count Basie, and Lena Horne. Hamilton became a bandleader, ...
,
Clora Bryant
Clora Larea Bryant (May 30, 1927 – August 25, 2019) was an American jazz trumpeter. She was the only female trumpeter to perform with Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker and was a member of the International Sweethearts of Rhythm.
Early life
B ...
, and
Charles Mingus
Charles Mingus Jr. (April 22, 1922 – January 5, 1979) was an American jazz upright bassist, pianist, composer, bandleader, and author. A major proponent of collective improvisation, he is considered to be one of the greatest jazz musicians and ...
. Other jazz and R&B musicians associated with Central Avenue in LA include
Benny Carter
Bennett Lester Carter (August 8, 1907 – July 12, 2003) was an American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, trumpeter, composer, arranger, and bandleader. With Johnny Hodges, he was a pioneer on the alto saxophone. From the beginning of his career ...
,
Buddy Collette
William Marcel "Buddy" Collette (August 6, 1921 – September 19, 2010) was an American jazz flutist, saxophonist, and clarinetist. He was a founding member of the Chico Hamilton Quintet.
Early life
William Marcel Collette was born in L ...
,
Dexter Gordon
Dexter Gordon (February 27, 1923 – April 25, 1990) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist, composer, bandleader, and actor. He was among the most influential early bebop musicians, which included other greats such as Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gi ...
,
Lionel Hampton
Lionel Leo Hampton (April 20, 1908 – August 31, 2002) was an American jazz vibraphonist, pianist, percussionist, and bandleader. Hampton worked with jazz musicians from Teddy Wilson, Benny Goodman, and Buddy Rich, to Charlie Parker, Charles M ...
,
Hampton Hawes
Hampton Barnett Hawes Jr. (November 13, 1928 – May 22, 1977) was an American jazz pianist. He was the author of the memoir ''Raise Up Off Me'', which won the Deems-Taylor Award for music writing in 1975.
Early life
Hampton Hawes was born on N ...
,
Big Jay McNeely
Cecil James "Big Jay" McNeely (April 29, 1927 – September 16, 2018) was an American rhythm and blues saxophonist.
Biography
Inspired by Illinois Jacquet and Lester Young, McNeely teamed with his older brother Robert McNeely, who played barito ...
,
Johnny Otis
Johnny Otis (born Ioannis Alexandres Veliotes; December 28, 1921 – January 17, 2012) was an American singer, musician, composer, bandleader, record producer, and talent scout. He was a seminal influence on American R&B and rock and roll. He ...
,
Shifty Henry
John Willie "Shifty" Henry (4 October 1921 – 30 November 1958) was an American musician, most noted as a double bass and bass guitar player, and blues songwriter. He also played flute, violin, viola, saxophone, and oboe and was in demand as a se ...
,
Charlie Parker
Charles Parker Jr. (August 29, 1920 – March 12, 1955), nicknamed "Bird" or "Yardbird", was an American jazz saxophonist, band leader and composer. Parker was a highly influential soloist and leading figure in the development of bebop, a form ...
(briefly),
Gerald Wilson
Gerald Stanley Wilson (September 4, 1918 – September 8, 2014) was an American jazz trumpeter, big band bandleader, composer, arranger, and educator. Born in Mississippi, he was based in Los Angeles from the early 1940s. In addition to being a ...
,
Anthony Ortega,
Onzy Matthews
Onzy Durrett Matthews, Jr. (January 15, 1930 – November 13, 1997) was an American jazz pianist, singer, arranger and composer as well as a television and movie actor. He is best known for the big band arrangements done for the Lou Rawls albums ' ...
and
Teddy Wilson
Theodore Shaw Wilson (November 24, 1912 – July 31, 1986) was an American jazz pianist. Described by critic Scott Yanow as "the definitive swing pianist", Wilson had a sophisticated, elegant style. His work was featured on the records of ma ...
. Commenting on its historical prominence,
Wynton Marsalis
Wynton Learson Marsalis (born October 18, 1961) is an American trumpeter, composer, teacher, and artistic director of Jazz at Lincoln Center. He has promoted classical and jazz music, often to young audiences. Marsalis has won nine Grammy Awar ...
once remarked that "Central Avenue was the
52nd Street
52nd Street is a -long one-way street traveling west to east across Midtown Manhattan, New York City. A short section of it was known as the city's center of jazz performance from the 1930s to the 1950s.
Jazz center
Following the repeal of ...
of Los Angeles." Although Central Avenue is no longer the thriving jazz center it was, its legacy is preserved by the Central Avenue Jazz Festival and a small number of jazz clubs, including Bluewhale in
Little Tokyo.
Leon Hefflin Sr.
Leon, Léon (French) or León (Spanish) may refer to:
Places
Europe
* León, Spain, capital city of the Province of León
* Province of León, Spain
* Kingdom of León, an independent state in the Iberian Peninsula from 910 to 1230 and again fro ...
produced the first largest outdoor jazz entertainment event of its kind, the “Cavalcade of Jazz,” held at Wrigley Field which was located on 42nd place in Los Angeles, part of the Central Ave Jazz Scene and showcased over 125 artist from 1945 to 1958. The Cavalcade of Jazz concerts were the stepping stone to success for such stars as
Toni Harper
Toni Harper (born June 8, 1937 in Los Angeles, California), also known as Toni Dunlap, is an American former child singer who retired from performing at the age of 29.
After learning dance under Maceo Anderson, Harper was cast by the choreograph ...
,
Dinah Washington
Dinah Washington (born Ruth Lee Jones; August 29, 1924 – December 14, 1963) was an American singer and pianist, who has been cited as "the most popular black female recording artist of the 1950s songs". Primarily a jazz vocalist, she performe ...
,
Roy Milton
Roy Bunny Milton (July 31, 1907 – September 18, 1983) was an American R&B and jump blues singer, drummer and bandleader.
Career
Milton's grandmother was Chickasaw. He was born in Wynnewood, Oklahoma, and grew up on an Indian reservation bef ...
,
Frankie Lane
Frankie Lane (20 July 1948 – 19 May 2011) was an English footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He began his Football League career with Tranmere Rovers, before joining Liverpool, where he spent four years as reserve goalkeeper. He made only ...
and others. He also hosted a beauty contest at the events. His first COJ show starred
Count Basie
William James "Count" Basie (; August 21, 1904 – April 26, 1984) was an American jazz pianist, organist, bandleader, and composer. In 1935, he formed the Count Basie Orchestra, and in 1936 took them to Chicago for a long engagement and the ...
, The Honey Drippers,
Valaida Snow
Valaida Snow (June 2, 1904. Other presumed birth years are 1900, 1901, 1903, 1905, and 1907 – May 30, 1956) was an American jazz musician and entertainer who performed internationally. She was also known as "Little Louis" and "Queen of the Tru ...
,
Joe Turner, The Peters Sisters, Slime and Bam and more artists on September 23, 1945 with a crowd of 15,000.
Jefferson High School
This is a list of memorials to Thomas Jefferson, the 3rd president of the United States and the author of the United States Declaration of Independence.
Buildings Elementary schools
*Jefferson Elementary School, in Cammack Village, Arkansas
*Thoma ...
, located south east of Downtown Los Angeles, served as a school to a community that not only was located at the heart of South Central’s jazz scene at the time (in the 1930s), but also one that nurtured Jazz affluent students. These students, who would later go on to establish themselves as either jazz/blues artists/singers, would follow robust music curriculum, which included courses in music theory, music appreciation, harmony, counterpoint, orchestra, band and choir.
Many of Central Avenue’s most accomplished jazz, blues, and bebop players were graduates of this public high school just off the Avenue. The origin of jazz in Los Angeles has been attributed to a number of musicians who moved there from New Orleans.
Nightclubs became the physical manifestation of jazz music, and these were mainly located along Central Avenue from Little Tokyo to Watts. The school produced many prominent musicians, including
Etta James
Jamesetta Hawkins (January 25, 1938 – January 20, 2012), known professionally as Etta James, was an American singer who performed in various genres, including gospel, blues, jazz, R&B, rock and roll, and soul. Starting her career in 1954, sh ...
, Curtis Williams,
Big Jay McNeely
Cecil James "Big Jay" McNeely (April 29, 1927 – September 16, 2018) was an American rhythm and blues saxophonist.
Biography
Inspired by Illinois Jacquet and Lester Young, McNeely teamed with his older brother Robert McNeely, who played barito ...
, and Richard Berry.
Jefferson High School served as a pivotal structure to a newly established African-American enclave after the turn of the 20th century. The same way many know Harlem as a historically African-American enclave, the area in and around Central Ave was ironically referred to as “Little Harlem” due to its striking similarities. Harlem’s Apollo theatre and its importance to the neighborhood can be taken by the same token in referring to the many Jazz clubs on Central Ave. However, in this case, looking at the ethnographic nature of Central Ave and its establishing of a Jazz scene and culture, Jefferson High School’s contribution cannot be overstated. Such an institution served in nurturing students, musicians, and athletes—all the while sparking an inevitable culture of Jazz within the already affluent Jazz population.
Central Ave paved way for many historic happenings in Los Angeles, most importantly being the many significant structures that contributed to both the creation of an African-American enclave and Jazz scene on the West Coast. It was in 1920, when the Jazz scene on Central began to swing, and from 1920 to 1955 it was the heart of the African-American community in Los Angeles.
Lionel Hampton composed and performed a tune called "Central Avenue Breakdown".
Dave Alvin
David Albert Alvin (born November 11, 1955) is an American singer-songwriter, guitarist and producer. He is a former and founding member of the roots rock band the Blasters. Alvin has recorded and performed as a solo artist since the late 1980s a ...
's tribute to
Big Joe Turner
Joseph Vernon "Big Joe" Turner Jr. (May 18, 1911 – November 24, 1985) was an American singer from Kansas City, Missouri. According to songwriter Doc Pomus, "Rock and roll would have never happened without him." His greatest fame was due to ...
, "The Boss of the Blues", describes a drive down Central Avenue and Turner's reminiscences about the scene. Lionel Hampton performed for the 2nd, 5th, 6th, 7th and the 11th Cavalcade of Jazz concerts. The crowning of the first Cavalcade of Jazz Queen was postponed due to a showdown between Big Joe Turner and Lionel Hampton's band at the 5th concert. The crowd started throwing pillows, programs, and bottles into the field as the band parading back to the stage.
Underground rapper Bones names a song "CentralAve" on album "Rotten" (2014).
Landmarks and major attractions
Near its northern end, Central Avenue passes through
Little Tokyo, Los Angeles' oldest Japanese neighborhood and now a
historic district
A historic district or heritage district is a section of a city which contains older buildings considered valuable for historical or architectural reasons. In some countries or jurisdictions, historic districts receive legal protection from c ...
listed on the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
. On Central Avenue just north of First Street is the former Hompa Hongwangi Buddhist Temple. It was declared Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument No.313 in 1986. Across Central Avenue from the Temple is the
Japanese American National Museum
The is located in Los Angeles, California, and dedicated to preserving the history and culture of Japanese Americans. Founded in 1992, it is located in the Little Tokyo area near downtown. The museum is an affiliate within the Smithsonian Affil ...
, and north of that is the original (and largest) branch of the
Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles
The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles (MOCA) is a contemporary art museum with two locations in greater Los Angeles, California. The main branch is located on Grand Avenue in Downtown Los Angeles, near the Walt Disney Concert Hall. MOCA's o ...
, now known as the Geffen Contemporary at MOCA.
![Somerville Hotel, Los Angeles](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1d/Somerville_Hotel%2C_Los_Angeles.JPG)
In the 1200 block of Central Avenue is the 1930s era
Streamline Modern
Streamline Moderne is an international style of Art Deco architecture and design that emerged in the 1930s. Inspired by aerodynamic design, it emphasized curving forms, long horizontal lines, and sometimes nautical elements. In industrial design ...
Los Angeles bottling plant of the Coca-Cola company, designed to resemble an ocean liner, complete with porthole windows and metal-railed catwalks. It was declared Los Angeles Historic-cultural Monument #138 in 1975.
At 2300 Central is the now closed
Lincoln Theatre, opened in 1926 and was long the leading venue in the city for African-American entertainment. It was declared Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument # 744 in 2003.
At 4233 Central Avenue is the
Dunbar Hotel
The Dunbar Hotel, originally known as the Hotel Somerville, was the focal point of the Central Avenue African-American community in Los Angeles, California, during the 1930s and 1940s. Built in 1928 by John Alexander Somerville, it was known for ...
, Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument #131 since 1974. Built in 1928 by Drs. John and Vada Sommerville, The Dunbar was a place where Black travelers could stay in style and comfort during the era of
racial segregation in the United States
In the United States, racial segregation is the systematic separation of facilities and services such as Housing in the United States, housing, Healthcare in the United States, healthcare, Education in the United States, education, Employment in ...
, when African-Americans were banned from Los Angeles's major hotels. The Dunbar was also the place where Black celebrities were most likely to stay, attracting the likes of
Louis Armstrong
Louis Daniel Armstrong (August 4, 1901 – July 6, 1971), nicknamed "Satchmo", "Satch", and "Pops", was an American trumpeter and vocalist. He was among the most influential figures in jazz. His career spanned five decades and several era ...
("Satchmo"),
Ella Fitzgerald
Ella Jane Fitzgerald (April 25, 1917June 15, 1996) was an American jazz singer, sometimes referred to as the "First Lady of Song", "Queen of Jazz", and "Lady Ella". She was noted for her purity of tone, impeccable diction, phrasing, timing, in ...
,
Lena Horne
Lena Mary Calhoun Horne (June 30, 1917 – May 9, 2010) was an American dancer, actress, singer, and civil rights activist. Horne's career spanned more than seventy years, appearing in film, television, and theatre. Horne joined the chorus of th ...
, and
Billie Holiday
Billie Holiday (born Eleanora Fagan; April 7, 1915 – July 17, 1959) was an American jazz and swing music singer. Nicknamed "Lady Day" by her friend and music partner, Lester Young, Holiday had an innovative influence on jazz music and pop si ...
. It was the epicenter of the Los Angeles jazz scene in the 1940s and 1950s. The Dunbar is listed on the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
.
At 4261 Central Avenue is Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument #580, the 1928
Golden State Mutual Life Insurance Building, original headquarters of one of the leading African-American owned insurance business companies the state of California.
![Jefferson high front entrance2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cd/Jefferson_high_front_entrance2.JPG)
Located just off of Central Ave on 1319 E 41st St
Thomas Jefferson High School is central to understanding the
Jazz
Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...
music and the "Jazz scene" for which the area was prominent. Jefferson High School’s importance to Central Ave and its Jazz scene can be attributed to its jazz-nurturing curriculum along with many prominent Jazz figures that it has both produced and has been associated with. Jefferson High served as a pivotal touchstone to the newly established African-American enclave and contributed greatly to the development of
West Coast Jazz
West Coast jazz refers to styles of jazz that developed in Los Angeles and San Francisco during the 1950s. West Coast jazz is often seen as a subgenre of cool jazz, which consisted of a calmer style than bebop or hard bop. The music relied rela ...
. It was at Jefferson wher
Samuel Brown(first African-American music teacher in the Los Angeles public school system) taught music and served as a major influence in teaching and mentoring promising jazz musicians from Los Angeles. Due to Mr. Brown's dedication, Jefferson High School has produced more jazz musicians and composers than any other high school west of the Mississippi.
![27th Street Bakery](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0b/27th_Street_Bakery.jpg)
Located on the corner of 27th Street and Central Ave at 2700 Central Ave is 27th Street Bakery, now famous for its
sweet potato pie
Sweet potato pie is a traditional dessert, originating in the Southern United States. It is often served during the American holiday season, especially at Thanksgiving and Christmas in place of pumpkin pie, which is more traditional in other regi ...
.
The bakery was initially a restaurant that was established in the 1930s by Harry Patterson and his wife.
The couple catered to the African-American migrants from the Southern states who settled on and near Central Avenue.
In 1956, the owners decided to turn it into a bakery. The 27th Street Bakery is one of the few remaining African-American owned businesses on Central Ave.
The bakery has been in the same family for three generations and is currently owned by Jeanette Pickens, the granddaughter of Harry Patterson, the founder of the bakery.
27th Street Bakery is the largest manufacturer of sweet potato pies on the
West Coast of the United States
The West Coast of the United States, also known as the Pacific Coast, Pacific states, and the western seaboard, is the coastline along which the Western United States meets the North Pacific Ocean. The term typically refers to the contiguous U.S ...
.
You can now find their pies in retail stores such
Ralphs
Ralphs is an American supermarket chain in Southern California. The largest subsidiary of Cincinnati-based Kroger, it is the oldest such chain west of the Mississippi River. Kroger also operates stores under the Food 4 Less and Foods Co. names ...
,
Albertsons
Albertsons Companies, Inc. is an American grocery company founded and headquartered in Boise, Idaho.
With 2,253 stores as of the third quarter of fiscal year 2020 and 270,000 employees as of fiscal year 2019, the company is the second-large ...
,
7-Eleven
7-Eleven, Inc., stylized as 7-ELEVE, is a multinational chain of retail convenience stores, headquartered in Dallas, Texas. The chain was founded in 1927 as an ice house storefront in Dallas. It was named Tote'm Stores between 1928 and 1946. A ...
,
KFC
KFC (Kentucky Fried Chicken) is an American fast food restaurant chain headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky, that specializes in fried chicken. It is the world's second-largest restaurant chain (as measured by sales) after McDonald's, with 2 ...
and
Louisiana Famous Fried Chicken
Louisiana Famous Fried Chicken is an American fast food chain that started in 1976 in Los Angeles by Joe Dion, a Michigan native.
The company is a franchise venture where licensees pay for license rights and a flour and red pepper recipe used to ...
.
The bakery suffered greatly after the
1992 LA Riots due to the extreme damage done to the neighborhood. Because clientele could not access the bakery for about two weeks, business temporarily decreased.
From the 1950s to the 1990s, the bakery catered towards the needs of the predominant African-American community. Due to the growing population of
Latinos
Hispanic and Latino Americans ( es, Estadounidenses hispanos y latinos; pt, Estadunidenses hispânicos e latinos) are Americans of Spanish and/or Latin American ancestry. More broadly, these demographics include all Americans who identify as ...
/
Hispanics
The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad.
The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties former ...
in the area in the early 2000s, the bakery expanded their menu to include
concha (bread)
Concha (plural conchas, meaning "shell" in Spanish) is a traditional Mexican sweet bread roll (''pan dulce''). Conchas get their name from their round shape and their striped, seashell-like appearance. A concha consists of two parts, a sweetene ...
/
pan dulce
Pan dulce, literally meaning "sweet bread", is the general name for a variety of Mexican pastries. Bread was introduced in Mexico by Spanish colonists, settlers and immigrants; however, Mexican pan dulce as we know it today rose to popularity ...
and
empanadas
An empanada is a type of baked or fried turnover consisting of pastry and filling, common in Spanish, other Southern European, Latin American, and Iberian-influenced cultures around the world. The name comes from the Spanish (to bread, i.e., ...
to cater to this new community and also have their menu available in Spanish.
[With the advent of the ]digital age
The Information Age (also known as the Computer Age, Digital Age, Silicon Age, or New Media Age) is a historical period that began in the mid-20th century. It is characterized by a rapid shift from traditional industries, as established during t ...
, the bakery has added online services. The 27th Street Bakery is a core part of Central Ave and its surrounding areas and continues to evolve.
The
Central Avenue Jazz Festival is a yearly free music festival held during the last weekend of July along a stretch of Central Avenue which includes the Dunbar Hotel. The festival features
jazz
Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...
,
blues
Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...
, and
Latin Jazz
Latin jazz is a genre of jazz with Latin American rhythms. The two main categories are Afro-Cuban jazz, rhythmically based on Cuban popular dance music, with a rhythm section employing ostinato patterns or a clave, and Afro-Brazilian jazz, whic ...
performed by both well-known and upcoming artists from the area.
Transportation
Central Avenue provides bus service along
Metro Local
Los Angeles Metro Bus is the transit bus service in Los Angeles County, California operated by the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro). In , the system had a ridership of , or about per weekday as of .
, there are ...
: Line 53.
Books
*''Central Avenue Sounds: Jazz in Los Angeles'' (Roth Family Foundation Book in American Music), Clora Bryant ''et al.'',
*''Central Avenue: Its Rise and Fall, 1890-C1955, Including the Musical Renaissance of Black LA'', Bette Yarbrough Cox,
*''The Great Black Way: L.A.’s Central Avenue in the 1940s And the Rise of African-American Pop Culture'', R.J. Smith,
*''Upside Your Head! Rhythm and Blues on Central Avenue (Music/Culture)'',
Johnny Otis
Johnny Otis (born Ioannis Alexandres Veliotes; December 28, 1921 – January 17, 2012) was an American singer, musician, composer, bandleader, record producer, and talent scout. He was a seminal influence on American R&B and rock and roll. He ...
,
Albums
Fourteen albums contain the name "Central Avenue" in their titles, including CDs by
Pete Johnson,
Nat King Cole
Nathaniel Adams Coles (March 17, 1919 – February 15, 1965), known professionally as Nat King Cole, was an American singer, jazz pianist, and actor. Cole's music career began after he dropped out of school at the age of 15, and continued f ...
,
Big Jay McNeely
Cecil James "Big Jay" McNeely (April 29, 1927 – September 16, 2018) was an American rhythm and blues saxophonist.
Biography
Inspired by Illinois Jacquet and Lester Young, McNeely teamed with his older brother Robert McNeely, who played barito ...
,
Jack McVea
John Vivian McVea (November 5, 1914 – December 27, 2000) was an American swing, blues, and rhythm and blues woodwind player and bandleader. He played clarinet and tenor and baritone saxophone.
Career
Born in Los Angeles, California, his fa ...
,
Big Joe Turner
Joseph Vernon "Big Joe" Turner Jr. (May 18, 1911 – November 24, 1985) was an American singer from Kansas City, Missouri. According to songwriter Doc Pomus, "Rock and roll would have never happened without him." His greatest fame was due to ...
,
Teddy Wilson
Theodore Shaw Wilson (November 24, 1912 – July 31, 1986) was an American jazz pianist. Described by critic Scott Yanow as "the definitive swing pianist", Wilson had a sophisticated, elegant style. His work was featured on the records of ma ...
and
Savoy Records
Savoy Records is an American record company and label established by Herman Lubinsky in 1942 in Newark, New Jersey. Savoy specialized in jazz, rhythm and blues, and gospel music.
In September 2017, Savoy was acquired by Concord Bicycle Music.
...
.
References
External links
History of Jazz on Central AvenueCentral Avenue Sounds Oral History Project Center for Oral History Research, UCLA Library Special Collections, University of California, Los Angeles.
{{Coord missing, Los Angeles County, California
Streets in Los Angeles
Streets in Los Angeles County, California
South Los Angeles
African-American history in Los Angeles
Carson, California
Compton, California
Downtown Los Angeles
Watts, Los Angeles
Willowbrook, California