''Jazz Scene USA'' was an American television program of 26 30-minute episodes recorded in 1962, which featured performances by leading

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 m ...

musicians of the time. It was produced by Jimmie Baker, directed by Steve Binder, and (except for the first episode) was presented by Oscar Brown Jr.

History

''Jazz Scene USA'' was initiated by jazz fan and television personality

Steve Allen Stephen Valentine Patrick William Allen (December 26, 1921 – October 30, 2000) was an American television personality, radio personality, musician, composer, actor, comedian, and writer. In 1954, he achieved national fame as the co-cre ...

, who had regularly introduced and promoted jazz performers on ''

The Tonight Show ''The Tonight Show'' is an American late-night talk show that has aired on NBC since 1954. The show has been hosted by six comedians: Steve Allen (1954–1957), Jack Paar (1957–1962), Johnny Carson (1962–1992), Jay Leno (1992–2009 and 201 ...

''. Allen and his company, Meadowlane Productions, provided the financing for ''Jazz Scene USA''. An independent production, it was recorded at the CBS Television City studios in Hollywood. Allen invited Jimmie Baker to produce the show. Baker had previously produced the show '' Stars of Jazz'', which had run between 1956 and 1958. The shows were directed by Steve Binder, who had also worked on ''Stars of Jazz''. James Harrod, "Jazz Scene USA - Introduction & Background", ''Jazz Research'', September 8, 2012
Retrieved 24 May 2020 The first show was filmed on April 21, 1962, featured the Jazz Crusaders, and was hosted by KMLA radio DJ Vern Stevenson. Subsequent shows were hosted by jazz singer Oscar Brown Jr.. In all, 26 shows were recorded. The series was shown on selected TV stations, including KOGO-TV in

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United State ...

, who started running the series in December 1962. It was sold on a syndication basis to stations and

CATV Cable television is a system of delivering television programming to consumers via radio frequency (RF) signals transmitted through coaxial cables, or in more recent systems, light pulses through fibre-optic cables. This contrasts with broadc ...

operators. Allen had hoped to produce a second series of 26 episodes, but these were never made because of a lack of funding. James Harrod, "Jazz Scene USA - VHS and DVD", ''Jazz Research'', October 2, 2013
Retrieved 25 May 2020 Eight of the programs were subsequently issued on VHS and

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kind ...

Episodes

References

External links

*
Interview with director Steve Binder
''Television Academy'' {{Italic title Jazz television series 1960s American music television series