Leimert Park: The KING of LA JAZZ

The only place in a city whose blood quietly pulses as the underground mecca of both past and present JAZZ greats, Leimert Park's place in the SOUTHLAND as the hub of Jazz was reaffirmed.

"Jazz venues no longer sit in geographic clusters," wrote Kirk Sillsby in Los Angeles City Beat in an article titled: ’Round About Midnight
L.A.’s best jazz spots are far between and worth the trip. "Only Leimert Park has multiple music spaces in close proximity."

There was an exhaustive list just in the fourth paragraph.

"Jazz venues no longer sit in geographic clusters: Central Avenue, downtown, Western, mid-Wilshire, West Washington, Adams, Hermosa Beach all had close-quartered scenes. It was easy to pick an area and take in several places in one night. Now, jazz is flung all over the map ... Jazz can also be heard – at various outposts – between those points.

The article did ding the Village for a frustration of my own, though a small one: "L.A.’s Leimert Park venues feature jazz on a catch-as-catch-can basis." Always call ahead.

He mentioned Coffee houses 5th Street Dicks (4305 Degnan Blvd., 323-296-000), Sunny’s Spot (3349 W. 43rd Place, 323-291-4075), and Lucy Florence Cultural Center (3151 W. 43rd St., 323-1356) and The World Stage (4344 Degnan Blvd., 323-293-2451).

I don't think he mentioned more than one in any other city, and we're just a 'hood.

Two of the best jazz clubs are nearby neighbors.

* The biggest and most important Los Angeles jazz showcase is Catalina Bar & Grill (6225 Sunset Blvd., Hollywood, 323-466-2210). Catalina Popescu willed her little restaurant on Cahuenga (the club’s first site) into L.A.’s jazz powerhouse by presenting the biggest names in the music this side of a concert hall. McCoy Tyner, Chick Corea, Kenny Burrell, Karin Allyson, Tierney Sutton, Take 6, Steve Tyrell, Pharaoh Sanders all play here. The genial Popescu celebrated the club’s 20-year anniversary last December – a feat that has never been duplicated in this town.

*The Jazz Bakery (3233 Helms Ave., Culver City, 310-271-9039), is a different proposition altogether. Though food and drink are available, it’s not a club so much as an intimate hall. Proprietor Ruth Price had a very full career as a jazz singer and she worked her share of toilets, hell holes, and slop chutes. Her template for the Bakery came from the old Shelly’s Manne-Hole, where she was one of the house singers. At Shelly’s (1960-’74) the musician was king (or queen, depending). Price has stuck to that idea, eliminating the hustling of food and drinks from the music area. As a result, the Bakery has a very attentive audience and the appreciation of the acts usually comes out in their music.

He doesn't mention downtown's Metropol, a great place to see cheap great jazz with a reasonably priced meal and free parking.