On Central Avenue, Music Rises Again

Central Avenue was the powerful spine of an energetic, world-class entertainment center for the first half of the 20th century in Los Angeles. Overflowing with theaters, restaurants, nightclubs and bistros, it was the showcase arena to experience the art of Louis Armstrong, Art Tatum, Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Jelly Roll Morton and other jazz legends.

On Saturday and Sunday, the Avenue came vibrantly alive again, as it does each year with the arrival of the Central Avenue Jazz Festival. In a four-block location, directly in front of the Dunbar Hotel--once the home-away-from-home of Ellington, Armstrong, Basie, Lena Horne, Billy Eckstine and others--aural visions of past glories simmered through the air via festival performances ranging from Central Avenue veterans Teddy Edwards, Gerald Wilson, Gerald Wiggins and Ernie Andrews to Latin jazz all-stars Justo Almario and the Banda Brothers and the blues stylings of Roy Gaines.

Sunday afternoon’s program kicked off with the high-powered improvising of trumpeter Oscar Brashear, followed in close order by Larry Nash’s Jazz Symphonics. Pianist Nash’s ensemble, touching as many familiar jazz items as possible, played several medleys that shifted, without a break, from one jazz classic to another; the presence of tenor saxophonist Ricky Woodard and trumpeter Bobby Rodriguez guaranteed a string of swinging solo segments. And when singer Spanky Wilson joined the ensemble, her let-it-all-hang-out blues numbers brought several wildly gyrating dancers to the front of the overflow crowd.

Almario’s group--essentially Tolu without drummer Alex Acuna--featured the leader’s extraordinary versatility on tenor and alto saxophones, shifting from hard-driving, straight-ahead jazz improvising to riff-driven flights over foot-tapping salsa rhythms, enhanced by the brilliant conga drumming of Francisco Aguabella.

The rarely acknowledged Gaines, who once ran the now-defunct South Central blues club Gainesville, cranked up the musical wattage with a galvanizing set of vocals and guitar specials.

Finally, roaring to a climax, the Gerald Wilson Orchestra spectacularly called up echoes of a time when the sounds of big jazz bands could be heard along the length of Central Avenue.

The festival, positioned in the Central Avenue Jazz Park, across from the Dunbar, was filled with an audience that flowed out onto the surrounding streets, lined with savory food stands and colorful collections of clothing and art. One observer, gleefully digging the sounds, the atmosphere and the overall vibe, noted, “Man, this is the only really authentic jazz festival in L.A.” On a sunny, summer afternoon, in a spot resonating with jazz history, listening to marvelous music, who could disagree?