Jazz:West Records - Art Pepper on Jazz:West and Intro Records

Acknowledgments

I originally planned to write about Herb Kimmel’s Jazz:West label as a separate chapter in a history of the Pacific Jazz / World Pacific label. Herb collaborated with William Claxton on his first collection of jazz photography, Jazz West Coast, which was published by the Pacific Jazz subsidiary, Linear Publications. Herb died in June of 2012 and the planned examination of Jazz:West lay dormant as I continued my research and writing on Pacific Jazz. I wrote an extended piece about one of Herb’s releases, Linear Sketches (JWLP-9), for my blog devoted to miscellaneous jazz research interests, http://jazzwestcoastresearch.blogspot.com/2012/11/julius-wechter-on-jazzwest-intro-james-a.html. One of Herb’s daughters read the piece and wrote to me to ask how I knew so much about her father. I replied that he had contacted me ten years previously and that we had exchanged correspondence over several years about his involvement with the Wayside Honor Rancho and Jazz:West records. Herb’s daughter got in touch with Herb’s wife, Barbara Kimmel, who in turn wrote to me in December of 2012. That was the beginning of another lively exchange of e-mails and correspondence as Barbara shared additional facets of Herb’s life, including a collection of Herb’s unpublished stories, poems, songs, etc., that she collected and titled ANTHOLOGY. It took Barbara over a year to gather all of the material for ANTHOLOGY. It was presented to Herb on his 80th birthday. I soon realized through the generosity of Barbara in sharing photographs, copies of sheet music, and other details of Herb’s life that a separate book devoted to Herb Kimmel and Jazz:West was required to do justice to his time in Los Angeles as a deputy sheriff at the Wayside Honor Rancho where so many jazz musicians spent time, and to his creation of the Jazz:West label that released landmark albums with Jack Sheldon, Walter Norris, Zoot Sims, Jane Fielding, Red Mitchell, Lou Levy, Kenny Drew, Paul Chambers, John Coltrane, Lawrence Marable, James Clay, Julius Wechter, and Art Pepper.

I owe a debt of gratitude to many friends who have nurtured and sustained my appreciation of jazz. First, my friend Bill Emery, who sold me my first West Coast jazz albums, including Kenny Drew’s Jazz:West LP, Talkin’ & Walkin’ with the Kenny Drew Quartet (JWLP-4).

Bill became a jazz fan at a very early age. He traveled by train from Sheridan, Wyoming, to Omaha, Nebraska, for the 10th national tour of the Jazz at the Philharmonic appearance at Technical High Auditorium on Saturday, October 28, 1950. Bill recalled that Norman Granz was in the ticket booth at the auditorium selling tickets for the show, and he was able to get a single seat in row three, seat one.

Young Emery was an avid subscriber to The Record Changer magazine and decided at an early age that he wanted to be connected with jazz and records. The Record Changer featured regular ads by Ray Avery of Los Angeles listing rare jazz records. When Bill decided to try his fortune in Los Angeles, he sought out Ray Avery at Ray’s store on South La Cienega, Record Roundup. In addition to working in Ray’s shop, Bill found employment during the Christmas holiday at California Record Distributors, a new distribution company formed by Les Koenig and his partners. While working at the distributorship, Bill met other young jazz fans, including Woody Woodward and Danny Alguire, with whom he formed lifelong friendships. However, the fast-paced life of Los Angeles was not the right fit for Bill, and he decided to return to Sheridan, Wyoming, where he was offered a job managing the record department at Mossholder’s furniture store. During this period in the mid-1950s, Bill also hosted a radio program on the local AM station, KWYO, where he featured jazz on his Willie’s Waxworks show. Mossholder’s became my regular after-school hangout, and the beneficiary of all of my part-time earnings.

Through Bill I met Jon Brooder, my oldest friend from my youth, who continues to nourish our friendship and appreciation of jazz. Also through Bill I met Ray Avery, who played such a great role in West Coast jazz by capturing it in his lens. Through Ray I met Cynthia Sesso, who worked for Ray at his Glendale store and later at his home as he continued his private auction business. I am also in debt to Ken Poston and Eric Fankhauser at the Los Angeles Jazz Institute whose tremendous archival holdings have enabled much of my research to be realized, and Ken’s concert presentations that have kept West Coast jazz alive through panel discussions, historic films, and live concerts featuring many of the jazz musicians who were active in the 1950s.

Bob Whitlock, the original bassist with the Gerry Mulligan Quartet and the Chet Baker Quartet, shared many details of the early jazz scene in Los Angeles during an afternoon interview at his daughter’s home on Balboa Island. Bob’s combo, which played the Red Mill in Long Beach in 1955, was essentially the group that recorded the second album for Jazz:West. His original compositions on that album, “Beach-Wise” and “Palermo Walk,” remain the highlights of that album for me. I am also indebted to Bob for sharing his photographs from this period and the handbill advertising his group at the Red Mill.

Gordon Jack’s Fifties Jazz Talk has been a constant reference when seeking firsthand accounts from the jazz musicians working in Los Angeles in the 1950s. Gordon also shared audio copies of selected interviews, a generous gesture for which I am grateful.

I would also like to thank Graham Tanner for his examination of Art Pepper’s struggle with drug addiction in the February 1973 issue of Jazz Journal. Graham sent me a photocopy of his article that recounts this creative period in Art Pepper’s development.

Safford Chamberlain’s magnum opus on the life and work of Warne Marsh, An Unsung Cat, provided intimate details of recording sessions where Art Pepper and Warne Marsh created albums that have become classics. These details have enriched the narrative greatly.

I increased my knowledge of jazz through my many friends and acquaintances on the JWC list over the years: Ken Koenig, Steve Cerra, Garth Jowett, Robert Gordon, François Ziegler, George Ziskind, Bill Crow, Bob Florence, Bud Shank, Dave Pell, Milt Bernhart, John Altman, Steve Voce, Doug Ramsey, Les Line, Glenn Munson, Bob van Langen, Bruce Talbot, Wellington Choy, Vic Hall, Ray Hoffman, Bob Bragonier, Gerard Dugelay, Noal Cohen, Nou Dadoun, Ron Hearn, Robert Robb, Gordon Sapsed, Jim Andrews, Les Novak, Jerry Atkins (who introduced me to his James Clay interview), Trevor Graham, John Good, Jack Tracy, Peter Friedman, Larry Israel, Larry Whitford, Bob Conrad, and all of the other members I truly appreciate but must halt this list at some point; sorry to not list your name. I would also like to thank Michael Fitzgerald for his many innovations in the digital world that have enriched my knowledge of jazz.

A special thanks to Michael Cuscuna at Mosaic Records for nurturing my writing about jazz and assisting my quest for details regarding Jazz:West and Pacific Jazz. Thanks also to Todd Selbert of New York City whose productions of Art Pepper’s Discovery sessions for Savoy and his discography for Art and Laurie Pepper’s Straight Life were early beacons in my quest to know more about Art Pepper. The Art Pepper Companion, edited by Todd, has also been an essential resource for learned commentaries about one of America’s greatest jazz artists.

This history of a brief moment in the fabric of jazz in Los Angeles has benefited greatly from the generous sharing of Kirk Silsbee whose tribute to Will Thornbury, “Blues for Will Thornbury,” precedes the chapter with Thornbury’s interview with Art and Laurie Pepper. Kirk has also been generous in answering my queries about obscure jazz clubs and events in Los Angeles jazz history, details that immensely enrich this narrative.

I would also like to thank Michael C Ford who extended permission to include his tribute to Will Thornbury, “With Will / Always A Way.”

I would also like to extend a thank you to Peter Jacobson, who helped to unravel the fate of the Art Pepper Tampa and Omega sessions.

A special thanks to the late Maurice A. Hall, who shared the transcript of the Will Thornbury interview with Art and Laurie Pepper; and to Ruth Price for extending permission to use Will’s interviews in my writing and research.

The details regarding who, where, and when these recording sessions took place was facilitated through the diligent research of the archivist at AFM Local No. 47, Andrew Morris, to whom I owe a great measure of thanks for allowing me to add these details to this narrative.

Many of the books cited in the bibliography were acquired from Arthur Newman, the jazz book authority whose stock list included jazz books from around the world. My knowledge of jazz and its practitioners owes an immense debt to Arthur.

A very special thanks to Cynthia Sesso, who has been instrumental in selecting appropriate photos of the many jazz musicians who recorded for Jazz:West. CTSIMAGES is the preëminent archive of jazz photography.

The last chore that all authors must face is the editing of their manuscript. That task has been eased immensely through the careful review, commentary, and editing of Barbara Kimmel whose keen eye spotted numerous lapses of usage, awkward grammar, typos, and myriad inconsistencies. I hope that we have tracked down the lot, but all those remaining are solely the responsibility of the author. Thanks Barbara!

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