^^^ Thanks, guys.
I started going to the Lighthouse and listening to these musicians in 1955 when I was a Junior in High School. I had a Buddy who also liked jazz and the two of us would close the place up maybe twice a week, then try to stay awake in school the next day. And then back again on weekends.
The club owner recognized us as real enthusiasts so he allowed us to sit in a rear booth and drink coffee all evening ... at twenty-five cents a cup. That was expensive. Twenty-five cents would buy you a gallon of gas at the time.
All of the musicians were terrific, but I was especially enamored with the drummer, Stan Levey. If it was a slow night, I would sit right by the stage, looking up at Stan play the drums. In my opinion, Stan Levey was THE best jazz drummer of all time, even better than Shelly Manne. Some think they were close, but for me, Stan takes the cake.
https://images.search.yahoo.com/search/images?p=stan+levey+drummer&fr=chr-yo_gc&imgurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.moderndrummer.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2016%2F05%2FStan_Levy_No_Credit-720x925.png#id=1&iurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.moderndrummer.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2016%2F05%2FStan_Levy_No_Credit-720x925.png&action=click
I have all of their albums, and they are real treasures in my collection. They are still available on eBay for not a lot of money. They are on the Contemporary label, which was consistently a producer of good sound and great performances.
Here's some cool pictures of what it was like:
https://www.thelighthousecafe.net/history
Ah, the memories. It was a great time to be a kid.
Frank
I started going to the Lighthouse and listening to these musicians in 1955 when I was a Junior in High School. I had a Buddy who also liked jazz and the two of us would close the place up maybe twice a week, then try to stay awake in school the next day. And then back again on weekends.
The club owner recognized us as real enthusiasts so he allowed us to sit in a rear booth and drink coffee all evening ... at twenty-five cents a cup. That was expensive. Twenty-five cents would buy you a gallon of gas at the time.
All of the musicians were terrific, but I was especially enamored with the drummer, Stan Levey. If it was a slow night, I would sit right by the stage, looking up at Stan play the drums. In my opinion, Stan Levey was THE best jazz drummer of all time, even better than Shelly Manne. Some think they were close, but for me, Stan takes the cake.
https://images.search.yahoo.com/search/images?p=stan+levey+drummer&fr=chr-yo_gc&imgurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.moderndrummer.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2016%2F05%2FStan_Levy_No_Credit-720x925.png#id=1&iurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.moderndrummer.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2016%2F05%2FStan_Levy_No_Credit-720x925.png&action=click
I have all of their albums, and they are real treasures in my collection. They are still available on eBay for not a lot of money. They are on the Contemporary label, which was consistently a producer of good sound and great performances.
Here's some cool pictures of what it was like:
https://www.thelighthousecafe.net/history
Ah, the memories. It was a great time to be a kid.
Frank