Description
Book Synopsis Imagine an educational television series featuring America''s greatest jazz artists in performance, airing every week from 1956 to 1958 on KABC, Los Angeles.
Stars of Jazz was hosted by Bobby Troup, the songwriter, pianist and vocalist. Each show provided information about the performance that heightened viewers'' appreciation. The series garnered praise from critics and numerous awards including an Emmy from the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. A landmark series visually, too, it presented many television firsts including experimental films by designers Charles and Ray Eames.
All 130 shows were filmed as kinescopes. Surviving films were donated to the UCLA Film & Television Archive, where 16 shows have been restored; 29 additional shows are in the collection. The remaining 85 kinescopes were long ago discarded.
This first full documentation of Stars of Jazz identifies every musician, vocalist, and guest who appeared on the series an
Trade Review
An excellent and elaborate jazz research document and important catalog of a lost music show that finally receives long overdue attention." —jive-talk.com
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments viii
Preface 1
Introduction 3
Abbreviations 8
1: Ray Avery and Stars of Jazz 9
2: Early Spring 1956 14
3: 1956 20
4: 1957 56
5: 1958 110
Coda 170
Appendix 1: Discography 179
Appendix 2: Filmography 194
Chapter Notes 197
Bibliography 203
Index 205
