Jack Lesberg
Encyclopedia
Jack Lesberg was a jazz
double-bassist.
He performed with many famous jazz musicians, including Louis Armstrong
, Sarah Vaughan
, and Benny Goodman
.
Lesberg had the misfortune of playing in the Cocoanut Grove
on the night in 1942 when 492 people lost their lives in a fire. His escape was memorialized by fellow bassist Charles Mingus in an unpublished section of Mingus's autobiography "Beneath the Underdog"; this passage was read by rapper Chuck D. on the Mingus tribute album "Weird Nightmare". According to Mingus's telling, Lesberg used his double bass to "make a door" inside the club which aided in his escape.
Lesberg continued to tour in the 1980s and was interviewed for KCEA
radio in 1984 following a performance in Menlo Park, CA. During the taped interview Jack spoke of the many bands and performers he worked with and expressed his feelings that he felt blessed to be a musician.
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
double-bassist.
He performed with many famous jazz musicians, including Louis Armstrong
Louis Armstrong
Louis Armstrong , nicknamed Satchmo or Pops, was an American jazz trumpeter and singer from New Orleans, Louisiana....
, Sarah Vaughan
Sarah Vaughan
Sarah Lois Vaughan was an American jazz singer, described by Scott Yanow as having "one of the most wondrous voices of the 20th century."...
, and Benny Goodman
Benny Goodman
Benjamin David “Benny” Goodman was an American jazz and swing musician, clarinetist and bandleader; widely known as the "King of Swing".In the mid-1930s, Benny Goodman led one of the most popular musical groups in America...
.
Lesberg had the misfortune of playing in the Cocoanut Grove
Cocoanut Grove fire
The Cocoanut Grove was Boston's premier nightclub during the post-Prohibition 1930s and 40s. On November 28, 1942, occurred the scene of what remains the deadliest nightclub fire, killing 492 people and injuring hundreds more...
on the night in 1942 when 492 people lost their lives in a fire. His escape was memorialized by fellow bassist Charles Mingus in an unpublished section of Mingus's autobiography "Beneath the Underdog"; this passage was read by rapper Chuck D. on the Mingus tribute album "Weird Nightmare". According to Mingus's telling, Lesberg used his double bass to "make a door" inside the club which aided in his escape.
Lesberg continued to tour in the 1980s and was interviewed for KCEA
KCEA
KCEA is a high school radio station in Atherton, California, USA. The station features big band and swing music, mostly from the 1930s and 1940s...
radio in 1984 following a performance in Menlo Park, CA. During the taped interview Jack spoke of the many bands and performers he worked with and expressed his feelings that he felt blessed to be a musician.