Lighthouse Café
Encyclopedia
The Lighthouse Café is a nightclub
located at 30 Pier Avenue in Hermosa Beach, California
. It has been active as a jazz showcase since 1949 and, under the name "The Lighthouse", was one of the central West Coast jazz
clubs from the 1950s through the late 1970s.
called Verpilate's was built at 30 Pier Avenue in 1934, and it was converted into the Lighthouse, a bar, in 1940. ("Café" was added to the name only several decades later.) The club first began showcasing jazz
music on May 29, 1949, when owner John Levine permitted bassist
Howard Rumsey
to start a recurring Sunday jam session
on a trial basis. The experiment was a success. Rumsey became club manager soon after, and put together a house band
called the Lighthouse All-Stars.
While the club also hosted visiting groups, the Lighthouse All-Stars became a noted ensemble in its own right, which had among its guest musicians Chet Baker
, Gerry Mulligan
and Miles Davis
. The longest-running members of the Lighthouse All-Stars were Bob Cooper
(tenor saxophone
), Conte Candoli
(trumpet
), and Stan Levey
(drums
).
West Coast jazz stalwarts Shorty Rogers
, Richie Kamuca
, Bud Shank
, Shelly Manne
, and Jimmy Giuffre
were also regulars in the early days. Max Roach
was the regular drummer for a while in 1953. The club also became an important venue for recordings; Art Pepper
, Lee Morgan
, Cannonball Adderley, Don Ellis
, Mose Allison
, Ramsey Lewis
, the Modern Jazz Quartet
, The Three Sounds
, the Jazz Crusaders, and Joe Henderson
all made recordings there.
The Lighthouse sponsored an inter-collegiate jazz festival late in the 1950s, and the competition's winners included Mike Melvoin
and Les McCann
.
John Levine died in 1970, and his family sold the club to Rudy Onderwyzer, manager and part owner of Shelly Manne
's club, Shelly's Manne-Hole. Rumsey left the Lighthouse in the 1970s, and Onderwyzer sold it again in 1981. The new owners remodeled the club and mostly discontinued the jazz-music policy. From the middle of the 1990s, jazz began to come back to the club, first on Sundays, then two days a week.
Nightclub
A nightclub is an entertainment venue which usually operates late into the night...
located at 30 Pier Avenue in Hermosa Beach, California
Hermosa Beach, California
Hermosa Beach is a beachfront city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Its population was 19,506 at the 2010 census, up from 18,566 at the 2000 census....
. It has been active as a jazz showcase since 1949 and, under the name "The Lighthouse", was one of the central West Coast jazz
West coast jazz
West Coast jazz refers to various styles of jazz music that developed around Los Angeles and San Francisco during the 1950s. West Coast jazz is often seen as a sub-genre of cool jazz, which featured a less frenetic, calmer style than bebop or hard bop. The music tended to be more heavily arranged,...
clubs from the 1950s through the late 1970s.
History
A restaurantRestaurant
A restaurant is an establishment which prepares and serves food and drink to customers in return for money. Meals are generally served and eaten on premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services...
called Verpilate's was built at 30 Pier Avenue in 1934, and it was converted into the Lighthouse, a bar, in 1940. ("Café" was added to the name only several decades later.) The club first began showcasing jazz
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...
music on May 29, 1949, when owner John Levine permitted bassist
Bassist
A bass player, or bassist is a musician who plays a bass instrument such as a double bass, bass guitar, keyboard bass or a low brass instrument such as a tuba or sousaphone. Different musical genres tend to be associated with one or more of these instruments...
Howard Rumsey
Howard Rumsey
Howard Rumsey is a Californian bassist primarily known for his leadership of the Los Angeles group the Lighthouse All-Stars in the 1950s.-Life:...
to start a recurring Sunday jam session
Jam session
Jam sessions are often used by musicians to develop new material, find suitable arrangements, or simply as a social gathering and communal practice session. Jam sessions may be based upon existing songs or forms, may be loosely based on an agreed chord progression or chart suggested by one...
on a trial basis. The experiment was a success. Rumsey became club manager soon after, and put together a house band
House band
For the British band that existed from 1984-2001, see The House BandA house band is a group of musicians, often centrally organized by a band leader, who regularly play an establishment. It is widely used to refer both to the bands who work on entertainment programs on television or radio, and to...
called the Lighthouse All-Stars.
While the club also hosted visiting groups, the Lighthouse All-Stars became a noted ensemble in its own right, which had among its guest musicians Chet Baker
Chet Baker
Chesney Henry "Chet" Baker, Jr. was an American jazz trumpeter, flugelhornist and singer.Though his music earned him a large following , Baker's popularity was due in part to his "matinee idol-beauty" and "well-publicized drug habit."He died in 1988 in Amsterdam, the...
, Gerry Mulligan
Gerry Mulligan
Gerald Joseph "Gerry" Mulligan was an American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, composer and arranger. Though Mulligan is primarily known as one of the leading baritone saxophonists in jazz history – playing the instrument with a light and airy tone in the era of cool jazz – he was also...
and Miles Davis
Miles Davis
Miles Dewey Davis III was an American jazz musician, trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. Widely considered one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Miles Davis was, with his musical groups, at the forefront of several major developments in jazz music, including bebop, cool jazz,...
. The longest-running members of the Lighthouse All-Stars were Bob Cooper
Bob Cooper (musician)
Bob Cooper was a West Coast jazz musician known primarily for playing tenor saxophone, but also for being one of the first to play solos on oboe. He worked in Stan Kenton's band starting in 1945 and married the band's singer June Christy...
(tenor saxophone
Tenor saxophone
The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor, with the alto, are the two most common types of saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B, and written as a transposing instrument in the treble...
), Conte Candoli
Conte Candoli
Secondo "Conte" Candoli was an American jazz trumpeter based on the West Coast. He played in the big bands of Woody Herman, Stan Kenton, Benny Goodman, and Dizzy Gillespie, and in Doc Severinsen's NBC Orchestra on The Tonight Show. He played with Gerry Mulligan, and on Frank Sinatra's TV specials...
(trumpet
Trumpet
The trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...
), and Stan Levey
Stan Levey
Stan Levey was an American jazz drummer. Born in Philadelphia, Levey is considered one of the earliest bebop drummers, one of the very few white drummers involved in the formative years of bebop and accepted as one of bop's most important drummers, along with Kenny Clarke and Max Roach...
(drums
Drum kit
A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
).
West Coast jazz stalwarts Shorty Rogers
Shorty Rogers
Milton “Shorty” Rogers , born Milton Rajonsky in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, was one of the principal creators of West Coast jazz. He played both the trumpet and flugelhorn, and was in demand for his skills as an arranger. Rogers worked first as a professional musician with Will Bradley and...
, Richie Kamuca
Richie Kamuca
Richie Kamuca , was an American jazz tenor saxophonist born in Philadelphia.-Musical career:Like many players associated with West Coast jazz, Kamuca grew up in the East before moving west around the time that bebop changed the prevailing style of jazz...
, Bud Shank
Bud Shank
Clifford Everett "Bud" Shank, Jr. was an American alto saxophonist and flautist. He rose to prominence in the early 1950s playing lead alto and flute in Stan Kenton's Innovations in Modern Music Orchestra and throughout the decade worked in various small jazz combos. He spent the 1960s as a first...
, Shelly Manne
Shelly Manne
Shelly Manne , born Sheldon Manne in New York City, was an American jazz drummer. Most frequently associated with West Coast jazz, he was known for his versatility and also played in a number of other styles, including Dixieland, swing, bebop, avant-garde jazz and fusion, as well as contributing...
, and Jimmy Giuffre
Jimmy Giuffre
James Peter Giuffre was an American jazz clarinet and saxophone player, composer and arranger. He is notable for his development of forms of jazz which allowed for free interplay between the musicians, anticipating forms of free improvisation.-Biography:Born in Dallas, Texas, of Italian ancestry,...
were also regulars in the early days. Max Roach
Max Roach
Maxwell Lemuel "Max" Roach was an American jazz percussionist, drummer, and composer.A pioneer of bebop, Roach went on to work in many other styles of music, and is generally considered alongside the most important drummers in history...
was the regular drummer for a while in 1953. The club also became an important venue for recordings; Art Pepper
Art Pepper
Art Pepper , born Arthur Edward Pepper, Jr., was an American alto saxophonist and clarinetist.About Pepper, Scott Yanow of All Music stated, "In the 1950s he was one of the few altoists that was able to develop his own sound despite the dominant influence of Charlie Parker" and: "When Art Pepper...
, Lee Morgan
Lee Morgan
Edward Lee Morgan was an American hard bop trumpeter.-Biography:...
, Cannonball Adderley, Don Ellis
Don Ellis
Don Ellis was an American jazz trumpeter, drummer, composer and bandleader. He is best known for his extensive musical experimentation, particularly in the area of unusual time signatures...
, Mose Allison
Mose Allison
Mose John Allison, Jr. is an American jazz blues pianist and singer.-Biography:...
, Ramsey Lewis
Ramsey Lewis
Ramsey Emmanuel Lewis, Jr. is an American jazz composer, pianist and radio personality. Ramsey Lewis has recorded over 80 albums and has received seven gold records and three Grammy Awards so far in his career.-Biography:...
, the Modern Jazz Quartet
Modern Jazz Quartet
The Modern Jazz Quartet was established in 1952 by Milt Jackson , John Lewis , Percy Heath , and Kenny Clarke . Connie Kay replaced Clarke in 1955...
, The Three Sounds
The Three Sounds
The Three Sounds were an American jazz trio that formed in 1956 and disbanded in 1973. The trio played and recorded with Lester Young, Lou Donaldson, Nat Adderley, Johnny Griffin, Anita O'Day, Bucky Pizzarelli, Stanley Turrentine and Sonny Stitt among others.The band formed in Benton Harbor,...
, the Jazz Crusaders, and Joe Henderson
Joe Henderson
Joe Henderson was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. In a career spanning more than forty years Henderson played with many of the leading American players of his day and recorded for several prominent labels, including Blue Note.-Early life:From a very large family with five sisters and nine...
all made recordings there.
The Lighthouse sponsored an inter-collegiate jazz festival late in the 1950s, and the competition's winners included Mike Melvoin
Mike Melvoin
Mike Melvoin is an American jazz pianist.Melvoin began on piano at age three. He studied English at Dartmouth College, graduating in 1959, but decided to pursue a career in music. After moving to Los Angeles in 1961, he played with Frank Rosolino, Leroy Vinnegar, Gerald Wilson, Paul Horn, Terry...
and Les McCann
Les McCann
Les McCann is an American soul jazz piano player and vocalist whose biggest successes came as a crossover artist into R&B and soul.-Biography:...
.
John Levine died in 1970, and his family sold the club to Rudy Onderwyzer, manager and part owner of Shelly Manne
Shelly Manne
Shelly Manne , born Sheldon Manne in New York City, was an American jazz drummer. Most frequently associated with West Coast jazz, he was known for his versatility and also played in a number of other styles, including Dixieland, swing, bebop, avant-garde jazz and fusion, as well as contributing...
's club, Shelly's Manne-Hole. Rumsey left the Lighthouse in the 1970s, and Onderwyzer sold it again in 1981. The new owners remodeled the club and mostly discontinued the jazz-music policy. From the middle of the 1990s, jazz began to come back to the club, first on Sundays, then two days a week.
Recordings made at the Lighthouse
- 1953: Sunday Jazz a la Lighthouse - Howard Rumsey's Lighthouse All-Stars
- 1953: Witch Doctor - Chet Baker and the Lighthouse All-Stars
- 1960: At the Lighthouse - The Cannonball Adderley Quintet
- 1962: Tippin' on Through - Curtis AmyCurtis AmyCurtis Amy was an American West Coast jazz musician known for his work on tenor saxophone. He also explored many mediums, including soul jazz and hard bop.-Biography:...
- 1962: The Jazz Crusaders at the Lighthouse
- 1966: Live at the Lighthouse '66 - The Jazz Crusaders
- 1967: Live at the LighthouseLive at the Lighthouse (The Three Sounds album)Live at the Lighthouse is a live album by jazz group The Three Sounds featuring performances recorded in 1967 at the Lighthouse Club in California and released on the Blue Note label.-Reception:...
(Blue Note) - The Three SoundsThe Three SoundsThe Three Sounds were an American jazz trio that formed in 1956 and disbanded in 1973. The trio played and recorded with Lester Young, Lou Donaldson, Nat Adderley, Johnny Griffin, Anita O'Day, Bucky Pizzarelli, Stanley Turrentine and Sonny Stitt among others.The band formed in Benton Harbor,... - 1970: Live at the Lighthouse (Blue Note) - Lee Morgan
- 1972: Live at The LighthouseLive at The Lighthouse (Grant Green album)Live at The Lighthouse is a live album by American jazz guitarist Grant Green featuring a performance recorded at the Lighthouse Club in Hermosa Beach, California in 1972 and released on the Blue Note label.-Reception:...
(Blue Note) - Grant GreenGrant GreenGrant Green was a jazz guitarist and composer.... - 1972: Live at The Lighthouse - Elvin JonesElvin JonesElvin Ray Jones was a jazz drummer of the post-bop era. He showed interest in drums at a young age, watching the circus bands march by his family's home in Pontiac, Michigan....