Sign Up or Sign In. Nelson Harrison and Dr. Ralph Proctor, Jr. Do you want to know who Dizzy Gillespie idolized? Did you ever wonder who inspired Kenny Clarke and Art Blakey? What musical quartet pioneered the concept adopted later by the Modern Jazz Quartet? Were you ever curious to know who taught saxophone to Stanley Turrentine or who taught piano to Ahmad Jamal? What community music school trained Robert McFerrin, Sr. Would you be surprised to know that Erroll Garner attended classes at the Julliard School of Music in New York and was at the top of his class in writing and arranging proficiency?
For almost years the Pittsburgh region has been a metacenter of jazz originality that is second to no other in the history of jazz. One of the best kept secrets in jazz folklore, the Pittsburgh Jazz Legacy has heretofore remained mythical.
When it was happening, little did we know how priceless the memories would become when the times were gone. Today jazz is still king in Pittsburgh, with events, performances and activities happening all the time.
The Pittsburgh Jazz Network is dedicated to celebrating and showcasing the places, artists and fans that carry on the legacy of Pittsburgh's jazz heritage. This, I suppose, is a follow-up to our previous discussions about entertainment in the area.
A preliminary search of the newspaper archives has come up with some of those entertainers. I still need to check further into the s and s. A story that ran in TVI a few years ago is posted below. It addresses the fire that destroyed the club and offers some background.
