Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Music & the Arts
Coastal California has long supported thriving music and arts scenes that
aren't afraid to be completely independent, even outlandish at times. Califor-
nians themselves acknowledge that their music is eclectic, ranging from
pitch-perfect opera to off-key punk. Meanwhile, critics have tried and failed to
find any consistency in the styles and schools of art and architecture that
have flourished here - but taken in the context of the most racially and eth-
nically diverse US state, that kind of infinite variety makes perfect sense.
Music
Much of the American recording industry is based in LA. Today's troubled pop princesses
and airbrushed boy bands are only here thanks to all the tuneful revolutions of decades past.
Swing, Jazz, Blues & Soul
In the 1930s and '40s, swingin' big bands sparked a lindy-hopping craze in LA while sail-
ors on shore leave hit San Francisco's underground, integrated jazz clubs. As California's
African American community grew with the 'Great Migration' and during the WWII boom,
the West Coast blues sound emerged, especially in San Francisco and Oakland.
With Beat poets riffing over improvised bass-lines and audiences finger-snapping ap-
proval, the cool West Coast jazz of Chet Baker and Dave Brubeck emerged from San Fran-
cisco's North Beach neighborhood in the '50s. Meanwhile, in the African American cultural
hub of LA's Central Avenue, the hard bop of Charlie Parker and Charles Mingus kept the
SoCal scene alive and swinging.
In the 1950s and '60s, doo-wop, rhythm and blues, and soul music were all in steady ro-
tation at nightclubs in South Central LA, considered the 'Harlem of the West.' Soulful sing-
er Sam Cooke started his own hit-making record label, attracting soul and gospel talent to
LA.
