Donte's was a jazz club and diner and cocktail bar at 4269 Lankershim Boulevard in North Hollywood, Los Angeles, to the north of Universal Studios. One of the West Coast's best known jazz clubs in the 1970s and 1980s, it opened in 1966 and closed in 1988. [1] [2]
Donte's was established in 1966. Early performers included Woody Herman, Dizzy Gillespie, Mercer Ellington and Count Basie, and Buddy Rich, Toshiko Akiyoshi, Gerald Wilson, Don Piestrup, Don Menza and Bill Holman all brought their bands to the club. Jazz guitarists Joe Pass and Larry Carlton became regular performers. Pass would play on Monday evenings, which was "Guitar Night", organized by studio guitarist Jack Marshall. Art Pepper would perform on New Year's Eve. Clint Eastwood and Frank Sinatra frequently visited the club. [2] Guitarist Lenny Breau was giving weekly seminars at the club before his death in 1984. [3]
In December 1987, saxophonist Warne Marsh collapsed and died of a heart attack while performing the tune "Out of Nowhere" at the club. [4] Donte's closed in April 1988. [2] The site is now the Century West BMW auto dealer. [5]
Numerous albums were recorded at the club, including Jean-Luc Ponty's Live at Donte's (recorded March 12–13 1969), Lenny Breau's Live at Donte's (recorded May 1969) and a second album recorded at Donte's LA Bootleg 1984 (recorded shortly before his Death in 1984 and released in 2014) and Joe Pass's Live at Donte's and Resonance albums (recorded December 8–9, 1974).
Arthur Edward Pepper Jr. was an American jazz musician, most known as an alto saxophonist. He occasionally performed and recorded on tenor saxophone, clarinet and bass clarinet. Active primarily in West Coast jazz, Pepper first came to prominence in Stan Kenton's big band. He was known for his emotionally charged performances and several stylistic shifts throughout his career, and was described by critic Scott Yanow as having "attained his goal of becoming the world's greatest altoist" at the time of his death in 1982.
Leonard Harold Breau was an American-Canadian guitarist. He blended many styles of music, including jazz, country, classical, and flamenco. Inspired by country guitarists like Chet Atkins, Breau used fingerstyle techniques not often used in jazz guitar. By using a seven-string guitar and approaching the guitar like a piano, he opened up possibilities for the instrument.
Warne Marion Marsh was an American tenor saxophonist. Born in Los Angeles, his playing first came to prominence in the 1950s as a protégé of pianist Lennie Tristano and earned attention in the 1970s as a member of Supersax.
Donald Winston Thompson, OC is a Canadian jazz musician who plays double bass, piano, and vibes. Thompson's career as a performer, recording artist, producer, session musician, and music educator has lasted for more than 50 years.
John Pisano is an American jazz guitarist.
Lankershim Boulevard is a major north-south thoroughfare in the eastern San Fernando Valley, primarily within the City of Los Angeles, in Los Angeles County, California.
Nicholas Mathew Ceroli was an American jazz drummer.
The Velvet Touch of Lenny Breau – Live! is a live album by Canadian jazz guitarist Lenny Breau that was released in 1969.
David Owen Mackay was an American jazz pianist, singer-composer with roots in the works of Art Tatum, Bud Powell, and Bill Evans, who favored the standards of the 1940s and 1950s and the bossa novas of Luíz Eça, Antonio Carlos Jobim, and João Gilberto when performing.
Legacy is a live album by Canadian jazz guitarist Lenny Breau. It was recorded in Toronto in June 1983, and released posthumously in 1984. Recordings from the same performance were later released on Quietude.
Cabin Fever is an album by Canadian jazz guitarist Lenny Breau that was released in 1997.
The Hallmark Sessions is an album by the Canadian jazz guitarist Lenny Breau that was released in 2003.
Live at Donte's is a live album by Canadian jazz guitarist Lenny Breau that was recorded in 1969 and released in 2000.
At the Purple Onion is a live album by Don Francks, Lenny Breau, and Eon Henstridge that was recorded in 1962 and released in 2004. They performed as a trio called Three.
Canadian jazz refers to the jazz and jazz-related music performed by jazz bands and performers in Canada. There are hundreds of local and regionally based Canadian jazz bands and performers. A number of Canadian jazz artists have achieved international prominence, including Oscar Peterson, Maynard Ferguson, and Gil Evans.
Frank Severino was an American jazz drummer.
LA Bootleg 1984 is a live album by jazz guitarist Lenny Breau that was recorded in 1984 and released in 2014.
This is the discography for American jazz musician Lee Konitz.
Dan Doyle is an American record producer.
Ron Halldorson is a Canadian jazz musician, arranger, and producer from Winnipeg, Manitoba, best known for his work with guitarist Lenny Breau. Beginning his career as a country musician in the 1950s, Halldorson switched to jazz in the 1960s and played bass in The Lenny Breau Trio, recording Guitar Sounds from Lenny Breau and The Velvet Touch of Lenny Breau – Live! on RCA and recording with John Capek in 1976. After playing double-bass with Breau for 10 years, Halldorson worked as a session musician, playing pedal steel guitar and other instruments on recordings by The Guess Who, Wyrd Sisters and others. During the 1980s and 90s, he composed music for a number of film and television shows. In 2018 Ron released an album called Happy Talk with Julian Bradford on bass. In 2019, he released the album Duologue also with Julian Bradford.
34°08′51″N118°21′52″W / 34.14742°N 118.36442°W
 | This jazz club or venue-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |