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The Crescendo (music venue)

{{Infobox venue

| name = The Crescendo

| nickname =

| image = The_Crescendo_nightclub.jpg

| image_caption =

| address = 8572 Sunset Blvd

|location=West Hollywood, California 90069

| type = Nightclub

| genre =

| broke_ground =

| built =

| opened = 1954

| renovated =

| expanded =

| closed = 1964

| demolished =

| owner = Gene Norman

| former_names =

| seating_type =

| seating_capacity =

| website = {{URL|gnpcrescendo.com/wp/}}

}}

The Crescendo was a West Hollywood jazz venue located at 8572 Sunset Boulevard. It opened in 1954, along with the Interlude upstairs, and ran until 1964.

History

The Crescendo was owned and operated by Gene Norman (né Eugene Abraham Nabatoff; 1922–2015) of GNP Crescendo Records, who had purchased the property in 1954 from singer Billy Eckstine, who had run the venue as the Chanticlair. The Chanticlair, Crescendo, and Interlude welcomed integrated audiences. Norman sold the Crescendo in 1963 to focus on GNP Crescendo Records, and in 1965 the club became The Trip."Count on the Coast: Basie, '58," by Marc Myers, All About Jazz, January 10, 2014

Performers

Performers at the Crescendo included:

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Folk music was represented with appearances by:

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The club also headlined comics including:

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Selected recordings at the Crescendo

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|width="5%" style="text-align:right"|1954:

|width="30%" style="text-align:left; border: 1px darkgray; border-style: none none solid none" border-radius: 0px 0px 0px 0px;"|Art Tatum

|width="65%" style="text-align:left; border: 1px darkgray; border-style: none none solid none" |Live at the Crescendo, Vol. 1 & 2

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|width="5%" style="text-align:right"|1954:

|width="30%" style="text-align:left; border: 1px darkgray; border-style: none none solid none"|Earl Hines

|width="65%" style="text-align:left; border: 1px darkgray; border-style: none none solid none"|Live at the Crescendo, Vol. 2 (released 1992)

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|width="5%" style="text-align:right"|1955:

|width="30%" style="text-align:left; border: 1px darkgray; border-style: none none solid none"|Louis Armstrong

|width="65%" style="text-align:left; border: 1px darkgray; border-style: none none solid none"|Louis Armstrong at the Crescendo, Vol. 1, Vol. 2 & Vol. 3,

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|width="5%" style="text-align:right"|1955:

|width="30%" style="text-align:left; border: 1px darkgray; border-style: none none solid none"|Frank Morgan, Conte Candoli and Machito's Rhythm Section

|width="65%" style="text-align:left; border: 1px darkgray; border-style: none none solid none"|Gene Norman Presents: Frank Morgan with Conte Candoli and Machito's Rhythm Section
Note: the CD reissue of this album adds 5 tracks recorded August 1956 at the Crescendo with Jack Sheldon, Frank Morgan, James Clay, Bobby Timmons, Jimmy Bond, Lawrence Marable

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|width="5%" style="text-align:right"|1956:

|width="30%" style="text-align:left; border: 1px darkgray; border-style: none none solid none"|Billy Daniels

|width="65%" style="text-align:left; border: 1px darkgray; border-style: none none solid none"|Gene Norman Presents: Mr. Black Magic – Billy Daniels at the Crescendo

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|width="5%" style="text-align:right"|1957:

|width="30%" style="text-align:left; border: 1px darkgray; border-style: none none solid none"|Mel Tormé

|width="65%" style="text-align:left; border: 1px darkgray; border-style: none none solid none"|Mel Tormé at the Crescendo

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|width="5%" style="text-align:right"|1958:

|width="30%" style="text-align:left; border: 1px darkgray; border-style: none none solid none"|George Shearing & The Quintet

|width="65%" style="text-align:left; border: 1px darkgray; border-style: none none solid none"|On the Sunny Side of the Strip (released 1960)

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|width="5%" style="text-align:right"|1958:

|width="30%" style="text-align:left; border: 1px darkgray; border-style: none none solid none"|Count Basie & His Atomic Band

|width="65%" style="text-align:left; border: 1px darkgray; border-style: none none solid none"|Complete Live at the Crescendo (re-released 2016; 5 CDs)

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|width="5%" style="text-align:right"|1959:

|width="30%" style="text-align:left; border: 1px darkgray; border-style: none none solid none"|René Touzet and His Orchestra

|width="65%" style="text-align:left; border: 1px darkgray; border-style: none none solid none"|René Touzet and His Orchestra Play for Dancing at the Crescendo on the World Famous Sunset Strip

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|width="5%" style="text-align:right"|1959:

|width="30%" style="text-align:left; border: 1px darkgray; border-style: none none solid none"|Frances Faye

|width="65%" style="text-align:left; border: 1px darkgray; border-style: none none solid none"|Caught in the Act

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|width="5%" style="text-align:right"|1961:

|width="30%" style="text-align:left; border: 1px darkgray; border-style: none none solid none"|T. C. Jones

|width="65%" style="text-align:left; border: 1px darkgray; border-style: none none solid none"|T. C. Jones – Himself! (released 1961)

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|width="5%" style="text-align:right"|1960:

|width="30%" style="text-align:left; border: 1px darkgray; border-style: none none solid none"|Jeri Southern

|width="65%" style="text-align:left; border: 1px darkgray; border-style: none none solid none"|Jeri Southern at the Crescendo

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|width="5%" style="text-align:right"|1960:

|width="30%" style="text-align:left; border: 1px darkgray; border-style: none none solid none"|Lambert, Hendricks & Ross with Zoot Sims

|width="65%" style="text-align:left; border: 1px darkgray; border-style: none none solid none"|The Swingers!

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|width="5%" style="text-align:right"|1960:

|width="30%" style="text-align:left; border: 1px darkgray; border-style: none none solid none"|Eddie Cano & Jack Costanzo
With Tony Martinez and His Orchestra

|width="65%" style="text-align:left; border: 1px darkgray; border-style: none none solid none"|Dancing on the Sunset Strip

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|width="5%" style="text-align:right"|1960:

|width="30%" style="text-align:left; border: 1px darkgray; border-style: none none solid none"|The Teddy Buckner Band

|width="65%" style="text-align:left; border: 1px darkgray; border-style: none none solid none"|Frank Bull{{efn|Frank Nova Bull (1897–1975) was a Kansas-born radio announcer in Los Angeles.}} and Gene Norman Present: The Teddy Buckner Band on the Sunset Strip

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|width="5%" style="text-align:right"|1961:

|width="30%" style="text-align:left; border: 1px darkgray; border-style: none none solid none"|Ella Fitzgerald

|width="65%" style="text-align:left; border: 1px darkgray; border-style: none none solid none"|Ella in Hollywood | Twelve Nights in Hollywood

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|width="5%" style="text-align:right"|1961:

|width="30%" style="text-align:left; border: 1px darkgray; border-style: none none solid none"|Machito

|width="65%" style="text-align:left; border: 1px darkgray; border-style: none none solid none"|Machito at the Crescendo

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|width="5%" style="text-align:right"|1963:

|width="30%" style="text-align:left; border: 1px darkgray; border-style: none none solid none"|Jonah Jones

|width="65%" style="text-align:left; border: 1px darkgray; border-style: none none solid none"|And Now in Person {{nowrap| ... }} Jonah Jones

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|width="5%" style="text-align:right"|1963:

|width="30%" style="text-align:left; border: 1px darkgray; border-style: none none solid none"|Arthur Lyman

|width="65%" style="text-align:left; border: 1px darkgray; border-style: none none solid none"|The Exotic Sounds of {{nowrap| ... }} Arthur Lyman at the Crescendo
(re-issued in 1965 as Cast Your Fate to the Wind)

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|width="5%" style="text-align:right"|1964:

|width="30%" style="text-align:left; border: 1px darkgray; border-style: none none solid none"|Wayne Newton

|width="65%" style="text-align:left; border: 1px darkgray; border-style: none none solid none"|In Person!

Notes

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References

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Category:Jazz clubs in Los Angeles

Category:1954 establishments in California

Category:1964 disestablishments in California

Category:Defunct jazz clubs in California