Ozzie Cadena dead at 83

[Spontooneous]

//Music Producer Cadena Dies at 83//(Los Angeles)

By Jocelyn Y. Stewart

© 2008, Los Angeles Times

LOS ANGELES -- Ozzie Cadena, a producer and A&R man for famed Savoy Records, who played a key role in recording a long list of jazz luminaries and later led an effort to commemorate the role of Hermosa Beach in the history of West Coast jazz, has died. He was 83.

Cadena, who suffered a stroke last year, died of pneumonia Wednesday at Little Company of Mary Hospital in Torrance, said his daughter, Lori Cadena.

The height of his career in recording came during the 1950 and ’60s, but Cadena later owned record stores and booked acts for several clubs in Southern California, including the legendary Lighthouse Cafe in Hermosa Beach and the Sangria restaurant -- a role he continued to play until shortly before his death.

“I think Ozzie must have lived and breathed jazz every day of his life,” jazz writer Don Heckman said. “He obviously had an impact via his production work for Savoy. ... But his biggest contribution was the love and support of jazz that impacted everyone who knew or had any contact with him.”

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Born Oscar Cadena on Sept., 26, 1924, in Oklahoma City, Cadena moved with his family to Newark, N.J., where he spent his childhood. As a kid, he shined shoes on the street and made weekly trips to Harlem in New York to hear music. Cadena’s love for music also led him to make regular visit to black churches.

After graduating from high school, Cadena enlisted in the Marines and served from 1941 to 1945, in the South Pacific. After World War II, he studied bass and piano at a music school in New York.

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In the early 1950s, Cadena was working with a jazz radio show in Newark when the owner of Savoy hired him. Savoy Records has a storied role in jazz history. The label was the early recording home of Charlie Parker, Miles Davis and Dizzy Gillespie.

The owner of Savoy was a businessman with a spotty reputation among musicians who claimed his contracts were unfair. Cadena took a philosophic view: “Whether you like the cat or not, at least he made the music available,” Cadena said in a 2002 article in the Star-Ledger.

At Savoy from 1951 to 1959, Cadena was responsible for the early recordings of Cal Tjader, McCoy Tyner, Bill Evans, Donald Byrd, Cannonball Adderley, Nat Adderley, Donald Byrd and many others, according to his resume.

He also recorded or produced Kenny Clarke, Gillespie, Davis, Fats Navarro, John Coltrane and Charles Mingus.

Cadena also played a key role in the careers of artists working in other genres. He recorded vocalists Little Jimmy Scott, Esther Phillips and John Lee Hooker. In the world of gospel he recorded Clara Ward, Roberta Ward, James Cleveland and a group that included Cissy Houston, the mother of Whitney Houston.

After leaving Savoy, Cadena worked for other labels, including Prestige and Blue Note, and Fantasy Records. In 1974 he and his family relocated to Hermosa Beach, which he began visiting in the late 1940s.

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“It was such a perfect place,” he said, in a 2005 issue of South Bay People. “I could have the beach and the sunshine by day and jazz during the night.”

In Southern California he promoted jazz and booked talent at clubs like the Hyatt on Sunset. Since the 70s he promoted jazz and became involved with the Lighthouse, a club that is renowned for its role in the birth of West Coast Jazz. In 2000 he began organizing free concerts on the plaza in Hermosa Beach every Wednesday. He also led the effort to place plaques on the city’s Pier Avenue Plaza honoring the Lighthouse and the musicians who played there.

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In addition to his daughter Lori, Cadena is survived by his wife, Gloria, of Redondo Beach; two sons, Pru Cadena, of Madison, N.J., and Dez Cadena, of Newark, N.J., who is a musician, and member of the punk band The Misfits; two grandsons, Kyle Cadena and Bret Cadena, of Madison, N.J.; and two sisters Victoria Shear and Beatrice Festagallo, of Union, N.J. A daughter, Janus Cadena, died in 1959.

[Shannon Dickey]

R.I.P Ozzie.

Not to rank on the dead, but I remember, while I was helping out on the Phil Urso doccumentary, directed by Jeff Ravage, Phil and Dave Rucker were

kind of chuckling and being generally dismissive of Cadena, I never got the full story, fwiw.

[ValerieB]

R.I.P Ozzie.

Not to rank on the dead, but I remember, while I was helping out on the Phil Urso doccumentary, directed by Jeff Ravage, Phil and Dave Rucker were

kind of chuckling and being generally dismissive of Cadena, I never got the full story, fwiw.

thanks so much for sharing something negative with us, Horny. it was obviously important to add the above to this RIP thread.

[Shannon Dickey]

Well, ValerieB,

It's just the facts, Ma'am. I did not personally disparage Mr. Cadena, just related what I gathered from listening, across the room, what Phil Urso and Dave Rucker

were commenting about, I believe it was regarding Phil's Savoy album. I hope you can shake off those "negative" vibes and remember Ozzie in the best possible light.

OK.

----HB

[Guest Bill Barton]

R.I.P., Mr. Cadena.

[chewy-chew-chew-bean-benitez]

SEE, EVEN OZZIE, GREAT IMPORTANT MAN INVOLVED WITH LEGENDARY BEBOP RECORDING OF KENNY CLARKE AND THE EARLIEST OF EARLY DONALD BYRD....HIS HEART REALLY LAY IN W.C.J AND AFTER HE HAD HIS FILL OF BEBOP-A-DOP HE MOVED 2 HERMOSA TO BE AROUND W.C.J!!!!! LONG LIVE OZZIE AND WCJ

[Christiern]

Horny B, my experience with Ozzie was always very positive, but you have to watch out certain people who seem oddly attracted to RIP threads and will bring out their fangs to defend the departed.

[AllenLowe]

as long as nobody says anything bad about Harriet Cadena -

[Christiern]

And, should that kind of post materialize, as long as nobody says anything bad about everything not being positive--and let's hope nobody comments on.....

Seriously, death does not make us immune to discomfiting comments. In fact, I think we should be more upset by the knee-jerk responses and the hypocrisy they so often reflect. I happen to have known and liked Ozzie many years ago, and I continue to respect him for his work, as well. Even so, I find nothing wrong with Horny B.'s statement of fact--none of us is perfect. VB's sarcasm was, IMHO, uncalled for, again.

Now, back to Ozzie, I grieve less when people pass away at his age, especially when they do so leaving behind an admirable legacy of accomplishments.

[Quasimado]

Horny B, my experience with Ozzie was always very positive, but you have to watch out certain people who seem oddly attracted to RIP threads and will bring out their fangs to defend the departed.

... or to feed their obsessions.

Q

[AllenLowe]

seance tonight - my place, 3 am -

bring your own ouija board -

we're gonna get this all straightened out, once and for all -

Edited April 17, 2008 by AllenLowe

[Christiern]

Thank you, Madame Flora.