Exterior Photo Of Donte's

[JSngry]

1987, allegedly.

Either the date is way off or those cars need to get back in the time machine.

Edited February 5, 2012 by JSngry

[Leeway]

Could be right, Pinto was last made in 1980, and that beat-up specimen in the photo looks right for 1987. Looks like a Mercury in front of it, and a Pontiac or Olds behind it, but I'm not sure of the models.

[Christiern]

Let's take off those green shades....

[medjuck]

I think that's where I saw Art Pepper (though it may have been Carmello's-- they were both still around when I moved to LA in 1980.)

[ValerieB]

have some good memories from that club! actually sat at the bar one night next to Tony Bennett! saw Herbie H. and Carmen McR. there among many, many others.

[Christiern]

A NYC-based record company that specialized in rock called to tell me that they had just signed their first jazz group. They asked me if I would mind going to hear the group so that I could advise them what to do with it. "Sure," I said, where are they playing?"

"In the valley," they said.

It turned out to be at Donte's and they flew me out there, booked me into a hotel for the night, and provided me with a limo.

Yes, there was a time when the recording industry was doing quite well.

Funny thing is, I don't recall the name of this group.

Edited February 6, 2012 by Christiern

[GA Russell]

  On 2/6/2012 at 5:23 AM, Christiern said:

Funny thing is, I can remember the name of this group.

Chris, is that a typo? Do you mean that you can't remember?

[Christiern]

Type, indeed—thanks, GA R.

[JSngry]

Did they have no parking lot of their own?

[Christiern]

No Parlking lots are uncommon, even in LA

[David Gitin]

  On 2/6/2012 at 3:31 AM, medjuck said:

I think that's where I saw Art Pepper (though it may have been Carmello's-- they were both still around when I moved to LA in 1980.)

I heard Art Pepper there when he was debuting the Jazz Legend album. Hampton Hawes played a remarkable solo on "Here's That Rainy Day" and Art

said "I wish we had a tape machine to catch that one," especially poignant since Lester Koenig (of Contemporary Records) was present.