The Los Angeles Jazz Society will celebrate its 20th anniversary with a Jazz Tribute Awards Dinner and Concert on Nov. 6. In addition to celebrating their anniversary, the evening will also honor trumpeter Jack Sheldon as the group’s 2005 Tribute Honoree.
The tribute will be hosted by film historian and jazz aficionado Leonard Maltin, while Honorary Tribute Chair Merv Griffin will present Sheldon with his award. Sheldon and Griffin worked together for 18 years on the talk show The Merv Griffin Show.
Sheldon’s reputation along the West Coast is legendary, and not just for his trumpet and vocal stylings. While he is considered one of the “Original Lions” of the West Coast Sound (along with Lester Young, Dizzy Gillespie and Zoot Sims) and has collaborated with artists such as Dizzy Gillespie, Dexter Gordon, Art Pepper, Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr. and Diane Schuur, Sheldon was an entertainer above all. He was often a featured soloist on film and television soundtracks and was also and actor in both film and television, including voice-over work for The Simpsons and The Family Guy. For some generations, he might be best remembered for singing “Conjunction Junction” And “Just a Bill” for ABC’s Schoolhouse Rock.
The Jazz Tribute Awards Dinner will also honor Buddy Childers, Diane Schuur, Lennie Niehaus, Clora Bryant, Chuck Cecil, Ron McCurdy and Katie Thiroux.
The event will be held at the Millennium Biltmore Hotel in Los Angeles. Tickets are $200 for preferred dinner and concert seating for nonmembers and $175 for members. There are also a limited number of $125 concert-only tickets. More information can be found at the Los Angeles Jazz Society’s website.
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