HISTORY:
1975 | 1977 | 1979 | 1980 | 1981 | 1982 to present

1979 Continued

Monk's ambitions for jazz reached beyond the neon city, and in 1980 he invited representatives of jazz organizations in 12 Western states to a meeting in Las Vegas for the purpose of forming the Western Regional Federation of Jazz. Jazz Societies sent delegates from Portland, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Phoenix, Dallas, Lake Havasu, Boise, Denver, Salt Lake City, Seattle and Vancouver, B.C. Fran Tate had traveled farthest for the occasion, all the way from Alaska. Also attending were Aida Chapman, assistant director of the NEA's music program; jazz critic Leonard Feather; Howard Rumsey, owner of Concerts by the Sea in Redondo Beach; and Chicagoan Paul Serrano. A consensus was reached that a regional jazz federation would benefit all concerned, and an interim steering committee was elected.

The conference was capped with an impromptu jam lasting into the wee hours including, among others, "The #1 Boy Singer" (as Monk called him) Joe Williams, trombonist Benny Powell, pianist Gene Harris and bassist Larry Ridley of the Jazz Professors.

Vegas Jazz
PO Box 60396, Las Vegas, NV 89160
Message Line: 702.313.6778