Oral Histories

Interview of Marl Young

Jazz piano player. Advocate for the amalgamation of the black musicians' union Local 767 and white musicians' union Local 47.
Subtitle:
Central Avenue Sounds: Marl Young
Series:
Central Avenue Sounds Oral History Project
Topic:
African American History
Music
Biographical Note:
Jazz piano player. Advocate for the amalgamation of the black musicians' union Local 767 and white musicians' union Local 47.
Interviewer:
Isoardi, Steven L.
Interviewee:
Young, Marl
Supporting Documents:
Records relating to the interview are located in the office of the UCLA Library's Center for Oral History Research.
Interviewer Background and Preparation:
The interview was conducted by Steven L. Isoardi, UCLA Oral History Program; B.A., Government, University of San Francisco; M.A., Government, University of San Francisco; M.A., Political Science, UCLA; Ph.D., Political Science, UCLA.Isoardi prepared for the interview by consulting jazz histories, autobiographies, oral histories, relevant jazz periodicals, documentary films, and back issues of the California Eagle and the Los Angeles Sentinel.
Length:
3.5 hrs.
Language:
English
Copyright:
Regents of the University of California, UCLA Library.
Series Statement:
Interviews in this series preserve the spoken memories of individuals, mainly musicians, who were raised near and/or performed on Los Angeles's Central Avenue from the late 1920s to the mid-1950s.
Abstract:
Growing up in Chicago; learns to play classical music on the piano; family support and encouragement of Young's musical training; plays piano and organ at a Methodist Episcopal church; performs in Chicago nightclubs in the early 1930s; classes in high school, at Wilson Junior College, and at UCLA; travels with Reuben Reeves's band; Paul Robeson; Lionel Hampton; moves to Los Angeles; meets second wife, Judy Carol; performs at clubs on Central Avenue and in outlying areas; plays piano for Lucille Ball's television shows; the Democratic Minority Conference; the amalgamation of American Federation of Musicians (AFM) Locals 47 and 767; the terms "West Coast jazz" and "East Coast jazz"; Duke Ellington; Estelle Edson; Local 47 after the amalgamation and treatment of African American members; segregation in 1950s Las Vegas; the decline of Central Avenue; thoughts on the political situation in the former Yugoslavia.