The Return of Old Hollywood: Big Bands in Los Angeles

It takes a lot of energy to be a revivalist. To take a style from 'irrelevant' to intriguing in the eyes of the public, you've got to be manager, ambassador, and emcee all at once. And, of course, you've got to have the chops.

But the bandleaders lobbying to bring big band jazz back to Los Angeles rarely look stressed as they conduct a genre that's been laying somewhat low since the 1950s. In the ongoing effort to keep the sounds or big band alive, LA bands have taken different directions, from the film-score feel of Bill Holman's "Works" to the complex fusion in The John Daversa Big Band's "Bounce Da Nu Funk." Explore these and other styles in the slideshow below.

For their day job, these men and women record the soundtracks for films and singers. During occasions such as the Grammys, Emmys and Oscars, after hearing "the winner is," they play without a flaw the cues they're seeing for the first time.
But in their downtime, they take part in L.A.'s big band-orama, something not seen in that other entertainment capital, New York, or perhaps anyplace else in the world.

(Read more from the Los Angeles Times)