Steven L. Isoardi, Interviewer, UCLA Oral History Program. B.A., M.A., Government, University of San Francisco; M.A., Ph.D., Political Science, UCLA.
Place: Kelso's home, Los Angeles.
Dates, length of sessions: March 24, 1990 (134 minutes);
April 7, 1990 (84); April 14, 1990 (144); April 17, 1990 (121); May 15, 1990
(96).
Total number of recorded hours: 9.65
Persons present during interview: Kelso and Isoardi.
This interview is one in a series designed to preserve the spoken memories of individuals, primarily musicians, who were raised near and/or performed on Los Angeles's Central Avenue, especially from the late 1920s to the mid-1950s. Musician and teacher William Green, his student Steven Isoardi, and early project interviewee Buddy Collette provided major inspiration for the UCLA Oral History Program's inaugurating the Central Avenue Sounds Oral History Project.
In preparing for the interview, Isoardi consulted jazz histories, autobiographies, oral histories, relevant jazz periodicals, documentary films, and back issues of the
The interview is organized chronologically, beginning with Kelso's childhood and education in Los Angeles and continuing on through his career as a musician. Major topics covered include fellow musicians, musical styles, studio recording, the recording industry, the American Federation of Musicians, race relations, the rise and decline of Central Avenue, and Kelso's philosophy of life.
Alex Cline, editor, edited the interview. He checked the verbatim transcript of the interview against the original tape recordings, edited for punctuation, paragraphing, and spelling, and verified proper names. Whenever possible, Cline checked the proper names of nightclubs against articles and advertisements in back issues of the
Kelso reviewed the transcript. He verified proper names and made minor corrections.
Steven J. Novak, editor, prepared the table of contents, biographical summary, interview history, and index.
The original tape recordings of the interview are in the university archives and are available under the regulations governing the use of permanent noncurrent records of the university. Records relating to the interview are located in the office of the UCLA Oral History Program.