Steven L. Isoardi, Interviewer, UCLA Oral History Program; B.A., M.A., Government, University of San Francisco; M.A., Ph.D., Political Science, UCLA.
Green's studio, Los Angeles, California.
April 29, 1990 (40 minutes); February 16, 1991 (26); March 10, 1991 (32); August 8, 1991 (10).
1.80
Green 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, documentary films, and back issues of the
The interview is organized chronologically, beginning with Green's childhood in Kansas City, Kansas, and continuing on through his military career, his move to Los Angeles, his studies at the Los Angeles Conservatory of Music, and his career as a jazz musician and music teacher. Major topics discussed include Central Avenue nightclubs, fellow saxophonists, studio work, and the decline of Central Avenue.
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
The edited transcript was sent to Green for review in July 1992. Green did not return the transcript. As a result, the transcript was completed without interviewee corrections or additions.
Cline also prepared the biographical summary. Steven J. Novak, editor, prepared the table of contents and interview history. Lisa Magee, editorial assistant, compiled the 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.