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: Ewing's home, Altadena, California.
Dates, length of sessions: May 31, 1993 (36 minutes); June 11, 1993 (73); June 15, 1993 (64).
Total number of recorded hours: 3
Persons present during interview: Ewing and Isoardi and occasionally Ewing's wife, Vivian Moultrie Ewing.
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 California Eagle and the Los Angeles Sentinel.
This interview is organized chronologically, beginning with Ewing's childhood and continuing through his career as a jazz musician. Major topics discussed include Ewing's early musical development, his relocation to Los Angeles and his professional career there, and his experiences with the Earl Hines and Jimmie Lunceford orchestras.
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, the proper names of the nightclubs were checked against articles and advertisements in back issues of the California Eagle . Words and phrases inserted by the editor have been bracketed.
Ewing reviewed the transcript. He verified proper names and made minor corrections and additions.
Susan E. Douglass, editor, prepared the table of contents. Kathleen McAlister, editorial assistant, assembled the biographical summary and interview history. Derek DeNardo, 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.