[Dhsbb-jazz] Coconut Grove Question Answered

[Robert Sprague]

Hi DHS Band Families,



Several people have asked me, “What is Coconut Grove and why do you call it
that”?  Well… here is my answer:



The Coconut Grove diner and concert is a 25 year tradition with the DHS
Bands as the primary fund raiser.  The concept is similar to the Madrigal
Dinner that has been going on for longer than that.  The DHS Jazz Band has
a tradition of being very good.  In the past the Jazz Band was regularly
invited to perform at the Monterey Jazz Festival as well as other
prestigious events.  So the thought was to emulate an old time Jazz Night
Club and run it as a fundraiser for all of the DHS Bands.  Back when we
were allowed to keep individual student accounts for fund raisers many
students (through participation credit) were able to fully fund their major
trip expenses by participating in various fundraisers including Coconut
Grove.  This participation is: helping with the event, set-up & take-down,
serving, stage management, Master of Ceremonies, sound, etc.  Since we can
no longer keep student accounts everything is required to go into the
general fund.  A portion of the monies made go to subsidize the total cost
of the major trip each year.  Other parts goes to pay for all of the other
band expenses (instrument repair & acquisition, festival entrance fees,
concert recordings, new music, section coaches, etc.)



The event itself includes performances by the Jr. High jazz bands, Celia
Cottle jazz bands, as well as the headliner DHS Jazz Band and Combos.
There is a catered dinner.  Over the years it has been catered by many
different local restaurants and caterers.   We have not settled on who will
cater this year but we will be continuing with serving each table “family
style” which was started last year.  Since this is held on a school campus
we can’t have actual cocktails, so instead recipes have been refined over
the years for mocktails which are served at the mocktail bar.
Additionally, there is a silent auction and raffle at the event.



The name Coconut Grove comes from the “World Famous Coconut Grove”.  There
were actually many Coconut Groves that started in the 1920’s.  At least one
of which lasted into the 1980’s.  Coconut Grove was a jazz nightclub
similar to the Cotton Club or the Tropicana.  The two most famous were in
Boston and Los Angeles.  The Boston club was famous by virtue of being run
by a mobster and burning to the ground killing a lot of people.  The Los
Angeles club was in the Ambassador Hotel and had famous headliners all the
time while the hotel was regularly host to presidents and dignitaries.  The
Ambassador Hotel was frequented by celebrities, some of whom, such as Pola
Negri <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pola_Negri>,[1]
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ambassador_Hotel_(Los_Angeles)#cite_note-Alleman2013-1>
 resided there. From 1930 to 1943, six Academy Awards ceremonies
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Academy_Awards_ceremonies> were performed at
the hotel. Perhaps as many as seven U.S. presidents stayed at the
Ambassador, from Hoover <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herbert_Hoover> to
Nixon <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_M._Nixon>, along with chiefs
of state from around the world. For decades, the hotel's famed Cocoanut
Grove nightclub hosted well-known entertainers, such as Frank Sinatra
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Sinatra>, Barbra Streisand
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barbra_Streisand>, Judy Garland
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judy_Garland>, Lena Horne
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lena_Horne>, Nancy Wilson
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nancy_Wilson_(jazz_singer)>, Bing Crosby
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bing_Crosby>, Nat King Cole
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nat_King_Cole>, Liza Minnelli
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liza_Minnelli>, Martin and Lewis
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_and_Lewis>, The Supremes
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Supremes>, Merv Griffin
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merv_Griffin>, Dorothy Dandridge
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dorothy_Dandridge>, Vikki Carr
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vikki_Carr>, Evelyn Knight
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evelyn_Knight>, Vivian Vance
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vivian_Vance>, Dick Haymes
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dick_Haymes>, Sergio Franchi
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sergio_Franchi>, Perry Como
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perry_Como>, Dizzy Gillespie
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dizzy_Gillespie>, Benny Goodman
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benny_Goodman>, Sammy Davis Jr.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sammy_Davis_Jr.>, Little Richard
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Richard>, Liberace
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberace>, Natalie Cole
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natalie_Cole>, and Richard Pryor
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Pryor>.

The hotel served alcoholic beverages during the Prohibition
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prohibition_in_the_United_States>.



An interesting video of and about the club is
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NOHF5fAUkN4.



I hope this helps everyone understand what the Coconut Grove fundraiser is
all about.



Be sure to get your tickets early before the price increase!
http://groups.dcn.org/dhsbandboosters/paypal-page



Sincerely,



Robert Sprague


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