Donte's
Donte's was a jazz club and diner and cocktail bar at 4269 Lankershim Boulevard in North [Hollywood, Los Angeles |North Hollywood], Los Angeles, to the north of Universal Studios. One of the West [Coast of the United States|West Coast]'s best known jazz clubs in the 1970s and 1980s, it opened in 1966 and closed in 1988.
History
Donte's was established in 1966. Early performers included Woody Herman, Dizzy Gillespie, Mercer Ellington and Count Basie, and Buddy Rich, Toshiko Akiyoshi, Gerald Wilson, Don Piestrup, Don Menza and Bill Holman all brought their bands to the club. Jazz guitarists Joe Pass and Larry Carlton became regular performers. Pass would play on Monday evenings, which was "Guitar Night", organized by studio guitarist Jack Marshall.Art Pepper would perform on New Year's Eve. Clint Eastwood and Frank Sinatra frequently visited the club. Guitarist Lenny Breau was giving weekly seminars at the club before his death in 1984.
In December 1987, saxophonist Warne Marsh collapsed and died of a heart attack while performing the tune "Out of Nowhere (Johnny [Green song)|Out of Nowhere]" at the club. Donte's closed in April 1988. The site is now the Century West BMW auto dealer.