Oral history interview with Charles T. "Blackie" Hunt conducted by Cork Proctor on June 30, 2003 for the All That Jazz Oral History Project. Hunt shares detailed memories of the many musicians with whom he worked and toured. They played in venues that included Harrisburg, Pennsylvania; Toronto, and Montreal, and eventually were offered a booking at the Sahara Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada. Hunt discusses jazz sessions that took place and the musicians who sat in on them, and how he and Lorraine eventually decided to quit show business.
From the Beda and C. Norman Cornwall Photograph Collection (PH-00248). C. Norman Cornwall presents a certificate of thanks to musician Horace Heidt at the Biltmore Hotel, Las Vegas, Nevada. Stamped on the photograph, "Ray Vincient, Las Vegas, Nevada."
Oral history interview with Jimmy Mulidore conducted by Claytee D. White on March 23, 2009 for the All That Jazz Oral History Project. Mulidore discusses his career as a jazz musician in Las Vegas, Nevada and working with musicians such as Sammy Davis, Jr., the Rat Pack, and Nat King Cole. He also discusses working in the El Rancho Hotel and Casino before the fire, and going on tour with the Billy May Band.
Charles T. "Blackie" Hunt, born in Pottstown, Pennsylvania in 1930, started accordion lessons at age five. He recounts learning from experienced musicians, then teaching others at age twelve because his teacher was drafted. He attended West Chester State Teachers College where, among other accomplishments, he put together a group with Nick Carlino as tenor sax player. Blackie shares detailed memories of the many musicians with whom he worked and toured. They played in venues that included Harrisburg, Toronto, and Montreal, and eventually were offered a booking at the Sahara Hotel in Las Vegas. The group that Blackie worked with in Las Vegas, Tahoe, and Reno came up with the name "The Characters" (backward 'e'), and the show featured comedy and music. It was during this time that he met Lorraine (stage name Lauri Perry), who had her own group. They were married after a couple of years and Lauri joined The Characters. Blackie and Lorraine Hunt opened Blackie's Bar on Tropicana and Eastern Avenues in the seventies. He talks about the jazz sessions that took place and the musicians who sat in on them, and how he and Lorraine eventually decided to bow out of show business themselves. The Hunts went on to open the Bootlegger, a restaurant/piano bar on Las Vegas Boulevard. They started a little comedy/music session called "Off the Cuff', in which local or touring musicians, comedians, and singers often participate. Blackie and Lorraine have been part of the vibrant history of Las Vegas and the state of Nevada for many years, and continue to make their home here.
Oral history interview with Mike Montano conducted by Lisa Gioia-Acres on September 19, 2008 for the All That Jazz Oral History Project. Montano begins by discussing his mother and father, who met in Hawaii when his father immigrated there from the Philippines, and later moved to Stockton, California during the late 1930s after Montano was born. He describes racial prejudice he has faced as an Asian American, how he developed interest in playing the piano as a child, and his siblings. Montano continues, detailing how he started playing jazz while attending the College of the Pacific and the musicians he played with. He describes first going to Las Vegas, Nevada in 1960 and returning throughout the 1960s as a member of various touring jazz bands. He talks about the other places he performed around the world and the celebrities and prominent musicians he has met. Montano concludes by reflecting on his career as a musician and his life in Las Vegas after moving there permanently in 1974.
Oral history interview with Ralph E. Donerly conducted by Patricia van Betten on June 30, 2006 for the History of Blue Diamond Village in Nevada Oral History Project. In this interview, Donerly, born in New Jersey, discusses his evolution as a musician. He spent his youth learning from prominent musicians in New Jersey and New York, until he moved to Los Angeles, California in his twenties. Eventually, Donerly moved to Blue Diamond, Nevada along with his mother and wife in order to pursue a musical career with big bands that performed at Las Vegas, Nevada hotels and casinos.