Exploring Hollywood: LA’s Greatest Jazz Museum is in My Backyard
‘Who actually lives in Hollywood?’ This question haunted me while I was home for the holidays. It was the cornerstone topic of my annual life update for family and friends. My response… ‘I do.’ Partially because that is true… at least for the last half year, and partially because I’m still figuring it out for myself. The people's Hollywood fascination ignited an epiphany in my smog-filled brain; For a neighborhood with worldwide acclaim, few know what it's like to exist under the sign.
In an attempt to understand my community better, I began soul-searching on Vine St. My Holly-wandering quest led me to an ornate building two blocks from my apartment.
Stein on Vine
It’s a music store dripping with history and unfavorable hours of operation. The large photos of jazz musicians plastered on the exterior tickled my antiquity-laced fancy. This was the perfect storm. I recently brushed up on jazz history through Miles Davis’s autobiography and knocked off the dust of my jazz guitar (lots of scales were played.) I was primed for Jazz appreciation.
The next day, making sure my schedule lined up with the stores, I made the arduous four-minute walk to Stein on Vine.
Stein on Vine is somehow peaceful (borderline boring) yet a sensory overload. Let's set the scene. Jazz is playing very quietly off ancient speakers tucked in wood shelving. It smells like your weird uncle’s record collection and Norwegian wood. The store is claustrophobically small yet filled with hundreds of small portraits of every Jazz musician that has played in the last 100 years. Many are signed (see attached photos). I could list some of the names but other articles have done that so this sentence will serve as a hyperlink. Just know… it’s everyone. Beautiful basses, guitars, and other miscellaneous instruments cover the back walls. Stein on Vine feels like one of the interactive museum rooms where a historical location is remade down to every single detail.
Gary Chen, the legendary owner, soon came out of the back to greet me. Quick history: Gary took the store over in 1980 after the death of the original owner Maury Stein. Large shoutout to Gary. He humored my ogling and ogling, sold me a store shirt ($15, you should buy one), and indulged me with a chat about music that I didn’t realize I needed. The entire interaction was brief but appreciated. Next time I need guitar strings I know where to go, they’ve got good ones.
I left Stein and Vine with a shirt that says “Jazz” in Chinese and a larger grasp on music history in Hollywood. Checking out Stein on Vine has inspired me to be more mindful while driving around The Wood. Where can I find the next nugget of Hollywood greatness? What history is around the corner? Why do I always end up parking in the red sections of the street? I may not possess these answers yet. However, next time someone asks me who lives in Hollywood I can also say “Gary.”