Corky Hale in Hollywood

If you're in Los Angeles tomorrow evening (Wednesday), you're in luck. Corky Hale will be playing piano at the Catalina Jazz Club at 6725 Sunset Blvd. She'll be accompanying singer Eloise Laws, sister of flutist Hubert Laws.

Corky is best known as one of the most recorded jazz and pop harpists in Hollywood, starting in the 1950s. She's on Ella Fitzgerald's songbook sessions, Frank Sinatra's Capitol dates and behind Chet Baker, Paul Desmond, Gary McFarland, Buddy Collette and you name it.

But Corky is also a gorgeous jazz pianist. Her chord voicings are sublime. If you missed my post last year about Corky's appearance on Marian McPartland's Piano Jazz, go here. For years, I've been begging Corky to record a solo piano album—or at least a piano album with guitar. Maybe soon. One can only hope.

If you're on the fence about going out on Wednesday to see Corky, these clips will send you on your way:

Here's Corky with Harry James in 1955...



Here's Corky on celeste and harp with guitarist Howard Roberts in 1956...



Here's Corky in 1965 with Tony Bennett on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson...