Search - Various Artists :: Jazz West Coast

Coastal cool

Robin Benson | 10/19/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"An excellent twofer of West Coast jazz and at the price a real bargain. The forty tracks, give a good impression of the laid-back jazz played in the Fifties and released mostly by the Contemporary and Pacific Jazz labels. All the regulars are here, Chet Baker, Gerry Mulligan, Bud Shank, Howard Rumsey, Shelly Manne and Lee Konitz for instance.



Remembering much of this material from LPs at the time (especially Shorty Rogers and his RCA LP 'Cool and Crazy) I thought the track selection was particularly good though a couple seemed not quite right for the West Coast sound (Louis Bellson: The Jeep is Jumping and Pete Rugolo with June Christy: Why Do you Have to Go Home?) but the rest are spot on and provide just over two hours of solid jazz.



The set kicks off with what I think is the definitive West Coast sound, Walkin' Shoes with Gerry Mulligan and if you remember this I can recommend another couple of collections, 'The West Coast Jazz Box' and 'The Contemporary Records Story', both are four CD packages with good booklets about the tracks and musicians.



you might find these compilations of interest, too: Cool Jazz Essential Collection, The West Coast Jazz Box, an Anthology of California Jazz, West Coast Jazz.





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