CD1
Chet Baker and his Crew
1. To Mickey's Memory
2. Slightly Above Moderate
3. Halema
4. Revelation
5. Something for Liza
6. Lucius Lu
7. Worryin' the Life Out of Me
8. Medium Rock
Stan Getz: West Coast Jazz
9. East of the Sun (And West of the Moon)
10. Four
11. Suddenly It's Spring
12. A Night in Tunisia
13. Summertime
14. S-H-I-N-E
CD2
Gerry Mulligan: California Concerts
1. Blues Going Up
2. Little Girl Blue
3. Piano Blues
4. Yardbird Suite
5. Western Union
6. I Know, Don't Know Why
7. The Red Door
Chico Hamilton Quintet: With Strings Attached
8. Something to Live For
9. Andante
10. Speak Low
11. Pottsville, U.S.A
12. Don's Delight
13. Strange
14. Modes
15. Fair Weather
16. Close Your Eyes
17. Ev'rything I've Got
CD3
Harold Land: West Coast Blues
1. Ursula
2. Klactoveedsedstene
3. Don't Explain
4. West Coast Blues
5. Terrain
6. Compulsion
Shorty Rogers & André Previn Orchestra: Collaboration
7. It’s Delovely
8. Porterhouse
9. Heat Wave
10. 40 Degrees Below
11. You Stepped Out of a Dream
12. Claudia
13. You Do Something to Me
14. Call for Cole
15. Everything I've Got
16. Some Antics
17. It Only Happens When I Dance With You
18. General Custer
CD4
Bill Perkins Octet: On Stage
1. Song of the Islands
2. One Hundred Years from Today
3. Zing Zang
4. Let Me See
5. For Dancers Only
6. Just a Child
7. As They Reveled
8. When You're Smiling
Marty Paich: I Get a Boot out of You
9. It Don't Mean a Thing
10. No More
11. Love for Sale
12. Moanin'
13. Violets for Your Furs
14. What Am I Here For/Cottontail
15. Warm Valley
16. Things Ain't What They Used to Be
CD5
Carl Perkins: Introducing
1. Way Cross Town
2. You Don't Know What Love Is
3. The Lady Is a Tramp
4. Marble Head
5. Woody 'n You
6. West Side (aka Mia)
7. Just Friends
8. It Could Happen to You
9. Why Do I Care?
10. Lilacs in the Rain
11. Carl's Blues
Curtis Counce Group: Carl’s Blues
12. Pink Lady
13. I Can't Get Started
14. Nica's Dream
15. Love Walked In
16. Larue
17. The Butler Did It
18. Carl's Blues
CD6
Art Pepper: Surf Ride
1. Tickle Toe
2. Chili Pepper
3. Susie the Poodle
4. Brown Gold
5. Holiday Flight
6. Surf Ride
7. Straight Life
8. Cinnamon
9. Thyme Time
10. The Way You Look Tonight
11. Nutmeg
12. Art's Oregano
The Brothers Candoli Sextet: 2 For the Money
13. Splanky
14. Soak Yo' Sally
15. A-lue-cha
16. Rifts for Rosie
17. Caravan
18. Take the “A” Train
19. Doodlin'
20. Willow Weep for Me
21. Blueing Boogie
22. Richard Diamond's Blues
CD7
Jimmy Giuffre 3
1. Gotta Dance
2. Two Kinds of Blues
3. The Song Is You
4. Crazy She Calls Me
5. Voodoo
6. My All
7. That's the Way It Is
8. Crawdad Suite
9. The Train and the River
Stu Williamson: Plays
10. Slugger
11. There'll Never Be Another You
12. Autumn in New York
13. Sunday
14. The Lady is a Tramp
15. Yardbird Suite
16. Sapphire
17. The Things We Did Last Summer
18. Strike Up the Band
19. Don't Get Around Much Anymore
20. Stu's Dues Blues
CD8
Red Callender: Swingin’ Suite
1. On Again
2. Greenery
3. Paste
4. October Blue
5. Dancers
6. Bihari
7. Skyline
8. Sleigh Ride
9. All for You
10. Outlines
11. Walking On Air
12. You're Part of Me
Gerald Wiggins Trio: Wiggin with Wig
13. Love for Sale
14. I Don't Know What Kind of Blues I Got
15. De Silva Wig
16. Laura
17. Surrey With the Fringe On Top
18. Dinah
19. All That's Good
20. The Man That Got Away
21. The Little Words
CD9
Bob Brookmeyer: The Modernity of
1. You Took Advantage of Me
2. There Will Never Be Another You
3. What Is There to Say
4. He Ain't Got Rhythm
5. Jasmin
6. The Bulldog Blues
7. Sticks and Stems
Dave Pell Octet: Love Story
8. Can't We Be Friends
9. I've Got a Crush On You
10. I've Got a Feeling I'm Falling
11. Love Is the Sweetest Thing
12. If I Could Be With You One Hour Tonight
13. Let's Do It
14. You Can't Pull the Wool Over My Eyes
15. Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered
16. Just One More Chance
17. Who Walks in When I Walk Out
18. Solitude
19. I've Found a New Baby
CD10
Teddy Edwards: Sunset Eyes
1. Tempo de Blues
2. Vintage '57
3. I Hear a Rhapsody
4. Up in Teddy's New Flat
5. Sunset Eyes
6. Teddy's Tune
Howard Rumsey’s Lighthouse All-Stars: Lighthouse at Laguna
7. Witch Doctor No. 2
8. Round Midnight
9. Mood for Lighthouse
10. Walkin'
11. Blind Man's Bluff
12. Lady Jean
13. Champ
14. Casa de Luz
You may be wondering why I haven’t listed the personnel for these ten discs, but the sheer number is one of the reasons. Each disc contains (or claims to
contain) two separate albums, each with its own personnel, which I didn’t feel like typing after copying out all the tune titles from the tiny type on the
back of each cardboard sleeve. However, I have tried to mention the significant musicians in my review. The other reason is that my patience with this set
reached breaking point when I started to recognize some of its drawbacks.
These include the fact that there are no sleeve-notes to guide you through the albums, and the tracks included are not always all the tracks that were
available. One might expect the tracks to be those that were on the CD releases of these albums but they are usually only the items from the LPs, which
were often augmented for the CD reissues. For example, the first album in the set – by Chet Baker – only has the six tracks from the LP version, omitting
the six bonus tracks from the CD. There were 13 tracks on the Stan Getz CD but this collection only includes six of them.
There are also various flaws even in the minimal information provided on each sleeve. For instance, the Chico Hamilton session was the first in which Eric
Dolphy recorded with Chico, but Dolphy is not listed (only four musicians are, which makes a nonsense of calling this the “Chico Hamilton Quintet”). This
boxed set looks like a bargain but, after listening to it right through, I tend to doubt it - and was severely tempted not to review it at all, had it not
been that the nice man at the record company took the trouble to send it to me.
West Coast Jazz is a phrase which describes jazz performed on the west coast of the USA, mainly in Los Angeles, during the middle and late 1950s and the
early 1960s. You might say that the genre started further back with the influential album Birth of the Cool, an LP recorded in 1949 and 1950.
Although many of the tunes on that album were bebop standards like Boplicity, Move and Godchild, they were performed in what was
described as a “cool” style, without the commotion or fireworks of bebop. This style influenced many west coast musicians, many of whom had played in the
bands of Woody Herman and Stan Kenton.
But to begin at the beginning of this ten-CD set, with Chet Baker and his crew. The LP boasted the gimmick of Bill Loughborough playing “chromatic
tympani”. It is only a gimmick, and most attention focuses on Chet and tenorist Phil Urso. The latter sounds like Stan Getz, which is no bad thing, and he
is certainly more articulate than Baker, who sometimes seems like an ill-at-ease Clifford Brown disciple, leaving wide gaps between the phrases in his
solos. The Stan Getz album shows why West Coast Jazz was often given the nickname of “cool jazz”. Even in a sprightly number like A Night in Tunisia, Stan plays smoothly and is never over-heated. Yet Conte Candoli offers a different view, playing several hot solos and
reaching Dizzy heights in A Night in Tunisia.
Opening the second CD, the Gerry Mulligan tracks have him fronting the same line-up as his famous pianoless quartet, with Chico Hamilton still at the
drums. Mulligan actually plays the piano (notably soloing on Piano Blues) as well as the baritone sax. Gerry’s baritone style was often “cool” -
especially in the Birth of the Cool sessions and in his original quartet – but here you can sense him coming out of his shell. The joy of this
session is the counterpoint between the sax and Jon Eardley’s trumpet: interweaving around one another. Chico Hamilton takes the spotlight with an album
with his own quintet, which not only includes Eric Dolphy but also (as was typical with Chico) a cellist: Nat Gershman. Dolphy fits in well with the
generally restrained mood of the group, sounding particularly inventive on flute. The restraint is underlined by the (uncredited) string section on several
tracks.
The Harold Land album which opens CD3 has three top instrumentalists (guitarist Wes Montgomery and trumpeter Joe Gordon as well as Land), plus a rhythm
section which underpinned the whole session perfectly, as it was Cannonball Adderley’s rhythm section at the time (1960). They ensure that the recording
was far from cool and, indeed, include a bebop number like Charlie Parker’s Klactoveedsedstene and Wes Montgomery’s waltz West Coast Blues (which Wes played the same year on his album The Incredible Jazz Guitar). Montgomery’s technique of thumb-plucking seems
to give his playing more depth than using a pick. I have already reviewed the Shorty Rogers/André Previn Collaboration .
On CD4, the Bill Perkins album omits the extra take of Let Me See which was included on a CD reissue. The Perkins octet included several of the
musicians whose names are often associated with West Coast Jazz, and the tight arrangements are typical of the genre. Perkins’s sax style has often been
compared to that of Lester Young, and who am I to disagree? Perkins reappears on the Marty Paich session, which is also notable for its tight arrangements,
for which Paich was famous. The repertoire includes several Ellingtonian numbers, including Warm Valley which has a gorgeous baritone sax solo
from Bill Hood. Other super solos come from altoist Art Pepper, vibist Victor Feldman and trumpeters Jack Sheldon and Conte Candoli.
The fifth disc introduces another Perkins, Carl Perkins – not the rockabilly composer of Blue Suede Shoes but a pianist, performing here with his
trio. Because of his early death, this is one of the only albums he recorded as leader, although he also performed with the likes of Curtis Counce and the
Max Roach/Clifford Brown Quintet. At fast tempos Carl was a skillful bebopper but on ballads he resembled Erroll Garner in his flowery luxuriance. For
example, You Don’t Know What Love Is is a great wallow in gorgeous sustained chords and streams of arpeggios. Perkins’s playing often evinces a
feeling for the blues, notably in his composition Carl’s Blues, which occurs here and in the following Curtis Counce album, where Perkins
is part of the sextet. Tenorist Harold Land contributes plenty of solos. Drummer Frank Butler’s composition The Butler Did It consists of a drum
solo which manages to stay interesting throughout its length. But he falters in his attempts at creating a Latin-American rhythm for Nica’s Dream.
Two trumpeters are listed on the sleeve, with no indication of who plays on which tracks. However, despite Gerald Wilson’s qualities, I think Jack Sheldon
does the best work.
Opening CD6, the Art Pepper album features him with three different rhythm sections, and another instrumentalist (strangely listed as “Jack Montrose:
tenore saxophone”) only joins in for the last six of the dozen tracks (although the sleeve suggests there are 21!). The prominence given to Pepper enables
the listener to savour his ready technique, sweet tone and melodic power. The Condoli album features two of the finest trumpeters on the West Coasst,
namely Pete and Conte Candoli. They blend well together in this session, and their clipped precision on a track like A-Lue-Cha is impressive (I
still remember them playing fierily at a night club in the film Bell, Book and Candle). They were certainly not cool. Frank Capp’s drumming adds a
lot to the success of the recording. He even appears to be playing conga drums on Caravan.
As for CD7, I have already reviewed the album by the Jimmy Giuffre 3. The
other LP on CD7 spotlights trumpeter Stu Williamson in a quintet that included his brother, pianist Claude Williamson, as well as altoist Charlie Mariano.
Stu’s experience with bands led by Stan Kenton, Woody Herman and Shelly Manne gave him a smooth technique. This session combined the West Coast’s love for
precise arrangements with its use of bebop themes and styles.
The eighth CD starts with bassist Red Callender leading a nine-piece group in a session where the ensemble seems as important as the solos. Here altoist
William Green and tenorist/flautist Buddy Collette are the stars. The CD is completed with an album by the Gerald Wiggins Trio. Wiggins has an enviable
technique but somehow he has never grabbed me. He sounds like many another pianist and I can’t hear a distinctively personal sound in his playing. On this
session and that by Red Callender, the valuable drummer is Bill Douglass, who is mis-spelt Douglas on the sleeve for both groups.
The ninth CD starts with Bob Brookmeyer simply leading a rhythm section. This enables us to enjoy his improvisations on four jazz standards and three of
Bob’s originals (tracks 5 to 7). Brookmeyer’s sound was instantly recognizable on the valve trombone, an instrument he virtually made his own. This LP
showed his ability in a meditative mood as well as swinging subtly. The session released as Love Story lists tenorist Dave Pell as the leader but
many tracks are dominated by trumpeter Don Fagerquist. The arrangements are fine but the mood is closer to dance music than jazz. Most tracks are in a
slowish mid-tempo: ideal for those dancing the foxtrot but too bland for jazz fans. It seems a complete waste of some talented players, especially André
Previn, who is not allowed to shine in his usual polished fashion.
The last CD opens with Teddy Edwards, a tenor-saxist most famous for The Duel with Dexter Gordon. This places him far away from the cool school,
and he seems closer to the soulful Texas tenors than West Coast tenor players like Jimmy Giuffre. Roy Milton’s was the first major band he played for: a
group which was perhaps closer to R & B than jazz. Yet Edwards made his home in Los Angeles, which would classify him as “West Coast”. This album shows
his affinity with the blues and the way he could convey feeling without being overpowering. The CD – and the collection – ends with one of the trademark
bands of West Coast Jazz: the Lighthouse All Stars, led by bassist Howard Rumsey. For two decades, Rumsey’s name was almost synonymous with the Lighthouse
Café in Hermosa Beach, where the Lighthouse All Stars often played. The session here includes many famous Westcoasters, including Frank Rosolino, Bud Shank
and Bob Cooper. The Hampton Hawes Trio also appears on the LP in two numbers, although the sleeve doesn’t make clear which group performs which tunes
(Hampton plays Walkin’ and The Champ). The whole album is worth hearing, particularly Barney Kessel’s rhapsodic feature on Round Midnight and Frank Rosolino on virtually every track.
Like too many compilation albums these days, this one seems to have been assembled from what the compilers had available, rather than what would have made
a perfect introduction to West Coast Jazz. The slovenly listings and the careless mistakes make it difficult to enjoy – at least for the dedicated jazz
fan.
Tony Augarde
www.augardebooks.co.uk
CD Reviews
Documents 600167
