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A lost west coast gem from the 50s – a unique quintet session for Atlantic Records, cut by a group co-led by trumpeter Conte Candoli and pianist Lou Levy! There's a bit more fire here than in some of the other sides from the time by the players – especially Levy – and in a way, the record goes a bit farther past the limits of Candoli's Bethlehem sessions, showcasing an especially searing sound in his horn! Other players here include the great Bill Holman on tenor, Leroy Vinnegar on bass, and Lawrence Marable on drums – and titles are all hard and short, and include "Marcia Lee", "Pete's Alibi", "Jordu", "Cheremoya", and "Comes Love".

The hard wailing trumpet of Maynard Ferguson gets a perfect showcase on this obscure MPS session from the 60s – a record that offers up a nice bridge between his earlier albums on Roulette, and his more famous funk sides for Columbia! The sound here is mostly acoustic, but definitely hard-grooving – in ways that are similar to other MPS big band projects of the period, such as records by Gustav Brom, or the Clarke Boland Big Band! Like the latter, there's a great ensemble working with Maynard here – and even though he's the main soloist, the sense of the larger ensemble always helps shape the sound nicely. Deiter Reith plays piano on the date – and arrangements are by Slide Hampton, Don Sebesky, Bill Holman, Willie Maiden, and Mike Abene – on cuts that include a great reading of Slide Hampton's "Got The Spirit", plus the tracks "Knarf", "Ole", "Dancing Nitely", and "Whisper Not".

Terry's vibes lead a group that fetaures Conte Candoli and Stu Williamson on trumpet, Bob Enevoldsen on trombone, Jack Schwartz on baritone, Bill Holman on tenor, and Joe Maini on alto!

A classic late 50s side from the Mode label – and one of those great LA sessions that was almost more noteworthy for the sidemen than the leader! Drummer Mel Lewis heads up the group, sure, but the real strength of the set is in its three piece frontline – which features Charlie Mariano on alto, Bill Holman on tenor and baritone, and Jack Sheldon on trumpet – all of whom come together perfectly in a strong mix of ensemble chorus playing and breakout solo work. Mariano's horn really shines, as it always manages to do in such a setting – and brings a deeper level of soul to the set than you might expect. Piano is by Marty Paich, and tracks are a bit longer than usual – with tunes that include the originals "Grey Flannel", "Jazz Goes To Siwash", and "Charlie's Cavern".

A pretty strange concept for an album – a bunch of LA jazz players get together and do versions of songs usually associated with the south! This penchant for swinging tunes from unusual sources was one of Pell's strongest 50s tricks, though, and he makes it come off pretty well with a group that includes Tommy Tedesco on guitar, Jack Sheldon on trumpet, Marty Paich on piano, and Med Flory on baritone sax. Arrangements are by Flory, Paich, Bob Florence, Bill Holman, and Johnny Williams – and titles include "Shi Me Sha Wabble", "Sugar Foot Strut", "Jazz Me Blues", "Blues", "Paper Doll", and "Ballin The Jack".

Si Zentner back to back – two nice ones from the 60s on a single CD! From Russia With Love is one of the grooviest Si Zentner albums of the 60s – thanks to a host of hip spy themes that keep things interesting throughout! The material really brings out the best in Si – as does the album's excellent arrangements from Ernie Freeman and Bill Holman – both talents who know how to find the right mix of groovy and jazz that works the best for the Zentner touch! Titles include "Mr Lucky", "Dragnet", "Burke's Law", "James Bond Theme", "Charade", "007", and "The Fugitive". Warning Shot is a great set, and feature some excellent crime and thriller jazz-based cuts composed by Jerry Goldsmith! The groove is more in the Quincy Jones mid 60s soundtrack mode than anything else – and there's plenty of breakaway solos on most of the tracks. Titles include "Warning Shot", "The Gasser", "Messed Up", "Back To The Seascape", "Miss Alice", "Mona Lisa", and "A Patch Of Blue".

Great work by this famous LA trumpeter! Unlike other sessions, Conte gets a lot of nice room to roam around on his solos – and he's got great backing by a small group that includes Bill Holman on tenor, Lou Levy on piano, Larry Marable on drums, and Leroy Vinnegar on bass. The record never shows up on vinyl – and it's the kind of rare Bethlehem side that always catches a lot of money from collectors when it does show. Titles include "Full Count", "Four", "Groovin Higher", and "Jazz City Blues".

An excellent album of vocals that's one of the best vocal jazz sessions ever cut on Bethlehem! It's also one of the rarest, and comes packaged in a cool purple, white, and black cover with Connelly stretched out in a montage of some very Laura Petrie-ish images! The backing's by a hip group led by Russ Garcia, and featuring Jimmy Giuffre, Charlie Mariano, Bill Holman, and Pete Candoli. Tracks include "Gentleman Friend", "Alone Together", "That Old Black Magic", "Why Shouldn't I", and "Trav'lin Light".

Some of the best work ever from one of the most under-acknowledged jazz arrangers of the 50s! Johnny's probably best known for his recordings with Stan Kenton in the early part of the decade – but when he moved out on his own, he developed a tremendous sound that was even richer, even more full of color and tone than Kenton's own – and which was often done without any arch-modern tones, yet still fresh and free of cliché. The group on the set is wonderful too – with Charlie Mariano, Bill Holman, and Richie Kamuca on saxes – plus other players that include Frank Rosolino, Stu Williamson, and Marty Paich. Titles include "Waltz Anyone", "Turn Aboot", "Band Aide", "Dimples", and "Burrito Borracho".

Maynard Ferguson's blowing full steam ahead here – working with an octet that's heavy on horn parts, but in a richly creative way! Ferguson nicely shows off some of his best influences from the 50s large group scene in LA – and gets some key help on the record from Bill Holman, who wrote almost all the tracks on the date, and no doubt arranged most of the material too. Holman's horn isn't heard on the set, but other players are equally great – and include Bob Gordon on baritone, Georgie Auld on tenor, Herb Geller on alto, Milt Bernhart on trombone, and Conte Candoli on trumpet – supported by a rhythm section that features Ian Bernhard on piano, Red Callender on bass, and Shelly Manne on drums. As usual for the Emarcy years, Maynard plays a host of instruments – trumpet, bass trumpet, and valve trombone – and titles include "20 Rue De Madrid", "Super G", "Yeah", "What Was Her Name", "My New Flame", and "Inter-Space".

This record features an array of familiar tunes done in that breezy 5th Dimension style. Most of the songs were arranged by Bones Howe, Bob Alcivar and Bill Holman but Marty Paich, Jim Webb and Johnny Rivers, who ran the Soul City label, get arranging and producing credits as well. Lots of great session musicians perform like Larry Bunker, Hal Blaine and Pete Jolly. Songs include "Lovin' Stew", "The Sailboat Song", "California My Way", Rivers' "Poor Side of Town", and "It'll Never Be the Same Again."

An oft-overlooked gem from 70s Blue Note – and a great little record that's especially nice for the Bobby Hutcherson material! As you'd guess from the title, there's a larger orchestra working with the artists here – and in Hutcherson's case, this creates the same sort of soulful, sophisticated feel as his excellent Conception The Gift Of Love album – vibes mixed with strings, underscored by hip rhythms, and coming off as a wonderful extension of Bobby's earlier 70s work. His group features Manny Boyd on tenor and soprano, and George Cables on piano – and arrangements are by Dale Oehler, on tracks that include "Now", "Slow Change", and "Hello To The Wind" – all numbers co-penned with Eugene McDaniels, but done here as instrumentals. Carmen McRae sounds great in the setting too – similar to her other excellent Blue Note sides of the mid 70s – with Bill Holman arrangements on tunes that include "With One More Look At You", "Star Eyes", "The Man I Love", and "Sunday". Earl Klugh rounds things out with his own sweet guitar, plus keyboards from Onaje Allen Gumbs – set to Dick Hazard arrangements of "Angelina", "The Shadow Of Your Smile", and "Cabo Frio".

An amazing little set – one that's got a sound we could hardly expect! The album's a unique Latin jazz session that brings together some of the best talents of the west coast scene of the late 50s – one that features arrangements from Bill Holman, Benny Carter, and Art Pepper – making an unusual but remarkable appearance here in a Latin mode! The group's nicely stripped down with bongos by both Jack Costanzo and Mike Pacheco – plus drums by Chuck Flores, bass by Ben Tucker, and piano from Russ Freeman. But the real strength of the set is the horn players – including not just Pepper on alto, but also Conte Candoli on trumpet, and Bill Perkins on tenor – all coming together in tightly crafted head arrangements that swing around the rhythm wonderfully – then breaking out in short but sharp solos that really knock the socks off the session! The whole thing's totally great – and proof that the LA scene could cook with the best of them, given the right sort of setting. Titles include "Mucho Calor", "Vaya Hombre Vaya", "Pernod", "I Love You", and "Mambo De La Pinta".