A killer 2-in-1 CD – featuring two rare Capitol albums from Elmer Bernstein! Staccato is a great lost crime jazz soundtrack – penned by Elmer Bernstein in the style of some of his best work from the 50s, with a really jazzy feel throughout! There's a real Man With The Golden Arm feel here – as the orchestra rises and falls in a mode matching the Staccato title – and solos break out with a fluid and brazen sort of feel – plenty of jazz to show the west coast origin of the recording! Players include Don Fagerquist and Pete Candoli on trumpets, Dick Nash on trombone, Ted Nash and Dave Pell on saxes, John Williams on piano, and Barney Kessel on guitar. The show itself is pretty darn cool – and starred a young John Cassavetes as detective Johnny Staccato – a role that supposedly gave Cassavetes enough money to shoot the film Shadows in his free time! Great all the way through – with tracks that include "Staccato's Theme", "Thinking Of Baby", "Poi & Juice", "Deadly Game", "Night Mood", "Jazz At Waldo's", "Like Having Fun", and "MacDougal Street Special". Next up is the album Paris Swings – a record with a gimmicky cover, but a surprisingly great sound – one served up by a small combo that features Andre Previn at the lead on piano, plus Don Fagerquist on trumpet, Ted Nash on reeds, Barney Kessel on guitar, Red Mitchell on bass, Shelly Manne on drums, and Larry Bunker on a host of great percussion! Bernstein put the record together, and handles the arrangements with a nicely deft touch – somewhere between soundtrack jazz and some of the well-arranged west coast groups of the mid 50s – with nice emphasis on key soloists at all the right moments. Titles include "Valentina", "Autumn Leaves", "Under Paris Skies", "Symphony", "Paris In The Spring", "April In Paris", "Souvenir Du Printemps", and "Pauvre Moi Pauvre Moi".