Seminal work from one of the greatest trumpeters of the postwar years – captured here right before his famous association with drummer Max Roach in the final years of his life! The set brings together everything that Clifford Brown recorded for both the Blue Note and Pacific Jazz labels – including sides done with Lou Donaldson as a co-leader, in the groups of drummer Art Blakey and trombonist JJ Johnson, and as as leader on his own. Includes some alternate takes as well! CD

2 wonderful late 50s sessions from arranger Gil Evans – both of which we'd rank right up there with his best work with Miles Davis, or the albums under his own name for Impulse in the 60s! The first half of the CD is from the album New Bottle Old Wine – a record of swinging modern backdrops, used to showcase both the solo talents of a young Cannonball Adderley, and the dynamic energy of Evans himself! Cannon's sharp-edged early tone is a really great sound for the record – far more modern than you might expect from later funk and soul sides of the 60s – and perfectly poised next to Gil's larger back drops to reignite a host of older tunes with new energy! And while the titles are familiar, the readings certainly are not – as the Evans pen has really changed things up beautifully – as you'll hear on numbers that include "St Louis Blues", "King Porter Stomp", "Willow Tree", "Struttin' With Some Barbeque", "Lester Leaps In", "Round About Midnight", "Manteca", and "Bird Feathers". Great Jazz Standards is equally great, a fantastic lost set from Evans – and one that features Mingus trumpeter Johnny Coles as the lead soloist in front of Evans-led modern groups that include players like Elvin Jones, Ray Crawford, Steve Lacy, Budd Johnson, Rod Levitt, and Chuck Wayne. Despite the "standards" in the title, most of these numbers are modern tunes from the 50s – like "Joy Spring", "Ballad Of The Sad Young Men", "Django", "Straight No Chaser", and "Chant Of The Weed" – all given Evans' unique style of arrangement, tweaked up a few notches to give them a really edgey quality. Coles is clearly standing in for Miles here, but the format works well overall! CD features 15 tracks in all, including some newly-improved versions of a few tracks, correcting mistakes in the original records! CD

A wealth of piano trio material from the west coast scene of the 50s and early 60s – tracks pulled not only from long-lost albums by pianists Russ Freeman, Richard Twardzik, Jimmy Rowles, and Clare Fischer – but also even more obscure recordings that only appeared on Pacific Jazz collections! The scope of the package is really tremendous – as it begins with some of the first Pacific Jazz trio sides by Russ Freeman and Richard Twardzik – both done during their years with Chet Baker – then runs through Jimmy Rowles' full album Rare But Well (recorded for Liberty in 1954), a variety of shorter trio sessions by Freeman and Rowles, and Clare Fischer's early trio sides – First Time Out (1962) and Surging Ahead (1963). And as always with Mosaic, the whole thing's incredibly well done – put together with tremendous care in both the mastering and notes, so that the whole thing's not just some happy accident in jazz. 51 tracks, 3CDs, and beautiful throughout! CD

All the good stuff from Joe Pass, and none of the gimmicky sessions – all in one great package, with lots of unissued tracks! Includes material from sessions for the Joe Pass albums Catch Me, Joy Spring, For Django, and 12 String Guitar Movie Themes – plus the Les McCann albums On Time and Soul Hits – both of which have Pass playing with McCann's group! CD

Some of the greatest material Bud Shank ever recorded – a wealth of small combo sessions that run from cool jazz to bossa – and an ultra-rare South African record too! The set features material from the albums Bud Shank Quartet, Bud Shank Quartet Featuring Claude Williamson, Bud Shank Plays Tenor, Bud Shank In Africa, Slippery When Wet, New Groove, and Barefood Adventure – plus tracks from compilations Blowin The Blues and Have Blues Will Travel. The South African session is amazing – never issued in the US until this release – very unique work, with a very exotic tone! CD

Classic small group material from Chet Baker – 49 tracks, all recorded in the mid 50s for the excellent Pacific Jazz label – with help from Art Pepper on alto, Gerry Mulligan on baritone, and Russ Freeman and Bobby Timmons on piano! CD

Features material from the albums Chico Hamilton Quintet Featuring Buddy Collette, Chico Hamilton Quintet In Hi Fi, Chico Hamilton Quintet, Zen The Music Of Fred Katz, Plays South Pacific, Ellington Suite, Original Chico Hamilton Quintet, Jazz Milestone Series, Jazz Swings Broadway, The Blues, Ballads For Backgrounds, Jazz West Coast Vol 3, and The Blues In Stereo. CD

Incredible work from the Jazz Crusaders – a brilliant album of longer tracks that has them working at their soulful, sophisticated best! The record's great proof that the Crusaders had a depth that many rarely gave them credit here – as they're working here in a complicated set of rhythms, tones, colors, and patterns that easily matches some of the best Blue Note mid 60s work by Hank Mobley or Lee Morgan! All tracks are recorded live, and in very long takes that show the combo effortlessly setting up the rhythms – then stepping out with extended solos that are surprisingly exploratory and modern-sounding. Titles include "Trance Dance", "Summer Madness", "Young Rabbits", and "Freedom Sound". Plus, the CD adds in 2 more bonus tracks recorded at Shelly's Manne Hole at the same time – "Half & Half" and "Wilton's Boogaloo"! CD

A classic from the west coast scene of the 50s – and not to be confused with other similar-titled Chico Hamilton albums at the time! This one sports an abstract painting on the cover, and was recorded in 1956 at the Forum Theater in Los Angeles – not live, but using the space as a very open-sounding studio – with really amazing results! The lineup features Hamilton on drums, Paul Horn on alto and tenor sax and clarinet, John Pisano on guitar, Fred Katz on cello and Carson Smith on bass – kind of a second-generation of Hamilton's group, with Horn taking over wonderfully from Buddy Collette, and playing with even more sensitivity than before. The work's very much in Hamilton's best sprightly chamber jazz mode – with some great originals that include "Chanel #5", "Beanstalk", "Mr. Jo Jones", and "Reflections" – plus Hamilton-ized versions of "Satin Doll", "Caravan", "Soft Winds", "Siete-Cuatro", "I Know", and "Lillian". LP, Vinyl record album

An amazing start for this seminal group – material that appeared on the albums Freedom Sound, Lookin Ahead, Tough Talk, Heat Wave, Stretchin Out, At The Lighthouse, Jazz Waltz, and The Thing CD

Not just the Pacific Jazz sides, but the great Capitol work too – small group work and larger ensemble material, with some unreleased tracks! CD

Bud Shank on alto saxophone and flute, Laurindo Almeida on guitar, Gary Peacock on bass, and Chuck Flores on drums. CD

Early work by Groove Holmes – the one organist who showed the scene that the west coast could boast a Hammond player as strong as the giants emerging from the east during the early 60s. The set features tracks recorded during the 1960s for the Pacific Jazz label, with Groove in groups that feature players like Teddy Edwards, Gene Ammons, Ben Webster, Joe Pass, and Les McCann. There's a total of 11 tracks in all – and titles include "Groovin Time", "Sweatin", "The Wailer", "This Here", "High Blues Pressure", "Comin Through The Apple", "Morris The Minor", and "That Healin Feeling". CD

A seminal session from Gerry Mulligan – one of his 50s quartet recordings with Chet Baker, in a group that also includes Carson Smith on bass and Larry Bunker on drums. The pianoless quartet grooves nicely in a twin-horn frontline – gliding effortlessly through tunes that include "I May Be Wrong", "Jeru", "Swinghouse", "Darn That Dream", and "Love Me Or Leave Me". Japanese version features lots of bonus tracks – 20 titles in all! CD

Wow! A motherlode of West Coast Big Band Soul Jazz! A 5 disc set spanning the entirety of the 60s collecting all of Gerald Wilson's extraordinary recordings for the Pacific Jazz and World Pacific labels: You Better Believe It, Moment Of Truth, Portraits, On Stage, Feelin Kinda Blues, The Golden Sword, Live & Swinging, Everywhere, California Soul and Eternal Equinox. As you can imagine, there's not nearly enough room here to get into all the sidemen and songs, but rest assured, this is one killer box of jazz, put together with the typical Mosaic attention to detail and notes! CD

Classic early live material from the Dave Brubeck Quartet – already humming along nicely with some great alto sax from Paul Desmond! The group's in fine form here – a bit more relaxed and open than on their Columbia recordings – with plenty of creative piano lines from Dave, showing just a slight dose of modernism, and lots more of that cool, icy alto sax work that made Desmond a standout right from the start. Rhythm is by Ron Crotty on bass and Joe Dodge on drums – and titles include "Laura", "Lullaby In Rhythm", "For All We Know", "All The Things You Are", and "I'll Never Smile Again". LP, Vinyl record album

A great set – unissued material from the same concert that gave us the original College Of The Pacific album! Classic early live material from the Dave Brubeck Quartet – already humming along nicely with some great alto sax from Paul Desmond! The group's in fine form here – a bit more relaxed and open than on their Columbia recordings – with plenty of creative piano lines from Dave, showing just a slight dose of modernism, and lots more of that cool, icy alto sax work that made Desmond a standout right from the start. Rhythm is by Ron Crotty on bass and Joe Dodge on drums. CD

Seminal west coast recordings by Clifford Brown – recorded in LA in 1954, with a mixture of hard bop and lyricism, in that sparkling mode that Brownie left as his indelible imprint on the west coast scene of the 50s! Players include Bob Gordon on baritone, Stu Williamson on trombone, Zoot Sims on tenor, and Russ Freeman on piano – and Jack Montrose arranged the set. Titles include "Tiny Capers", "Bones For Jones", "Joy Spring", "Finders Keepers", and "Daahoud". CD

One of Dizzy Gillespie's hippest big band sessions ever – and one of the few dates as a leader from arranger Gil Fuller! Fuller will always be best-remembered as the man who composed some of Dizzy Gillespie's best known tunes from the bop era – like "Manteca", "One Bass Hit", and "Things To Come" – but on this album from 1965, he's reunited with Dizzy for a large group set of tracks that feature Diz as the main soloist – at a level that really shows the growth of both men at the time! Fuller's charts are large and full, but with a sense of space that's really amazing – almost like some of the soundtrack work Dizzy had done for The Cool World – with a mix of soulful and modern moments that's really wonderful. The group's kind of a mix of hip LA players – with Phil Moore Jr on piano, Dennis Budimir on guitar, and Jimmy Bond on bass – plus a larger set of horn players backing Dizzy up. Titles include a number of great originals – such as "Be's That Way", "Big Sur", "Things Are Here", "Man From Monterey", and "Angel City". CD

One of Dizzy Gillespie's hippest big band sessions ever – and one of the few dates as a leader from arranger Gil Fuller! Fuller will always be best-remembered as the man who composed some of Dizzy Gillespie's best known tunes from the bop era – like "Manteca", "One Bass Hit", and "Things To Come" – but on this album from 1965, he's reunited with Dizzy for a large group set of tracks that feature Diz as the main soloist – at a level that really shows the growth of both men at the time! Fuller's charts are large and full, but with a sense of space that's really amazing – almost like some of the soundtrack work Dizzy had done for The Cool World – with a mix of soulful and modern moments that's really wonderful. The group's kind of a mix of hip LA players – with Phil Moore Jr on piano, Dennis Budimir on guitar, and Jimmy Bond on bass – plus a larger set of horn players backing Dizzy up. Titles include a number of great originals – such as "Be's That Way", "Big Sur", "Things Are Here", "Man From Monterey", and "Angel City". CD

An unusual record, but a great one too – a set that mixes the offbeat reed work of Roland Kirk with some inventive ideas from a group of young west coast players! Some of the group members are names you'll recognize on their own from genre-crossing sessions for other labels – like vibist Lyn Blessing, and bassist Bill Plummer – both groovy talents whose touches really make the record sparkle – and the rest of the combo features trumpeter Tommy Peltier, drummer Maurice Miller, and reedman Freddy Rodriguez! And honestly, the whole thing's great, even without Kirk's help – but Roland's wit and creative energy really send the album home with work on tenor, flute, and stritch. Titles include "Harplyness", "Chalan Pago", "Le Blessing", and "Meanwhile". CD

An unusual record, but a great one too – a set that mixes the offbeat reed work of Roland Kirk with some inventive ideas from a group of young west coast players! Some of the group members are names you'll recognize on their own from genre-crossing sessions for other labels – like vibist Lyn Blessing, and bassist Bill Plummer – both groovy talents whose touches really make the record sparkle – and the rest of the combo features trumpeter Tommy Peltier, drummer Maurice Miller, and reedman Freddy Rodriguez! And honestly, the whole thing's great, even without Kirk's help – but Roland's wit and creative energy really send the album home with work on tenor, flute, and stritch. Titles include "Harplyness", "Chalan Pago", "Le Blessing", and "Meanwhile". LP, Vinyl record album

A sweet little set of some of the Jazz Crusaders' best sides from the 60s – a hip swinging selection of short, tight, and very well played soul jazz numbers – grooving hard in a way that was very big with the jukebox and jazz AM crowd! The set list features a good mix of originals and covers – all expertly played with a tightly snapping groove that never misses a beat. Titles include "The Young Rabbits" and "Freedom Sound". CD

A classic hard groover from this great soul jazz combo! The band are in perfect early form, and they wail nicely on some tight tight tight little tracks that virtually define the LA soul jazz sound of the 60s. Includes classics like "Young Rabbits" and "Big Hunk Of Funk" – plus the cuts "Tortoise & The Hare", "Sinnin Sam", "507 Neyland", and "Till All Ends". LP, Vinyl record album

A real cooker – and a stone soulful set that works some real magic at so many levels! First off, the record brings together two of the hottest talents on the west coast scene of the 60s – pianist Les McCann, and the firey young Jazz Crusaders – who are really burning here with a tightness and sense of energy that's amazing. But more than that, the record also features Les hitting some keys alongside his usual piano – both electric piano and Hammond, which come off here with a great sound – especially alongside Joe Sample's additional work on acoustic piano and organ. Horn solos are great – with tight work from Wilton Felder on tenor and Wayne Henderson on trombone – and titles include "Big City", "Spanish Castles", "Damascus", "Blues For Yna Yna", "This Here", and "All Blue". LP, Vinyl record album

A sublime little set all the way through – an early 60s date from the west coast scene – and one that was almost as important to that side of the country as the Verve bossa records were to New York! Bud Shank's in the lead on alto sax – no flute at all this time around – blowing sharp and soulfully, in a way that's even more deft than most of his other albums! But the equal star here is the young Clare Fischer – who plays piano in the group, and also contributed a host of original tunes to the set – fresh numbers that are way different than the usual "bossa-ized" standards, or American remakes of Brazilian classics. Ralph Pena is a key member of the group on bass – and Larry Bunker plays some vibes as well. Titles include "Joao", "Pensativa", "Samba Guapo", "Samba Da Borboleta", and "Que Mais?". CD

A 60s LP that compiles older work by Chet – all classic numbers from his first few years in the recording studio, when his sound was fresh, sincere, and incredibly amazing! The album features Chet singing on most numbers, working in small combo format on trumpet – with players that include Russ Freeman on piano, Jimmy Bond on bass, and Lawrence Marable on drums. Titles include "My Buddy", "Bea's Flat", "But Not For Me", "Happy Little Sunbeam", "Tenderly", and "Look For The Silver Lining". LP, Vinyl record album

A 60s collection that brings together some of Chico's best early work for Pacific Jazz – including his groundbreaking Quintet, a group that completely redefined the sound of jazz on the west coast! The album's filled with playful tracks that feature Chico's unique rhythms next to instrumentation that includes guitar, flute, cello, and alto – with players that include Eric Dolphy, Jim Hall, Paul Horn, and Buddy Collette. Titles include "Soft Winds", "Satin Doll", "Caravan", "Taking A Chance On Love", "Sleep", "Take The A Train", and "Siete Quatro". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the best 60s albums by the Crusaders – and a swinging Latin session to boot! The core group of The Jazz Crusaders is expanded with some funky flute from Hubert Laws, sweet organ licks from Clare Fischer, and lots of congas from Carlos Vidal – all of whom push the group past their usual (and excellent) soul jazz bag, into a realm of hard-grooving Latin numbers! The playing on the set is tremendous – as "in the pocket" as the group could be, but also a lot more hiply swinging and open to rhythmic changes. A total gem – with titles that include "Agua Dulce", "Tacos", "Soul Bourgeoisie", and "Latin Bit". CD

The landmark first album to feature the Jazz Crusaders playing live at the Lighthouse in Hermosa Beach – the start of a great run of albums that would go onto help redefine the sound of soul jazz in the 60s! Although the group was already plenty darn great on their studio sides, working at the Lighthouse seemed to allow them to open up even more – work in a slightly longer, more spacious setting than in the studio – with more room for creative solos and a sound that was often more deeply soulful overall! In fact, the Jazz Crusaders association with the club helped turn the sound of the Lighthouse away from the "cool" reputation it got from Lighthouse All-Stars albums of the 50s – and open the place up as the more righteous venue for jazz expression to come from players like Lee Morgan, Grant Green, and Elvin Jones on Blue Note! The lineup here is classic Crusaders – with plenty of searing tenor work from Wilton Felder, slidingly soulful trombone from Wayne Henderson, storming piano by Joe Sample, and tight tight rhythm from Victor Gaskin on bass and Stix Hooper on drums. Tracks include some great originals, like "Congolese Sermon", "Cathy's Dilemma", and "Scandalizing", plus a great version of Jackie McLean's "Appointment in Ghana". CD also features 2 long bonus tracks – "Boopie" and "Penny Blue". CD

One of the Jazz Crusaders many fantastic live sets from The Lighthouse – just about all of which are excellent, but '68 is a real standout! Perhaps the single feature that pushes this set above and beyond the others, is the beautiful longer tracks – ones have a spiritual soulful vibe that you don't always get from the group, particularly in comparatively dry studio settings. Those standout tracks include "Native Dancer" and "The Emperor", and they sit nicely next to straighter soul jazz tracks like the group's reading of "Eleanor Rigby" and "Ooga-Boo-Ga-Loo". This CD features four previously bonus tracks – including "Cathy The Cooker", "Shadows", "Tough Talk" and Third Principle". CD

One of the Jazz Crusaders' classic funky live sets from the 60's, recorded live at the Lighthouse, where there talents were slowly becoming the stuff of legend. Nice tight soul jazz stuff, with some excellent groovers that include an early version of "Scratch", plus "Blues Up Tight", "Miss It", and "Doin' That Thing". Longish tracks, with good drawn-out solos, and a totally heavy groove. Plus, this CD reissue also includes 2 bonus cuts that weren't on the original album! CD

One of the Jazz Crusaders' classic funky live sets from the 60's, recorded live at the Lighthouse, where there talents were slowly becoming the stuff of legend. Nice tight soul jazz stuff, with some excellent groovers that include an early version of "Scratch", plus "Blues Up Tight", "Miss It", and "Doin' That Thing". Longish tracks, with good drawn-out solos, and a totally heavy groove! LP, Vinyl record album

Seminal west coast recordings by Clifford Brown – recorded in LA in 1954, with a mixture of hard bop and lyricism, in that sparkling mode that Brownie left as his indelible imprint on the west coast scene of the 50s! Players include Bob Gordon on baritone, Stu Williamson on trombone, Zoot Sims on tenor, and Russ Freeman on piano – and Jack Montrose arranged the set. Titles include "Tiny Capers", "Bones For Jones", "Joy Spring", "Finders Keepers", and "Daahoud". CD

A crazy collection of poetry and jazz – but one that doesn't come from as much of the sort of hipster/beat angle as one would expect from this sort of project! Instead, the interpreters take the high art road – with John Carradine, Hoagy Carmichael, Ben Wright, Roy Glenn and Bob Dorough all reading selections penned by Walt Whitman, Dylan Thomas, William Carlos Williams, Langston Hughes, Lawrence Lipton, Philip Whalen, and Lawrence Ferlinghetti. The music is very progressive and expressionistic for the period – performed by the Chico Hamilton Quintet, the Gerry Mulligan Quartet, the Ralph Pena-Bob Dorough Quintet, or a special group put together for this recording called the Jazz Canto Ensemble – which features Jack Montrose, Larry Bunker, Paul Horn, Buddy Collette and other west coast players from the LA scene. The sound is a bit more serious than some of the Fantasy Records jazz-meets-poetry experiments of the same time – and titles include "Poets To Come", "Tract", "In My Craft Or Sullen Art", "Night Song For The Sleepless", "Lament", "Dog", "Young Sycamore", "Three Songs", and "Big High Song For Somebody". LP, Vinyl record album