A great collaboration between Perez Prado and trumpeter Shorty Rogers – one in which Rogers' solos sparkle brilliantly over the top of Perez's tight Latin rhythms – all in a style that's as moody as it is evocative and rhythmic! Side one features the extended "Voodoo Suite" – a side-long track that builds nicely on rootsy Latin rhythms that are much freer than Prado's pop work of the 50s – and which features a growing jazz horizon at the edges, filled with players who include Bud Shank on alto and flute, Bob Cooper on tenor, Shelly Manne on drums, and Pete Candoli on trumpet – in a larger section underneath Shorty Rogers' solos. Side two features shorter tracks recorded a year later – a bit more in the standard Prado mode, but still with a really dynamic feel, and contributions from jazz players like Candoli and Rolf Erikson on trumpets, Willie Maiden on tenor, and Jay Hill on trombone. Titles include "Music Makers", "In The Mood", "St. James Infirmary", and "Jumpin At The Woodside". LP, Vinyl record album

Don't think "waltz music", think "modal jazz" – because the version of jazz waltz that Shorty Rogers serves up here is a great precursor to the great grooves to come on the European scene – especially the work from the artists at MPS Records! Tunes all have this great rhythmic pulse – a way of leaping into a groove that has the piano and bass dancing together wonderfully – often with some cool vibes from Emil Richards, and loads of great reed lines from Bud Shank and Paul Horn! Some tracks feature a small combo, some feature a larger group – and the whole thing is wonderful – with energy that almost rivals the Clarke Boland Big Band with Gigi Campi. Titles include "Be As Children", "Walk On The Wild Side", "Jazz Waltz", "Terrence's Farewell", and "A Taste Of Honey". LP, Vinyl record album

Tight big band work from Shorty Rogers – cut a few years after his early LA sides for RCA, but in a very similar mode. The tracks are slightly longer than usual, and it's stunning how many players get to solo on each track. Most only get a few bars, but they make more than enough with the space – as they're all old hands at soloing in such a setting. Players include Herb Geller, Jack Montrose, Frank Rosolino, Richie Kamuca, Pepper Adams, and Bill Holman. Titles include "Play Boy", "Red Dog Play", "The Line Backer", and "Martian's Lullaby". CD

An RCA classic from Shorty – one that features an expanded version of his Giants group, running through some of the best compositions of Richard Rogers! The gimmick of the twin Rogers in the title notwithstanding, the album's a pretty tight little set – as Shorty's leading an all-star group that includes Pete & Conte Candoli, Frank Rosolino, Jack Montrose, Bill Holman, Pete Jolly, and Pepper Adams – all of whom are great company in this session of tight arrangements. Shorty still gives the best players enough solo space to keep things interesting – and the real charm of the record is the way that familiar tunes are transformed by the swinging arrangements and surprisingly nice solo moments. Titles include "I've Got Five Dollars", "A Ship Without A Sail", "Mimi", "Ten Cents A Dance", "The Girl Friend", "On A Desert Island With Thee", and "I Could Write A Book". LP, Vinyl record album

Arguably one of the greatest albums that Shorty Rogers ever cut – and one of the few to feature him in a small group setting! Although he's best known for his work with larger combos, Shorty is excellent in this set – a quintet recording, done with Jimmy Giuffre, Lou Levy, Ralph Pena, and Larry Bunker – with tracks that run a lot longer than the usual short RCA standards at the time. All this means that the players get plenty of room to solo – and Giuffre's cut loose on tenor and baritone, while Rogers grooves nicely on trumpet and flugelhorn. Shorty wrote all the tunes – and titles include "Hurricane Carol", "The Chinook That Melted My Heart", "Breezin Along In The Trades", and "Marooned In A Monsoon". LP, Vinyl record album

Shorty Rogers on rogers, Art Pepper on alto sax, Frank Patchen on piano, Howard Rumsey on bass and Shelly Manne on drums. CD

Shorty Rogers and Conte Candoli on trumpet, Bud Shank on alto, Bill Perkins on baritone, tenor, and soprano sax, Bob Cooper on tenor sax, Pete Jolly on piano, Monty Budwig on bass, and Larance Marable on drums. CD

CD reissue of this classic West Coast session, long hailed by critics as one of the best to come out of the LA scene. Shorty Rogers leads a crack group of players (Art Pepper, Jimmy Giuffre, Bob Cooper) through a bunch of short swinging tracks that really have an edge to them. The tracks were originally recorded for a 10" LP, and they're combined here with a few more that were recorded during another Rogers session in 1956. Titles include "Coop The Graas", "Contours", "Tales Of An African Lobster", "Pink Squirrel", "Boar-Jibou", and "The Sweetheart Of Sigmund Freud". CD

A classic West Coast session, long hailed by critics as one of the best to come out of the LA scene. Shorty Rogers leads a crack group of players that includes Art Pepper, Jimmy Giuffre and Bob Cooper through a bunch of short swinging tracks that really have an edge to them. The tracks were originally recorded for a 10" LP, and they're combined here with a few more that were recorded during another Rogers session in 1956. Titles include "Blues Express", "Coop The Graas", "Contours", "Tales Of An African Lobster", "Pink Squirrel", "Boar-Jibou", and "The Sweetheart Of Sigmund Freud". LP, Vinyl record album

Excellent early west coast material – and some of the greatest work that Shorty Rogers ever put on record! Unlike some of Rogers' other sides for RCA, which were often a bit gimmicky or strangely-themed, this one's a straight grooving session of west coast jazz, played by some of the finest players in LA, all arranged by Rogers with the kind of razor sharp precision that made him one of the city's most exciting talents in the early days. Tracks include "Mambo Del Crow", "Morpo", "Powder Puff", "The Pesky Serpent", and "Diablo's Dance". LP, Vinyl record album

Notable sidemen include Maynard Ferguson on trumpet, Jack Montrose on saxophone, Herbie Harper on trombone, and Lorraine Geller on piano. CD

Great work from one of the hippest leaders on the LA scene – material for Capitol, Pacific Jazz, and Atlantic – plus some rare tracks too, including the hard to find Bud Shank plays Compositions Of Shorty Rogers on the Nocturne label! CD

Tight big band work from Shorty Rogers – cut a few years after his early LA sides for RCA, but in a very similar mode. The tracks are slightly longer than usual, and it's stunning how many players get to solo on each track Most only get a few bars, but they make more than enough with the space – as they're all old hands at soloing in such a setting. Players include Herb Geller, Jack Montrose, Frank Rosolino, Richie Kamuca, Pepper Adams, and Bill Holman. Titles include "Play Boy", "Red Dog Play", "The Line Backer", and "Martian's Lullaby". LP, Vinyl record album

A 31 track collection pulled from sessions in 1953 and 1954, featuring Shorty Rogers with His Giants and His Orchestra, with personnel that includes Art Pepper, Jimmy Giuffre, Hanpton Hawes, Shelly Manne, Pete Candoli, Bob Cooper, Marty Paich, Curtis Counce, Bud Shank, Herb Geller, Zoot Sims, and many more! LP, Vinyl record album

Shorty Rogers courts Count Basie – but he does so in a way that's definitely all his own! The material may have Basie roots, but the overall execution is Shorty at his early 50s best – in a way that makes the album one of his strongest for RCA at the time – and that's saying a heck of a lot, given the great run of records! The lineup is filled with well-chosen players who fall together wonderfully under Shorty's leadership – Buck Clayton, Pete Candoli, and Harry Edison on trumpets – and reed work from Jimmy Giuffre, Bob Cooper, and Bud Shank. The set swings with all the power of the Basie band, yet has all the wonderful arrangements we love from Rogers – and titles include "Basie Eyes", "Doggin Around", "Jump For Me", "Over & Out", and "Walk, Don't Run". LP, Vinyl record album

A hip take on the famous score – played here with jazzy arrangements from Shorty Rogers, and a lineup that includes Frank Rosolino on trombone, Conte Candoli on trumpet, Art Pepper on alto, Richie Kamuca on tenor, and Bill Holman, Bud Shank, and Bill Perkins on additional reeds! There's also a cool sax quintet at one point – with Holman, Perkins, Kamuca, Harold Land, and Bill Hood. LP, Vinyl record album

A standout set from Shorty – tightly arranged numbers performed by a quartet that includes Jimmy Giuffre, Pete Jolly, Curtis Counce, and Shelly Manne – all working with Shorty in perfect west coast form! Despite the length of the tunes, the overall feel is similar to Rogers' excellent Wherever The Five Winds Blow album for RCA – and makes the record a great set, done without any gimmicks or tricks – and enough of the modern touch still left from Rogers' first few years on record. Titles include "Martians Go Home", "Trickleydidlier", "Not Really The Blues", and "Michele's Meditation". LP, Vinyl record album

The title and cover are an homage to the Pacific Jazz label live dates from LA in the 50s – and the music here does a good job of following suit as well! Altoist Bud Shank and trumpeter Shorty Rogers are reunited beautifully in an open-ended live setting – the kind of date that really recalls some of the music Bud, Shorty, and some of their contemporaries recorded many years back – although with perhaps a rhythmic undercurrent here that shows new depths in jazz explored during subsequent decades. Remaining group members include George Cables on piano, Monty Budwig on bass, and Sherman Ferguson on drums – and titles include "Kansas City Tango", "Makin Whoopee", "It's Sand Man", "Aurex", and "Mia". LP, Vinyl record album

A west coast classic – featuring some of Bud Shank's best small group work of the mid 50s! The album has Shank playing in two different groups, one with Shorty Rogers on trumpet, one with the great Bill Perkins on tenor – and we'll be honest in saying that Perkins' tone is incredible, a perfect match for Shank's well-honed sound of the time – blown with a nice edge that really deepens the sound of the record – a slight sense of soul that goes past traditional west coast modes, and really fits Shank's sometimes-edgey playing. Rogers is still pretty great too – and the casual setting of the album is a refreshing change from some of his more over-arranged work for other labels at the time! Titles include "Casa De Luz", "Jasmine", "Left Bank", "Paradise", "Fluted Columns", and "Royal Garden Blues". LP, Vinyl record album

A late 70s album that brings together material from Art Pepper's Pacific Jazz sessions of the 50s! One side features a nine-piece group with Pepper on alto, Don Fagerquist on trumpet, Bill Holman on tenor, Bud Shank on baritone, and Stu Williamson on trombone – the other side features material by the Art Pepper/Chet Baker Sextet! LP, Vinyl record album

Rare recordings from the Continental, Keynote, and Guild labels – with Coleman Hawkins, Tiny Grimes, Johnny Guarnieri, Billy Taylor, Shorty Rogers, and Charlies Shavers! CD

The Shadow Of Your Smile has Bobby working partially in that more adult 60s mode that was influenced strongly by changes in soundtrack styles – especially that 60s trend towards letting some serious younger songwriters pen important tunes for the titles. There's also a few older tracks as well, and these dominate on side two, but these are nicely folded into the contemporary ones in sound and spirit – arranged by Shorty Rogers and Richard Wess with a lightly easygoing approach. Titles include "The Shadow Of Your Smile", "I Will Wait For You", "The Sweetheart Tree", "Cute", "After You've Gone", "Liza", "What's New Pussycat", and the Darin original "Rainin". LP, Vinyl record album

A sublime album from the great Bobbie Gentry – and maybe her strongest full-length set recorded during the classic Capitol years! The title's "sweete" is a hillbilly play on the word "suite" – and the album definitely works as an extended suite of tracks – almost a concept album, and one that mixes lots of Bobbie's own tunes with a few well-chosen covers – all set to larger arrangements that feature strings from Jimmie Haskell and horns directed by Shorty Rogers – all while Gentry leads the combo at the core! Later Capitol albums had Gentry doing a lot of covers, and maybe losing her identity a bit – but this set is more of an expansion on the mode she brought to the "Billie Joe" single – with tracks that include "Reunion", "Mornin Glory", "Sermon", "Penduli Pendulum", "Jessye Lisabeth", "Courtyard", "Okolona River Bottom Band", and "Refractions". 2LP version features a brand new stereo mix from the original tapes – plus bonus tracks that include demos of "Mornin Glory", "Sermon", "Jessye Lisabeth", "Louisiana Man", "Refractions", "The Way I Do", and "Feelin Good" – plus an instrumental of "Okolona River Bottom Band", and an alternate take of "Mississippi Delta". LP, Vinyl record album

A cool collection of Capitol material from Stan Kenton – mostly sides from his classic years of the early 50s! The work here shows a lively, more upbeat side of Kenton's music – one that still has some modern moments, but which is more in a west coast big band style overall. All tracks are from the years 1950 to 1952 – recorded after the financial failure of Stan's Innovations orchestra, and before his New Concepts group – all sessions that were supposedly "commercial" in nature, to help Kenton recoup some losses – but which still represent the forefront of jazz on the west coast at the time! Arrangers include Shorty Rogers, Pete Rugolo, Gene Roland, Bill Russo, and Johnny Richards – and soloists include Art Pepper on alto, Bud Shank on reeds, Bob Cooper on tenor, and Conte Candoli on trumpet. 20 tracks in all – including "Riff Raff", "Dynaflow", "Easy Go", "Viva Prado", "Francesca", "Soliloquy", "Lazy Daisy", "Beehive", "Cool Eyes", "Bill's Blues", "Night Watch", and "Jump For Joe". CD

One of the grooviest albums ever recorded by guitarist Barney Kessel – a sweet reworking of Henry Mancini's fabulous music for Breakfast At Tiffanys! The set's got a warm feel and more than a bit of bossa nova inspiration – similar to some of the other Kessel and Shorty Rogers projects for Reprise at the time – and the group features some wicked reed work from Bud Shank and Paul Horn, both of whom add some great color to the set – and make it way more than just another trio date from Kessel! The whole thing's wonderful – filled with favorites from the Mancini songbook – titles that include "Something For Cat", "Sally's Tomato", "Mr Yunioshi", "The Big Blowout", "Hub Caps & Tail Lights", "Breakfast At Tiffany's", "Latin Golightly", "Loose Caboose", and "Moon River Cha Cha". CD

An excellent album from Carmen McRae – one of her hippest records ever, and a great set of vocal gems that often gets overlooked! Arrangements are by Benny Carter, Shorty Rogers, and Oliver Nelson – and the album's got a swinging groovy style that pushes Carmen past her straighter jazz vocal roots – into some hiply sophisticated territory that really shows her growing as a singer in the 60s. The album kicks off with an amazing reading of Tommy Wolf's "I'm Always Drunk In San Francisco", done by Carmen in a way that makes you know she owns the song – and then it moves through a compelling blend of compositions that includes "My Very Own Person", "Ask Any Woman", "Boy, Do I Have A Surprise For You", and "Elusive Butterfly". LP, Vinyl record album

A very cool full length set on Savoy – one that's a 50s issue of earlier material from their initial 78rpm run of recordings! The set begins with some excellent small combo work from tenorist Vido Musso – a player who really got some great exposure on the label, working here in a group that features Kai Winding on trombone, and the great Boots Mussulli on alto – also getting some great early exposure here! Winding returns on four more tracks that have a young Stan Getz on tenor, and Shorty Rogers on trumpet – then Musso comes back for four more numbers with a different group – one that features Lem Davis on alto, Leonard Hawkins on trumpet, and Sanford Gold on piano – a player who cut one obscure album of his own for Prestige in the 50s! LP, Vinyl record album

Tight west coast jazz, arranged and led by Pell on tenor, and featuring work by Don Fagerquist, Marty Paich, Ray Sims, and Tommy Tedesco. Shorty Rogers supervised the session, and it's got a very similar feel to some of his RCA sides at the time. As you might guess from the title, the tracks are "western-themed" ones – like "I'm An Old Cowhand", "Wagon Wheels", "Cool Water", and "South Of The Border". CD

Tight west coast jazz, arranged and led by Pell on tenor, and featuring work by Don Fagerquist, Marty Paich, Ray Sims, and Tommy Tedesco. Shorty Rogers supervised the session, and it's got a very similar feel to some of his RCA sides at the time. As you might guess from the title, the tracks are "western-themed" ones – like "I'm An Old Cowhand", "Wagon Wheels", "Cool Water", and "South Of The Border". LP, Vinyl record album

Jazz in romantic places, but some pretty groovy ones too – a host of global destinations all referenced in the track selection for the set! Dave Pell's tenor is at the lead on most numbers, but the octet's in fine formation too – arranged by Jack Montrose, Marty Paich, Johnny Mandel, and Shorty Rogers – the last of whom also produced the album, and manages to give it the same sort of feel as his own great sets for Atlantic at the time! The style is prime west coast 50s – with a classic cover to match – and players include Bob Gordon on baritone sax, Don Fagerquist on trumpet, Ray Sims on trombone, and Donn Trenner on piano and celeste. Titles include "New Orleans", "Flying Down To Rio", "Paris In The Spring", "Memphis In June", "Isle Of Capri", "Shuffle Off To Buffalo", "On A Slow Boat To China", and "London In July". CD

Fantastic work from the legendary Buddy Rich – one of his Pacific Jazz albums from that stretch when Buddy was opening up his bag, and getting very groovy in his music! The album's a live one – and as with the rest from the decade, really has the Buddy Rich sound moving forward, thanks to some great younger players – in this case the up and coming Bobby Shew on trumpet and Ernie Watts on alto – plus the lesser-known Chuck Findley on trumpet and Jay Corre on tenor. Arrangements are by some older west coast talents – including Bill Holman and Shorty Rogers – but the feel is very 60s, and very groovy throughout. Cathy Rich sings on the album's funky version of "The Beat Goes On" – and other titles include "Wack Wack", "Norwegian Wood", "Monitor Theme", "Big Swing Face", and "Mexicali Nose". LP, Vinyl record album

Really great material – two rare sessions originally done for the small Nocturne label as 10" albums! The first six tracks feature Bud Shank in a quintet with Shorty Rogers on trumpet and Jimmy Rowles on piano – and the remaining eight tracks features pianist Lou Levy with Harry Babasin on bass and Larry Bunker on drums! CD

Featuring Stan Kenton, June Christy, Gerry Mulligan, Shorty Rogers, Hoagy Carmicheal, Jack Montrose, Mel Torme, Art Pepper, Zoot Sims and more. CD

With sidemen including Dizzy Gillespie, Howard McGhee, Ray Brown, Max Roach, Hampton Hawes, and Shorty Rogers. LP, Vinyl record album

Music from Shorty Rogers, Elmer Bernstein, Buddy Morrow, Irving Joseph, David Amram, Stan Kenton, Warren Barker, Quincy Jones, Skip Martin, and more. CD

A beautiful Holiday classic from Herb – recorded for A&M during his glory years, and done in the core Tijuana Brass style, but with some added arrangements on voices and strings by Shorty Rogers! The album's worth it alone for Herb's great take on the Bacharach groover "The Bell That Couldn't Jingle" – but it also includes the tasty track "Las Mananitas", plus the holiday favorites "Winter Wonderland", "Jingle Bells", "The Christmas Song", "Sleigh Ride", "Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow" and "Jingle Bell Rock". 10 tracks in all, the perfect backdrop for the holiday office party! CD

A very different album than usual for June Christy – one of her last for Capitol, and a very swinging, upbeat affair! As the title implies, June's singing a set of tunes made famous during the glory days of the big bands – tracks associated with Duke Ellington, Tommy Dorsey, Artie Shaw, Benny Goodman, and others – all given a nice reworking here by June, in a style that's got a hipper, swinging California kind of groove! Arrangers on the set are Bill Holman, Bob Cooper, and Shorty Rogers – and they all keep things light and above board – shaking away the bluer tones and quieter moods of some of June's other records, taking her vocals back to the highly swinging style that first brought her fame in the 40s. Titles include "Frenesi", "Time Was", "Good Bye", "Night In Tunisia", "Stompin At the Savoy", "Prelude To A Kiss", and "Skyliner". CD

The 3rd and 4th sessions in Decca's excellent Jazz Studio series – both of them well-crafted chamber jazz sets with a cool swinging mid 50s LA groove! Jazz Studio 3 is a tight set of chamber jazz tracks headed by John Graas – working here with a very strong set of players that includes Charlie Mariano, Jimmy Giuffre, Zoot Sims, Larry Bunker, Gerry Mulligan, Howard Roberts, and Conte Candoli – in groupings that include varying 5, 7, and 9 piece ensembles. Tracks have many of the clever west coast chamber jazz twists and turns – but the sharper-edged horn work of Sims and Mariano keep things moving along with a nice edge, and a surprisingly soulful solo feel – especially on the longer tunes. Titles include "Rogeresque", "6/4 & Even", "Mulliganesque", and "Jazz Sections From Symphony No 1 In F Minor". Jazz Studio 4 is a rare session as a leader by trumpeter Jack Millman – one that's based around his own compositions, and which a large group of west coast players alongside some lesser-known 50s talents! Players include Fred Aguirre, Lin Halliday, Artie Anto, Mike Pacheco, Curtis Counce, Herb Geller, Jimmy Giuffre, Howard Roberts, and Don Friedman – playing arrangements of Millman tunes by Shorty Rogers, Jimmy Giuffre, Jack Montrose, and Pete Rugolo. Tracks are short, but have wonderfully constructed horn passages – as well as some very nice use of Latin percussion – and titles include "Tom & Jerry", "Bolero De Mendez", "Groove Juice", "Pink Lady", "The Turk", and "Bambi". CD

Jimmy Giuffre on saxophone, Milt Bernhart on trombone, Shorty Rogers on trumpet, Frank Patchen on piano, Howard Rumsey on bass, and Shelly Manne on drums. CD

Excellent early work from Shelly Manne – an early 10" session that featured Manne on drums, Shorty Rogers on trumpet, and Jimmy Giuffre on tenor, clarinet, and baritone. The sound is very free, but still swinging with a strong rhythmic pulse – and in a way, it presages some of Giuffre's later experimental trio recordings for Atlantic. The trio work their way – bass and piano-less – through tunes that include "Pas De Trois", "Flip", "Abstract No 1", and "Steeplechase". LP, Vinyl record album