The West Coast Sound

The West Coast Sound
Studio album by Shelly Manne & His Men
Released	1956
Recorded	April 6 and July 20, 1953 and September 13, 1955 Contemporary Records Studio, Los Angeles, California
Genre	Jazz
Length	36:18
Label	Contemporary C3507
Producer	Lester Koenig
Shelly Manne chronology
The Three and the Two (1954) The West Coast Sound (1953-55) Swinging Sounds (1956)

The West Coast Sound (subtitled Volume 1) is an album by drummer Shelly Manne's group Shelly Manne & His Men, recorded at sessions in 1953 and 1955 and released on the Contemporary label.^[1] The album features Manne's first recordings for Contemporary from 1953—eight tracks originally released on a 10-inch album—along with an additional four tracks from 1955.

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[2]

The Allmusic review by Scott Yanow states: "the music has plenty of variety yet defines the era... Highly recommended and proof (if any is really needed) that West Coast jazz was far from bloodless".^[2]

Track listing

1. "Grasshopper" (Shelly Manne) - 2:52
2. "La Murcura" (Traditional) - 3:02
3. "Summer Night" (Harry Warren, Al Dubin) - 3:19
4. "Afrodesia" (Shorty Rogers) - 3:30
5. "You and the Night and the Music" (Arthur Schwartz, Howard Dietz) - 3:10
6. "Gazzelle" (Bill Russo) - 3:01
7. "Sweets" (Russo) - 2:53
8. "Spring Is Here" (Richard Rodgers, Lorenz Hart) - 2:43
9. "Mallets" (Shorty Rogers) - 3:26
10. "You're Getting to Be a Habit with Me" (Warren, Dubin) - 3:14
11. "You're My Thrill" (Burton Lane, Ned Washington) - 3:05
12. "Fugue" (Jimmy Giuffre) - 2:47

• Recorded at Contemporary's studio in Los Angeles on April 6, 1953 (tracks 2, 5, 6 & 9), July 20, 1953 (tracks 4, 7, 11 & 12), and September 13, 1955 (tracks 1, 3, 8 & 10).

Personnel

• Shelly Manne - drums
• Bob Enevoldsen - valve trombone
• Joe Maini (tracks 1, 3, 8 & 10), Art Pepper (tracks 2, 5, 6 & 9), Bud Shank (tracks 4, 7, 11 & 12) - alto saxophone
• Bob Cooper (tracks 2, 4-7, 9, 11 & 12), Bill Holman (tracks 1, 3, 8 & 10) - tenor saxophone
• Jimmy Giuffre - baritone saxophone
• Russ Freeman (tracks 1, 3, 8 & 10), Marty Paich (tracks 2, 4-7, 9, 11 & 12) - piano
• Curtis Counce (tracks 2, 5, 6 & 9), Joe Mondragon (tracks 4, 7, 11 & 12), Ralph Pena (tracks 1, 3, 8 & 10) - bass
• Arrangements by Bob Enevoldsen (track 10), Jimmy Giuffre (track 12), Bill Holman (tracks 1 & 8), Marty Paich (tracks 3 & 11), Shorty Rogers (tracks 2, 4 & 9) and Bill Russo (tracks 5-7)

References