- Format: CD
- Label: Fantasy
- Genre: Jazz
Los Angeles in the 1950s was a hotbed of jazz recording. The best-known labels were Contemporary and Pacific Jazz, but numerous other companies--three of which are highlighted in this sampler--also sought to document the scene. Art Rupe's Specialty, though primarily involved in recording jump blues and r&b, had by 1957 decided to expand into jazz, tapping young pianist David Axelrod to handle A&R chores for sessions by Dizzy Gillespie, Gerald Wiggins, and Buddy Collette. Axelrod then went on to produce an intriguing assortment of artists--including Jimmy Witherspoon, Paul Horn, and Harold Land--for Hifijazz, an offshoot of Hifi. Nocturne Records, founded by drummer Roy Harte and bassist Harry Babasin, is also represented here, with recordings by Bud Shank, Lou Levy, and saxophonist Steve White (the novelty single "My New Jet Plane").
Track listing: Lee Morgan/Wynton Kelly: Day by Day; Gerald Wiggins: Around the World, part 1; Buddy Collette: C'est Si Bon; Frank Rosolino: Don't Take Your Love from Me [alternate], Harold Land: The Fox; Elmo Hope: Barfly; Jimmy Witherspoon: Big Fine Girl; Paul Horn: Something Blue; King Pleasure: Parker's Mood; Bill Holman/Richie Kamuca: Star Eyes; Herbie Harper: Sanguine; Bud Shank/Shorty Rogers: Casa de Luz; Lou Levy: Tiny's Other Blues; Virgil Gonsalves: Love Me or Leave Me; Steve White: My New Jet Plane; Harry Babasin: La Rosita; BobEnevoldsen: Dança do Brasil
