Part of Atlantic's by-genre-and-instrument jazz series,
Atlantic Jazz: West Coast spotlights some of the giants from the land of the Central Avenue breakdown and fog-bound bridges. On the high-profile end, such stellar players and bandleaders as
Shorty Rogers and
Shelly Manne contribute tasty sides, while the obscure quotient is nicely covered by Eddie Safrinski. Taking up the middle ground, tenor saxophonist
Jack Montrose, the duo of
Harold Land and
Red Mitchell, and
Conte Candoli contribute fine cuts as well. Maybe not the best introduction to those West Coast jazz sounds, but a fine selection of sides all the same. ~ Stephen Cook