Jazz From the Pacific Northwest by Shelly Manne
Drummer Shelly Manne is often overlooked by jazz historians, but he had an important role in establishing the cool “West Coast Sound” of the 1950s. The new two-disc set is comprised of previously unreleased concert recordings with accomplished combos from the 1958 Monterey Jazz Festival (the event’s debut year) and a 1966 club date in Seattle. Manne set a furious tempo on Oscar Hammerstein’s “Softly, As in a Morning Sunrise,” hurling along at a dizzying tempo. And he imaginatively reworked George Gershwin’s “Summertime” with flutist Frank Strozier coming in like a cool Catalina breeze. He easily pulled off ambitious compositions such as “Quartet (Suite in Four Movements),” written by Stan Kenton’s arranger Bill Holman.
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