© -  Steven A. Cerra - copyright protected; all rights reserved. “The definition of "West Coast Jazz?" You know, I've been asked that question so many times. It's a hard one. I'm not trying to evade the question, I'm just trying to figure it out myself. Maybe I was a practitioner of it, but as I think it over, all of us in music are products of our environment and heritage. Shelly Manne, Jimmy Giuffre and myself who are so distinctly associated with this sound...when I look back at our musical heritage, I remember that we all loved the Kansas City 7, a small unit out of the Basie ..read more

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 © Copyright ® Steven Cerra, copyright protected; all rights reserved Gordon Jack is a frequent contributor to the Jazz Journal and a very generous friend in allowing JazzProfiles to re-publish his perceptive and well-researched writings on various topics about Jazz and its makers. Gordon is the author of Fifties Jazz Talk An Oral Retrospective and he also developed the Gerry Mulligan discography in Raymond Horricks’ book Gerry Mulligan’s Ark. The following article was published in the April 7, 2024 edition of Jazz Journal. Gordon is based in the UK and uses English spelling. Fo ..read more

Wes on guitar with Mel Rhyne Hammond B-3 Organ and Paul Parker on drums ..read more

 © Copyright ® Steven Cerra, copyright protected; all rights reserved Derek Jewell - Sunday Times: "With luck he really could become the best jazz guitarist in the world." Jack Carter - Crescendo: "Stewart's performance on these tracks clearly demonstrates that there will be many more albums, many more accolades." Ronnie Scott: "Louis is a superbly talented natural musician. In my book he's one of the world's great jazz guitarists." Ray Comiskey-Irish Times: "an excellent example of jazz guitar by a master." Hugh de Camillis- Guitarist Magazine: "Guitarists Joe Pass and Ike Isaacs h ..read more

 © -Steven Cerra, copyright protected; all rights reserved. Signifyin’ and testifyin’ and other ritualistic elements of the Sanctified Church are important elements in helping Black people cultivate and interpret themselves as a collective community. They also enable the search for a deeper spiritual meaning and power in relation to the troubles, sorrows and pain of Black life. Testifyin’ and signifyin’ sometimes are expressed in the music that’s played and sung in the Sanctified Church  [an association of holiness Christian churches headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee. The me ..read more

 © Introduction. Copyright ® Steven Cerra, copyright protected; all rights reserved. We Were All Influenced by Him: A Conversation with Joe LaBarbera About Shelly Manne A Sound Colorist: Peter Erskine Reflects on Shelly Manne I Wanted to Sound Like Him: Jim Keltner Talks About Shelly Manne The word “community” is very much in vogue these days. But when people use “community” today they have a particular meaning in mind: they want the term to denote something that is a force for good. Perhaps this meaning for the term community may also be used in retrospect as when it came to the ..read more

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  Gerry Mulligan (1927-96) had a very interesting and productive life. He started out on clarinet and also spent time playing tenor and alto before settling on the baritone sax. An arranger from an early age, as a teenager Mulligan wrote for his high school band and at 16 for a local radio station. He dropped out of high school as a senior to tour with a band. During his early days he was rated higher as an arranger than he was as an instrumentalist. Mulligan wrote for the big bands of Tommy Tucker, Elliot Lawrence, Gene Krupa (having a hit with “Disc Jockey Jump”) and Claude Thornhill. M ..read more

Jessica Wiliams with Dave Captein on bass and Mel Lee on drums ..read more