Various – Spiritual Jazz 19, West Coast U.S.A.: Part I : 50s & 60s (2xLP)

Various Artists' Spiritual Jazz 19 - West Coast USA Part 1: 50s & 60s opens up a less familiar side of California jazz, tracing how spiritual, modal and Afro-centred ideas were already taking root on the West Coast in the 1950s and 1960s. Rather than repeating the usual story of cool jazz, this Jazzman compilation places the music in the wider atmosphere of Los Angeles' Central Avenue, the social upheaval of the 1960s, and the political and religious currents that shaped the period.

The set is built as a focused survey of a scene where chamber-like arrangements, open-ended improvisation and exploratory harmony could exist side by side. Chico Hamilton, Victor Feldman, Les McCann, Buddy Collette, Curtis Amy, Harold Land and Charles Lloyd are among the better-known names, but the appeal here is just as much in the rarities and overlooked corners. Tracks such as Chico Hamilton Quintet's Blue Sands, Curtis Amy & Dupree Bolton's Native Land and Charles Lloyd's Dervish Dance show how wide the definition of West Coast jazz could be when independent labels and local scenes gave musicians room to stretch.

As the nineteenth entry in Jazzman's long-running Spiritual Jazz series, this first West Coast volume works best as both a historical snapshot and a strong listening experience in its own right. It connects post-war Los Angeles jazz to later countercultural and spiritual movements, while keeping the focus on vivid performances that still sound searching and alive.