#HarryBäcklund: 1936 - 1978 - "I Remember You"

by Steven Cerra
West Coast Jazz or Jazz on the West Coast, the style of Jazz that existed primarily in California from about 1945 - 1965, and the majority of whose recordings were purported to be little more than “... bloodless museum pieces” by one Jazz critic, had an influence well beyond the confines of the Golden State during this same time period.

Most of the Jazz musicians in Scandinavian countries such as Sweden, Denmark and Norway were influenced by it as were the Italians led by Oscar Valdambrini on trumpet and Gianni Basso on tenor saxophone and the French led by the tenor saxophonist Barney Wilen.

The cool wave of the bossa nova broke under the West Coast Jazz spell, too, with Jobim and Gilberto riding the crest of this music’s worldwide popularity in the 1950s and 1960s.

In Sweden, the cool school banner was initially carried by baritone saxophonist Lars Gullin, which was somewhat appropriate in that one of the characteristic sounds of West Coast Jazz owed so much to the piano-less quartet led by baritone saxophonist Gerry Mulligan with Chet Baker featured on trumpet.

Another distinguishing feature of Jazz West Coast was the dominant influence of Lester Young on the tenor saxophone sound of many of players such as Zoot Sims, Jimmy Giuffre, Bill Perkins, Bob Cooper, Richie Kamuca and, of course, Stan Getz.

read more at: http://jazzprofiles.blogspot.com.br