Backgrounder: 'East Coast - West Coast Scene' (1954)

By 1954, the 10-inch 33 1/3 and seven-inch 45 album formats had made strong inroads with record buyers and were fast replacing the 78. On the West Coast, labels that had been cultivating Los Angeles musicians already came to realize that jazz out there had its own sound.

With the 10-inch LP expected to expand to 12 inches within the year and become the industry standard, and the 45 likely to become used exclusively for rock 'n' roll, R&B and country singles, the record business was on the verge of a boom. RCA, as always, was out front.

Labels were looking for ways to fill their new, 12-inch release pipelines. On the East Coast, jazz had a more muscular, bluesy sound while on the West Coast, jazz placed a greater emphasis on harmony, counterpoint and a breezy articulation. These differences gave RCA producer Jack Lewis in L.A. an idea. [Click liner notes image above to enlarge]

Lewis asked trumpeter Shorty Rogers—one of Hollywood's hottest jazz composer-arrangers—to assemble a group and record three songs. Then he asked tenor saxophonist Al Cohn—one of New York's ace composer-arrangers—to put together a group there and also record three. To keep things even, both groups would use 11 musicians and the exact same instrumentation.

Lewis's goal wasn't to stage a bi-coastal shootout. Instead, the album would be a way for RCA to expand its jazz market. The concept was designed to announce to jazz record fans that there was more jazz out there than they thought. Two different blends, if you will, both top-notch but each with their own personality and mood. The point was to get buyers hooked on two different sounds and widen their buying preferences as the 12-inch LP loomed.

When released in 1955, the six-song RCA album (available on 12-inch vinyl and on three 45s) was called East Coast-West Coast Scene, with two different authors of the back-cover liner notes—one covering the East Coast group and one for the West. It's a gorgeous landmark album featuring the cream of two different region's studio jazz players. You'll love this one.

The ensembles, recording dates and tracks:

Side A/East Coast Scene: Al Cohn and His "Charlie's Tavern" Ensemble, featuring Joe Newman (tp), Billy Byers and Eddie Bert (tb), Hal McKusick and Gene Quill (as), Al Cohn (ts,arr), Sol Schlinger (bar), Sanford Gold (p), Billy Bauer (g), Milt Hinton (b) and Osie Johnson (d) (October 26, 1954)

Inside Out (Al Cohn)
Autumn Leaves (Joseph Kosma)
Serenade for Kathy (Al Cohn)

Side B/West Coast Scene: Shorty Rogers and His Augmented Giants, featuring Shorty Rogers (tp), Milt Bernhart and Bob Enevoldsen (tb), Jimmy Giuffre (cl,ts,bar), Lennie Niehaus and Bud Shank (as), Zoot Sims (ts), Pete Jolly (p), Barney Kessel (g), Curtis Counce (b) and Shelly Manne (d). (September 11, 1954)

Cool Sunshine (Shorty Rogers)
Loki (Shorty Rogers)
Elaine's Lullaby (Shorty Rogers)

Having listened to this album many times, I'd have to call the jazz juxtaposition a draw on every level. Not to be outdone, both Cohn and Rogers gave these tracks everything they had. A special thanks to Todd Selbert for reminding me about this one.

Here's the complete East Coast-West Coast Scene (RCA)...