Chico Hamilton - The Complete Recordings 1953 - 1958 (5CD)

American drummer and bandleader Chico Hamilton was one of the biggest names in West Coast jazz, if not the genre as a whole. Never wishing to settle in one area for too long, Hamilton's experimentation with band arrangements and instrumentation left a lasting imprint on the musical world, and led to him working on film scores and commercial jingles, alongside more than 50 studio albums during the course of his lifetime. He made his first recordings as leader with the Chico Hamilton Trio in 1953, and these would form part of his eponymously titled 1956 album on Pacific Jazz; the trio evolved into a quintet in 1955. The group would cause something of a stir in the jazz community with its unusual line-up of Buddy Collette on saxophones, flute and clarinet, Jim Hall on guitar, Carson Smith on bass and Fred Katz on cello - one of the first uses of the instrument in the jazz idiom . Their first album as a four piece, Chico Hamilton Quintet featuring Buddy Collette (Pacific Jazz, 1956) was one side live and one side studio recorded, and quickly became popular amongst 'cool jazz' fans in particular. Hamilton and his group continued to gain momentum as the decade progressed, and would go on to appear alongside Burt Lancaster and Tony Curtis in the 1957 film Sweet Smell of Success in 1957. By the end of the 50s the quintet had put out a dozen albums, by which time the addition of pioneering free jazz saxophonist, flautist and bass clarinetist Eric Dolphy had a profound effect on Hamilton, who would continue to experiment with avant-garde elements into the following decade. This five CD boxed set contains the entirety of Chico Hamilton's recorded output during his formative yet undoubtedly crucial early years, 1955 - 1958. With over six hours of music and featuring 10 fully remastered albums in total, this collection provides a fascinating and thoroughly exhilarating insight into the evolving sound of one of the finest drummers and bandleaders in American jazz history. Record Label: Enlightenment Series Style: Jazz