Swordfishtrombones, Tom Waits – Tom Waits' songs are full of places. Bus stations and dive bars from LA to Hong Kong, painted in vivid, gritty colors with trumpets, tambourines, electric guitars, and of course bagpipes. His characters are drawn in bold strokes and broad lines, with the occasional tender shading. Here Waits works with a number of awesome sidemen, but I'll just highlight Victor Feldman, the old pro who was always ready to work with the new talent. Island 90095-1 #music #LASounds

Jazz Gunn, Shelly Manne & His Men – In the 60s, Shelly Manne was one of the key artists on the LA jazz scene, and this album, with members of the house band at Shelly's Manne-Hole, is a classic example of the LA sound. Starting with tunes from the TV show Peter Gunn, Manne and his collaborators, Mike Wofford/piano, Conte Candoli/trumpet, Frank Strozier/sax, Monte Budwig/bass, take off into rich explorations of mood and color. And yeah, it swings. Atlantic SD 1487 #music #LP #jazz #LASounds

Fantastica, Russ Garcia – In the 50s, record labels promoting hi-fi released an amazing array of unusual LPs. This is one of the coolest. In his long career, composer Russ Garcia worked in jazz clubs, movie studios and concert halls. Here he takes you out into the cosmos, enhancing his imaginative arrangements with electronic effects by Ted Keep. Walk on the Red Sands of Mars. Dance with the Lost Souls of Saturn. Fall into the ethereal beauty of Venus. Liberty LST 7005 #music #hi-fi #LASounds

The Blasters, The Blasters – The Blasters never made a record as exciting as their live shows, but they put some awesome tracks on vinyl. Their debut album includes Marie, Marie and American Music, both classic rock n roll cuts. But they also dug deeper, as in Border Radio, where a lonely woman laments the loss of her man. Throw in solid covers like Rudy Toombs’ I’m Shakin’ and Albert Luandrew’s Highway 61 and you’ve got yourself a rockin’ album. Slash SR-109 #music #vinyl #rocknroll #LASounds

Touch of Evil, Henry Mancini – Welles wanted a different kind of score, and Mancini obliged. Much of what we hear is “source music”, radios blasting rock n roll, dance music from clubs, a sad tune on a player piano. Within this chaotic collage, Mancini weaves the sensuous sounds of a Latin-inflected big band to deepen the mood and darken the textures. Plas Johnson, Barney Kessel and Mike Pacheco are just three of the amazing LA musicians featured. Blue Moon, 1998 #music #soundtrack #LASounds