ichard Bock founded Pacific Jazz Records in 1952 and then, in 1957, changed the name to World Pacific Records to widen its scope, but he eventually switched back to the original name for jazz releases. Based in Los Angeles, the label (along with Contemporary Records) came to define West Coast jazz, recording left-coast luminaries Chet Baker, Art Pepper, Gerry Mulligan and many more. This music was recorded in October 1956 and released in 1957 on the World Pacific label with the title Playboys and a cover photo of a model wearing nothing above the belt other than a couple of well-placed mittens. The similarity of the cover to Playboy magazine brought down that publication's lawyers on Richard Bock, and the LP was retitled Picture of Heath (one of the songs on the album) on the Pacific Jazz imprint in 1961 with much more tastefully selected cover art. Unlike the original release, which billed Baker and Pepper as leaders, the rebranded cover lists each of the musicians. But make no mistake, Baker and Pepper are the stars here, joined by Phil Urso on tenor saxophone, Carl Perkins on piano, Curtis Counce on bass and Lawrence Marable on drums.

Chet Baker was at the height of his early fame before his drug habit was well known and before he was beaten up after a performance at the Trident Restaurant in Sausalito, California, and lost several teeth. Pepper, a few years older than Baker, had already descended into a heavy drug habit that landed him in prison several times. He recorded this session shortly after the first of four prison terms. Curtis Counce and Carl Perkins each have an extensive discography, but all the players are West Coast through and through. The band plays four compositions by Jimmy Heath and two by Pepper, and if one word can sum up an entire album, it would be swing -- the session swings hard throughout. If your idea of West Coast jazz is based on a listen to any number of Shelly Manne recordings, you are in for a surprise. This is high-quality, straight-ahead bop with a left-coast tinge -- the writing and playing are of the highest order. Baker is at his best without the lighter ballads and androgynous singing of his other early recordings. Pepper was about to record his Contemporary Records classics. Although the two played together on a few other recordings, this may be the best of the lot.

Recorded in mono at Radio Recorders in Hollywood, the album has always sounded excellent, even by the high standards set by West Coast stalwarts Contemporary and Pacific Jazz. The record received the audiophile-reissue treatment once before, by Pure Pleasure Records in 2006. Both this issue and that one were made from the original master tapes, but the earlier version was mastered in house at Capitol Records (the owner of Blue Note and Pacific Jazz), whereas this new release was mastered by Kevin Gray at Cohearant Audio. The improvement with this new Tone Poet release is not subtle. The rhythm section sounds like a different ensemble. The drums show a newfound sparkle, and the sound explodes off the drum kit. The bass is deeper and better articulated and the piano a bit more prominent, less buried at the back of the mono mix. As a result, the three-horn front line seems to have raised its game a level, and the interplay shows more focus and intensity. The mono soundstage is deep but not as wide as is found on the best Rudy Van Gelder early mono recordings. However, it is wide enough to sound better than that of most stereo recordings of the late 1950s and early 1960s.