West Coast jazz

noun

1. cool jazz.

West Coast jazz

noun

1. a type of cool jazz displaying a soft intimate sound, regular rhythms, and a tendency to incorporate academic classical devices into jazz, such as fugue

Word History and Origins

Origin of West Coast jazz¹

First recorded in 1950–55

Example Sentences

Inspired by the West Coast jazz of Chet Baker, Gerry Mulligan and others, Mr. Lyra brought a relaxed sophistication to his work, as well as an exacting standard for musical precision.

From New York Times

Few places hold as much importance in Los Angeles’ black history as Central Avenue, the birthplace of the West Coast jazz scene and a magnet for those leaving the South seeking a better life.

From Los Angeles Times

“He created the visual reality of West coast jazz, a whole new way to picture the art.”

From Los Angeles Times

Before he fell into the nascent Southern California punk-rock scene in the late 1970s, Mr. Lockett had been performing, recording and writing about jazz for a local newspaper in Hermosa Beach, home of the Lighthouse, a nightclub long considered a mecca of West Coast jazz.

From New York Times

Not famous-famous, but not exactly B-listers either: She wrote a memorable 2014 Harper’s essay on troubled West Coast jazz saxophonist Art Pepper and a 2019 quasi-biography of ‘70s scenester-author Eve Babitz, “Hollywood’s Eve.”

From Los Angeles Times