Considering his talents, arranger Bill Holman has led relatively few recording sessions through the years. This formerly rare big-band set from 1958 (originally on the Andex label and reissued on CD by V.S.O.P.) features a 15-piece band filled with West Coast all-stars. Among the soloists on these five standards and four originals are trombonists Frank Rosolino, Carl Fontana, and Ray Sims; altoists Charles Mariano and Herb Geller; trumpeter Jack Sheldon; Richie Kamuca on tenor; pianist Victor Feldman; and Holman himself on tenor. The leader’s arrangements were quite distinctive (although not as complex as they would become) at this fairly early stage, and the results are a big-band album that still sounds fresh nearly four decades later. – Scott Yanow