BAKER, CHET / SHANK, BUD / STEVENS, LEIT - The James Dean Story (Sealed) (LP)

The James Dean Story is a 1957 documentary on the life of the legendary American film actor James Dean, depicted through dramatic use of still photography and interviews. Composed by Leith Stevens, and featuring a veritable who's who of West Coast Cool Jazz, the moody score perfectly encapsulates the life of the brilliant and troubled heartthrob, a man whose influence on American culture of the 20th can't be exaggerated. With a band that includes Chet Baker, Bud Shank, Pepper Adams, and Don Fagerquist, with arrangements by the brilliant Johnny Mandel, you know this is going to be full of swinging and classy arrangements and soloing, and moody ballad work. A truly great piece of West Coast Jazz, the soundtrack to a film about one of the most idolized actors in American film history.