Milton "Shorty" Rogers (born Milton Rajonsky; April 14, 1924 – November 7, 1994) was one of the principal creators of West Coast jazz. He played trumpet and flugelhorn and was in demand for his skills as an arranger.
A fine middle-register trumpeter whose style seemed to practically define "cool jazz," Shorty Rogers was actually more significant for his arranging, both in jazz and in the movie studios. After gaining early experience with Will Bradley and Red Norvo and serving in the military, Rogers rose to fame as a member of Woody Herman's First and Second Herds (1945-1946 and 1947-1949), and somehow he managed to bring some swing to the Stan Kenton Innovations Orchestra (1950-1951), clearly enjoying writing for the stratospheric flights of Maynard Ferguson. After that association ran its course, Rogers settled in Los Angeles where he led his Giants (which ranged from a quintet to a nonet and a big band) on a series of rewarding West Coast jazz-styled recordings and wrote for the studios, helping greatly to bring jazz into the movies; his scores for The Wild One and The Man With the Golden Arm are particularly memorable. After 1962, Rogers stuck almost exclusively to writing for television and films, but in 1982 he began a comeback in jazz. Rogers reorganized and headed the Lighthouse All-Stars and, although his own playing was not quite as strong as previously, he remained a welcome presence both in clubs and recordings.
CD1
01. Popo [03:01]
02. Over the Rainbow [03:00]
03. Didi [02:26]
04. Sam and the Lady [03:07]
05. Apropos [02:38]
06. Bunny [03:30]
07. Piruette [03:13]
08. Powder Puff [02:50]
09. The Pesky Serpent [02:39]
10. Diablo's Dance [03:18]
11. Mambo Del Crow [03:03]
12. Indian Club [02:37]
13. Hip Boots [02:54]
14. Blue Fairy Boogie [02:55]
15. Double Clutch [03:16]
16. Breakfast Ball [02:24]
CD2
01. Coop De Graas [02:57]
02. Infinity Promenade [03:34]
03. Short Stop [03:16]
04. Boar - Jibu [03:35]
05. Contours [03:20]
06. Tale of an African Lobster [03:24]
07. Chiquito Loco [03:27]
08. The Sweetheart of Sigmund Freud [02:39]
09. Pyramid [02:48]
10. Argyles [02:48]
11. Be My Guest [03:05]
12. Egypt [02:38]
13. Banaera [03:05]
14. Frappe [03:03]
15. 6/4 Trend [03:17]
16. Not Exactly [02:34]
CD3
01. Free [04:19]
02. Evolution [04:14]
03. Margo [04:50]
04. Bobalob [07:00]
05. Hot Shoe [02:41]
06. Lonely Way [02:48]
07. Blues for Brando [02:38]
08. Windswept [02:26]
09. Beerle [02:35]
10. Chino [02:29]
11. Scramble [03:00]
12. The Wild One [03:10]
CD4
01. Taps Miller [03:20]
02. Jump For Me [03:57]
03. Basie Eyes [03:24]
04. It's Sand, Man [02:58]
05. Topsy [03:19]
06. Down For Double [02:55]
07. Swingin' The Blues [04:26]
08. H & J [02:59]
09. Walk, Don't Run [03:15]
10. Doggin' Around [02:36]
11. Tickletoe [02:38]
12. Over And Out [03:11]
