Various Artists: A Walk on the Wild Side: Classic Tracks from LA’s Legendary Central Ave. Scene (1944–1955)

What has always appealed about Central Ave. music is the chance to hear a city after dark, when the respectable world goes home and the real stories begin. In Los Angeles in the 1940s and 1950s, Central Ave. was alive with jazz, blues, and the first rumblings of rock 'n' roll. A Walk On The Wild Side, a vinyl LP, captures twelve recordings from a remarkable era, and listening to them feels like walking through a long- closed doorway.

What makes this compilation especially appealing is the extraordinary breadth of musicians who passed through that doorway. Some, like Charles Mingus, Dexter Gordon, Wardell Gray and Buddy Collette, were still finding their voices on Central Ave. before becoming major jazz figures. Others, including Jimmy Witherspoon, Roy Milton, Joe Liggins, Pee Wee Crayton, Helen Humes and Percy Mayfield, helped define the meeting place between jazz and blues, while Jay McNeely was already pushing the music towards the raw excitement of early rock'n' roll. There is also something particularly satisfying about hearing these musicians in this setting. Before reputations hardened and careers took them elsewhere, they shared the same musical neighbourhood, feeding off the energy of the clubs, the independent Black-owned record labels, and each other.

Tenor saxophonist Big Jay McNeely opens with "Deacon's Hop," and there is no mistaking the invitation. His honking is loud, exuberant, and wonderfully uninhibited, foreshadowing what would become known as rock 'n' roll. The first jazz track, Wardell Gray's "Sweet and Lovely," is another matter altogether. His tenor playing is warm, lyrical, and full of promise. Suddenly, Central Ave. nightlife seems more intimate. His career was tragically cut short at 34, when he died under suspicious circumstances, possibly from a drug overdose.

Jimmy Witherspoon's "Ain't Nobody's Business (If I Do)" brings the blues back into the room with that wonderfully defiant blend of hurt and swagger that made his performances so memorable. Joe Liggins' "Pink Champagne" is pure good-time music, and in 1960 it was covered as a blues number by Jimmy Rushing on his 1960 Columbia Records release Rushing Lullabies.

Returning to the jazz tracks, the first is tenor saxophonist Dexter Gordon's "Mischievous Lady." With its own charm, the track lets you hear the young Gordon already discovering the big, relaxed tenor sound that would become his trademark. Charles Mingus' "These Foolish Things" is a performance worth a repeat listen. Something about Mingus' big-tone bass playing feels slightly unpredictable, as if he will not stay inside the lines for long. Helen Humes' "All I Ask Is Your Love" follows with a direct vocal. She delivers the number without fuss or unnecessary decoration. Just a singer telling you what she wants.

Next up is "It's April," featuring Buddy Collette on alto sax, accompanied by Charles Mingus. In a gentle moment, it captures Collette's elegant, expressive style, which helped define his work at the time. That sly, slinking blues feeling returns with Percy Mayfield's "How Wrong Can A Good Man Be." Mayfield understood something important about the blues. Sometimes understatement says more than shouting ever could.

Listening to this album is not simply history.  It is the mood in which Central Ave. music could make you smile even while carrying a broken heart.