The Chico Hamilton Trio - Chico Hamilton Trio (1956)

Chico Hamilton Trio (Pacific Jazz PJ-1220, 1956) is one of the earliest and most revealing documents of West Coast jazz in the early 1950s, capturing Chico Hamilton before the celebrated quintet period that would make him a household name. The album gathers sessions from three different dates — 1953, 1954, and 1956 — effectively expanding the original ten-inch LP with four newly recorded tracks.
Guitarist Howard Roberts anchors the earlier sessions, while the young Jim Hall joins for the final date; veteran bassist George Duvivier provides a steady, inventive foundation throughout. Sessions took place at Sound Stage Studio in Hollywood and later at the Music Box Theatre, all produced by Richard Bock, the founder of Pacific Jazz and architect of the West Coast sound.
Critics have praised the imaginative depth of these piano-less trio sessions: an unusually broad dynamic range, varied timbres, and rhythmic invention that belie the formation's apparent simplicity. The repertoire moves between standards, Hamilton originals, and pieces by Duvivier — among them "Uganda," a quietly Afrocentric gesture that feels ahead of its time within the cool jazz idiom. William Claxton's cover photography ties the record visually to the elegant Pacific Jazz aesthetic he helped define.

Tracklist:
1-1 The Chico Hamilton Trio - Blues On The Rocks [3:05]
1-2 The Chico Hamilton Trio - Street Of Drums [3:17]
1-3 The Chico Hamilton Trio - We'll Be Together Again [2:55]
1-4 The Chico Hamilton Trio - Skinned Strings [5:13]
1-5 The Chico Hamilton Trio - Nuttye [2:30]
1-6 The Chico Hamilton Trio - Porch Light [3:59]
1-7 The Chico Hamilton Trio - Broadway [3:03]
1-8 The Chico Hamilton Trio - Autumn Landscape [3:41]
1-9 The Chico Hamilton Trio - Uganda [4:42]
1-10 The Chico Hamilton Trio - Lollypop [2:17]