Bob Gordon had the potential to be one of the great baritone saxophonists in jazz history. His death in a car accident in 1955 when he was only 27 cut short his life and career, and he is now permanently thought of as part of the West Coast jazz scene. Born in St. Louis, he moved to Los Angeles in 1948 and settled on playing the baritone in 1951, inspired by Gerry Mulligan. Gordon had his own sound, touched by Mulligan and Serge Chaloff although it was distinctive. This double-CD features all of Gordon's dates as a leader plus related sessions under the leadership of trombonist Herbie Harper and tenor saxophonist Jack Montrose. Two of the Montrose dates add trumpeter Conte Candoli but otherwise the music is all played by quintets. Gordon's rapport with Harper and Montrose (who contributed a lot of originals and arrangements to their sessions) is notable. The music, although thought of as "cool" jazz also contains plenty of hot moments and exciting interplay between the horns, and it reminds listeners what a major loss jazz suffered with Bob Gordon's death.