An ocean breeze. A sense of open spaces. An atmosphere of sensitive relaxation. These were some of the qualities that attracted Italian American percussionist/composer Andrea Centazzo to the West Coast American jazz of Chet Baker, Gerry Mulligan, Art Pepper and Dave Brubeck in the early 1960s, when he was young. Not always a "jazz" performer himself, Centazzo has nonetheless always been an artist - his four-decade career has spun around soundtracks, multimedia creations and concert-music commissions, as well as exposing the adventurous music he enjoyed via his own Ictus label. So he had no desire to replicate West Coast jazz. Rather, he wanted to reflect on the way it made him feel. That's where "L.A. Strictly Confidential" comes in. To realize his concept, to reinterpret the compositions he has been stockpiling for many years, and to complement his sensually arresting, spontaneous-sounding (yet considered) work on vibraphone and an array of other percussion instruments, Centazzo needed his West Coast Chamber Jazz Trio to be just so. That's why he chose the clean, airy flutes of Ellen Burr, who always sounds as if she turned a corner and discovered something fascinating. And that's why he chose the double bass of Jeff Schwartz, a one-man mood maker who knows the difference between groove and repetition. In the title "L.A. strictly Confidential," we can also sense a certain mystery, a whiff of Raymond Chandler novels and films noir. That's appropriate, because the listener never knows where the music is going, and always sticks around to find out. Greg Burk (August 2016)