September 13, 1953
Travel back in time to 1953 at the iconic Hermosa Beach, California nightclub The Lighthouse where rising trumpet star Chet Baker joins the owner and bassist Howard Rumsey, saxophonist Bud Shank, drummer Shelly Manne, and the rest of the house band (including surprise guests like drummer Max Roach) for an evening of loose, swinging tunes. This is ground zero for the cool, West Coast jazz vibe, though saxophonist Bob Cooper's pulpy Latin-burner "Witch Doctor" threatens to melt the ice you can hear clinking in the crowd's tiki drinks as they dig the scene.
Various Artists
Black Box: Wax Trax! Records - The First 13 Years
1994
Shortly after Wax Trax! was bought by TVT and started issuing several Warp releases stateside, the pioneering industrial label put out this triple-CD box set anthologizing their independent years. A few big names from the label's catalog are missing (particularly Front 242, due to licensing issues), and not every selection is each artist's best or most definitive track, but it's still a valuable document tracing the history of the genre. Highlights include classics from synth pop-era Ministry (and numerous side projects), KMFDM, Meat Beat Manifesto, and dozens more.