AMG Review of Best of Buddy Rich: The Pacific Jazz Years

Stephen Thomas Erlewine
All Music Guide

The Best of Buddy Rich: The Pacific Jazz Years features 10 tracks culled from Rich's explosive years at Pacific Jazz. There are eight near-standards -- including "Groovin' Hard," "Love for Sale," "Mercy, Mercy, Mercy" and "Greensleeves" -- as well as two previously unreleased cuts: a live version of "Apples" recorded at the Chez Club in LA and an alternate take of "Diabolus." Although the compilation isn't definitive, it remains a good sampling of a short period of Rich's long, prolific career.