Man ... or should I say Manne
... anything with Shelly is going to be worth studying and listening to. He did a ton of work for Henry Mancini, as well as his own group(s).
Other artists he recorded with include: Stan Kenton Orchestra (1947-1950), Laurindo Almeida, Charlie Parker, Stan Getz, Bill Evans, Ella Fitzgerald, Lionel Hampton ... the list goes on and on.
For the small group stuff, check out the Verve website at
www.vervemusicgroup.com and do a search for Shelly Manne. He's definitely got that West Coast Jazz vibe going.
Hope this gives you a little direction.
Also do a search on Google.com for an assort of sites that list sample discographies for Shelly Manne.
