OTOH, Lion pioneered club recordings. I think he was tired of the trouble, lack of control and union contracts in the end. The union in NYC and most urban areas was strong then.
Don't know about the sound quality of the bass solo (Taurus) but the "salvageable" material was enough for BN to prepare masters for 2 lps and make test pressings. Interestingly the ESP issue duplicates the program of BN's 2nd volume (4211). The first volume (4210) remains unissued and consists of 4 performances by the trio.
A qualified yes. The pop music scene was still a singles market and the manufacturing costs were much less than albums. Their distribution system would be able to handle the business and if the label needed financing to keep up with the pressing bills, the larger distributors would advance the money for an extra piece of the action.