BillF

Me too. And "The Woody Woodpecker's Song" of much the same time was even more obviously a bebop line!

Kubrick Rubik Ruby My Dear

There was a great deal of jazz and jazz-influenced music coming out of the radio in my 1940s childhood. For example, Nellie Lutcher's "Hurry on Down to My House" was a chart hit when I was 7. But the first jazz record I deliberately listened to was an EP of Sidney Bechet with Claude Luter's Band, which was lent to me by a schoolmate in 1957 when I was 17. I still remember some of those French track titles: "Le marchand de poissons", "Les oignons".

Well, John, mine was a 10" "Humph", too: Jazz at the Royal Festival Hall, bought in 1957:

Shake Keane Sheikh Yamani Loadsamoney

Blue Mitchell Mitchel McLaughlin The Mahavishnu Orchestra

The only thing the least bit West Coast about "Blue Serge" was that it was recorded in Hollywood and that the bassist was L. Vinnegar. Serge, Sonny Clark, and Phllly Joe Jones could hardly be more East Coast, through Clark did spend some time as house pianist with the Lighthouse All-Stars. Serge, of course, was a Bostonian, as Greg Abate was at pains to point out to me about Charlie Mariano when I described him as a West Coaster.

I hope you don't expect 100! But, over 57 years, the following come to mind. (The earlier ones pre-date albums and many have been re-packaged and titles changed.) Louis Armstrong Hot Seven Jelly Roll Morton Red Hot Peppers Jimmy Yancey Albert Ammons Meade Lux Lewis Charlie Parker (Savoy) Charlie Parker (Dial) Miles Davis Modern Jazz Giants (1954) Birth of the Cool Ellington, Such Sweet Thunder Marty Paich Quartet with Art Pepper Bob Brookmeyer and Zoot Sims Herman, The Thundering Herds Gillespie Big Band late 40s Gillespie, Have Trumpet Will Excite Monk, Brilliant Corners Mulligan Meets Monk Rollins, Way Out West Mulligan Quartet with Chet Baker Getz with Al Haig and Jimmy Raney Getz and J J at the Opera House Max Roach and Clifford Brown Blakey Messengers with Monk Messengers, Hard Drive Messengers, Ritual Atomic Mr Basie Basie Decca sides Lunceford Orchestra Miles, Workin', Steamin', Cookin', Relaxin' Coltrane (Impulse album) Coltrane, Love Supreme Coltrane, "Like Sonny" session (Roulette) Ornette, This Is Our Music Jimmy Reed Muddy Waters Mulligan Concert Band at Village Vanguard Jones/Lewis, Horizon albums Wes Montgomery, Incredible Jazz Guitar Victor Feldman, Merrie Olde Soul Shorty Rogers, Cool 'n Crazy Eric Alexander, Nightlife in Tokyo

Ethel the Aardvark Ethelred the Unready R. U. Reddy

No, I never heard of that book. Before I discovered Gioia's book, I had already read Robert Gordon's Jazz West Coast, which remains an excellent point of reference.

Saw him in a Manchester club a few months ago in an organ/drums trio. Sat on the front row and it was a great gig.

Mr Piano Man Frances Parkinson Keyes Merchant Ivory

Sweets Edison Suzie Lamplugh Taras Bulba

My point of entry into West Coast jazz was a Mulligan Quartet EP of "Walking Shoes", "Bernie's Tune", Nights at the Turntable" and "Lullaby of the Leaves". It was on Vogue Records and looked something like this: This was in 1957 when, although recorded five years earlier, it was still the latest thing among young listeners in the UK, hard bop not really having come over the local horizon at that date.

Tuskaloosa Nellie the Elephant Ivory Joe Hunter

Cowboy Roofer Thatcher Milk Snatcher

The Old Lady of Threadneedle street Bankers Huancas

Sandra Blow Gusty Spence Hurricane Higgins

I was hoping some of Herbie Mann's stuff had been lost.

Godot Godard Godbolt

George Morrow Yesterday's Men Tamara Knight

Ed Dipple Dave Pell Pal Joey