Stereojack

Yes, it was. IIRC, both it and the later Embryo label were Herbie Mann "production" ventures. William Fischer was also involved in Embryo pretty heavily, it seems. Embryo was certainly Herbie Mann's baby, but I think most of the Vortex sessions were supervised by George Avakian, some by Nesuhi Ertegun, and at least one (Corea's) by Mann.

BFT 34 I usually listen straight through to these BFT discs twice in the car over a couple of days, and then bring the disc inside and play it on my computer through earphones while typing up my responses. Sometimes on the third play through I hear things I missed the first two times, like the countoff at the beginning of track 1! 1. Trumpet sounds like Kenny Dorham a bit, but I can’t identify the performance. A very nice intro to this baffling set! 2. Bass intro, nice sound. The whole thing has an early-60’s feel, but by the drum sound it seems like it might be a more recent recording. Again, a nice track, although I haven’t a clue who’s playing. 3. A nice light trio performance. My first thought was Roland Hanna with George Mraz. What is this tune? I’m sure I’ve heard it before. 4. This didn’t kill me – a little too aggressive for my tastes. Pianist has got chops, don’t care for the alto player. Interesting chart. 5. Well, this certainly sounds like vintage hard bop side, with the horns panned hard left & right. Both the trumpet have nice, if brief, solo spots, but they don’t seem familiar to me. During the second play of this BFT I began to suspect that maybe we are listening to primarily European (or perhaps all French) recordings. This has all the earmarks of an original US session, but I’m frustrated that I can’t pin down the players. 6. “My Romance”. The alto might be Gary Foster, which blows my all-Euro theory out of the water. Nice lyrical tenor. I’d like to hear more tracks like this on BFT’s, and fewer of the modal tunes, old fart that I am! 7. This starts out like “House of the Rising Sun”. A pretty, folksy melody. I think the trumpet may be Bill Coleman, and maybe Guy Lafitte on tenor? Liked this more each time I heard it. 8. A nice tenor player. The tune starts out like “Crazy He Calls Me”, but then goes elsewhere. They must be well known, because it sounds like they’re playing in a theater to a pretty large audience. 9. Sorry, this does nothing for me. Some French hipster, with a little alto solo to tease us. No thanks. -_- 10. Semi-free tenor & piano, not too enticing. (yawn) 11. Now here’s a vintage track, 1950’s. Can’t place the trumpet, but I swear the trombone sounds like Jimmy Knepper, and the tenor is very reminiscent of Yusef Lateef. I know they both played with Mingus, but this ain’t Mingus! Or is it??? 12. “How About Me”. The singer enunciates nicely, has good intonation, but is a little bland. Aside from the giants, I’m not good at identifying singers. 13. Well, this certainly recalls many mid-1960’s sides groove-wise, and the guitar is very much in a Jimmy Raney (or possibly Jim Hall) bag, but I have no idea who this is. The tenor didn’t do much for me, but I like the guitar. 14. Another 1950’s track, and a familiar tune, I think. The organ took me by surprise. Nice tenor, with that swinging old feel. Oh yes, there’s another tenor! These guys have very similar styles. Hmm, maybe an early Ronnie Scott & Tubby Hayes side? 15. This one is not recorded very well, or perhaps remastered badly. Now that I’m hearing it on headphones, I can hear voices during the performance, but no audience. Maybe this is a demo or rehearsal recording, issued many years later. It sounds like some early “cool” jazz, with a trumpet that might be Tony Fruscella, the alto has got elements of Lee Konitz. 16. Another French guy, or maybe it’s the same guy as #9. I think they are the same. Nothing to grab me here. A challenging set, Brownie! Now that I’ve weighed in, I can go back and read the responses from others.

Otto Preminger Moe Howard Beal, Eddie

Boston Blackie Buffalo Bill Philly Joe Jones

I googled Van Eps. The photo does look like him. Not only does it look like him, but it sounds like him.

Moore, Garry Orr, Bobby Les Brown

Well, almost. Albert Ammons died in 1949.

I think that's the point. There is no "West Coast" style - the term covers too many varied artists.

This series was very helpful to me as a kid learning about jazz in the early 1960's. I've still got my set of 12.

Bern Nix Baby Cox Byrne, Brendan

Truck Parham Trailer, Rex Otto Preminger

Pee Wee Ellis Pee Wee Russell Pee Wee Spitalera

I got everybody except the bassist & guitarist, so I cheated & looked it up in Arnold Laubich's Tatum discography. Laubich names everybody except for these two. I agree that the bassist is probably Lesberg, but who's the guitarist?

I saw the piece - very interesting. Did they say his estate is outside London? I've heard that he lives in Kentucky (married a Kentucky girl).

Caesar Romero George Romero Slim Romero

"Cool jazz" describes a style of music. "West Coast Jazz" was a marketing term coined by Dick Bock of the Pacific Jazz label, specifically for his artists Gerry Mullligan and Chet Baker. Since the music of many (but not all) of the "West Coast" artists can be considered "cool", the terms have become interchangeable in some peoples' minds. They shouldn't be, since a fair amount of cool jazz actually originated elsewhere, and a number of California musicians did not play "cool" jazz.

Hop Wilson Skip Homeier Jump, Gordon

Trigger Alpert Herb Alpert Baba Ram Dass

Received mine Friday!

Shemp Joe Besser Joe DeRita

Richard Whiting Sidney Blackmer Sonny Red

Anson Williams Potsie Ralph Malph

I smoked for fourteen years, starting when I was 16. Finally kicked the habit at 30, having quit for over a year twice only to pick up the habit again. It's a nasty and insidious habit, and every time I see a kid smoking, I'm disgusted as to how the kid has been duped (as I was) by the idea that it's "cool" to smoke. Have now been tobacco-free for much longer than I was hooked.

Gerry Mulligan Spike Milligan Harry Secombe

Bee Palmer Spider Martin Beetle Bailey