Herb Pilhofer Octet - Presenting Rare and Obscure Jazz Albums: Cool Man Cool / Jazz from the North Coast, Vol. 2 (2021)

Cool Man Cool
This quintet under the direction of composer-arranger-trumpeter John Plonsky (born in 1926) offers an interesting listening experience in the smooth jazz style of Dave Pell butwith a twist, its unusual instrumentation composed of baritone, amplified accordion and trumpet with bass and drums. Recorded in 1957, Cool Man Cool was his only album as a leader, and it revealed Plonsky as a talented and imaginative soloist with a warmand open tone, who also managed to carry out extremely laborious ensemble work. All players are excellent in harmony, and the use of amplified accordion provides an orchestral texture to support the trumpet and baritone saxophone, adding much appreciated depth to the overall sound. Plonsky's five tastefully conceived originals plus the six fresh, well-arranged standards —two of theman excellent frame to showcase the talent and the vocal facets of singer Betty Ann Blake— do much to enhance the album's appeal.

Jazz From the North Coast, Volume 2
Pianist Herb Pilhofer was born in Nurenberg, Germany, in 1931. He was not overly interested in music until he began studying piano at the age of seventeen. After WWII, he was introduced to jazz by the American soldiers who stayed in Germany, and decided to form his own group and play for the Army Special Service and the USO in Europe. He traveled to the United States in 1954, where he learned arranging and orchestration from Bill Russo. Not wanting to waste time, that same year Pilhofer organized his octet, choosing from some of the best musicians the Twin City jazz scene had to offer. For him, it became a kind of workshop to test his own compositions. His album debut was 'Jazz from the North Coast, Volume 2,' recorded in 1956. Much of his writing and sound of Herb Pilhofer's octet walked the groove between the endeavors of the Dave Pell and Shorty Rogers groups, which were so in vogue at the time.