tkeith

If You Let Me Stay! That was it!

I was thinking Joe Lee, but I didn't think he had enough edge on the voice. I found another version of the tune on a Charles Greenlee record (with Joe Lee), but even then I wasn't hearing it as him. #foolmetwice Nope, not Wishing Well. Was a bit before that. I never cared for Wishing Well. The tune I have in mind was closer to this, but with that hard edge (that was missing from Wishing Well). I had high hopes, then Wishing Well happened and I kind of forgot about him.

Sorry 'bout that. It was a neat way to grow up. I saw something like this happen when I saw Ernest Dawkins' New Horizons Ensemble at the ICA in Boston. I forget who the trumpet player was, but he was responding to the audience. He was building and playing directly to these highly responsive young (college age) kids in the second row. The kid had a smile that kept growing and he was rocking and the tension in the trumpet solo just kept building until finally the kid just screamed out, "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!!!!" which was answered by a furious outburst from the trumpet back in his face. It was amazing. 'ppreciate it. I'm fortunate to play with the people that I play with. Thank Charlie Kohlhase -- I never would have found my way to this without his direction. Agreed.

Track 1 - Definitely Edward Kennedy's voice. Moon Maiden, I know it from this. Track 2 - Reminds me of the first stuff I heard from Michael Hedges, but I'd say this seems more focused (and would hold up better, longer). Ry Cooder seems to be the guy that does this stuff about as well as anybody, but this is not him. I know purist cringe at all that string noise, but that just makes it real to me. As it gets more frenetic as it approaches the three minute mark, I'm going to guess Larry Coryell. Track 3 - First impressions: Not in love with the unemployment stick, but I'm very much digging the drummer. Has a nice, Michael Carvin kind of snap to his kit. This kind of loses me the longer it goes on. I want to like it more than I do. Something very familiar about the guitarist. Track 4 - South African feel -- I'm in. I fell into a bunch of this stuff in my collection, and this is not any of it. I love it. Get some strange looks cruising around NH in a Jeep blaring this, though. Track 5 - As the groove develops, I'm half expecting Richie Havens to start singing. I know that melody. A lot to like here. Forgettable bass solo (reminding me of a gig from hell with a sub). Closer to three minutes, it gets more interesting. Loving that drum groove. Alto seems a little clean for what's being set up, but I'm still digging it. I guess what I mean is, I'm not sure this is from the period it sounds like or in tribute to it. Surely sounds like Tyner's piano. I was discussing this with my father recently. McCoy's strength in the Coltrane band was his patience. He would just work a motif and work it... and work it. Later, he got too notesy, almost like he thought he *had* to. Right at six minutes, they build that groove right back in, and that's where this should be rooted. It's a killin' groove - just let it develop for what it is. I'm probably nuts, but I swear I know this melody. Track 6 - Carolina Moon. I knew it was Monk off the bat, but the and was so loose when they come in I wondered if it was actually Ra. I'd talked myself into that until I heard the unmistakeable tone of Lucky! It's from this. Track 7 - No idea. While I find stuff like this interesting at first, it rarely holds my interest. I will say, though, I went down to clean my car (I have mid-life crisis issues) and brought this BFT with me, and while much of the pop-ish stuff would not be my first choice, it was the perfect companion for the job! Track 8 - My first thought was Michael Urbaniak. Then as it went on, I wondered if it could be later John Handy. I finally arrived at the conclusion that I have no idea what it is. Track 9 - Wondered if I'd accidentally shuffled the play list beyond the BFT when this came on. I've heard this (I swear), but have no idea what it is. I'm luke warm on it. If I were on the beach, or in a beach bar, and heard it, I'd be pumped. For sitting and listening, not so much. Track 10 - Definitely owes a nod to Bill Evans, but no idea what it is. Track 11 - No clue. It's rather... abstract? Random? There's something that doesn't really "flow" to me. Given that, maybe Evan Parker? Track 12 - I believe that would be Charlie, from Kansas City. Later, by the sounds. Rather melancholy. Soulful to the point of sadness. My first impulse was to say Moody, but it's definitely the man himself. Had to surf the collection for the song title. Meandering. Track 13 - I remember this song, but can't tell you who or what it is. But I remember it from my youth. I would not have put these two back-to-back. Track 14 - That voice is mighty familiar, but I can't place it. He's in that Andy Bey range. I keep wanting some soulful, Temptations style falsetto to come in there. I like this, though -- I could get a lot accomplished while this is playing. What happened to this sort of musical statement? Listen to the shit that we have now-a-days and you understand, perhaps, how we've arrived where we are. #sad Track 15 - No way. Terence Trent D'Arby! I always thought he owed a lot to a lot of people, but I have to admit, he's completely recognizable to me now. He had a song just before the really popular tune he had, it was a bit more uptempo, and it was barking/soulful like this, and I can't recall the name of it. This dude definitely had something. Track 16 - This one was completely lost on me. Can't explain why, but seemed to last three times longer than it actually was. Track 17 - I was nearly done with the car when I heard that first noise, faintly, and wondered it I was imagining it. I was there immediately. ABBEY! Sadly, Liebs never hit this point again, to my ear. Maybe close with Bob Moses... Dad introduced this to me after a trip to Boston for some vinyl. He said, "This is what the quartet was like. It's not the same, but they got there. A different plane, but they reached it. Now ramp it up by a factor of 100 and your getting close." I'm convinced there are two types of people in this world: Those who are touched by this music, and those who are dead. The out-chorus is one of the most exciting things I've ever heard. Once I learned the story behind the recording, it got better. It may be from the liners, I forget... Abbey was on tour in Japan and bumped into Miles. She was't happy with her Japanese drummer and was frustrated that she had an upcoming recording date. Miles suggested she borrow Al Foster and she took him up on it. Al brought David Liebman along for kicks and this happened. Awesome! I don't know how much post-production there was on this, but in that out-chorus, Abbey is most CERTAINLY inspired by what is going on (AAAAAALLL my LIFE!!!!). Great choice! And I feel vindicated in my reactions to Abbey after reading Jim's comment. #greatears

Track 01 - Confirmation - Clifford Jordan - (1982) Live at the Hasty Pudding Club Clifford Jordan - tenor sax; John Hicks - piano; Jamil Nasser - bass; Vernell Fournier - drums I recorded this live, when I was 12. A guy named Bob Merrill -- a grad student, I believe -- was booking great names (Hannibal was the week after this, Pepper Adams the week after that; later would see Cedar Walton, Tommy Flanagan and others before the series stopped. Also saw George Coleman with Terry Lynne-Carrington earlier that year). Legendary Boston radio host, the late Steve Schwartz was in attendance that evening, as well as Alan Dawson. You can read all about this on a blog where somebody has reposted all of this info and the recordings; I'm happy it's being shared, but was a little freaked out to read my own words on another page with a generated album cover. Anyway... A great night of music from a highly underrated tenor and a great band. When we arrived, the only seats available were directors chairs set up on top of a table top against the wall. Pretty cool way to experience music for a 12-year-old. Not a lot of new ground was broken in these two sets of music, but some straight ahead 4/4 bebop-inspired Jazz left my ears ringing and smiling right up to the point you're reading this. You knew I had to squeeze a John Hicks track in. Track 02 - Uptown Conversation - Ron Carter - (1969) Uptown Conversation Ron Carter - bass; Hubert Laws - flute; Herbie Hancock - electric piano, piano; Sam Brown - guitar; Grady Tate - drums My Dad was always playing this for us when we were kids. It was one of the few albums (along with Return to Forever and Stanley Clarke's Children of Forever) that my sister and I would listen to willingly. To us, this was like an extension of the Sanford & Son theme. Sadly, the rest of this album lacks what this track has. Great cover, though (open it up and that square shows Ron sitting with the child, with his tremendous hands in the foreground). I referenced this in a response to last month's BFT, so I had to include it. Track 03 - Riff-Raff - Frank Lowe/Grachan Moncur Quartet - (1985) At Brandeis University Frank Lowe - tenor sax, Grachan Moncur III - trombone, Donald Garrett - bass, Waren Benbow drums Now, I can't get too up in arms about the re-share of track 01 on somebody else's blog, because I found this recording on a blog. There's never enough Frank Lowe in the world, but the sound on this set is stellar. Such a unique and beautiful voice. Grachan is in hard form here, and I love it. I got to see Frank about six months before he passed, with Billy Bang. I took my Dad to the show, and he commented that, as we passed Frank and Ahmed Abdullah in the hall before the show, he made eye contact with Frank and, "It was like we'd known each other forever." Simultaneously, he said to Frank, "Hi, Frank," and I said to Ahmed Abdullah (whom I had never even seen a photo of), "How you doin', Ahmed?" It was weird. He nailed it, it was like we'd known them all our lives and were old friends. A pretty amazing night of music, though Frank played sparsely and seemed really out of it. Little did we know he was terminally ill at the time. Amazing stories of survival. Track 04 - Jonathan's Idea - Equal Time - (2009) Live at The Barley Pub, Dover, NH, September 21, 2009 Forbes Graham - trumpet, Thom Keith - baritone sax, Jonathan Paul - guitar, Tim Webb - bass, Mike Walsh - drums Okay, this was sneaky. This is a recording of my band from 2009. In context, this gig (like many of our gigs) was a highly energetic exercise, and the guitarist just broke into this out of the blue (which never happens), and it was *precisely* what I needed at that moment (just to relax, and try to offer some thoughtful expression). At the conclusion of the tune, I said in an aside to him, "Thank you. I needed that." Then, more fireworks resumed. I'm getting old for that. Thank YOU, Jim Sangry, for your comments on this one! Track 05 - Emerging Field Suite: Emergency Blue - Faruq Z. Bey with Northwoods Improvisers - (2009) Emerging Field Faruq Z. Bey - tenor sax, Mike Carey - bass clarinet, Skeeter C.R. Shelton - alto sax; Mike Johnston - bass; Nick Ashton - drums; Mike Gilmore - Vibes/Marimba I have to thank Charlie Kohlhase for turning me on to this guy. I was only vaguely familiar with him, and when I was doing the radio show, Charlie suggested I contact Entropy Records for some material. Am I ever glad he did! All of the stuff he put out with Northwoods Improvisers is worth the time to listen to it. Track 06 - Indigot - Ronnie Burrage - (1993) Shuttle Frank Lacy - flugelhorn, trombone; Joe Ford - alto & soprano sax; Hamiet Bluiett - bari sax; Cyrus Chestnut - piano; Charnett Moffett - bass; Ronnie Burrage - drums I know Burrage mostly from his work with McCoy Tyner, but also with the Bluiett Baritone Saxophone Group. This was a nice find from awhile back. Really interesting personnel. As far as I'm concerned, anything with Frank Lacy is worth owning. This cooks in such away that the heavy production doesn't get on my nerves. Moffett strikes me as what Stanley Clarke would have played like if he hadn't discovered stardom. Track 07 - With a Little Help From My Friends - Curtis Clark - (1998) Live at the Bimhuis Andy Sheppard - soprano sax, Ernst Reijseger - cello, Curtis Clark - piano, Ernst Glerum - bass, Louis Moholo - drums I absolutely fell in love with this the first time I heard it. Our band has done a cover similar to this, but we've never gotten quite this feel. It's such a refreshing take on the tune, and Sheppard was a boss. Curtis Clark seems to have settled in my area (not sure if he's still here), and I've gotten to see him a few times -- always worth it. Track 08 - Plight - Charles Tolliver/Music Inc. & Orchestra - (1976) Impact Charles Tolliver (solo), Jimmy Owens, John Faddis, Larry Greenwich, Richard Williams, Virgil Jones - trumpet; James Spaulding (solo), Charles McPherson - alto sax; George Coleman, Harold Vick - tenor sax; Charles Davis - bari sax; Garnet Brown, Jack Jeffers, John Gordon, Kiane Zawadi - trombone; Stanley Cowell - piano; Clint Houston - bass; Clifford Barbaro - drums So you think you know big bands, eh? My uncle had this when I was a kid (he may have actually bought it from my father, now that I think about it). Blew my mind wide open the instant I heard it. I didn't particularly care for Spaulding's work until I heard this. Thereafter, I heard everything he did differently. Seems I'd always begrudged him for the guys he wasn't instead of appreciating him for who he was. He has such control of his solo on this, and works against the arrangement beautifully. He handled the David Murray bands in similar fashion. As he aged, to my ear, Spaulding really developed a strong voice. Tolliver is my favorite trumpet player, followed very closely by Lee Morgan, then Hannibal (sensing the theme?). This is exemplary of *why*. Stanley Cowell is one of my favorite writers and certainly one of my favorite solo pianists, but here he shows just how much he brings to a group setting. The other two band tracks on this album are also stellar, one featuring Spaulding, the other featuring Charles McPherson and George Coleman. You can't go wrong with this lineup! Track 09 - Drafadelic in Db - James Carter - (2000) Layin' In The Cut James Carter - bari sax; Jef Lee Johnson, Mark Ribot - guitar; Jamaaladeen Tacuma - electric bass; Calvin Weston - drums This album came out at the same time as Chasin' The Gypsy. I'm forever indebted to Ken Eisen, my predecessor in the DJ chair, for introducing both to me. Ken has great ears and was skeptical when these two albums showed up in his pile, but both were terrific. I know some get frustrated with James showy nature (me, too, sometimes), but they guy has CLEARLY listened to it all and when he's locked in, there's nobody like him. At times, though, I just wish he'd forget he's James Carter and just... *play*. This lineup sneaks up on you. Originally, I saw the instrumentation and just thought, "Oh, electric guitars." *LOOK* at those names! Even if you don't think you like James Carter, I recommend seeing him life to actually appreciate what he's doing. Track 10 - Last of the Hipmen - David Murray Octet - (1981) Home David Murray - tenor sax, Henry Threadgill - alto sax, Butch Morris - cornet, Olu Dara - trumpet, George Lewis - trombone, Anthony Davis - piano, Wilber Morris - bass, Steve McCall - drums When I first heard this, I was absolutely taken by Henry Threadgill's alto solo. This may be my faorite of the Murray octet records. It's a great tune, a great arrangement, a great HT solo. Then Olu Dara reached the kid who didn't trumpet players. Enter the boss. Man, Murray's tone is just so, ****ing MUSCULAR! I always felt that this solo was sort of his moment of nirvana in this setting (followed closely by his solo on 3-D Family from the same album). I don't know why Black Saint pinched the sound of Wilber Morris' bass so badly, but the music gets beyond it, somehow. Steve McCall does his thing -- a damned near perfect track, IMHO. Track 11 - With A Little Help - Curtis Clark 5tet - (1999) Make Believe Felicity Provan - trumpet, Rob Armus - tenor sax, Curtis Clark - piano, Jacko Schoonderwoerd - bass, Eugene Gondi - drums I found this track accidentally while searching for the other Curtis Clark track. I actually liked this one just as much if not more, so I had to include it, as well. I know nothing of Rob Armus, except that he really sounds a lot like Richard Gardzina to me. Thanks to all who participated!

Dad's responses: First listen responses to your BF test: 1-CJ at the Pudding '88 2-Uptown Conversation with Ron Carter, Hubert Laws, Hancock, Tate 3-Riff-Raff- Frank Lowe,ts, maybe Moncur or Joe Bowie,tb? 4-Equal Time 5-Not a clue; regional players? not too heavy 6-Tb-led post bop, nice tune, tricky head 7-Unknown ss/p duet Charles Lloyd influence (yawn) 8-Plight Tolliver big band Impact cd 9-James Carter? Nice, tight unit 10-Last of the Hipmen, great Threadgill, Murray Octet 11-Unknown tenor, nice, measured solo Then, Is it Curtis Clark on 7&11? If so, whose the tenor? My first thought on #6 was Frank Lacy but wasn't sure enough to even say maybe?

Negative, but boy, that'd be a nice addition to that lineup!

He didn't want to play spoiler (it's my father). I'll bug him to post next week. If he doesn't, I'll share his answers (I'm not afraid).

That's some high quality cement, because you are spot on. I like where your ears went, but actually late 60s (though, without question, these are some of the founders of that sound). Both lean towards the Avant Garde. No, this is a tough one. I think a lot of people are going to hear this that way (they usually do). Again, high quality cement, my good man! Correct, sir! Safe to say you don't lean towards the avant garde? Agreed. Thanks for the input. I dare say you did better than you seemed to think.

It is not.

That is the part I'm hoping people will fill in. A hint: These are ALL well-known musicians with great résumés. I'll again offer the hint that each guy plays his signature line during this tune.

I think the personnel on track one will throw some people. I also think people might be over thinking it. Each of these players plays his trademark licks on this track. Not CM or RD on track 3, but heavy hitters for sure. Welcome, Spoon! Love the Kenny Clarke comparison, but not him. Not Moody, either. IMHO, I put this guy a notch or two above James. Not Shepp on 3, but I think it would be safe to say out of that school. Uh-oh... Jim has arrived, expecting a slew of IDs! Correct, sir! Embryo records, actually. Correct on both guys. ID'd by Bill. Correct, sir! Not Gabor. Not David. Correct on nearly all counts, though for me, this track is the highlight of this album. #truth I LOVE the way you worded this. Perfect. Thank YOU for the thoughtful responses. You did about as well as anyone who didn't receive a personal invite (and only one of those four has participated, privately; and he cleaned up).

Correct on the Lennon/McCartney assessment. Many people make that connection when the song is played at this tempo.

Nay, sir. Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding!2

Not jgriff. Again, the neighborhood is certainly correct.