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Big Al

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Everything posted by Big Al

  1. Drat! Wait, so this isn't the exact same track what was on JSngry's BFT? Of course I'll defer if I'm wrong, but there were so many times I had to keep checking my player because I thought I'd somehow switched BFT's!
  2. Oh boy THIS was SO much fun!!!! Of course, I don't know anything, which makes it that much more fun for all ages! Track 1: Recent vintage of an old tune. I hate when I hear a melody I should be able to identify but can’t. I love this track though! Excitement abounds! Track 2: Wow! I like this line-up: sounds like two trombones, a tenor, and a rhythm section with guitar instead of piano! Sign me up NOW!!! Gonna guess Arnett Cobb on the tenor just cuz that’s the first thing that came to mind, not because I know any better! Oh, I guess there is a piano after all. Have I mentioned how clueless I am when it comes to these things? Hmmm.... Spare piano.... Basie or a reasonable facsimile? Track 3: LOOOOOOOOVE this sound! Oh, what is that riff the trombones are playing? My my my, that bridge is delicious!!! Simply MUST seek this out!!!! Track 4: Ptah, I gotta give you credit for holding out this long before unloading the skronk!!! I still can’t listen to it, though. Track 5: A groove like this for ten minutes? Bring it, baby!!! Oh boy, it did! It stayed on that groove, the solos were warm & tasty like comfort food, no sudden tempo changes, no squawking anythings, etc. Ohhhhhhhh yeah, gonna be listening to this again A BUNCH!!! Wait... where did that reverbbed guitar come from??? That just makes me wanna jump up and yell OH YEAHHH!!!! Track 6: sounds like a Freddie Hubbard CTI. If it is, then my CTI knowledge just took a massive hit to the ego, because I thought I knew ‘em all. Oh geez, that piano riff sounds SO familiar. It’s gotta be from SKY DIVE or POLAR AC. One of the two, and I clearly haven’t listened to either one as closely as I thought. {{{groan}}} Track 7: Ha! You think you’re so smart, thinking you’ll put this on here and everyone’s gonna think it’s Pres, but I know it’s not! I know it’s the Vice Pres! And that’s Freddie Greene! And this is from that Verve Elite that combined the 12” and the 10” that drew from a slew of sessions into a nice compact package! And that’s Jimmy Jones on the piano! And I’m too lazy to look up track names or album names. Which means if I’m wrong about any of this, then I’m gonna feel awful silly about the above display of braggadocio! Track 8: Sounds like it could ALSO be from the aforementioned Vice Pres disc, but it actually reminds of me of something from the Illinois Jacquet Verve Elite. If I’m wrong, then it’s all good cuz I need to give that a spin, and then find out who THIS is and see if it’s available anywhere! I love this sound: small group sounding a lot bigger than it really is! Gimme this ANY day of the week!!!! NOTE TO SELF: seems to me that Mercury put out a lotta great small-group records like this back in the late-40’s/early-50’s: the aforementioned Quinichette record & Jacquet record, then there were the Terry Gibbs Big Band records they put out. I need to investigate this further!!! Track 9: is that a banjo being played like a sitar? Whatta groove! Okay, now it’s starting to get a little weird. Maybe some Yusef Lateef? Ahhhhh, what is that, an autoharp? Or Ahmed Abdul-Malik? Track 10: Nice, but I wish I had the faculties to be able to tell one solo piano from another. I know it’s not Fats Waller, Jelly Roll Morton, Fatha Hines, Teddy Wilson, or Art Tatum. Do I get points for knowing who it ain’t? Track 11: Ahhhh, nice intro, don’t let me down! Oh, this is pretty. Very lovely cello playing so far. Loving the guitar accompaniment! Wishing it wasn’t so loud here at the office so I could hear this better, must listen later with headphones or something. Is it a Jacques Louissier (sp?) thing? Oh boy, now that the full band is in full swing, this just took on a whole ‘nother level of fun! Track 12: Wow! Sounds like mid-90’s vintage. It’s clichéd, but in all the right places so as to be completely fun & free-wheeling! Sounds like everyone’s having a good time just playing the blues! Can’t argue with that! Track 13: This must be a first: a track from a previous BFT reappearing on a subsequent BFT. This first appeared on JSngry’s BFT #4 from AGES ago, Count Basie’s “K.C. Stride!” Funny thing is, I actually contemplated making my next BFT nothing but tracks from previous BFT’s just to see if anyone was paying attention. Does anyone else give those old BFT’s a regular spin? I know I do! There’s a vast treasure trove of great music on those collections! Track 14: Where oh where is the Duke playing this? Duke live is ALWAYS a good thing! I love this arrangement, the version with which I’m familiar can also be found on the PIANO IN THE BACKGROUND album! Track 15: Started out good enough, but.... I dunno, did a cross-breeze knock everyone’s music off their stands and they just decided to wing it from there on out? Track 16: Solo guitar. MUCH love! Pat Metheny? Geez, Ptah, maybe I’ve been wrong about you this whole time! Now I feel so bad for all the grief I ever gave you about noisy music, I’m thinking I may need to change the course of action for MY BFT coming up in January. Or not. THIS, my man, will be getting regular multiple listens! One for the ages & all that!
  3. Back in the early daze of the BFT*, my very first BFT came with a special bonus** Christmas BFT, which got quite a favorable response (especially since the BFT occurred in August***). Since then, I've made the BFT available as a download for those who haven't heard it or lost their copy or want to drive annoying people out of their house for the holidays. So, with that in mind and since JSngry has specifically said there will be NO HOLIDAY SONGS on his BFT, reply here or shoot me**** a PM and I'll get you taken care of. Guaranteed stress-free***** Christmas****** music.******* *1922 **Not sure how accurate this word is: everyone got one whether they wanted it or not. Thankfully, most everyone wanted it. Or they're good at lying about it. ***I'm lying. It really was December. I just thought it would be a good joke. Apparently, I'm neither good at lying nor coming up with a good joke! ****Not in the literal sense, PLEASE! *****All except the last song. That one drove a few people nuts. Just warning you. ******To address those who are easily offended, the reason I referred to this as "Christmas" music and not "holiday" music is because "holiday" music implies it could be played for any holiday, and these are all Christmas-specific songs. That said, if you really wanna be radical, I suppose you could play this music at your next Memorial Day gathering, or your 4th of July party, or your Boxing Day suarez. All I ask is that you take pictures of the resulting bloodshed. *******There's nothing significant. I'm just having fun with footnotes.
  4. All I can do is just stand in awe at the level of genius behind that quote.
  5. Download for me, please! Since I haven't even had time to listen to, much less offer the usual incoherent comments about, the current BFT, perhaps we should get together for lunch, dinner, or drinks, and then you can get the full in-person effect!
  6. I know what you mean, but I can think of one instance where my son and I applauded out of sheer excitement that a song we thought would never get played live was being played live: Metallica's "The Call of Ktulu." (I know it's not jazz, hang with me a second) I mean, we went apeshit!!! And then after the introduction, they started playing "The Unforgiven." THAT'S when everyone else in the crowd went nuts. My son and I, however, went to the concession stand....
  7. Big Al, you will find some of this BFT delicious and easy to digest! Ah yer just sayin' that to get me to drop my guard.
  8. It was Cal Tjader's version running thru my head while listening to #7 that was driving me to distraction the entire time. Nice to know I was not alone in this!
  9. I am actually ashamed of my responses. This is a first. I've been clueless before, but my guesses above reached a whole new level of know-nothingness!
  10. With antacid by my side, I heartily request a download!
  11. Caveat: this didn’t drive me to the usual brink of insanity that most free-avant-squawk-fests usually do, and this is because I can tell you the EXACT day I listened to this: Wednesday, October 3, immediately after the Rangers got swept into Wild-Card oblivion by the Oakland A’s. In my massive frustration, this collection only fueled my already blitzkrieged brain and what I originally started typing ended up being an endless list of “I DON’T KNOW, I DON’T GIVE A RAT’S ASS, BUT I WANNA PLAY THIS IN THE RANGERS CLUBHOUSE TO SCARE THE SHIT OUTTA THEM INTO PLAYING FOR THEIR LIVES!!!!” Alas, such did not happen. Although I’m happy that Detroit is going to the World Series (and you better believe I’m rooting for those guys!!! GO TIGERS!!!), alas (again) all you’re left with is the following clueless musings. Sorry to keep y’all waiting! Track 1: Three minutes in, still waiting for the song to start. Long intros make me think of CTI, the trumpet player makes me think of Freddie Hubbard which makes me think of CTI. Oh, that piano vamp is nice! Let’s have some more of that! Oh, I’m liking this more with that two-chord vamp holding things together nicely, despite the squawking going on over it. It’s as if the prettier this gets, the more determined the sax player gets to make this as dischordant as possible. {{{MEGA-SIGH}}} And just like that, the piano player is told at gunpoint to quit playing anything rhythmic and go back to playing this ten-minute introduction to...... I guess we’ll never know. Track 2: Sounds like vintage mid-60’s Blue Note Bobby Hutcherson & Joe Chambers. Nice. Doesn’t sound very structured to these ears, but at least it sounds like it’s going somewhere, and the vibist & the drummer keep things very interesting. Track 3: It’s the same guys from track 1. I guess they felt I haven’t been tortured enough. Thanks guys. Appreciate it. NO, seriously, when I actually listen to this (as opposed to whining without listening), I can appreciate that it’s of the same character as track two. The man in the mirror sez it’s because my ears prefer vibes over horns for this kind of thing, because the drummer here is keeping things going like the drummer on track 2. Track 4: I must’ve really hated this one, because I see I deleted it from my download. Sorry! I think! Track 5: Hold that train!!! I’m coming! The piano intro sounds like what Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood would be like if it were a dark creepy forest. Nice Ellingtonish voicings! Me likey so far! Gonna go out on a limb and suggest Marion Brown? Track 6: I never complain about anything even remotely Klezmer-sounding, and this be no exception! Fun, rollicking, & noisy! What’s there to whine about? Track 7: One thing that’s always irritated me with jazz (or any instrumental music) is my consistent failure to recognize tunes and not know their names. I love this song! I love this arrangement! Sounds like it could be from TIME FOR TYNER. Maybe it is! It’s been so long since I listened to .... AFRO BLUE!!!!! I knew it would come to me! Thank you Cal Tjader! NO, that’s not my guess, I was just trying to remember where else I’d heard this. Wait, maybe it *is* Cal Tjader! Ah, whatthehelldoIknow? I’m just lovin’ it, that’s all! Actually, on second thought (or maybe I’m up to my eighth thought), this sounds like mid-70’s Hutch on Blue Note. ALWAYS a good thing! Track 8: Good for what it is, I guess. Not a big fan of solo sax. Track 9: Okay, I guess. Just kinda drags for me. I mean, it all makes sense on a technical level, and I appreciate the chords and the voicings and the obvious thought that went into the improvisations. I dunno, it makes me think that things are being overthought instead of just movin’ & groovin’, y’know? I mean, I respect it a TON even if it don’t move me much! Track 10: Sounds like they’re trying to go for the sound of a New Orleans hangover. Whether or not they succeeded is up to a better judge than me (i.e. someone who’s actually HAD one). At this point, my stamina has run out and I as I sampled the last four tracks the range of responses I had were “meh” to “YIKES!” So, I’ll leave it at that. I apologize for being my usual grouchy narrow-minded anti-avant self again, Colin, as I have no doubt you put a lot of thought and heart into this. Take my comments with something less than a grain of salt, because I defer to the more knowledgeable amongst the BFT players and their much-more-informed-than-my comments!
  12. I loved Morph The Cat. Probably my favorite Fagen album.
  13. Speaking in terms of instrumental proficiency, yes, great players. I will respect that if I don't anything else (which I pretty much don't...). Instrumental proficiency? At what? Saint-Saens? Guy Lombardo? And how can you tell based on this IMO f---ed up performance? I mean, if they can't play this score decently, it's kind of like saying of a baseball player that he's athletically proficient because he's in great physical shape, has excellent bat speed, oodles of quick-twitch muscles, and can run like a deer, even though he still can't catch a fly or put his bat on the ball. By this logic, the Texas Rangers are the LCJO of baseball. And I can't say I disagree with this comparison.
  14. I think I'll wait for a remix, since there's no indication that this was sourced from the original hops.
  15. Digipaks, especially the ones where the teeth are pre-broken.
  16. Screaming thru your horn, pretending you're saying something meaningful & profound when all you're doing is... well, screaming thru your horn... Oh yeah, and bass solos....
  17. Completely agree! I bought this sight unseen when it came out after having not bought anything by him recently. This is very reminiscent of THE SWING OF DELIGHT to these ears, and this too is delightful!
  18. I've enjoyed everything he's done since TWO AGAINST NATURE, and I'm one of those rarities who prefers his solo stuff over the SD stuff. I've heard the album once today on Rhapsody, and will be heading to Best Buy to get the CD later. There's nothing on this album that's any different from anything else he's done, but then Fagen is one of the few artists who can say the same thing over & over and keep me interested. It's all about the groove for me, and few people keep that groove going like Donald Fagen, AFAIC, IMHO, and YMMV.
  19. I call it Neil Young's beautifully sloppy album from earlier this year....
  20. MUST try this beer, if only to find out if it lives up to my name. Or vice versa!
  21. I'm still rooting for the Rangers! If they go down, THEN I'll root for the A's all the way. But not a minute before!
  22. Buddy Montgomery THIS RATHER THAN THAT (Impulse! AS-9192)
  23. Just once, I'd like to be right for all the right reasons. A's 12 Rangers 5 AL West Champs: Oakland A's AL West Chumps: Texas Rangers Congratulations to the A's for playing outstanding unstoppable baseball and being hungrier than any team in the league. At this point, I don't see any other team stopping them from going all the way. As for my Rangers.... ALL YOU HAD TO DO WAS WIN ONE GAME! Instead, you played like Little Leaguers today! THREE errors? This was the baseball equivalent of a Cowboys game! Okay, rant over. The simple fact is: reality finally caught up with the Rangers. Their starting rotation was never consistent, their hitting even less so (especially in the clutch), all that was holding things together was the defense and when that started falling apart over the last couple weeks, it was only a matter of time. But this still sucks. Even worse than game 6 of last year. How the hell do you build offa this?
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