Big Al

On two separate occasions on two different computers, whenever I try to open the MLB 2012 thread, I get redirected to a site that says the following: Any idea how/why this is happening? Thanks!

Happy to help if needed PM coming!

Funny how things turn around in baseball: where once we dreaded Scott Feldman taking the mound but cheered when Yu Darvish took the mound (well, actually, I've never bought into the Yu hype), now the tables have turned: Feldman's won his last four decisions, Darvish is 1-4 in his last six starts. Darvish hasn't reached Chan Ho lousiness (yet), but if he doesn't right himself and SOON, it could open the door for the A's and the Angels to drop Texas out of the playoffs altogether.

Ahhhh, so much to get!!! I think I may take you up on your previous offers for the sources of tracks 2, 3, and 9! Can't believe there wasn't more love for track 2! I thought that was played brilliantly, and now that I know the story behind it, I appreciate it that much more! I woulda NEVER guessed George Cables, and now that I listen to it again, I realize how shameful that little admission truly is! Didn't realize how close I came with the "Italian restaurant" comment with regards to Gene DiNovi! Perhaps I oughta check this out, too! And the albums from which tracks 4, 7, and 11 have shot to the top of my want list! Maybe even track 8 if I'm in a good mood! Still listenin' to this BFT, DrJ, and still enjoyin' the heck outta it!

Love this album. I think I got it during the Oldies OJC sale awhile back, and very glad I did. There are moments on this album that sound like a mid-60's Blue Note album.

Uh...guess it's back? KNOW it's back! Refuse-to-lose comeback last night, 15-8 stomping still going on right now. It's ALL back, baby!

Me two!!!

Download for me too please!

PM coming

Including Blue Mitchell!

Aw, now I feel bad cuz I love me some Pepper! Geez Al, I thought we were going to come to blows on this one! I shall! I'll likely hear something I missed the first couple go-rounds, especially now I know it's Pepper!

{{{facepalm}}} {{{KICK}}} Ouch! {{{KICK}}} Ouch! {{{KICK}}} Ouch! {{{KICK}}} Ouch! {{{KICK}}} Ouch! Aw, now I feel bad cuz I love me some Pepper! OH BOY!!!! I GOT ONE RIGHT!!!!! WOW!!!!! Ah, nice to see this in use again! Yes! I've often thought that if I ever had a jazz radio show, this would be the theme music I'd play at the intro. Just sublime. You guys know that another track from this album is used as the theme song to “Night Lights,” right? But I’m with Jim (as usu-al), I need to check out this record!

Okay, okay, OKAY!!! I don’t know how I’m gonna contain my excitement now that I’m sitting here actually banging out guesses, commentary, and the usual shenanigans. For ONCE, I actually stand a chance of not being so clueless!!! Oh, and did I mention that this is, by far, and with no disrespect to any previous BFT compilers (except for whoever compiled 21, 54, and 73; that guy needs serious help!), the BEST BFT EVER!!! Okay here we go: Track 1: I thought this was Bill Evans doing “It Ain’t Necessarily So.” Then I thought it was Herbie Hancock. Then I thought it was McCoy Tyner. Then I realized I’d run out of piano players I know! Beautiful nonetheless! Track 2: I thought this was Peter Leitch doing “Eye of the Hurricane,” cuz it has that nice hollow-body sound. But then I realized it could be Joe Pass with a rhythm guitarist, or maybe even Pat Martino. Here’s what I *do* know: even if a Herbie piece is played correctly, ie get all the notes & chords right, it’s rare if someone captures the feeling of the piece. This bunch not only nailed it, AFAIC they surpassed the brilliant original. Boyoboy, I sure hope this one’s in print! RECANT AFTER LISTENING TO TRACK 14: Okay, so this isn’t “Eye of the Hurricane.” Boy, did I feel dumb. Then when I realized track 14 ALSO isn’t “Eye of the Hurricane,” that set me off on a frantic search because I REFUSED to post my answers until I identified the tune for this and track 14 (which is below). This is “E.S.P.” which seems kinda ironic now that I think about it! Track 3: You know that feeling you get when a song starts and it just instantly grabs you, calms you, soothes you, and makes you feel like all is well with the world? Well, that happened on BFT 12, on which Hubert Laws’ original version of this lovely tune appears. It also happened again here, on this BFT! I found myself whistling along with what I thought was a flute only to realize that’s a trumpet and by God, that sounds like Kenny Dorham! Ah, a guy can dream! I tell ya, this reminds me of the album Dorham did with Cliff Jordan, and one track in particular, “Down Through the Years,” but nothing else on that album came close to THIS level of serene beauty! Once all of this slobbering is over, I’m gonna go find this one! And I sure hope THIS ONE’S in print, too! Track 4: “The More I See You,” and the more I listen to this, the more I think this is Johnny Lytle, what with the congas and the relaxed swing of the drummer that marked many a Lytle Riverside date (I bet I can figure this one out after I’m done here). Maybe a Solid State date? At first I thought this was his date on which Bobby Timmons was the leader on Prestige, but it ain’t on there, so there you go. I’m sticking with Lytle as my guess, and ONCE AGAIN hoping this one’s in print!!! Track 5: No clue. Sure sounds like the Andrews Sisters to these clueless ears, and while I won’t argue with their jazz chops, there’s GOT to be another reason for putting them on a BFT! What is it??? Grappelli on the violin? Little Jazz on the trumpet? I dunno. Think I’ll just enjoy it for what it is: sweet! Track 6: A nice relaxed run through “Double Talk,” which at this pace could probably be called “Single Talk,” but not for lack of energy. It sounds like a gathering of old bop survivors rallying ‘round the flag with everything they’ve got. Good, if not entirely essential, but always enjoyable when the old cats strut their stuff and show the young ‘uns they continue to be forces to be reckoned with! Track 7: Another guitar quartet with a rhythm guitarist! J, you are a jazzer after my own heart! This has moments that remind me of “Mean What You Say,” and then there’s a couple spots that make me think of another song, arrrrrghhhhh, I hope I can think of it! I sure hope this one’s in print, too, otherwise J’s gonna have an unexpected visitor arriving at his house once the answers are revealed! Track 8: Very definitely in the Ornette/Cherry mode, albeit with less abstraction and a beat to DIE for! How cool would it be if this were Jackie McLean & Donald Byrd? I’d love that! Track 9: There’s a tune called “Jump Monk” that I’ve never heard, but this song sounds like that title! Boy, does this one get me goin’! Sure sounds like Tony Williams on the drums with that hi-hat goin’ crazy like that! Track 10: Gotta catchy riff and a nice swing to it. Not a terribly big fan of the bari sax, but nothing that would make me say this BFT still ain’t batting 1000 for me! Track 11: First thought as my jaw hung open: I don’t know why someone would put Miles’ “Freedom Jazz Dance” on a BFT and I don’t freakin’ care! CRANK IT UP, BABY!!! But then that theme comes in! Where the heck have I heard that before? It’s gotta hit me sometime. That’s DEFINITELY Tony Williams on the drums, I don’t care what anyone says! The electric piano suggests something from the CTI era, maybe Sir Roland Hanna or somethinglikethat! Argh! What is that theme? I KNOW I’ve heard it before, but where?!?!?!? And that sounds like Joe Farrell on soprano! Did Tony Williams ever record something for CTI? Maybe that’s DeJohnette on the drums. Oh this is driving me up a freakin’ wall! Song’s over and it FINALLY hits me: Herbie Hancock’s “Rockit!” But that came out in ’83, which negates everything I’ve assumed up until now! Well, whatever, this is SO much cooler than the Herbie electro-MTV that I never liked! In print? I sureasheck hope so!!! Track 12: Okay, this track was the most difficult one to get through, and only when it was over did I see the brilliance of it. I wanted to just dismiss this as someone left the tape running while the band was getting in tune, but as I waited for the other shoe to drop, I realized that there was no other shoe to drop, and that there might not have even been a first shoe! This could probably make a great film score, but it may even be too abstract for that. And that’s what I like about this: it’s abstract without being obnoxiously dissonant. There’s a structure to the formlessness, if you will. Then again, I could just be full of it, trying to sound smarter than I really am. Not sure I’d listen to this again, but I can sure appreciate it for what it is. Or isn’t! Track 13: Kinda has an if-John-Fahey-played-piano vibe at the very beginning. Kinda flourishy & flowery, not necessarily bad, but it sounds like the piano player is trying to emulate a Gershwin piano roll for the dinner crowd. I could see this being played at my favorite Italian restaurant. Track 14: Another stab at “Eye of the Hurricane” doesn’t achieve the sublime heights of the erar.... Wait, this isn’t “Eye of the Hurricane” because track 2 is… wait, no track 2 isn’t..... aw crap... (frantic search, edit added to track 2 guess, off to figure out THIS tune) OHFORTHELOVEOFGOD I can’t BELIEVE I’ve forgotten the name of this tune! That sound you will be hearing soon will be me kicking myself with steel-tipped chukka boots for not identifying this tune! I’M SO ASHAMED!!!!!!!! Whatta BFT! I could listen to this nonstop for hours! I can hardly wait to see what everyone else has to say, but I gotta say: whatta way to finish the first hundred BFT’s! DrJ, you have created a BFT masterpiece, AFAIC!!!!

Gotta hand it to the Rangers and their never-say-die attitude, scoring three runs with two out in the ninth, then holding on to win in the 13th. Yeah, I know it was against the last-place Twins, but there's no such thing as "should be" or "supposed to" in this game, because... well, check the signature below!

Another vote for Grant Green's IDLE MOMENTS. Before I heard this record, I didn't have much use for Joe Henderson. This album changed all of that for me. Also, he is completely on fire on Freddie Hubbard's STRAIGHT LIFE.

Mitch Williams as a color commentator on Fox.... surreal has reached new heights. Or depths, depending on your point of view....

Or even this week, apparently...

Halfway through and will have comments later, but I think I've discovered the theme: Music Designed to Make Big Al a VERY Happy Owl! I am enjoying this BFT tremendously!!!! Oh, and I haven't looked at anyone's comments either. Not that it would make any difference...

And this Rangers fan says thank you! Jim, I think we've switched roles this year, with me being the Rangers cheerleader and you preaching the doom & gloom. Yeah, the Rangers got swept, but so did the Angels. Both at the hands of two very good teams. I agree that numbers don't always tell the whole story, and okay the Rangers certainly aren't the best team in baseball today. But they didn't get that record by being weak, that's for sure.

My pleasure, after all these years!

NOBODY has jumped on that Turrentine yet??? If I didn't already have my own copy... BUY that, people! Geez!!!!

Wait, does this mean I compared Greg Waits & Jim Sangrey to Steve Swell & Jemeel Moondoc? Wow, I hope they feel complimented! Which likely explains my opinion of this track. Nice indeed! Well, the cat on the cover LOOKS like a "Prophet Jennings;" do I get any points for that? Must investigate this one further! I think I have an idea why it may be so hard to find.... Well..... I s'pose I should give it another chance, sharing a first name with the guy & all.... A double-album CTI-style???? I *must* find this album!!!! The link just takes me to a jpg file! Another nice one I hope to find but at a much cheaper price!

Well, the more I listen to this, the more I love it. It gives me the same feeling that FRIENDS does. Maybe it's all forced and all the "we're back together" vibes are bogus, but then again so was FRIENDS. For that matter, wasn't that the point of most BB records anyway: to convey a feeling, even if that feeling wasn't felt by its creators? And those last three songs.... :wub:

USA Today obit God rest your soul, Mr. Griffith. And thanks for the wonderful memories.

Those two are perfect for listening back-to-back (although I s'pose one could listen to them facing forward).