Big Al

1. Dizzy Gillespie "Watermelon Man?" 2 thru 4 were groovy little jam sessions I thoroughly enjoyed listening to but I honestly didn't realize I'd listened to all three of them until track 5 started. 5. Gotta be the Duke on piano 6. If that's not Art Blakey on drums, I will gladly hand over my lifetime membership in the Art Blakey Fanboy Society. And then I will attempt to find this slab of vinyl as penance. 7. Gonna guess Wild Bill Davis. I'm probably not even in the right decade. 8. Well, it took me all afternoon to remember this is "Now's the Time" and not "The Hucklebuck." I think I have this at the house but haven't listened to it in years. I'm pretty sure I'm gonna kick myself once I find out the answer. 9. Another tune I should know the name of but I don't. Is it Sonny Rollins? 10. Okay, this is just torture: I routinely hear THIS EXACT VERSION in my head but I can never identify it! So, I'm just gonna go ahead and play the Bird card and say this is Charlie Parker so y'all can go ahead and laugh at me. As you should. I probably have this at home somewhere, too. 11. A Night in Tunisia. There, I can finally name that tune. I have no idea who this is but at least I know the tune. You'd never know I've been listening to jazz for the last 30 years... 12. Yet another tune I should know and probably have at home and the fact I can't ID any of it genuinely concerns me that my memory is leaving me. Highly enjoyable BFT, Dan! Nice way to start the BFT year!

As always, it will depend on which Cows team shows up. Also as always, I'm rooting for the Cowboys but understand anything can (and routinely does) happen.

Well, all's well that ends well: not only did my records deliver yesterday (Jan 8), but I also got a notification that my refund was scheduled to hit my PayPal by Thursday (Jan 11). While I'd hoped for either a delivery or a refund, I honestly did not expect both. Kudos to bluenote.com for following all the way through on their promises. Now I just have to fight the temptation to use the refund to take advantage of their current sale....

This was such an enjoyable BFT! Yours usually are, John, and this was no exception! I listened to "You Caught Me Smilin'" so much in December it now feels like a Christmas song! 😂

Well, here we are in 2024 and I've received neither my order nor my refund. The latest status on my order says it's now going to ship January 4. They didn't specify a year, so it could be 2025 for all I know. What a mess.

Received an interesting email: it says they're gonna refund my payment AND ship the order completely free of charge! It remains to be seen if this happens. If it does, I'll have scored three Tone Poets and a BN Classic! Now I wish I'd pulled the trigger on some of those other Tone Poets!

I tool advantage of the Thanksgiving 30%-off sale at bluenote.com which was November 23. Here it is December 23 and it has yet to ship. I've reached out to bluenote many times and keep getting the same reply: "Our warehouse is currently fulfilling your order and it will be ready to ship shortly. You should receive your tracking information in the next few business days!" I know it's the holidays, but nobody else seems to have this delay. Is this normal? TIA.

You're not wrong. Sadly, it's all about ratings. After last year's CFP disaster, they likely didn't want to take a chance of the ratings going south like they did for this past year's World Series aka MLB Gave A World Series And Nobody Gave A Shit (except for Sangrey & me). Just my two cents. Change given.

Didn't know about this set until just this moment and now I'm debating pulling the trigger for a copy on Discogs currently for $50.

Completely agree! I've only made it through side 4 so far and I love how each set/side is a nice mix of Latin and jazz.

Same here! I've listened to it at least ten times today!

I noticed that mistake on the photo as well. And I have to say I was disappointed with Burton's write-up. Seemed very self-serving with barely a mention of Tjader.

Haven't read any guesses yet. This was an overall enjoyable BFT with only a couple of clunkers and a few I will be seeking out and one that is just so darn special I about cried when it started! 1. I need this album RIGHT NOW! It has the feel of an opening-credits TV theme from the 60's, back when those themes were so much more memorable. 2. Sounds like a Larry Young Blue Note date but I think the tenor may actually be the leader. 3. No clue and even less interest. Next! 4. This was nice but I also have no idea. Carla Bley maybe with a bassist not named Steve Swallow? 5. Wow! Is that Esperanza Spaulding? If not, I'm betting the singer is one of the musicians on this track. Doesn't matter: I love it! 6. Again, no clue but I sure like it. I really enjoy how it was recorded. 7. No idea but I like it. The tenor sure likes him some Trane. 8. Sounds like something from a Bobby Hutcherson BN from the early 70's, but the stereo spread is messing with me with the piano in the left channel and the horns in the right. 9. I need this album RIGHT NOW! I could ride that extended groove for hours! In fact, since I first typed this up about 10 hours ago, I've listened to this track at least 10 times and that groove just keeps getting better with every listen!!! 10. Sounds like the same bunch that made track 7 except they didn't know when to stop. 11. I'm curious about the story of how this track made it onto a BFT. It sounds more rock than anything else, but I dig it nonetheless. 12. LOVE LOVE LOVE THIS ALBUM!!! A desert-island album if there ever was one! Recognized this track right from the first chord! In fact, I used a track from this album on my BFT from 2013 and it was between this and the track I eventually used, so I'm glad to see this track on someone else's BFT! Side 3, track 1 of this monumental album! The pianist, who is also the composer, included this on his album of the same name, which is just as phenomenal. Whatta way to end a BFT! And speaking of that: it occurs to me that on my previous BFT from earlier this year, I used a track from another monumental double-album to close out my BFT and you nailed that guess too! Pretty cool if you ask me! 🙂 Nice job, Fel Z! I always know I'm gonna enjoy your BFT's!

So far, phenomenal! I can't wait to hear your opinion of this album!

Got my copy tonight and spinning it right now. Worth every penny! Only on side 2 right now but I am eating this all up! This might end up being my favorite Cal Tjader live album!

Unabashed and unashamed fan of all things Ron Carter. Elegant would be the word I'd use to describe his playing. Plus, I like it he's pretty active on Instagram and seems to actually interact with his fans (as opposed to having some intern run it for him).

What would be a good comp to get? Unlike me, my wife is more of a "greatest hits" listener and content with one album/collection. I'm asking you guys because I overthink everything. Thanks in advance.

I'll play if the spot is still open.

Yep, this felt like the same gut punch.

After hearing "THEY'RE ALL GONNA LAUGH AT YOU!!!!" as an Adam Sandler joke for so long, imagine my surprise to hear Piper Laurie say that fateful line in Carrie, a movie I'd not seen previously. Most people don't laugh at that scene at all, much less as hard as I did.

Do you remember your first BFT where you included "Rut"? I always loved that song and regret it took ten years to dig deeper into that. I now have Night-Glo, Heavy Heart, and Sextet and, while I understand these aren't anyone else's go-to or first choices, I really enjoy each one of them. They seem to embody her spirit well and it sounds like these were fun records to make.

All of my Astros friends are trying to reassure me that "we (the Astros) suck at home," to which I reply, "yeah, but we (the Rangers) just suck." The momentum is completely in Houston's favor and it is now their series to lose. Tried not to get emotionally invested in this series and then Altuve's 9th-inning swat (which I called but nobody was around to hear) was like my heart getting ripped out and stomped all over again like it was 2011 again.

VERY interested!

I sure did! Picked up the pumpkin-shaped version and I absolutely love how wonderful it sounds! It makes me SO glad I passed on the previous cruddy sounding version.

EXCELLENT news! I love this soundtrack!