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indigo

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Posts posted by indigo

  1. Seeing this topic prompted me to log in for the first time in ages, years maybe. I never said much and have visited only occasionally over the last couple of years, but my life would be diminished if this place were to disappear. I've made friends here and, when time permits, I come by and prowl around in a hopeless attempt to catch up. Sometimes I come back just to read the paeans to Prez.

    Having been a mod and an admin at another forum, where the duties were shared among about 10 people, I quake to think of what a burden it's been for Jim to handle all the duties. Even if a place largely self-mods, as this one does, running a forum is deceptively time-consuming. That Jim has set this place up so beautifully and kept it going for so long is simply astonishing, all the more so in light of all the other demands on his energies.

    For sure the money problem can be solved. I see estimates of 40-60 heavy users. There must be at least two or three times as many members who are regular visitors and a bunch of irregulars like me, who would be willing to support the operation. An average of ten bucks A YEAR from most of those folks would cover the costs. That's less than a dollar a month to keep this resource alive.

    Somehow the word needs to get out. It's only by coincidence that I visited today and only an accident that my eyeballs landed on this topic. There must be plenty of others who popped in today, took a quick look at one of the sections and buzzed out without ever noticing a crisis in the making. Once a money-raising scheme is agreed to, it may be time to call on the board's mass mail function to contact all members. People won't contribute unless they know there's a need. I favor a yearly fund-raising campaign because it would spread the load more widely or, to put it another way, give more people a chance to participate.

  2. Thanks to Parkertown for bringing this thread back to life.

    Some items still available and some new ones:

    Henry Butler - Blues & More, volume 1

    Michel Camilo - On the Other Hand

    Sid Phillips & His Band - Hors d'oeuvres

    Charlie Byrd Trio - Byrd at the Gate

    Turtle Island String Quartet, featuring Paquito d'Rivera - Danzon

    Laurindo Almeida - Outra Vez

    All are in fine condition.

    PM or email with postal address, if interested.

  3. I can't stand it any more. I keep getting notices that people are posting to the discussions and I won't let myself look until I make at least a small contribution. And small it will be. Confused, too. With reason: This is the year of the Attack Chickens, and if you live where such views have currency, it's a reality -- it's a year of endless unfinished undertakings, bedeviled by annoyances that come on like viciously pecking chickens. But enough of the excuses . . .

    disc one

    Start to finish, this is a super fine disc, Marty. One excellent cut after another. Pure pleasure. Makes me feel all the more guilty for being slow to say anything and for the very disorganized post I'm about to write. I put the disc in the CD changer along with a few of my own on Sunday afternoon, as I set about a massive reorganization of about 1.5 TB worth of hard drives. Both the listening and the HD project got quite jumbled. I was pretty orderly with the first four tracks -- not taking notes but remembering. Then I got distracted and soon couldn't tell if I was listening to the BFT or my own CDs. I wound up with a cloud of impressions, no sense of which track was which, and no notes. Since then I've listened this week during commutes, each time with as much enjoyment as the first but still without keeping track of the tracks (couldn't see the numbers with sunglasses on). With that as background, here goes:

    .... but not yet. With each one of these selections, I had the sense that the music took precedence over anyone's urge to push himself into the listener's attention. This was most notable with the trumpets. I often find brass to be too in-your-face for me to enjoy it fully. Here there was none of that. The trumpets were there as much for the music as for someone's self-promotion.

    01 First notes into this piece I think I hear Sidney Bechet, but no it's not. This one quickly sounds increasingly refined in a dukish sort of way. Barney Bigard instead of Bechet? Very likely.

    02 I'm virtually certain I have this one on the shelf somewhere but I can't identify it. It has me thinking not necessarily of who's playing here but of all the musicians who aren't considered super-superstars but are/were consummate artists. My mind drifts off to Pepper Adams, Booker Little, Mel Lewis, Phineas Newborn, Shorty Rogers, Shelly Manne and on and on.

    03 Echoes of Bud. Who, who? Very familiar. Frustrating not to be able to come up with a name. The Bud influence. Ah, Elmo Hope? Maybe, but maybe not. Bud, bud. "Blues for Bud." Hampton Hawes?

    04 Amazing stuff here. With few exceptions there's not much of electric guitar I really like beyond the 40s swing tradition. This is wonderful. It has some of the relaxed feel of a Nat Cole trio, but there's more adventure and a more robust swing and even a Django-like, gypsy tang.

    05 and onward. Here it all starts to run together. I have a bunch of itty-bitty post-it's with various names scrawled. Don't know which goes with which track:

    Kenny Dorham / Cecil Payne / Teddy Charles -- a third stream piece with Giuffre? / Brownie?!!! w/ J.J. Johnson, Tadd Dameron? / Basie with Lucky? / another Basie-ish piece -- with Buck and Buddy? / Mulligan, no, maybe Serge Chaloff, no, it's Mulligan / Fats Navarro / what's that Monk-like thing? -- very credible in places -- might even be one of those larger group Monk things, although I doubt it / more vibes - more Teddy Charles? probably not - who else? Lem Winchester? / Artie Shaw -- later stuff, laid back -- sounds different in the context of this CD

    last track: Wow, what was that?!! Caught me off guard. Blew past me before I knew what was happening -- must listen again just to this one.

    This is all great stuff. I'll be listening again. And what I don't have, I want. Thanks, Marty. This is refreshing my appreciation of musicians and albums I haven't played for a while. What a fine gift!

  4. A truly mixed bag here.

    1. Okay, I'll believe the announcer, although this is not the sort of thing that comes immediately to mind when I hear the name Cannonball. This was a bit of light-hearted entertainment, almost self-consciously so. I enjoyed it for a while, but I was ready for it to be over long before it was.

    2. This is an vexing piece, an odd orchestral number that shifts gears rather often over a short distance, never staying in one long enough for me to get in sync with it. Seems to be too much going on. It's as if the thing is daring me to like it. Just as I'm about to say, okay, I'll stop fighting this, maybe I might enjoy it, it turns into something else. Then, the naturally appealing part (appealing? it's stunning), the sax feature, starts and I think, yes, here's the payoff, the reward for sticking with this. But it comes to an exasperatingly quick end. A film score?

    3. Try a Little Tenderness. More strings. Competent sax but very treacly. Puts me in mind of the more commercial stuff David Sanborn has done. Too sweet for me.

    4. Etta Jones and Houston Person, from her Billie tribute album, I assume. I like them both, as a team and on their own with others. I might have picked something else as an example of their work together, but still this is a nice treat.

    5. Without a Song. Sounds like Freddie Hubbard out front. But this is driving me nuts. I don't have Hubbard doing this tune, but I know this version as if I'd been listening to it every day.

    6. Some highly enjoyable piano here. My first thought was Randy Weston, but I don't know his work well enough to be sure. I doubled back and listened again. Horace Tapscott?

    7. No guesses here, just enjoying the lovely soprano.

    8. I like steel pans, so I'm predisposed to like this. And I do. This cut has a somewhat darker cast than I associate with steel pans, but it fits the typhoon weather very well. I'm woefully ignorant of players. The only one I know of is Andy Narell, and I have no way to tell if this is he.

    9. through 11. Having disclosed my aversion to electric/electronic instruments, I hope I may be excused from commenting. I did listen and for that I should get some credit, especially considering what a lengthy torture track 9 was for me.

    An interesting and peculiar ride, Jim. I'm ready to learn the details, especially for tracks 2 and 6.

  5. Finally I've listened to the entire disc. An amazingly diverse selection while still hanging together nicely.

    1. How High the Moon. With rare exception, I'm not a fan of electric instruments (should I duck for cover?). The fact that I didn't want to skip over this one says a lot in its favor.

    2. Surely dumber songs have been written, but I can't think of any right now. For sure this is Pops. An abandoned ad campaign for Sara Lee?

    3. No guesses here but I enjoyed this one. Made me want to dance. Most Mexican music is too brassy for me, so I was surprised. Then, duh!!! It's saxes, not brasses. Eager to learn who this is.

    4. Nice segue. Rollins. Rough and raw but intriguing. Left me wanting to hear the rest of the material.

    5. Gone With the Wind. Brubeck Quartet instrumentation, but this ain't them. Or, if it is, they're spoofing themselves.

    6. Sounds like a JATP jam. Fun. Wish it hadn't been faded. Is that Les Paul on guitar?

    7. Sounds like something everybody else will recognize instantly. I have no idea. This is not something I'd buy, but I'm enjoying it -- it suits a hot summer day well.

    8. I Got It Bad. Fascinatingly awful ... and awfully fascinating. Far too much going on here - no restraint, no balance. everybody stepping on each other. At first I felt embarrassed listening, but by the end my ears were glued to this one. In intend to go back and see if I can make any sense out of this piece. Also want to hear those saxes again. I think I've heard the singer before but not often.

    9. Everything's Coming Up Roses. It's got that irresistible Basie swing and a captivating tenor (Lockjaw?), but it's too orchestrated and "Las Vegas" for my liking.

    10. For about 30 seconds I thought this was Jimmy Forrest. Now I don't know.

    11. Cool vibes. Teddy Charles? Quite enjoyable.

    12. Another short, pleasant piece. I probably own this and will kick myself when I find out what it is.

    13. Moon Maiden. Had to listen extra carefully to recognize the Duke's voice. Interesting version but I find it rather hokey and could live without it.

    14. Mountain Oysters. Some rollicking late 40s/early 50s R&B. I should be able to recognize the voice but can't.

    15. Time After Time. Sounds like Stanley Turrentine, so I'm guessing it's Shirley Scott on organ. Nice rendering.

    16. Beer ad. Goes with the cheesecake, I guess, although this one has better lyrics. Don't recognize the singer.

    17. Apart from a handful of singers, I'm not much into vocal. To me this sounds like Betty Carter, but I wouldn't bet the farm on it. Nice accompaniment. I enjoyed this a whole lot more than I might have expected. I'll be listening again.

    This was fun. Lots of surprises. And there's more . . . on to disc 2.

    Many thanks for all the treats, Jim.

  6. Nope, just my bad.

    Or maybe not. I had to install a new router last week. On its own it has succeeded in doing what many spiritual adepts spend decades trying to accomplish: It renders me invisible from time to time. I can do things out in cyberspace without ever being detected. I've been trying to fix this but, hmmmm, maybe I should just leave it alone.

  7. Rooster, sorry to bother but nothing has arrived so far  :(

    Marcus

    Marcus, you're not alone. I haven't received anything yet either.

    At this point, however, if BFT #25 were to arrive today or next week or later this month, I'm afraid I wouldn't have sufficient time to devote to it. So, Rooster, I would like to ask that you not send (or resend) the discs to me. Rather than having the results of your hard work become more of a burden than a pleasure for me, I would prefer to sit this BFT out. Thanks, anyway.

  8. Okay, now may look at the replies?

    Yup, sure! And you shall see that #10 fits right in with the rest of the disc! #9 though not really... also my opinion. About #10: maybe the cleanliness of the studio production (I find it almost off-putting, almost), does keep you from noticing how to fit it in? ...

    Yes, I see. And I admit that #10 has grown on me with further listening. It's just that it didn't fit that well with my vision of a medieval traveling show ... although it might have worked as the final cut.

    I'm much relieved to have the answer to #2. "Non dimenticar" came to me just as I hit the submit button on my reply, and I couldn't believe that that wasn't it. I went back and listened a few more times and thought I was going nuts. Mystery solved.

  9. Hoping for another participant shortly, from Japan. Will that be a first? I'm sure he'll get a big welcome if he does decide to join in the fun, won't he? Big Kenny Wheeler fan.

    Wow, I wouldn't be the only "Asian" in the group.

    And I guess that could make me (or him) the distributor for Asia.

  10. Now that I've posted my guesses for #26, I take the courage to signup here, too..... :)

    Well, at least you had guesses. Some of us only had impressions. :blush: But I'm not going to let my embarrassment stand in the way of what sounds like a real treat.

    Email sent. :)

  11. I assume that discussion has been going on for a while (weeks?), so first let me apologize for being so slow to join in. A bad case of flu and a medium-sized computer problem set everything back.

    I gave the disc a first-impressions sort of listen shortly after it arrived. Here's the transcript of my handwritten notes:

    Track 1. Wham! What a start! Like a call for attention. Then disorder. A traveling show has arrived in town, made its presence known, and now a crowd is starting to gather and chatter, and the performers are getting themselves organized. Evertually everyone settles down and the performance starts. The orchestra gives an overview of what's to come: vignettes from various exotic places the audience will probably never see. The scene is medieval, something out of Chaucer or Boccaccio. Piano gives something like a narrative introduction and we're off ... to places that can almost be identified, but not quite ... more like places as they are imagined by people who haven't been there ... like these first scenes, which are Latin, but not exactly. Very folkloric.

    Track 2. After the energetic start here's something more relaxed but definitely not sloppy. Recognize the tune but frustrated that I can't put a name to it. This seems a sort of interlude setting things up for ...

    Track 3. A snake charmer! An image of a globe comes to me (and stays for the remainder of the disc). I see this festival taking the audience on a tour of subtropical regions. Here I sense northern Pakistan, Afghanistan, the Pamirs.

    Track 4. Similar images here. No idea who all these musicians are. Probably European. With that clarinet, maybe Trovesi, but I'm not familiar enough to hazard a guess. :unsure:

    Track 5. Okay, here it all is: dancing, marching, parading. A fair, a carnival, a circus. Storytelling, drama.

    Track 6. A vocal. What is this? Can't quite make it out. Italian? Greek? Sort of like, but probably not. Something Adriatic, it seems. Fetching.

    Track 7. Strange piece. Wailing start takes a Latin turn, eventually evolving into something Mexican, but not exactly. Then South American, sort of.

    Track 8. Nice slowdown here, meandering off the main road, so to speak, on an interesting tangent. A special little tale. Would have liked this one to go on longer.

    Track 9. Whoa! :excl: The spell is broken. What's this doing here?

    Track 10. Yeah, this one, too, is out of place, at least as far as my little trip is concerned.

    Track 11. A monkeyed-with piano sounding a little like harpsichord. A lovely, transporting piece. This would have been good in the middle somewhere -- a bit of mystery on the journey.

    I couldn't shake my initial impression of a traveling show that was taking me on an imaginary excursion. Except for Tracks 9 and 10, the disc hung together beautifully. It really seemed to me a panoramic medieval entertainment, full of surprises. And I enjoyed being present.

    I've never heard these pieces before and have no idea who these musicians are. After listening a second time, my best guess remains that these are European players, probably southern European.

    I'm really at a loss to say much more -- this disc is outside my normal listening and I'm sure what to make of it yet and whether I'll go out in search of more of the same. One thing is for sure, though. John, you did a marvelous job of programming the material. Many thanks for opening my ears to something new to me. :tup:tup:tup

    Okay, now may look at the replies?

  12. It depends on the size of the files, the volume of material in total, and the frequency with which you want to do this.

    For small stuff (smaller files, total of less than, say, 1 GB), a USB key (a.k.a. thumb drive, pen drive) would be the way to do it.

    For big stuff (like audio files) not transferred that often, you might try an external hard drive.

    For frequent transfers on an on-demand basis, your best bet is a permanent connection. The easiest way would be to network the machines with a router.

  13. Beautiful, Jim, a terrific review.  . . .  your analysis is quite insightful for the lay person

    Absolutely! :tup I just wish I had the album so I could listen along while rereading your wonderful explication. I may not have this one, but what you wrote is helpful in appreciating the Rollins material I do have . . . and I think I'll be listening to some of it tonight, very closely.

    Many thanks from a lay person.

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