jeffcrom

Swedish jazz on American labels, then a bunch of 1950s gospel: The Swinging Swedes/Estrad Poll Winners - Summertime/Pick Yourself Up (Blue Note) Rolf Ericson's Swingin' Swedes - Miles Away/Perdido (Discovery). Ericson, Arne Domnerus, Lars Gullin, and bassist Simon Brehm are on both of these records. The Kelly Brothers - Prayer for Tomorrow/God Said He was Coming (Vee-Jay). What a great record. Roberta Martin Singers - Grace/Ride on King Jesus (Savoy). This is one of my latest-issued 78s, from 1958. Rev. Kelsey and Congregation - Little Boy/Lord Send the Rain (MGM). The only record earlier than 1950 I played - it's from 1948. Reverend Cleophus Robinson - Moaning in the Morning/I Can See So Much (Peacock) The Original Gospel Harmonettes - I'm Sealed/Just to Behold His Face (Specialty) The Original Gospel Harmonettes - That's Enough/Am I a Soldier (Specialty)

Thanks for an interesting BFT with lots of new music.

John Coltrane - Creation (Blue Parrot). Thanks to Paul Secor for making me aware of this album.

The George Lewis Solo Trombone Record (Sackville)

Curtis Fuller - Sliding Easy (UA mono promo)

Modern Jazz Festival (Harmony). I originally sought out this collection of 1956-57 tracks because it has one of the rarest early Steve Lacy tracks - his appearance on "Give Me the Simple Life" by the Joe Puma Sextet. (The other issued tune from the session, "Indian Blanket," was even harder to find - only issued on a French anthology. Both tracks are now out there on European PD CDs.) But there are many other pleasures on this album - Randy Weston, Zoot Sims, The Jazz Modes - and I enjoy this one every time I spin it.

Dexter Gordon - Gotham City (Columbia)

This might be a good time and place to re-post a link to my 78 blog entry with all of Europe's 1913-14 Victor recordings. The second link has FLAC files and pictures of all the labels. http://78rpmblog.blogspot.com/2018/02/james-reese-europes-victor-records.html http://78rpmblog.blogspot.com/2018/03/james-reese-europe-follow-up.html

Now for something completely different: Sly & the Family Stone - Greatest Hits (Epic). I haven't listened to Sly in years, but just found this near-mint LP, and I'm having a blast spinning it.

I have that album, but don't remember that from the notes. That's really horrifyingly dumb. Stan Getz - At Montreux (Polydor). The "Captain Marvel" band live in 1972. I don't believe this has ever been issued in the US, except in video form on a DVD with really awful sound. I bought this record in a little record shop near Lila Torg (Little Square) in Malmö , Sweden.

Max Roach/Archie Shepp - Force (Uniteledis)

Fred Hemke - The American Saxophone (Brewster LP). Concertos by Dahl and Husa (with piano accompaniments prepared by the composers) and two beautiful miniatures by Warren Benson. Benson's deceptively simple "Aeolian Song" is one of my favorite compositions for saxophone.

Bloodstains of the Wall: Country Blues from Specialty. Raw music from mostly obscure artists, although Big Joe Williams has two cuts. The title track by Frank "Honeyboy" Patt is as horrifying as you would imagine from the title.

I've been listening, but have waited until the last minute to post. I haven't read any of the above. I enjoyed this BFT, although I found a few of the tracks "interesting" rather than great - for my tastes, anyway. And looking over my comments, I feel like I don't have very much intelligent to say. But here it is: 1. I haven't been participating in BFTs much recently, but I'm glad that the “every Hot Ptah BFT will have a Sun Ra track” rule is still in effect. This is “That's How I Feel” from Languidity. It's mostly only “interesting” to me until John Gilmore's tenor solo – he brings the heat that I was feeling a need for. 2. Well, it's “Stranger in Paradise,” by that great pop songwriter Alexander Borodin. I like this interpretation – it sounded like a Paul Motian group at first, but as it went on, I thought less so. I don't like this song, but I like this version. 3. I liked this the first time I played it, and less with every repeat. I like the atmospheric beginning, but the way the piece built seemed kind of artificial to me, and the solos had heat without light. The piano solo in particular seemed to have a lot of movement, but no melodic direction. I'll probably be horrified by my comments when I find out who it is. 4. I don't really know what you'd call this style (it sounds influenced by Afrobeat), but this is a really hot track. Two chords, a great groove, and a nice trumpet solo. Good stuff. 5. Excellent straight-ahead jazz – I like the tenor sound and the interaction with the pianist. Don't know who anyone is. 6. This is gorgeous. The tenor saxophonist is well-grounded in Coltrane, but has his own voice. Nice interplay - the drummer sometimes responds and sometimes leads. I like this a lot. 7. Alternating 4/4 and 15/8. After awhile it's the 4/4 measures that start sounding odd. Nice colors, excellent solos, unusual instrumentation. No idea who it is, but I very much enjoyed it. 8. Interesting approach – lots of interacting threads. In a way it's like one of Bunk Johnson's American Music records – it's about a shifting web of music rather than solos. I like music that pursues an out-of-the-ordinary aesthetic. Is this a Tony Malaby offering? 9. 45 seconds in, I was all prepared to hate this. In the end, I don't love it, but I certainly don't hate it. There are some interesting aspects – the two drummers, the excellent pianist, the good tenor player, the way it builds. About halfway through I figured that it must be Kamasi Washington – checked, and yeah. There are things I don't like about this, but I'll skip the negative and just say that I'm glad Mr. Washington is out there doing this, even if I'll probably never be a huge fan. 10. Wow – this is odd. Again, I was not really getting any emotional message from the music until a couple of minutes in, then I started enjoying it. It sounds kind of Zappa-esque, but I'm not familiar enough with his work to really know. Thanks for the BFT, and for keeping it going.

Charles Mingus - Wonderland (Solid State). The 1969 issue of this outstanding 1959 concert.

A really important record for me. NP: Baritone sax on 10" LPs - Gerry Mulligan Quartet (Pacific Jazz). A couple of years ago I found a beautiful copy of Pacific Jazz #1 in Bellingham, Washington. I'm happy to be its caretaker for a few years, until someone else inherits it. Lars Gullin - Modern Sounds: Sweden (Contemporary). Two 1953 sessions - quartet and quintet.

McCoy Tyner - Atlantis (Milestone). Record one tonight.

Two beautiful recordings.

Two vocal LPs: Rosemary Clooney - Clap Hands! Here Comes Rosie (RCA mono). I recently found a cheap, near-mint copy of this and spun it for the first time tonight. It could have been a great album. Rosie is in good voice, the songs are mostly well-chosen, and there are jazz solos by Pete Candoli, Bud Shank, etc. - and there are uncredited vibraphone obligatos that sound like Eddie Costa to me. But the arrangements are kind of corny and novelty-ish. It could have been a contender.... Jeanne Lee/Ran Blake - The Newest Sound Around (RCA stereo). The Real Deal.

I hadn't listened for awhile because: A) I had in my mind that this was a lesser version of the Unit, and B) it's an hour and a half long. Well, it's not the "tightest" of the Units in terms of developing Taylor's material, but it's perhaps the most varied in terms of strategies for dealing with that material - there is more variety of texture and tone color than on most Taylor albums. And this is some of the best Leroy Jenkins I've heard - he's really on fire here. And recorded on Paul Secor's birthday, 1987. This spin makes me regret my decision back in 1988 - I had the choice of buying Live in Bologna from the same tour on either double LP or edited CD. I chose wrongly, and now have the CD.

Cecil Taylor - Live in Vienna (Leo)

A friend at a local record store bugged me for a couple of months to buy this album. I always replied that I had tons of Monk on my shelves and didn't need more. But yesterday he was playing the record when I walked in, and I was sold within five minutes. A very strong performance, beautifully recorded and immaculately pressed. (I bought the LP rather than the CD.)

Bobby Bradford - Midnight Pacific Airwaves (Entropy). I've never heard two consecutive notes by Mr. Bradford that weren't beautiful.

Sonny Clark - Sonny's Crib (BN Conn) Red Allen - 1935-1936 (Classics)

Paul Barnes and his Polo Players (American Music). Paul "Polo" Barnes recorded some excellent work with King Oliver, Jelly Roll Morton, and Oscar Celestin's Tuxedo Orchestra in the 1920s. This is a 1960 quartet session (originally recorded for the Icon label), expanded to a quintet on a few selections by the addition of the brilliant Captain John Handy on alto sax. (Not the same John Handy who recorded with Mingus.) This won't be to everyone's taste - Polo's clarinet sound is plain, a little reedy, and unlike anyone else's, except for maybe his brother Emile's. The music is simple, but not primitive. Like much New Orleans music, it's unselfconscious, melodic, and pop/dance music as much as it is jazz. I find it lovely.