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BFT 27 - DISC ONE DISCUSSION


JSngry

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ZEHN: Can't remember the name of that tune ... or does it just use changes similar to those of "Sunny"? Is this a Varitone alto? I wouldn't buy this ... Stitt? Jim, this is an important part of the era you grew up in, isn't it?

Similar to, yes. Not a varitone, and not Stitt.

And yes, the whole late-60s/early 70s big band scene was important to me and many others my age. It was the time when the whole "stage band" movement was really beginning to flower, and if you had a band director like I did, who was (and remained) a gigging musician as well as a school teacher, it was a chance for students to expand their tastes beyond the rock of the day and for the teacher to bring some of his reality into that of the school.

Plus, there was a little mini-rennaisance of the big bands going on in the early 70s (my specific high school "era"). Ellington & Basie were still going strong (Basie was the very first live jazz I ever saw, December of 1970), Woody was playing some tasty rock-ish charts as well as getting the infusion of new, hip Broadbent/Stapleton/Klatka chartage, buddy's band was out there tearing it up, Kenton was still being Kenton, but freshly so, and of course there was Thad & Mel. And others. The traditional big-band medium was having a last, beautiful gasp of functional viability (that's just my opinion, of course).

Today, I still enjoy the stuff, even if there's not much new that interests me at all. There's more to the medium than just playing the music, there's the spirit, and now that being in a real, full-time, jazz big-band as a career is pretty much a non-opportunity, the spirit has changed. It started changing in the 70s, as the veteran road-dogs got replaced by the eager schoolkids, which was of course how it should have been, but Marshall Royal led a life totally different than somebody like Dan Higgins, and it comes through in how the music is played. both are totally valid, of course, but they are definitely different.

So, yeah - the big bands were important to me then (never mind hte actual Swing Bands, who I got a teensie taste of through my parents and their friends), and they still hold a special place in my heart, even if I think that the medium is for the most part spent. There ain't NOTHING like hearing a good one, a REAL one, one that's got miles of road and years of bus under its belt, live, either. It'll kick you in your ass (and otehr delicate areas) for a month of Sundays. But good luck finding one.

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So, yeah - the big bands were important to me then (never mind hte actual Swing Bands, who I got a teensie taste of through my parents and their friends), and they still hold a special place in my heart, even if I think that the medium is for the most part spent. There ain't NOTHING like hearing  a good one, a REAL one, one that's got miles of road and years of bus under its belt, live, either. It'll kick you in your ass (and otehr delicate areas) for a month of Sundays. But good luck finding one.

You made a similar statement before on this board, Jim, and I had that in mind when I heard some local big band a few weeks ago, and thought: Hell yeah, Jim's right!

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Wow ... fantastic set ... reminds me of my favorite RI - DJ going at it with pinpoint abandon. So much to take in here and seeing that many have hit the floor my take will have to do cause I can't wait to see the postings thus far. Great seguelisciousness of toonz as I would expect. Biggest of :tup s. (Still was hoping for something from Jerome Richardson's "At The Movies" LP to appear... :w )

T1 - This "tune" certainly ain't "faint"... McDuff or McGriff groovin high ... quite a speedy geetar so it ain't Grant. I just recently rcvd the best of McDuff on Fantasy and this has all the cues. Great start up! Was this group on Gould's test and you put it at the top so he wouldn't fast forward?!:g

T2 - Dang this belongs in that illicit album cover thread? That's some heavy cream in this one - no fluff. So who is the response vox your looking for? Bet it will be a kick.

T3 - Cheescake with a hot sauce chaser ... we got a party disc here!!! A bit too stripped down to be Machito but maybe this is from his jazz sets.

T4 - Nice segue on the horn here. That bit of electric bass and guitar buried under there is seemingly out of place or is it just that this platter has seen many parties. Great intro solo followed by another on the bone ... that guy is dancing all over that slide, straight up as is the third soprano. Damn killer Parker tune here!? But what is it ?... on the tip o the tongue.

T5 - "Gone with the Wind" ? cracklingly good

T6 - maybe any number of Gillespie concert bands but no idea... another fine romp.

T7 - One of the odd ducks that came out of nowhere on me about half way thru... the kind of song that just grows ... maybe due to that boowounding bass stretchiness in there. The rhythm behind this one raises it high above the glossiness that I first heard at it's onset (first notes had me at "sing you to sleep after the lovin'"). Sketching away in between I found myself over-riding the groove and really getting into a tune hat I'd normally pass by. A Turrentine from the seventies?Gator with a Fat Head?? no clue on the artist taking this away.

T8 - David Sedaris or Madeline Pyro's au'pair. I like how the vox is sandwiched between the horns. But that this IS really Billie has me fooled. Everyone was drunk , playing hearts out.

T9 - Hey wait, BFTers have been berated for putting "...four roses" on their test and now this ! An early killer ... I have visions of Ethel doing a "Dance of the Hours" lindy-hop! The percussive splashes (Jo Jones?) at the end with that swank of "Splank" makes this one more than necessary.

T10 - Big time Nelson sound?? A CTI from the seventies??

T11 - Tune is very familiar but not up to chuff w/ my standards. I hear Bags humming in the back but no clue really.

T12 - Another tune that is so familiar ... nice relaxing read and wish that it did not have so much scrap at the high end.

T13 - ? William S reading Edgar Rice's Thuvia of Mars. Really no clue who the moon maiden's troubadour might be.

T14 - Appetizers an hour after dessert? Making me hungry for some of these bbq'd medallions. No hoof in mouth here, just make certain ya cook em plenty or you'll end up w/ lockjaw.

T15 - Another question of green cheese altitude quoted under this and a guess is not for me. ?

T16 - Now for beverages!?

T17 - ? Nice midnight hours apertif. Betty Carter after a good lungy hawking???

:tup eager to hear set two (as much as I complain about too much toons) :rolleyes:

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T15  - Another question of green cheese altitude quoted under this and a guess is not for me. ?

Dang my ears were screwed on upside down. :huh: Of course "Time After Time"... marvelous how they work this into almost another tune entirely and barely touch on the quotes when they do. Where I got "how high the moon and but not for me"'s bastard child I'll never know as I hear none of it now. Funny stuff this music.

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Got my computer back, so here we go!!!

Seeing JSngry wail last (Wednesday) night put me in the mood to finally sit my lazy butt down and make the usual uneducated guesses! :g

Track 1: Sounds like Brother Jack, Grant Green, Red Holloway, Joe Dukes; you know, one of the greeeeaziest groups to ever invade Earth! PERFECT way to start a BFT!

Track 2: Oh LAWD, this is awful! So many things come to mind; this sounds like one of those white guys dressed up in blackface from the 20’s & 30’s. This must be THE point where Louis turned into a parody of himself. Make it stop! MAKE IT STOP!!!

Track 3: Sounds like a Mongo Santamaria band! Always good for some wall-to-wall percussion. Is that Pat Patrick on the bari sax? Can’t wait to find out who the tenor player is! Very groovy!

Track 4: Hmmmm, electric bass, tenor, trombone. Could it be Sonny Rollins from his Milestone era? I mean, that electric bass is SO Bob Cranshaw! If I get nothing else right on this BFT, I am confident that I have this player nailed! Oh wait, now there’s an alto sax. CRUD! Throws off all of that line of thinking. But I still say that’s Cranshaw on bass!

Track 5: Sounds like Teddy Wilson on the piano from the outset. Can’t believe I can’t identify the horn player, and at this point I can’t tell if it’s a muted trumpet or a soprano sax! How sad is that? Nawww, wait: now it sounds like Monk on piano. This one’s got me snookered; I think I’ll just shut up and enjoy it! That seems to be the easier course at this point.

Track 6: Well, I almost guessed Roy Eldridge on the last track; glad I waited. That’s gotta be Roy wailin’ on this track. No clue as to the tenor player. Herb Ellis on guitar? Don’t know why this track isn’t doing anything for me.

Track 7: Ahhh, I love background vamps like this! Should know this tune, but it’s escaping me right now. I wanna say the sax player is Roland Kirk, the player has that kinda edge on his playing. The arrangement reminds me of Blue Mitchell’s Straight Up and Down; in fact, the song itself sounds like “Togetherness.” (Hope I got those titles right; going from memory here)

Track 8: Eh, it’s nice enough, I guess. Not really generating enough interest to make me want to figure out who’s doing what. Plus, I don’t dig vocals much to begin with, so......

Track 9: Loud big bad, even louder drums; I’ll take Buddy Rich Big Bands for $200, Alex! :g

Track 10: No clue. I’d like to guess something from the late 60’s/early 70’s. Maybe the Jones/Lewis Big Band. This sounds brassy enough for them!

Track 11: Nice vibey version of “Hi Fly.” I wanna say Johnny Lytle; don’t ask me why!

Track 12: This is why I love vinyl, and wish I still had a vinyl player (which would only make we wish I had actual vinyl albums to play!). The piano always sounds so present! Man, I reeeeeally wanna say McCoy Tyner, but I’ve been wrong about stuff like this before. Heck, that even sounds like Trane. This sounds like a lost outtake from the Atlantic vaults. I wish!!!

Track 13: What is this? A rare guest spot by Philly Joe Jones visiting Mr. Rogers’ “Land of Make Believe?”

Track 14: Big Al Sears??? :g

Track 15: Ahhhhh, a nice laid-back greeeeeazy groove! I’ve got nine minutes to figure this out. First impression is Ike Quebec & Freddie Roach, but let’s see if another horn comes in. I don’t hear any bass (I’m at work, so I can’t really turn it up). Now comes the organ solo; that HAS to be Freddie. No one’s as rinky-dinky (for better and worse) as the Big Roach! So I’m positive on that one, almost as positive on Ike, no clue as to the drummer (could be Osie Johnson for all I know). NO wait: I take it back!!! A little rift in there tells me it’s Stanley Turrentine! GEEZ! How could I not notice that? But I still say it’s Freddie and not Shirley at the organ! Great greeeeaze all around!

Track 16: This song is two minutes too long! :g:w Ehhhh, wait a second, is this an old jingle or something? Jim’s trying to pull a “Who Sell Out” on us! Only we’ll call this “JSngry REFUSES to Sell Out!”

Track 17: ZZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzz. Ehhh...... what’d I miss? Anything?

Quite interesting stuff, Jim! I like it that most of this is from vinyl, has such a nice sound to it all! On to the next disc!

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9.  Now THAT is a kick in the ass!! Good thing I had my back turned.

15. TAT (no, not Today’s Active Topics)...

9.8, 9.7, 9.9, 9.7

The double-pirouette landing on the perimeter along with the added twist of the addled twist sealed it for these judges!

Edited by Big Al
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Track 4: Hmmmm, electric bass, tenor, trombone. Could it be Sonny Rollins from his Milestone era? I mean, that electric bass is SO Bob Cranshaw! If I get nothing else right on this BFT, I am confident that I have this player nailed! Oh wait, now there’s an alto sax. CRUD! Throws off all of that line of thinking. But I still say that’s Cranshaw on bass!

Well, the album listing says otherwise, but I'm not sure about how how accurate that is...

And no alto on the cut. The identity of the second saxophonist has yet to be guessed (the linkage doesn't count...). NOT an unfamiliar player!

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Let's talk some track four:

4. Newk. Probably 70-80s live recording with his work group. Newk sound is SOOOO harsh! This is probably his working group with his. Fred Anderson on the bone? Who's the Soprano player? No idea

Track 4: Hmmmm, electric bass, tenor, trombone. Could it be Sonny Rollins from his Milestone era? I mean, that electric bass is SO Bob Cranshaw! If I get nothing else right on this BFT, I am confident that I have this player nailed! Oh wait, now there’s an alto sax. CRUD! Throws off all of that line of thinking. But I still say that’s Cranshaw on bass!

Well, the album listing says otherwise, but I'm not sure about how how accurate that is...

And no alto on the cut. The identity of the second saxophonist has yet to be guessed (the linkage doesn't count...). NOT an unfamiliar player!

Re the Bone player: It is probably NOT Clifton Anderson. Newk's sound is more mid 70s than 80s, and I believe Mr. Anderson didn't play with Sonny at that time. So who is the bone player? Don't know. I hear a Latin tinge in his playing, which probably means that he played a lot of Latin bands in his early days, but that doesn't narrow down the possibilities, does it..

Now for the second horn: I heard a soprano sax, Big Al heard an Alto sax. So MAYBE that's a saxello?? and that's Bennie Maupin? A wild guess, I know.

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Thought this track 4 had been pinned a long time ago. Spontooneous identified it. It humbled me to have failed getting to this particular track.

The second saxophonist who plays tenor usually pulled out a saxella on this tune. Had to check on the liner notes to the original album to find out! And gave the whole album a spin. Very enjoyable one, thanks Jim for making me return to that one!

Will post impressions (few accurate identifications so far) on disc 2 over the weekend when I give that disc a further listening!

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