BFT 69: Listen and Discuss

[Hot Ptah]

Disc One, tk. 5 - sounds New Orleans-ish in some ways; could this be part of a "Live at Maybeck" disc?

Disc One, tk. 6 - Could be Roswell Rudd, although I can't recall him doing anything with Arab or Turkish musicians... Hmm. (It's funny, though! And there's some incredible playing in it, like the opening 'bone solo.)

Disc Two, tk. 12 - Crawfish Fiesta, anyone? (I think it's Professor Longhair playing "Tico-Tico no Fubá.")

No, no and no.

Disc 2, Track 12 is not the good Professor.

Oy vey, did I botch this one up!

Regarding the discs: I do not know why there was a problem, but I will make new copies and send them out. This one's on me, as I was half-asleep when I burned these and was in a hurry to send them out so I didn't test them. Everyone to whom I sent out CDs will have replacements sent out tomorrow. I greatly apologize for this, and can only offer as an excuse my usual inability to say no to anything unimportant (this falling into the "important" category!) and not getting enough sleep.

Regarding the download: again, this one is on me. I do not know how I managed to only ZIP the first eleven tracks of disc 2, but that's exactly what happened. Tracks 12-14 are on the home computer, to which I am remotely hooked and will be uploading shortly. As soon as they are ready to go, I will send the link to Hot Ptah and he'll send the PM to everyone.

Once again, I apologize profusely and hope this doesn't reflect badly on Hot Ptah, because he put together a helluva BFT.

Big Al, don't worry. If it had been up to me, everyone would have been holding tin cans to their ears and trying to listen to the BFT through the string attached to the can. You have gone above and beyond the call of your BFT Leader duties to help me through this one. Eveyone will get the music and get a chance to hear it, soon.

[seeline]

OK - and you did see this post, right?

That Christmas track is ... not quite sure how to put it. Amusing, for certain.

[Hot Ptah]

OK - and you did see this post, right?

That Christmas track is ... not quite sure how to put it. Amusing, for certain.

I am thinking of how to respond to that longer post.

[seeline]

I kind of figured...

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

Oh, what a fun set to close with, Bill!

12 Ah, “Tico tico” not by Ethel Smith. Sounds kinds New Orleans to me. But not Longhair. What about that guy who recorded “Gonzo”?

13 The saints. Rap version. Nice. The rapper reminds me a bit of the guy who rapped on some albums by Pucho & the LSB. Now what was his name? Ah, looked it up – MC Babee Power. Would the band be the Rebirth Brass Band?

14 The lady saying “presents nice” sounds v sexy. Does she make phone calls now?

Well, that was nice!

MG

[Hot Ptah]

Oh, what a fun set to close with, Bill!

12 Ah, “Tico tico” not by Ethel Smith. Sounds kinds New Orleans to me. But not Longhair. What about that guy who recorded “Gonzo”?

13 The saints. Rap version. Nice. The rapper reminds me a bit of the guy who rapped on some albums by Pucho & the LSB. Now what was his name? Ah, looked it up – MC Babee Power. Would the band be the Rebirth Brass Band?

14 The lady saying “presents nice” sounds v sexy. Does she make phone calls now?

Well, that was nice!

MG

13 is not Rebirth Brass Band.

My father heard that Christmas album so often over the years that he would routinely say "presents nice" in an approximation of that woman's voice, whenever we opened our gifts at Christmas. My mother is one of those people who owns a few albums and plays each one thousands of times.

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

I bet the guy on 14 is a well known jazz musician or DJ.

MG

James Booker is the name I couldn't remember for #12.

MG

[Hot Ptah]

I bet the guy on 14 is a well known jazz musician or DJ.

MG

James Booker is the name I couldn't remember for #12.

MG

James Booker is the pianist on Disc 2, Song 12. If you have heard Booker before, there are some of his characteristic licks here.

But, which Booker album is this from?

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

I bet the guy on 14 is a well known jazz musician or DJ.

MG

James Booker is the name I couldn't remember for #12.

MG

James Booker is the pianist on Disc 2, Song 12. If you have heard Booker before, there are some of his characteristic licks here.

But, which Booker album is this from?

Ah, some research needed here...

MG

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

Looks like this one

http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&a...10:wnfixqugld6e

MG

Or maybe it's this one

http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&a...10:fnftxqugldke

MG

[Big Al]

Drat! Left my notes for disc 2 at work! Phooey! If I don't get to it this weekend, then I'll simply post 'em on Monday.

Reading these answers is a blast! Love the "BINGO" pictures! But I canNOT believe I didn't recognize BB on that last track of disc 1. GEEEEZZZZ!!!!! INCONTHEEE.... ah hell, no it isn't! A lot of the rest of those were VERY cool suprises!

[Spontooneous]

OK, here goes for Disc One:

1 The bottom-heavy reed sound and splattery brass make me think this is the Ellington band, maybe on Reprise. Then again, the chart doesn’t sound like him. I’m mystified.

2 The rhythm track sounds like a sample, not live. Some of the horn backdrops might be samples too. There’s a weird tension between improvising, smart ensemble writing and slick studio playing. The “out” climax seems engineered instead of achieved, if ya know what I mean. Goes on longer than it oughta. The suggestion that this is the Kenny Garrett record where Miles plays was good, but incorrect. I don’t have the correct suggestion.

3 It’s so modernistic! Jeff beat me to the ID for this unforgetable record. JPJ meant to be tongue-in-cheek, I’m thinking, but ended up being prescient. Where did you get this great transfer from the 78?

4 Yeah, I thought it was Django and Steff until I checked my collection. My original notes said “Steff in peak early form here.” But Eddie is even better. Thanks for reminding me of this one.

5 They didn’t make ‘em like this by the time this was made. So very few people playing this way in the stereo era, so I’ll make some guesses: Willie the Lion, Claude Hopkins, Joe Turner. Whoever it is, I want the record. Now.

6 Seems like some things slammed together in a studio rather than things that came together on their own. When in doubt, slap on some phasing effects. I thought I heard an oud, and then, about 4 minutes in, sounds like banjo -- so I’ll guess it’s some Bela Fleck project. A nice try.

7 Quick recognition of this performance, but somebody else ID’d it first, so I’ll just say I love this smart and sensitive improvisation on the piece that the composer never improvised on. MRA’s contribution to this CD set is my favorite part.

8 Rickety waltz. I could do without the sound effects. Then again, that long ensemble might get tedious without them. Tenor solo doesn’t accomplish much, but I like the Rouse-like tone. I hear little bits of plucking that might be a cello. Threadgill? Or someone who wants to be Threadgill?

9 Sounds like something Joel Forrester is involved with. I wasn’t expecting that slide-guitar sound. But I was the world’s biggest Duane Allman fan when I was 15, so it’s fine with me. I want this record.

10 I had a bet with myself that you wouldn’t leave Sun Ra off this BFT. I’m guessing this is it. High Space Fidelity! Really a lovely trumpet solo. I think I’ll play this again right now.

11 No blues or bebop in the pianist’s language, but it’s none the worse for that. I’ll guess Lynne Arriale, though I can’t pin the performance down.

12 Jeff got it already, of course. And I didn’t. Another VERY good 78 transfer.

13 Trumpeter ventures into Lester Bowie territory, but maybe it isn’t him. Tenor reminded me of George Adams for a minute, then didn’t. More bashing and gesturing than ideas in the piano solo – I thought Don Pullen briefly, but I expect better from him. Respect but not love for this one.

14 The Mariachi Brass on mescaline? Tack-eee, but fun.

15 Reminds me of Cab Calloway and Bob Wills at the same time. Someone does a good job of playing tenor like Chu. The rhythm section is pretty wooden.

16 I’ve loved this on a Crown LP for years. I’ll take it over the “original” any day because B.B. blows Joe Williams away without even trying. The sound and feel are right for Basie, because nine guys in the band are from the Basie organization, according to the album cover. Maxwell Davis was the leader. A few propers for the Bihari brothers, please. I’m fascinated by the world of cheap knockoff albums, especially when they result in wonderful music like this. Where did you get such a great-sounding copy of this music? I wasn’t aware this had been on CD.

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

16 I’ve loved this on a Crown LP for years. I’ll take it over the “original” any day because B.B. blows Joe Williams away without even trying. The sound and feel are right for Basie, because nine guys in the band are from the Basie organization, according to the album cover. Maxwell Davis was the leader. A few propers for the Bihari brothers, please. I’m fascinated by the world of cheap knockoff albums, especially when they result in wonderful music like this. Where did you get such a great-sounding copy of this music? I wasn’t aware this had been on CD.

This is probably the CD

Issued in UK on Ace.

http://www.acerecords.co.uk/content.php?pa...amp;release=897

The blurb on site suggests that this might, indeed, be the Basie band.

MG

[seeline]

James Booker is the pianist on Disc 2, Song 12. If you have heard Booker before, there are some of his characteristic licks here.

But, which Booker album is this from?

I *almost* went with Booker, but hey - that only counts in horseshoes, right?

it's from this album, which I kept meaning to buy for myself, but never did... or maybe not. (I think I spoke too soon!)

*

Is Disc One, tk. 2, from this album, maybe?

Edited November 14, 2009 by seeline

[jeffcrom]

I've tried my best to avoid reading anything else in this thread until I had listened to part 2, but it was tough - it kept showing up when I clicked "view new posts." I did glance at enough to see that someone has identified the Skatallites track, but I managed to restrain myself otherwise. Here's part 2 for me:

1. George Russell – “Living Time, Event V” from the New York Big Band album. I love Russell, but this album is not one of my favorites. Stanley Cowell is the pianist. Interesting piece – the best part is the amazing out-of-tempo opening section. But George had some tricks up his sleeve. Just when you start thinking that the piece had gotten too conventional, he builds up to all that wild trumpet stuff. Pretty cool.

2. My favorite cut from Hi-Bop Ska by the Skatallites with guest David Murray – “Flowers for Albert.” Love the Skatallites, and this tune fits them well. I’ve heard Murray play this tune solo and with the Octet – it can be joyous or elegiac.

3. Good musicians and nice enough piece, but nothing I need to hear again. The composition has vaguely Corean overtones, but I don’t know who it is.

4. “Ghost of a Chance” by some really nice swing-era piano player – maybe Teddy Wilson, although the touch seems a little heavy for him. I’m amazed at how the touch and timing of the ascending runs (like at the end) sounds like Thelonious Monk when he did similar licks. This is excellent music.

5. Another really good track that I don’t know. Good solos and group interaction, and the clarinetist is masterful – Don Byron, maybe. I’m guessing it’s the pianist’s date, since he gets the lion’s share of solo space. Like I say, I don’t know who it is, but this is really good.

6. “Reincarnation of a Lovebird” played by – I don’t really know. Sounds like Bill Frisell on guitar, but then again, he spawned lots of imitators. This is an unusual interpretation - really beautiful, although I’m not sure about the eccentric stuff near the end.

7. Cool stuff – I like the middle Eastern influence. I do think it goes on a little long, even with the changes that occur. And once again, I have no idea who it is. Another excellent clarinetist.

8. I’m not familiar enough with this kind of stuff to even venture a guess. It’s very well-done and enjoyable, though.

9. This drove me crazy! I knew it was something I was familiar with – probably in my collection - and I recognized Fletcher Henderson’s band and the soloists: Dickie Wells, Red Allen, Coleman Hawkins, and Buster Bailey (I thought), but I couldn’t remember what the tune was. Then I remembered that odd session the Henderson band recorded under brother Horace Henderson’s name for a British label and pulled out the CD. Yep, it’s “Minnie the Moocher’s Wedding Day.” Pretty good little early swing tune. And I see that I was wrong about the clarinetist. I hate the fake stereo mastering on the issue you used, the CD I have sounds much better.

10. Pretty good tenor player in what is, in my opinion, a pretty silly context.

11. Somber and excellent. I heard a little of “Summertime” in there. No ideas as to who it could be.

12. The great James Booker from The Lost Paramount Tapes. Booker is one of my heroes , and one of the few R & B musicians I would classify as a genius. There are times, like near the end of this track, where it sounds like he has three hands, at least. Among the other pleasures of this cut is Jessie Hill’s two-tambourine style – funky, funky, funky. I regret that I didn’t visit New Orleans for the first time until after Booker was dead. I prefer Booker solo, but this is still great. Thanks!

13. This is the Coolbone Brass Band from the Brass-Hop album. Ironically, it’s way less funky than if they had just used a second-line street beat. Almost any NOLA brass band is worth hearing, but this ain’t my favorite. The Rebirth or the L’il Rascals playing “Saints” would eat these guys up.

14. More bourbon in the eggnog, please.

Whew! Let me go back and read the rest of the thread, now.

[seeline]

7 Quick recognition of this performance, but somebody else ID’d it first, so I’ll just say I love this smart and sensitive improvisation on the piece that the composer never improvised on. MRA’s contribution to this CD set is my favorite part.

Y'know, the composer credit in the liners to "Jazz Poet" puzzled me for years, because I knew it wasn't by Ivan Lins. but I never could quite place who *did* write it. (Though I remembered hearing a couple of different versions of it on one or another of the Brazilian shows that used to be broadcast in the D.C. area.)

The interwebs bring us Discos do Brasil, and the mystery is solved: Antonio Carlos & Jocafi. (Who recorded it 1st, back in the day...)

Edited November 14, 2009 by seeline

[jeffcrom]

I should have gotten the Abrams/Monk piece - I've loved those CDs for years, just forgot about this solo piece.

[seeline]

My apologies to all for rushing ahead with answers and not following the standard format.... I wasn't quite sure how to go about this. (Even though I've been reading Downbeat BFTs for years and years.)

[Spontooneous]

16 I’ve loved this on a Crown LP for years. I’ll take it over the “original” any day because B.B. blows Joe Williams away without even trying. The sound and feel are right for Basie, because nine guys in the band are from the Basie organization, according to the album cover. Maxwell Davis was the leader. A few propers for the Bihari brothers, please. I’m fascinated by the world of cheap knockoff albums, especially when they result in wonderful music like this. Where did you get such a great-sounding copy of this music? I wasn’t aware this had been on CD.

This is probably the CD

Issued in UK on Ace.

http://www.acerecords.co.uk/content.php?pa...amp;release=897

The blurb on site suggests that this might, indeed, be the Basie band.

MG

There's a full personnel on the Crown LP. I counted nine guys from the Basie band, incl. Foster and Wess and Payne but not Freddie Green. Other chairs filled by studio people.

[Spontooneous]

OK, onward into Disc Two...

1 First there are some cliches from post-WWII serious music. Then a piano solo that sounds like Ramsey Lewis, over an uncommonly interesting arrangement. Then the brass episode raises the weirdness quotient. Some excited tenor. Then the last couple of minutes are surprisingly cool. Somebody explain this one to me.

2 Quick recognition of the tune itself and the tenor solo by its composer. But I haven’t heard this version before. In fact, if I had a band, we’d play this tune, but not like this. Sounds like the rhythm section hasn’t grown into the concept yet. So often in Caribbean grooves, rhythm sections seem to turn on the cruise control.

3 Maybe this is from that afternoon Hubert Laws spent over at Deodato’s house. Then again, maybe the Lew Tabackin suggestion is correct (it’s that big vibrato).

4 Well, it sure sounds like Teddy. Exactly like Teddy. So I go to my Teddy records to nail down this

“Ghost of a Chance,” and I can’t. Grrr.

5 HP, I hate you! This is one of those tunes that I’ve been carrying around in my head for years that I can’t identify! Quit reading my brain like this! I’ve heard this record, I own this record -- but I can’t trace it. Probably Don Byron on clarinet, Ralph Peterson or maybe Tain on drums. Please help me get this one out of my head!

6 Something from a Frisell-Byron collaboration, I think. But I’m probably walking into your trap here.

7 It’s klezmerific. Lots of writing here, and not much improvisation. Something Paul Schoenfeld cooked up? Or something Zorn cooked up on a day when he wished he was Paul Schoenfeld? I envy the clarinetist’s control, and the violinist and tubist ain’t to be sneezed at either. The writing is in the shadow of Stravinsky’s “Histoire du Soldat.” 10:15

8 OK, I’ll mambo. Great stuff from the Land of Extreme Stereo Separation. As someone said, “Mono was like the sound escaping from a closet. Early stereo was two closets.” No guesses other than the usual Tito P., Machito, Tito Rodriguez.

9 Electronically re-processed for stereo. And that sucks some life out of it. I should know the tune but I don’t. Every one of the solos escapes the feeling of routine. I’ll guess Fletcher, because the trumpet reminds me of Red Allen, and the tenor does a fine Ben Webster.

10 Do not adjust your set. Some really, deeply, profoundly beautiful drumming in there – I hope it isn’t a sample. A nice tenor burst. The tenorist keeps reminding me of Sam Rivers, no kidding. I have no idea what it is. I kinda like.

11 After about three minutes, it settles loosely into “Summertime.” Maybe a certain Badger bassist whom you sometimes talk about, HP?

More to come. I haven’t listened to those last three tunes yet.

[seeline]

Disc Two, tk. 11 - That isn't François Rabbath, is it? Or Barre Phillips?

Edited November 14, 2009 by seeline

[Hot Ptah]

Disc Two, tk. 11 - That isn't François Rabbath, is it? Or Barre Phillips?

No.

Looks like this one

http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&a...10:wnfixqugld6e

MG

Or maybe it's this one

http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&a...10:fnftxqugldke

MG

The first link doesn't work. The second link is not the right answer.

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

Disc Two, tk. 11 - That isn't François Rabbath, is it? Or Barre Phillips?

No.

Looks like this one

http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&a...10:wnfixqugld6e

MG

Or maybe it's this one

http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&a...10:fnftxqugldke

MG

The first link doesn't work. The second link is not the right answer.

That's funny - they've taken the page down. It was there earlier. It's called "Spider on the keyboard" or words to that effect.

MG

[Hot Ptah]

Disc Two, tk. 11 - That isn't François Rabbath, is it? Or Barre Phillips?

No.

Looks like this one

http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&a...10:wnfixqugld6e

MG

Or maybe it's this one

http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&a...10:fnftxqugldke

MG

The first link doesn't work. The second link is not the right answer.

That's funny - they've taken the page down. It was there earlier. It's called "Spider on the keyboard" or words to that effect.

MG

That one is not correct, either.

16 I’ve loved this on a Crown LP for years. I’ll take it over the “original” any day because B.B. blows Joe Williams away without even trying. The sound and feel are right for Basie, because nine guys in the band are from the Basie organization, according to the album cover. Maxwell Davis was the leader. A few propers for the Bihari brothers, please. I’m fascinated by the world of cheap knockoff albums, especially when they result in wonderful music like this. Where did you get such a great-sounding copy of this music? I wasn’t aware this had been on CD.

This is probably the CD

Issued in UK on Ace.

http://www.acerecords.co.uk/content.php?pa...amp;release=897

The blurb on site suggests that this might, indeed, be the Basie band.

MG

Give yourself a . I pulled that song from the bonus cuts on that particular CD.

James Booker is the pianist on Disc 2, Song 12. If you have heard Booker before, there are some of his characteristic licks here.

But, which Booker album is this from?

I *almost* went with Booker, but hey - that only counts in horseshoes, right?

it's from this album, which I kept meaning to buy for myself, but never did... or maybe not. I think I spoke too soon!)

*

Is Disc One, tk. 2, from this album, maybe?

No, the Booker cut is not from that album. No, Disc One, Track 2 is not from that album.

[Hot Ptah]

OK, here goes for Disc One:

1 The bottom-heavy reed sound and splattery brass make me think this is the Ellington band, maybe on Reprise. Then again, the chart doesn’t sound like him. I’m mystified.

Not Ellington.

2 The rhythm track sounds like a sample, not live. Some of the horn backdrops might be samples too. There’s a weird tension between improvising, smart ensemble writing and slick studio playing. The “out” climax seems engineered instead of achieved, if ya know what I mean. Goes on longer than it oughta. The suggestion that this is the Kenny Garrett record where Miles plays was good, but incorrect. I don’t have the correct suggestion.

It's not Kenny Garrett and Miles.

3 It’s so modernistic! Jeff beat me to the ID for this unforgetable record. JPJ meant to be tongue-in-cheek, I’m thinking, but ended up being prescient. Where did you get this great transfer from the 78?

4 Yeah, I thought it was Django and Steff until I checked my collection. My original notes said “Steff in peak early form here.” But Eddie is even better. Thanks for reminding me of this one.

5 They didn’t make ‘em like this by the time this was made. So very few people playing this way in the stereo era, so I’ll make some guesses: Willie the Lion, Claude Hopkins, Joe Turner. Whoever it is, I want the record. Now.

None of those guesses are correct.

6 Seems like some things slammed together in a studio rather than things that came together on their own. When in doubt, slap on some phasing effects. I thought I heard an oud, and then, about 4 minutes in, sounds like banjo -- so I’ll guess it’s some Bela Fleck project. A nice try.

Not Bela Fleck.

7 Quick recognition of this performance, but somebody else ID’d it first, so I’ll just say I love this smart and sensitive improvisation on the piece that the composer never improvised on. MRA’s contribution to this CD set is my favorite part.

I like this 4 CD live set a lot, but am surprised at how Don Cherry's chops get unacceptably bad long before the end.

8 Rickety waltz. I could do without the sound effects. Then again, that long ensemble might get tedious without them. Tenor solo doesn’t accomplish much, but I like the Rouse-like tone. I hear little bits of plucking that might be a cello. Threadgill? Or someone who wants to be Threadgill?

Not Threadgill.

9 Sounds like something Joel Forrester is involved with. I wasn’t expecting that slide-guitar sound. But I was the world’s biggest Duane Allman fan when I was 15, so it’s fine with me. I want this record.

Not Forrester.

10 I had a bet with myself that you wouldn’t leave Sun Ra off this BFT. I’m guessing this is it. High Space Fidelity! Really a lovely trumpet solo. I think I’ll play this again right now.

Which Sun Ra song and album?

11 No blues or bebop in the pianist’s language, but it’s none the worse for that. I’ll guess Lynne Arriale, though I can’t pin the performance down.

Not Lynne Arriale. seeline has already correctly identified the artist, song and album.

12 Jeff got it already, of course. And I didn’t. Another VERY good 78 transfer.

13 Trumpeter ventures into Lester Bowie territory, but maybe it isn’t him. Tenor reminded me of George Adams for a minute, then didn’t. More bashing and gesturing than ideas in the piano solo – I thought Don Pullen briefly, but I expect better from him. Respect but not love for this one.

14 The Mariachi Brass on mescaline? Tack-eee, but fun.

Not the Mariachi Brass. I would be surprised if these musicians had been on mescaline at the time of the recording.

15 Reminds me of Cab Calloway and Bob Wills at the same time. Someone does a good job of playing tenor like Chu. The rhythm section is pretty wooden.

16 I’ve loved this on a Crown LP for years. I’ll take it over the “original” any day because B.B. blows Joe Williams away without even trying. The sound and feel are right for Basie, because nine guys in the band are from the Basie organization, according to the album cover. Maxwell Davis was the leader. A few propers for the Bihari brothers, please. I’m fascinated by the world of cheap knockoff albums, especially when they result in wonderful music like this. Where did you get such a great-sounding copy of this music? I wasn’t aware this had been on CD.

The Magnificient Goldberg has identified the CD, which came out a few years ago in the B.B. King reissue series.

Edited November 14, 2009 by Hot Ptah