BFT #82 Discussion

[jeffcrom]

Happy New Year to all. I'm looking forward to your comments about the BFT #82 selections. Some of them are pretty obscure, so don't get hung up on identification, unless that's fun for you. I'm more interested in a good discussion about the music.

[lipi]

Well, as promised, it's eclectic! I think there are only two tracks I can even attempt to guess at:

5) The beginning reminds me of Chick Webb's band (though maybe after he died--that doesn't sound like his drumming to me), but then there's some Lunceford sounding bits around 0:45. Don't know what to think of the weird little alto at 1:30 and the tenor that follows it. And a piano out of nowhere at 2:40... I'm going to stick with Webb after his death, with Ella fronting, though I don't recognise the track, and I think I've heard most of those--and that leaves the question of that piano bit.

13) A Red Allen group? Something from 1929 or 1930 or so. Is that a C-melody 0:20-0:40?

The repeated guitar lick in track 1 is driving me crazy, incidentally. It sounds familiar, but I can't place it. I keep thinking of Nat King Cole, but that makes no sense!

[jeffcrom]

Well, as promised, it's eclectic!

Alex, I thought about you when I was putting this together - really! As I picked some of the more "demanding" tracks I thought, "Jeez - Alex is going to hate this!" I hope there are some other things you like, though.

5) The beginning reminds me of Chick Webb's band (though maybe after he died--that doesn't sound like his drumming to me), but then there's some Lunceford sounding bits around 0:45. Don't know what to think of the weird little alto at 1:30 and the tenor that follows it. And a piano out of nowhere at 2:40... I'm going to stick with Webb after his death, with Ella fronting, though I don't recognise the track, and I think I've heard most of those--and that leaves the question of that piano bit.

Not Webb or Fitzgerald. The sax soloists are not well-known names, although some folks might be familiar with the alto player, or at least his name. This is an interesting session (with an interesting story) by a good band.

13) A Red Allen group? Something from 1929 or 1930 or so. Is that a C-melody 0:20-0:40?

No, it's not Allen, but that's an excellent guess - you're kind of on the right track. And you get a point for the year - 1929. That's an alto, not a C-melody.

The repeated guitar lick in track 1 is driving me crazy, incidentally. It sounds familiar, but I can't place it. I keep thinking of Nat King Cole, but that makes no sense!

No connection with Nat, as far as I know.

Thanks for listening - any reaction to the other tracks? I thought you might like #2.

Edited January 3, 2011 by jeffcrom

[lipi]

Alex, I thought about you when I was putting this together - really! As I picked some of the more "demanding" tracks I thought, "Jeez - Alex is going to hate this!" I hope there are some other things you like, though.

Hah. Track 4 is a particular favourite. And thanks for thinking of me! Sorry I didn't write much--I was in a rush. Some more thoughts, then.

No, it's not Allen, but that's an excellent guess - you're kind of on the right track. And you get a point for the year - 1929. That's an alto, not a C-melody.

I'll take my partial credit, undeserved as it is.

Thanks for listening - any reaction to the other tracks? I thought you might like #2.

It's interesting you mention that one. I had no guesses, so I didn't write anything about it, but I'm really curious about the trombone, and I quite like the tuba and violin. The percussion isn't my thing--more classic New Orleans would be more up my alley. Trumpet is fine, but I like that tuba best. You don't hear enough tuba breaks these days! (In all fairness, you probably never heard enough tuba breaks.) It sounds modern, too, so maybe these guys actually play in New Orleans or thereabouts in the present. O.K., so maybe I have a guess: it sounds contemporary! (Edit: Oh, and that's Muskrat Ramble, of course. Just so you don't think I'm completely clueless.)

Another one I quite liked, but didn't have guesses about, is 3. I like the Lord Invader, Blind Blake, and random other calypso recordings I have. This sounds to me like a mix between that old, classic calypso feel, and swinging jazz.

I am sorta digging 8, too, perhaps surprisingly. Again, nothing I can possibly say about it. It sounds like an early blues singer playing the saxophone to me--that pained, strangled onset of certain tones and yet that power and clarity. Maybe that makes no sense to anyone else. It sounded good in my head before I wrote it down.

11 is something I have to listen to a few more times, and maybe I'll be able to hazard a guess there, too. I've struck out on the others, so I'm extra motivated.

Finally, I'm curious about 15. As modern things go, it's not that horrible. I wish the melodic ideas flowed more--it's all so choppy. But I think I could probably end up liking something like this, if not exactly this.

Edited January 4, 2011 by alex.

[jeffcrom]

Thanks for listening - any reaction to the other tracks? I thought you might like #2.

It's interesting you mention that one. I had no guesses, so I didn't write anything about it, but I'm really curious about the trombone, and I quite like the tuba and violin. The percussion isn't my thing--more classic New Orleans would be more up my alley. Trumpet is fine, but I like that tuba best. You don't hear enough tuba breaks these days! (In all fairness, you probably never heard enough tuba breaks.) It sounds modern, too, so maybe these guys actually play in New Orleans or thereabouts in the present. O.K., so maybe I have a guess: it sounds contemporary! (Edit: Oh, and that's Muskrat Ramble, of course. Just so you don't think I'm completely clueless.)

It is indeed a bunch of New Orleans guys in a recent recording of "Muskrat Ramble." The tuba playing killed me the first time I heard this, and other aspects of the performance (the Caribbean rhythm and the overall "busyness") have grown on me.

I am sorta digging 8, too, perhaps surprisingly. Again, nothing I can possibly say about it. It sounds like an early blues singer playing the saxophone to me--that pained, strangled onset of certain tones and yet that power and clarity. Maybe that makes no sense to anyone else. It sounded good in my head before I wrote it down.

I like your comments on this track. It's an odd one....

Finally, I'm curious about 15. As modern things go, it's not that horrible. I wish the melodic ideas flowed more--it's all so choppy. But I think I could probably end up liking something like this, if not exactly this.

There are recordings by this artist you would probably like more than this one. On the other hand, there are recordings by him you would hate as much as #4!

Thanks again for listening and responding - I'm enjoying your comments.

Edited January 4, 2011 by jeffcrom

[Hot Ptah]

This BFT is great fun. I am playing it over and over again in my car. I do not know a single song or musician. That will not stop me from posting my uninformed comments about the songs soon!

I can tell that there are some surprises here, some unexpected artists and songs and dates, even if I can't identify any of them.

[jeffcrom]

This BFT is great fun. I am playing it over and over again in my car. I do not know a single song or musician. That will not stop me from posting my uninformed comments about the songs soon!

I can tell that there are some surprises here, some unexpected artists and songs and dates, even if I can't identify any of them.

Glad you're enjoying it. Looking forward to your comments, informed or otherwise!

[Hot Ptah]

This BFT is great fun. I am playing it over and over again in my car. I do not know a single song or musician. That will not stop me from posting my uninformed comments about the songs soon!

I can tell that there are some surprises here, some unexpected artists and songs and dates, even if I can't identify any of them.

Glad you're enjoying it. Looking forward to your comments, informed or otherwise!

One preliminary guess--is that George Lewis on trombone on #4?

[jeffcrom]

One preliminary guess--is that George Lewis on trombone on #4?

No, but George Lewis has recorded with track 4's bandleader/composer.

(I guess I'm already giving hints, since there hasn't been much activity yet.)

[lipi]

One preliminary guess--is that George Lewis on trombone on #4?

That would totally explain the playing on that track! And it's probably George Brunies on clarinet.

Sorry, couldn't resist.

As for 13: I cheated like crazy once you confirmed it was 1929, and slowly worked my way through all the things I have from '29. I won't spoil it for others by giving it away. It's a wonderful recording, and one I must have listened to before. I read the cornet player's autobiography ("Oh, Didn't He Ramble") a year or two ago and I wrote down this lovely bit of 20's slang from a passage in which he describes playing with Armstrong and Petit in a Labor Day parade: "The mounted police stopped the band because we were playing so barrelhouse and all the people, white and colored, were cutting up so bad."

[jeffcrom]

Yep, you've got it, Alex.

[jeffcrom]

As for 13: I cheated like crazy once you confirmed it was 1929, and slowly worked my way through all the things I have from '29. I won't spoil it for others by giving it away. It's a wonderful recording, and one I must have listened to before. I read the cornet player's autobiography ("Oh, Didn't He Ramble") a year or two ago and I wrote down this lovely bit of 20's slang from a passage in which he describes playing with Armstrong and Petit in a Labor Day parade: "The mounted police stopped the band because we were playing so barrelhouse and all the people, white and colored, were cutting up so bad."

I'll have to go back and read that. It hit me a couple of hours after reading your post how amazing that trumpet section must have been. I've often thought that, if I could go back in time for one day, I'd go to the Lincoln Gardens in Chicago in late 1922 or early 1923, when King Oliver's Creole Jazz Band with Louis Armstrong was playing. I think I now have to change that - I would want to go to New Orleans and second-line that parade. And you know that at least one of those guys had a dance-hall gig that night.

[Hot Ptah]

Here are my impressions of the music.

1. This one really has me stumped. The organist at one point plays a very familiar blues song. I think I have heard B.B. King sing it, but I can't name it. I should be able to. I like this as an opener very much, a really soulful number.

2. I see from the earlier discussion that this is a recent recording of "Muskrat Ramble." I have probably either read about this recording in Offbeat magazine or have it on one of Offbeat's sampler CDs, but I cannot identify the group. In any event, I must have this CD after I learn who recorded it! This is just wonderful!

3. This is great stuff! This older New Orleans stuff is just essential to me. It reminds me in mood of the "Jazz a la Creole" album by Baby Dodds, although this song is not on that album. I love the clarinet and trumpet solos. Again, I must have this album!

4. This sounds like a 1970s avant garde album which I probably own, which will make my inability to identify it all the more humiliating. Let's see, who recorded with alto sax, trumpet and trombone, over a piano trio? I just don't know. I used to listen to a ton of this kind of stuff and still love it. It is in the vein of what Braxton and Muhal Richard Abrams were recording for a while.

5. This sounds Basie-like to me, but maybe not Basie himself. The trumpet solo is very exciting, a hotter player than I have heard soloing with Basie. I'm stumped.

6. This gets into a nice Jazz Messengers feel, but sounds more recent to me. It is more compelling than a lot of contemporary mainstream jazz, so I will be very interested to hear who it is. I have no guesses.

7. A flute/guitar duet. Is that Sam Rivers on flute?

8. This one is a great Blindfold Test song. It starts out with a saxophone sound that makes you think it is an avant garde jazz song, but quickly you realize that it is not, that it is from many decades before. I love the gospel sound here. I can't wait to hear who this is.

9. It begins with a rhythm that reminds me of Steely Dan's "Do It Again", and then turns into that rarest of creatures, a contemporary real jazz performance with a fun groove. The tenor saxophonist reminded me of Michael Brecker, although it could be someone influenced by him. I really like this one a lot.

10. This is another fun song, with a "carnival" feeling at the beginning to me--it just hits me that way. I have no idea who it is, but find the tenor saxophonist very appealing, and the drummer really good.

11. This is a real puzzler. The big band sounds like one of Dizzy Gillespie's units to me, but the trumpet soloist is definitely not Dizzy. It's a great Blindfold Test song in that way.

12. Is that Muhal Richard Abrams on piano? Another avant garde song I probably have in my collection but cannot identify now.

13. Well, Alex has told us that this is Lee Collins. I am unfamiliar with his work but want to learn a lot more now! Tremendous track.

14. Recent quirky bop. I would guess that the trumpet player is the leader, and I like the trumpet tone. No idea who it is.

15. An extended baritone sax solo live. At times I thought that this might be James Carter, but the player never got into James' frequent technical excesses.

Basically, I have no idea who is playing on any track, but I have enjoyed this BFT a great deal, and play it repeatedly for pleasure.

[jeffcrom]

Here are my impressions of the music.

1. This one really has me stumped. The organist at one point plays a very familiar blues song. I think I have heard B.B. King sing it, but I can't name it. I should be able to. I like this as an opener very much, a really soulful number.

Glad you like it. The organist is quoting "Confessin' the Blues," it sounds like to me.

2. I see from the earlier discussion that this is a recent recording of "Muskrat Ramble." I have probably either read about this recording in Offbeat magazine or have it on one of Offbeat's sampler CDs, but I cannot identify the group. In any event, I must have this CD after I learn who recorded it! This is just wonderful!

If you read Offbeat regularly, you probably did read about this CD when it came out a few years ago. I'm glad you like it as much as I do.

3. This is great stuff! This older New Orleans stuff is just essential to me. It reminds me in mood of the "Jazz a la Creole" album by Baby Dodds, although this song is not on that album. I love the clarinet and trumpet solos. Again, I must have this album!

You might be surprised when you find out more about this one. Alex was on the right track.

4. This sounds like a 1970s avant garde album which I probably own, which will make my inability to identify it all the more humiliating. Let's see, who recorded with alto sax, trumpet and trombone, over a piano trio? I just don't know. I used to listen to a ton of this kind of stuff and still love it. It is in the vein of what Braxton and Muhal Richard Abrams were recording for a while.

This is by someone who is not as well-known as his talent warrants. No connection to Braxton or Abrams.

5. This sounds Basie-like to me, but maybe not Basie himself. The trumpet solo is very exciting, a hotter player than I have heard soloing with Basie. I'm stumped.

Not Basie; the trumpet soloist is the best-known of the soloists here, although maybe only to swing/big band aficianados. Like I hinted at, this is a session which has always intrigued me.

6. This gets into a nice Jazz Messengers feel, but sounds more recent to me. It is more compelling than a lot of contemporary mainstream jazz, so I will be very interested to hear who it is. I have no guesses.

How to respond to this? Read your first eight words again, then make a guess!

7. A flute/guitar duet. Is that Sam Rivers on flute?

Good ears - it is indeed Sam Rivers.

8. This one is a great Blindfold Test song. It starts out with a saxophone sound that makes you think it is an avant garde jazz song, but quickly you realize that it is not, that it is from many decades before. I love the gospel sound here. I can't wait to hear who this is.

I'll reveal that this is from my 78 collection, although I know that it has been reissued, at least on a French LP. Your reaction is exactly like mine - the first time I heard the opening notes of this record, I could have sworn that it was Albert Ayler.

9. It begins with a rhythm that reminds me of Steely Dan's "Do It Again", and then turns into that rarest of creatures, a contemporary real jazz performance with a fun groove. The tenor saxophonist reminded me of Michael Brecker, although it could be someone influenced by him. I really like this one a lot.

This group seldom does straight 4/4 swing; there's usually some kind of groove going on. Not Brecker, but the saxophonist is definitely in that same vein.

10. This is another fun song, with a "carnival" feeling at the beginning to me--it just hits me that way. I have no idea who it is, but find the tenor saxophonist very appealing, and the drummer really good.

You nailed the highlights of this track to me.

11. This is a real puzzler. The big band sounds like one of Dizzy Gillespie's units to me, but the trumpet soloist is definitely not Dizzy. It's a great Blindfold Test song in that way.

I don't think this session is well-known, but it blew me away when I heard it many years ago. Not Gillespie, as you probably know.

12. Is that Muhal Richard Abrams on piano? Another avant garde song I probably have in my collection but cannot identify now.

Not Abrams; the pianist would probably be flattered.

13. Well, Alex has told us that this is Lee Collins. I am unfamiliar with his work but want to learn a lot more now! Tremendous track.

Yes, the great Lee Collins. More about this session later, if nobody else adds anything.

14. Recent quirky bop. I would guess that the trumpet player is the leader, and I like the trumpet tone. No idea who it is.

The trumpet player is indeed the leader and composer.

15. An extended baritone sax solo live. At times I thought that this might be James Carter, but the player never got into James' frequent technical excesses.

Your excellent ears let you down just a little here - it's a tenor sax. And not James Carter, as you know.

Basically, I have no idea who is playing on any track, but I have enjoyed this BFT a great deal, and play it repeatedly for pleasure.

This comment pleases me no end. My idea was to put together some excellent music that would be unfamiliar to most folks, even here. Glad you're enjoying it.

[paul secor]

Haven't looked at any previous comments. As opposed to Jeff's previous BFT, I didn't recognize anything this time out. So I'll just list my comments. (I'm just hoping that I don't have any of this music in my collection.)

1. Nice guitar sound. The organist sounded like someone trying to do something and not quite making it. I felt that the track ended before it should have. The way it ended sounded like something done for a label like Cadet, where they always seemed to be looking for juke box play.

2. Muskrat Ramble - Sounded a bit out of tune when they started, but that was ok. One of the newer New Orleans bands? Good band - well rehearsed. Nice woodwind ensemble. Liked the trumpet solo. The violin added a nice touch. Enjoyed the tuba/banjo section. They played with good subtlety. This one grew on me each time I listened to it.

3. Calypso. One of Jeff's 78s? Liked the clarinetist. Couldn't pick up all of the lyrics because of the dialect - I know, in Trinidad, I'd be the one speaking in a dialect that would be hard to understand - but some of the lyrics sounded like they wouldn't have been out of place on a 1920s/30s blues record.

4. No idea who it was. The tune sounded a little like some George Russell things, but I never heard a George Russell group playing this loosely.

5. I'm very far from being a big band afficianado, so I have no idea who this is. The band plays like a well oiled machine - meant as a compliment. I liked the trumpeter, but I liked the sound of the band best. Good bassist.

6. Liked the trumpeter best. The tenor player played some good stuff. Liked the also saxist (the leader?) least. And didn't care for the drummer at all - sounded heavy handed to me. Didn't care for the piano player either - a tinkler, nothing there emotionally for me. One of my least favorite tracks on the test - tho not my least favorite.

7. The flautist had a good sound. Liked the way that the guitarist used the instrument to interact. Something from the AACM?

8. A saxophonist playing church music? I've heard Ayler, Shepp, and Vernard Johnson doing this - not any of them. Didn't grab me that much. A field recording?

9. Muzak/funk. Boring - the cut I liked least on this test.

10. This sounded so familiar, but I couldn't place it. Could have been the waltz tune or the saxophonist, but it drove me a little crazy trying to figure out where I'd heard it before. Loved the drummer - moved the band, yet broke up the time in a very creative and subtle way.

11. Big band (from the early bop era?) Very hot & well rehearsed w. very good soloists. Thought that it might have been Dizzy because of the latin percussion, but didn't sound like any Dizzy I knew. Liked this one very much.

12. When I started listening to this, the first name that came to mind was Paul Bley, but it's not he. Kind of together/untogether early ESP type sounding thing.

13. Nice segue between the previous track and this one. The altoists on #12 and on this one sounded like they were on the same on the same wave length, even though years apart. Great band. Fine trumpeter. Loved what the bassist was playing throughout.

14. Liked this one very much. Enjoyed the guitarist's accompaniment to the trumpet solo and the guitar solo. Is this a recent recording?

15. Tune sounded familiar but I couldn't place it. I'm terrible at remembering titles of tunes. Rollins influenced tenor player. Good guitarist - tho I enjoyed the guitarist on the previous track more. They sounded like they had a good time playing together.

Thanks for the experience, Jeff. I look forward to finding out the identities of the musicians. I would definitely buy 11 & 13, assuming they're available. And might buy 2, 5, 7, & 14. Slight possibility I'd buy 4 & 12.

Have a feeling that there are things here that will make me look like an idiot. Not a problem - I've been there before.

[jeffcrom]

Haven't looked at any previous comments. As opposed to Jeff's previous BFT, I didn't recognize anything this time out. So I'll just list my comments. (I'm just hoping that I don't have any of this music in my collection.)

1. Nice guitar sound. The organist sounded like someone trying to do something and not quite making it. I felt that the track ended before it should have. The way it ended sounded like something done for a label like Cadet, where they always seemed to be looking for juke box play.

Yes, I like the guitar on this. I'm going to give you a point for the label - sister label Argo, actually. And nothing on the album is longer than four minutes.

2. Muskrat Ramble - Sounded a bit out of tune when they started, but that was ok. One of the newer New Orleans bands? Good band - well rehearsed. Nice woodwind ensemble. Liked the trumpet solo. The violin added a nice touch. Enjoyed the tuba/banjo section. They played with good subtlety. This one grew on me each time I listened to it.

I've never noticed the beginning being out of tune - I'll listen again. Yes, it is, as you and Alex guessed, a recent New Orleans recording. I'm right with you on your last sentence. And I like that you picked up on the quality of the trumpet solo - it's by a New Orleans "musician's musician," and I'll bet very few people here have heard of him.

3. Calypso. One of Jeff's 78s? Liked the clarinetist. Couldn't pick up all of the lyrics because of the dialect - I know, in Trinidad, I'd be the one speaking in a dialect that would be hard to understand - but some of the lyrics sounded like they wouldn't have been out of place on a 1920s/30s blues record.

Not from one of my 78s - it's from one of the new-fangled CD thingies. Yep, the singer is Trinidadian.

4. No idea who it was. The tune sounded a little like some George Russell things, but I never heard a George Russell group playing this loosely.

This bandleader/composer also makes me think of a more out-there George Russell.

5. I'm very far from being a big band afficianado, so I have no idea who this is. The band plays like a well oiled machine - meant as a compliment. I liked the trumpeter, but I liked the sound of the band best. Good bassist.

I'm starting to repeat myself, but there's a reason the band is so tight. I'm looking forward to letting folks know the story of this session, if nobody identifies it. And yes, the trumpeter and bassist are excellent.

6. Liked the trumpeter best. The tenor player played some good stuff. Liked the also saxist (the leader?) least. And didn't care for the drummer at all - sounded heavy handed to me. Didn't care for the piano player either - a tinkler, nothing there emotionally for me. One of my least favorite tracks on the test - tho not my least favorite.

You and I have such similar tastes so much of the time that I found this very interesting. I really like the alto player. Your comment about the drummer is the only one that may cause you grief upon finding out about the details of this one. I like the trumpeter as well.

7. The flautist had a good sound. Liked the way that the guitarist used the instrument to interact. Something from the AACM?

No AACM connection. Hot Ptah has identified the flutist as Sam Rivers. I also like the way the two guys listen and interact here.

8. A saxophonist playing church music? I've heard Ayler, Shepp, and Vernard Johnson doing this - not any of them. Didn't grab me that much. A field recording?

A studio recording. As I've said, I also flashed on Ayler when I first heard this. It's a secular recording, though obviously this guy has been to church a few times.

9. Muzak/funk. Boring - the cut I liked least on this test.

I like this track, or I wouldn't have included it, but I knew that it would strike some folks that way. To me, it has just enough unusual touches to raise it above the level of predictable fusion. And listen to the drummer's right foot!

10. This sounded so familiar, but I couldn't place it. Could have been the waltz tune or the saxophonist, but it drove me a little crazy trying to figure out where I'd heard it before. Loved the drummer - moved the band, yet broke up the time in a very creative and subtle way.

Yes, the drummer was a master. This is not a really well-known album, but I can see you knowing it.

11. Big band (from the early bop era?) Very hot & well rehearsed w. very good soloists. Thought that it might have been Dizzy because of the latin percussion, but didn't sound like any Dizzy I knew. Liked this one very much.

You've got the right era. As I've said, not Dizzy. And very hot!

12. When I started listening to this, the first name that came to mind was Paul Bley, but it's not he. Kind of together/untogether early ESP type sounding thing.

I like your characterization of this as together/untogether - that's perfect. Not Bley, as you realized, and not ESP. It's pretty recent.

13. Nice segue between the previous track and this one. The altoists on #12 and on this one sounded like they were on the same on the same wave length, even though years apart. Great band. Fine trumpeter. Loved what the bassist was playing throughout.

The trumpet player has been identified as Lee Collins. The bassist was an early jazz master, and I like the alto player a lot, although I've read critics who panned all of the saxophone playing from this date.

14. Liked this one very much. Enjoyed the guitarist's accompaniment to the trumpet solo and the guitar solo. Is this a recent recording?

Yes, this and #12 are the most recent recordings of the bunch.

15. Tune sounded familiar but I couldn't place it. I'm terrible at remembering titles of tunes. Rollins influenced tenor player. Good guitarist - tho I enjoyed the guitarist on the previous track more. They sounded like they had a good time playing together.

It's a standard, but not one that has been played a million times. Don't want to say much about this one until others have had their say.

Thanks for the experience, Jeff. I look forward to finding out the identities of the musicians. I would definitely buy 11 & 13, assuming they're available. And might buy 2, 5, 7, & 14. Slight possibility I'd buy 4 & 12.

13 should be readily available on several CDs. 11 - I kind of doubt it, although it should be.

Have a feeling that there are things here that will make me look like an idiot. Not a problem - I've been there before.

Not at all. Great comments, although, like I say, you might second-guess your comments about the drummer on #6 when you learn who it is. Or maybe not. Anyway, thanks for listening - I know you usually don't do the Blindfold Tests.

Edited January 8, 2011 by jeffcrom

[lipi]

I thought more about 5. I kept coming back to Webb, Fletcher Henderson, and other such early guys. I hadn't really thought of Horace before, because I don't know much about his recordings--just that there are fairly few with him as a leader. Once I did, it made a lot of sense, and I dove back into my music library. Anyway: it's HH, "Smooth Sailing", from 1940, and embarrassingly enough I have it...this is becoming a theme.

What a great, great band: it's basically Fletcher's orchestra plus or minus a few, I think. It's hard to tell, because Fletcher recorded very little during the period leading up to the recording ban (and during the ban itself, of course).

I have only a handful of tracks from that era of either Henderson on compilation CDs, so I'll have to track down the Chrono Classics. I love this arrangement, too, and a quick peek in a discography tells me it's not Henderson, so I'll need to look for more by this particular arranger, too. You're causing my to-buy list to grow at an alarming rate, but at least you make up for it by making me discover things I already had and wasn't aware of.

Jeff, do you know who is taking the trumpet solo? I assume EB, but both would have been capable.

[jeffcrom]

I thought more about 5. I kept coming back to Webb, Fletcher Henderson, and other such early guys. I hadn't really thought of Horace before, because I don't know much about his recordings--just that there are fairly few with him as a leader. Once I did, it made a lot of sense, and I dove back into my music library. Anyway: it's HH, "Smooth Sailing", from 1940, and embarrassingly enough I have it...this is becoming a theme.

What a great, great band: it's basically Fletcher's orchestra plus or minus a few, I think. It's hard to tell, because Fletcher recorded very little during the period leading up to the recording ban (and during the ban itself, of course).

I have only a handful of tracks from that era of either Henderson on compilation CDs, so I'll have to track down the Chrono Classics. I love this arrangement, too, and a quick peek in a discography tells me it's not Henderson, so I'll need to look for more by this particular arranger, too. You're causing my to-buy list to grow at an alarming rate, but at least you make up for it by making me discover things I already had and wasn't aware of.

Jeff, do you know who is taking the trumpet solo? I assume EB, but both would have been capable.

Okay, we have our first full artist and track ID. #5 is indeed "Smooth Sailing" by Horace Henderson and His Orchestra. It's not his brother's musicians, though. This October 23, 1940 session is the closest we have to a recording session by the great Nat Towles big band out of Omaha. Towles had a legendary band, but didn't record and wouldn't take his band to Chicago or New York, because he knew that he would lose his sidemen to more well-known leaders. His worst fears came true when Horace Henderson heard his band, and basically stole it. Henderson didn't need pianist Sir Charles Thompson, and he kept Emmett Berry on trumpet and Israel Crosby on bass from his old band, but the rest of this band was pretty much the Towles band intact. "Smooth Sailing" is a composition/arrangement by Sir Charles that had been in the Towles book, with solos by Emmett Berry, Bob Dorsey on tenor, C. Q. Price (who later played with Basie) on alto, and Horace.

This track came from a CD reissue, but I have a Horace Henderson LP that has three pretty good big band sessions, and then this fabulous one. Lift a glass to the great Nat Towles band.

[lipi]

Neat! I'd never heard of Towles. Any recommendations reading-wise, Jeff?

I see Jimmy Heath was in his band, and this autobiography came out last year. The index shows quite a bit of references to Towles, so I may try and pick it up. Wikipedia also tells me Quinichette and Hefti were in the Towles band. Intriguing.

[jeffcrom]

Neat! I'd never heard of Towles. Any recommendations reading-wise, Jeff?

Two excellent sources:

Gunther Schuller - The Swing Era, pp. 788-790;

Albert McCarthy - Big Band Jazz, pp. 131-134 & 284-285.

I don't see the McCarthy book mentioned often, but it's a very impressive source of information about big bands.

And while the CD I took "Smooth Sailing" from states that Emmett Berry is the trumpet soloist, Schuller believes that it's Money Johnson, while McCarthy thinks it's Nat Bates. Identifying soloists on big band records is often problematic, I guess.

[Hot Ptah]

Neat! I'd never heard of Towles. Any recommendations reading-wise, Jeff?

Two excellent sources:

Gunther Schuller - The Swing Era, pp. 788-790;

Albert McCarthy - Big Band Jazz, pp. 131-134 & 284-285.

I don't see the McCarthy book mentioned often, but it's a very impressive source of information about big bands.

And while the CD I took "Smooth Sailing" from states that Emmett Berry is the trumpet soloist, Schuller believes that it's Money Johnson, while McCarthy thinks it's Nat Bates. Identifying soloists on big band records is often problematic, I guess.

Neat! I'd never heard of Towles. Any recommendations reading-wise, Jeff?

Two excellent sources:

Gunther Schuller - The Swing Era, pp. 788-790;

Albert McCarthy - Big Band Jazz, pp. 131-134 & 284-285.

I don't see the McCarthy book mentioned often, but it's a very impressive source of information about big bands.

And while the CD I took "Smooth Sailing" from states that Emmett Berry is the trumpet soloist, Schuller believes that it's Money Johnson, while McCarthy thinks it's Nat Bates. Identifying soloists on big band records is often problematic, I guess.

#7 is 'Sketches' from Sam Rivers' 'Configuration' album. Noel Akchote is on guitar.

Edited January 9, 2011 by Hot Ptah

[jeffcrom]

#7 is 'Sketches' from Sam Rivers' 'Configuration' album. Noel Akchote is on guitar.

Bingo! That's it.

[Hot Ptah]

Here are my impressions of the music.

6. This gets into a nice Jazz Messengers feel, but sounds more recent to me. It is more compelling than a lot of contemporary mainstream jazz, so I will be very interested to hear who it is. I have no guesses.

How to respond to this? Read your first eight words again, then make a guess!

Well, this makes it seem like it has to be a recording by Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers themselves. I do not know this album. though. Of course, there were many editions of the Jazz Messengers on record.

Edited January 9, 2011 by Hot Ptah

[Chas]

On a first, cursory listen, the only instant recognition for me was the opening track, which is Buckner & Burrell doing the title cut from Milt's Mighty High record.

[jeffcrom]

Here are my impressions of the music.

6. This gets into a nice Jazz Messengers feel, but sounds more recent to me. It is more compelling than a lot of contemporary mainstream jazz, so I will be very interested to hear who it is. I have no guesses.

How to respond to this? Read your first eight words again, then make a guess!

Well, this makes it seem like it has to be a recording by Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers themselves. I do not know this album. though. Of course, there were many editions of the Jazz Messengers on record.

You got so close that I have to give you credit. It is Blakey and the Messengers. Anybody know this album?

On a first, cursory listen, the only instant recognition for me was the opening track, which is Buckner & Burrell doing the title cut from Milt's Mighty High record.

You've got it - Milt Buckner with Kenny Burrell from Mighty High.