BFT #82 Discussion

[paul secor]

Blakey is one of my favorite drummers (& perhaps my favorite drummer). Never would have guessed that #6 would be he. Please don't tell me that the trumpeter is Wynton.

[jeffcrom]

Blakey is one of my favorite drummers (& perhaps my favorite drummer). Never would have guessed that #6 would be he. Please don't tell me that the trumpeter is Wynton.

No, you're off the hook on that one. It's after the Wynton era.

I chose a Blakey track for a couple of reasons - the simplest being that I like this album, and it doesn't seem to be well known. But I also was curious about the reaction to the drumming on a track which most people wouldn't recognize as being a Blakey track. I love Blakey, too, but I don't think "heavy handed" is an unfair description of his playing, much some of the time. (I intentionally left in my first word choice.) I think it's significant that, from the Hubbard/Shorter/Fuller band on, his young sidemen seldom hired Blakey for their own albums.

I had a moment of soul-searching on a recent BFT, when I slammed a solo piano version of a Monk tune; the pianist turned out to be Ran Blake, whom I respect a great deal. When I found out it was Blake, I went back and listened to the track again, very carefully. And I think that I was right in that case - he totally missed the boat with that recording.

Back to track 6, it's from my favorite late Jazz Messengers album - not that I've heard all of them.

[Chas]

I think it's significant that, from the Hubbard/Shorter/Fuller band on, his young sidemen seldom hired Blakey for their own albums.

I don't think anything of significance can be inferred from this, for two reasons. First, most established leaders don't take a lot of sideman gigs, and second, many young musicians leave bands to pursue musical directions that differ from those of their erstwhile leader's.

[Spontooneous]

1. No idea who it is, but I like the guitarist's time. And the organist's. The organ quote of Walter Brown's "Confessin' the Blues" at 1:46 warms my Kansas City heart.

2. Muscat Ramble. Goin' back to the roots but crossing the wires a little (to mix metaphors). It brings in the Latin tinge, and there's a dandy bit of ensemble writing with clarinets and a violin that would make Bob Wills proud. The tuba solo isn't just acrobatic, it's serious as a heart attack. Wynton wishes his music was as much fun as this. Or maybe he doesn't, and that's his problem. When the leader calls the New Orleans stuff, I tend to head for the men's room or the Waffle House -- but I think I'll play this one two or three times more before going on to 3.

3. This hits me right in a blind spot, because I've never paid much attention to calypso. (Does it count that I listened to my mom's Harry Belafonte record a lot when I was a kid?) There's some serious playing going on here, especially that powerful clarinet, who could almost be Bechet. Are there some jazz cats mixed into this band? I like the spot where it goes into a smooth swing.

4. Something familiar about this one, like it's in my collection somewhere. I just love the out-of-time head with the big ensemble sound. (Shameless plug: Something similarly wacky will be on BFT 84.) Don't love the tenor solo, which seems to go for the low-hanging fruit, but the trombone is above and beyond the call of duty.

5. My favorite thing about this circa-1941 performance is the drumming. Somebody learned the lessons of Jo Jones very well. The backdrops to the horn solos are a little too aggressive, or maybe the horns aren't aggressive enough. Can't ID the piece or the band.

6. Oh, this is tickling some memory cells! It's on one of the first jazz CDs I ever owned. And I saw this exact band live at the Folly Theater in Kansas City within a few weeks of this recording -- my only Blakey show. It was my first exposure to Kenny Garrett and Wallace Roney. The trombonist is a distant KC acquaintance. Thanks for making me listen to this one again, Jeff. It really is one of the best later Blakey records, isn't it?

7. I like the way the guitarist thinks, and the ending is really beautiful.

8. Just in case anybody was wondering where Ayler REALLY came from. Man, this is beautiful. Wish I knew who it was.

9. Are they playing ESP or just alluding to it? The guitar sounds like Scofield, but lots of cats try to. I like the groove, but in the end the whole thing leaves me cold. Sorry.

10. The real puzzler. Maybe some local hero, your friendly neighborhood bebop? It's beautiful, whoever it is.

11. Another puzzler. The vocal exhortations sound like Dizzy, but the trumpet solo doesn't sound like him. I wish big-band music today was as relaxed as this.

12. The rhythm section tries, but the saxophonist seems to have only one response to any situation. Too bad, because the rhythm section is doing some wonderful things.

13. The wide, athletic leaps in the trumpet have me thinking it's Jabbo Smith. But I can't confirm that, despite searching the collection for this side.

14. I keep thinking that this is John McNeil for some reason. That's a compliment.

15. I'm thinking this might be a boot of the real Sonny Rollins. If not, it's a brilliant imitation, probably the best I've ever heard, right down to the motor habits. The guitar might be Rene Thomas, doesn't strike me as Jim Hall. The bassist plods a little. But it's really a stunning performance.

[Hot Ptah]

1. No idea who it is, but I like the guitarist's time. And the organist's. The organ quote of Walter Brown's "Confessin' the Blues" at 1:46 warms my Kansas City heart.

Yes! That is the common blues song quoted in this cut. I couldn't name it and it was driving me crazy.

6. Oh, this is tickling some memory cells! It's on one of the first jazz CDs I ever owned. And I saw this exact band live at the Folly Theater in Kansas City within a few weeks of this recording -- my only Blakey show. It was my first exposure to Kenny Garrett and Wallace Roney. The trombonist is a distant KC acquaintance. Thanks for making me listen to this one again, Jeff. It really is one of the best later Blakey records, isn't it?

So tell us! Which album is it? The suspense is killing me!

[Spontooneous]

1. No idea who it is, but I like the guitarist's time. And the organist's. The organ quote of Walter Brown's "Confessin' the Blues" at 1:46 warms my Kansas City heart.

Yes! That is the common blues song quoted in this cut. I couldn't name it and it was driving me crazy.

6. Oh, this is tickling some memory cells! It's on one of the first jazz CDs I ever owned. And I saw this exact band live at the Folly Theater in Kansas City within a few weeks of this recording -- my only Blakey show. It was my first exposure to Kenny Garrett and Wallace Roney. The trombonist is a distant KC acquaintance. Thanks for making me listen to this one again, Jeff. It really is one of the best later Blakey records, isn't it?

So tell us! Which album is it? The suspense is killing me!

It's the title cut of this one.

[Hot Ptah]

[Spontooneous]

It's the title cut of this one.

[Hot Ptah]

It's the title cut of this one.

Thanks. That is one album I have never heard, or even seen before.

[jeffcrom]

1. No idea who it is, but I like the guitarist's time. And the organist's. The organ quote of Walter Brown's "Confessin' the Blues" at 1:46 warms my Kansas City heart.

Yes! That is the common blues song quoted in this cut. I couldn't name it and it was driving me crazy.

6. Oh, this is tickling some memory cells! It's on one of the first jazz CDs I ever owned. And I saw this exact band live at the Folly Theater in Kansas City within a few weeks of this recording -- my only Blakey show. It was my first exposure to Kenny Garrett and Wallace Roney. The trombonist is a distant KC acquaintance. Thanks for making me listen to this one again, Jeff. It really is one of the best later Blakey records, isn't it?

So tell us! Which album is it? The suspense is killing me!

It's the title cut of this one.

That's it, of course. I'm actually floored that it's still in print - I thought it was long OOP. I guess it's so obscure because it's on what's primarily a classical label.

[jeffcrom]

1. No idea who it is, but I like the guitarist's time. And the organist's. The organ quote of Walter Brown's "Confessin' the Blues" at 1:46 warms my Kansas City heart.

This has been identified as "Mighty High" by Milt Buckner, with Kenny Burrell on guitar.

2. Muscat Ramble. Goin' back to the roots but crossing the wires a little (to mix metaphors). It brings in the Latin tinge, and there's a dandy bit of ensemble writing with clarinets and a violin that would make Bob Wills proud. The tuba solo isn't just acrobatic, it's serious as a heart attack. Wynton wishes his music was as much fun as this. Or maybe he doesn't, and that's his problem. When the leader calls the New Orleans stuff, I tend to head for the men's room or the Waffle House -- but I think I'll play this one two or three times more before going on to 3.

Yep, this tuba player is amazing, and not well-known outside of New Orleans.

3. This hits me right in a blind spot, because I've never paid much attention to calypso. (Does it count that I listened to my mom's Harry Belafonte record a lot when I was a kid?) There's some serious playing going on here, especially that powerful clarinet, who could almost be Bechet. Are there some jazz cats mixed into this band? I like the spot where it goes into a smooth swing.

Well, this track definitely shows the hot jazz influence on calypso at this time. The musicians are not well-known, apart from the singer.

4. Something familiar about this one, like it's in my collection somewhere. I just love the out-of-time head with the big ensemble sound. (Shameless plug: Something similarly wacky will be on BFT 84.) Don't love the tenor solo, which seems to go for the low-hanging fruit, but the trombone is above and beyond the call of duty.

The tenor player is someone generally admired around here, I think. Looking forward to #84.

5. My favorite thing about this circa-1941 performance is the drumming. Somebody learned the lessons of Jo Jones very well. The backdrops to the horn solos are a little too aggressive, or maybe the horns aren't aggressive enough. Can't ID the piece or the band.

This has been identified as "Smooth Sailing" by Horace Henderson, fronting the band he stole from Nat Towles. Since you admire the drumming, I'll tell you that it's Debo Mills, who played in several mid-west territory bands. Gunther Schuller shares your admiration of Mills' playing.

6. Oh, this is tickling some memory cells! It's on one of the first jazz CDs I ever owned. And I saw this exact band live at the Folly Theater in Kansas City within a few weeks of this recording -- my only Blakey show. It was my first exposure to Kenny Garrett and Wallace Roney. The trombonist is a distant KC acquaintance. Thanks for making me listen to this one again, Jeff. It really is one of the best later Blakey records, isn't it?

It's my favorite late Blakey - not that I've heard it all.

7. I like the way the guitarist thinks, and the ending is really beautiful.

ID'ed as "Sketches" by Sam Rivers, from the Configuration album. Noel Akchote is the guitarist.

8. Just in case anybody was wondering where Ayler REALLY came from. Man, this is beautiful. Wish I knew who it was.

Pretty wild, ain't it?

9. Are they playing ESP or just alluding to it? The guitar sounds like Scofield, but lots of cats try to. I like the groove, but in the end the whole thing leaves me cold. Sorry.

Not "ESP," although the melody has some of the same intervals. This track seems to be several folks' least favorite. I like it, although it's kind of lightweight. The guitarist isn't Scofield, and I don't think he's trying to sound like JS, but he's out of the same general school.

10. The real puzzler. Maybe some local hero, your friendly neighborhood bebop? It's beautiful, whoever it is.

Good insight. At the time this was recorded, these guys were definitely local heroes, and were practically unknown to the world at large. The leader is widely known and respected these days.

11. Another puzzler. The vocal exhortations sound like Dizzy, but the trumpet solo doesn't sound like him. I wish big-band music today was as relaxed as this.

I'm looking forward to letting folks know about this session. Not Diz, as you probably know.

12. The rhythm section tries, but the saxophonist seems to have only one response to any situation. Too bad, because the rhythm section is doing some wonderful things.

Interesting comment. I don't really agree, but I know what you mean. To me, it's more about three guys on different, parallel, but related paths.

13. The wide, athletic leaps in the trumpet have me thinking it's Jabbo Smith. But I can't confirm that, despite searching the collection for this side.

The trumpeter has been identified as Lee Collins.

14. I keep thinking that this is John McNeil for some reason. That's a compliment.

Not McNeil. This one might be a surprise for those who are somewhat familiar with this trumpeter.

15. I'm thinking this might be a boot of the real Sonny Rollins. If not, it's a brilliant imitation, probably the best I've ever heard, right down to the motor habits. The guitar might be Rene Thomas, doesn't strike me as Jim Hall. The bassist plods a little. But it's really a stunning performance.

I bet my wife twenty bucks that someone would guess that this is Sonny Rollins - that probably would have been my guess, if I had heard this one blind. It's not Sonny. But give another listen to the guitarist....

Thanks for listening and for your comment.

[papsrus]

OK, I sneaked a peek before posting my comments, and it's obvious that some of the tracks loaded into my iTunes in the wrong order.

I hope to sort it out later, but will post the notes I jotted down while I listened to this very enjoyable compilation anyways. Maybe Jeff you can help me sort out the wrong numbering.

Anyways, really excellent music. After several false starts listening to the whole compilation, I just sat back and enjoyed it earlier today.

1. B3 not in my usual listening, but this is great. Nice groove.

2. Muskrat Ramble. Some sizzling tuba toward the end. Don't know who it is but I love this rendition Jeff.

3. I love freebop in this vein. Nicely scripted. I'm guessing the piano player is the leader here, but I don't know who it is.

4. Basie? Not quite. Don't know. Trumpet player is on fire. Maybe Diz? Bah, I just don't know. Great tune.

5. One of those way out klezmer bands you dig? With a Jamaican vocalist? Very cool. I'll be interested to learn who this is. Sounds like it may have been recorded quite some time ago.

6. Vaguely familiar. Can't place it. Sounds a bit like a Carla Bley big band recording?

7. What do we have here? That sure sounds like Ribot on guitar. That's his thing to a T, isn't it?

8. Who plays alto like this? John Handy maybe? That'd be my guess, although not in a setting I've heard him in.

9. Not feeling this one too much. Slick guitar player though.

10. No idea. Nice.

11. Love this one! Melford? Alto could be Braxton, although I'm not confident in that at all. Not quite his playing. More like Berne, maybe?

12. Well, I feel like I should know this. Is your buddy Boyce Brown involved in this one?

13. Rollins influence on tenor. What's the name of this tune? I know it but it's not coming to me.

14. Don't know the tune. Band's sound is enormous!

15. Love the trumpet. Reminds me a little of Miles, but the guitar .... ?

Edited January 16, 2011 by papsrus

[jeffcrom]

OK, I sneaked a peek before posting my comments, and it's obvious that some of the tracks loaded into my iTunes in the wrong order.

I hope to sort it out later, but will post the notes I jotted down while I listened to this very enjoyable compilation anyways. Maybe Jeff you can help me sort out the wrong numbering.

Anyways, really excellent music. After several false starts listening to the whole compilation, I just sat back and enjoyed it earlier today.

1. B3 not in my usual listening, but this is great. Nice groove.

2. Muskrat Ramble. Some sizzling tuba toward the end. Don't know who it is but I love this rendition Jeff.

3. I love freebop in this vein. Nicely scripted. I'm guessing the piano player is the leader here, but I don't know who it is.

4. Basie? Not quite. Don't know. Trumpet player is on fire. Maybe Diz? Bah, I just don't know. Great tune.

5. One of those way out klezmer bands you dig? With a Jamaican vocalist? Very cool. I'll be interested to learn who this is. Sounds like it may have been recorded quite some time ago.

6. Vaguely familiar. Can't place it. Sounds a bit like a Carla Bley big band recording?

7. What do we have here? That sure sounds like Ribot on guitar. That's his thing to a T, isn't it?

8. Who plays alto like this? John Handy maybe? That'd be my guess, although not in a setting I've heard him in.

9. Not feeling this one too much. Slick guitar player though.

10. No idea. Nice.

11. Love this one! Melford? Alto could be Braxton, although I'm not confident in that at all. Not quite his playing. More like Berne, maybe?

12. Well, I feel like I should know this. Is your buddy Boyce Brown involved in this one?

13. Rollins influence on tenor. What's the name of this tune? I know it but it's not coming to me.

14. Don't know the tune. Band's sound is enormous!

15. Love the trumpet. Reminds me a little of Miles, but the guitar .... ?

Thanks for listening, Paps. I don't know why yours loaded in the wrong order, and I couldn't always figure out what you were hearing from your comments. Here's what I'm somewhat sure about:

Your #1 & 2 are in the correct order. Yeah, that's a great version of "Muskrat," and the tuba player kills.

Your #3 might be #4. If so, you're right about the piano player being the leader. I also like your "nicely scripted" comment.

Your #4 is probably #5. It's been identified and discussed a bit above.

Your #5 is #3. No connection to klezmer, except that it shows the jazz influence on music from another culture - in this case, Trinidadian calypso. (I'm not giving anything away that others haven't already figured out.)

Your #7 is probably #7. It is if it's the flute/guitar duet. This one has been ID'ed - see above.

Your #9 is probably #9. Not many folks like this.

Your #11 is probably #12. Not Melford, Braxton or Berne. The alto player did study with Braxton, I believe.

Your #12 might be #13. If so, Boyce is not involved. Not a bad guess, considering that you know how much I like Brother Matthew.

Your #13 is definitely #15. This guy is definitely influenced by Rollins here, but he's not usually thought of as any kind of Rollins disciple. the tune is a standard, but not one that has been overdone.

Your #15 is #14. People's reaction to learning who the trumpet player is are going to be split between, "Never heard of him," and "Wow - didn't know he could sound like that."

Read the rest of the thread and see if you can figure out which of the other tracks are which. Sorry you had technical trouble.

[papsrus]

Thanks Jeff. I really enjoyed these. Will be quite interested to learn the identities of many of them.

[NIS]

Thanks for the tunes. These things are all fun for me because I've rarely heard any of the tracks. I don't have a lot of comments, sorry.

I really like the second track. I put the BFT on my Sansa tonight (not a big step up in fidelity from the computer but I can hear a little more of the subtleties) and there is a lot going on here. And I like fun in my music. Looking forward to the reveal on this one for sure.

Track 4 sounds kind of familiar. More like the stuff I usually gravitate to.

I like track 8 a lot. For some reason it puts me in mind of the vibe on some of the tunes on an album by Ellery Eskelin called “The Sun Died”. Some Gene Ammons tunes, I think.

No real stinkers and a couple of things that need to be checked out further. A pretty good outing. Thanks again.

[jeffcrom]

Thanks for the tunes. These things are all fun for me because I've rarely heard any of the tracks. I don't have a lot of comments, sorry.

I really like the second track. I put the BFT on my Sansa tonight (not a big step up in fidelity from the computer but I can hear a little more of the subtleties) and there is a lot going on here. And I like fun in my music. Looking forward to the reveal on this one for sure.

Track 4 sounds kind of familiar. More like the stuff I usually gravitate to.

I like track 8 a lot. For some reason it puts me in mind of the vibe on some of the tunes on an album by Ellery Eskelin called “The Sun Died”. Some Gene Ammons tunes, I think.

No real stinkers and a couple of things that need to be checked out further. A pretty good outing. Thanks again.

Track 8 predates Ellery Eskelin by a bit. Thanks for listening; glad there was some stuff you liked.

[king ubu]

Finally played it today... no reading here, no searching around the web, just my immediate impressions to the music.

Due to a freak-up in itunes, I had all the tunes on my ipod twice and usually did just let it play like that, listening to each track twice in a row, before going to the next one (I did skip the repetition of #9 though).

A very enjoyable compilation, Jeff - thanks a lot!

#1 - Lovely opening! The organ came somewhat unexpected... I waited more like the guitar to go into "Between the Devil..." in the first seconds. Lovely, ringing and singing guitar tone! Reminds me a bit of Grant Green, but I most certainly haven't yet heard this one.

#2 - Someone wants a coconut? New Awlins, of course... lovely tuba bit! Yowzah! This is really lovely! That mix of Afro-Cuban elements (including the sweet violins) and good time jazz is very cool! The ringing ride adds another nice touch... very colourful! I'm guessing this is some kind of mardi gras brew? Anyway, I love it - the punchy trumpets, the growling trombone, the banjo, the great tuba, the cheerfully grooving drums, the shining clarinet on top...

#3 - More fun stuff... but again with a poingant, slightly plaintive note...

#4 - Ok, now we're in modern territory, touches of Herbie/second quintet... the vibe of the music does sound familiar, but I'm pretty clueless who this could be. Good tenor solo and very nice interaction with the band. Good piano then, too... a nice, somewhat cool track.

#5 - Unmistakenly Jimmie Lunceford, right? Love that strutting swing... there's the usual bunch of soloists, not sure about the trumpet player right now, but next up are Willie Smith and Joe Thomas, I assume? And Jimmy Crawford is showing them how to do it!

#6 - Nice fat alto, lyrical trumpet, the bass/piano vamp gets somewhat tiresome though. Tenor then... lots of Coltrane in there, but a lovely sound of its own! Not Wayne Shorter by any chance? Then some trombone... and then Cedar Walton, possibly? ... some funky stuff at the end of the piano spot. No clue who this could be... maybe some later version of Blakey's Messengers (later meaning post 1964 or 1965 here). The alto sounds somewhat like Kenny Garrett though, doesn't it?

#7 - Out we go into avantgarde territory... nice mix of sound, electric guitar and flute... with the guitar going down into the bottom range, almost sounding like an electric bass at some moments. A nice intermezzo to cool things down a bit.

#8 - Oooh, nice! This one's got a whacky gospel quality to it. Love it! Is this one of those religious players that never got/gets into jazz circles? Anyway, great! Reminds me somewhat of Aylers spirituals album, though of course this here's an alto, but that wide vibrato, personal intonation and all...

#9 - A recent track (90-ish?)... not bad but of that typical super-cool style (and production) that I don't enjoy too much. The angular theme isn't bad though and the drummer is grooving... fat alto sound like I enjoy it, and a nice guitar solo! Scofield certainly was the main influence on this guy here... nice touch with the alto then following on top of drums only... and drums doing some marching band stuff... really cool! Too bad it doesn't last a bit longer!

#10 - This one's got a bit of a busy drummer... not bad, though. The tenor has got a nice sound!

#11 - Tadd Dameron, unmistakenly! Love his music! And even them congas rarely trouble me, somehow he succeeded perfectly in creating a close-knit unit, whenever he recorded (or was captured by Boris Rose). I guess the soloists are Fats, then probably Ernie Henry on alto? Is this from a Blue Note date? Or is that Shihab from one of the live broadcasts? Allen Eager!? GO! GO! GO! And then Tadd with his lovely reduced piano... very cool! No, wait, is this a Big Ten unit? Then the soloists might be all different ones... hard to tell with this lacking sound quality, really... but the punch of the band, as well as it's huge sound (a Dameron landmark, for sure!) are amazing! On second play, it indeed doesn't sound much like Tadd... is this young Miles? Or that other guy who played with the Big Ten... what's his name again? Then Shihab on alto? Anyway, a really great tune! (And of course I have no idea about it's title.)

#12 - Some free-wheelin' alto... got some of that upcoming soon, too! The piano sounds somewhat like a cross between Tristano and Taylor.

#13 - Hum, sounds very familiar but I can't pin it down... Satchmo himself? Or rather Henry "Red" Allen with Luis Russell's great band? Builds great rhythmic momentum!

#14 - More trumpet... lyrical sound, nice touch with just guitar in the rhythm section. Though it again has that cool-ish vibe like #9, but the instrumentation makes this somewhat less common.

#15 - Yeah, what a way to take this out! Lovely! Reminds me somewhat of Sonny Rollins, but I've never heard him in such a sparse setting... great guitar solo, too! Oh, and what's the name of this standard again? For the heck of it I just can't seem to remember the title, one that only seasoned players would still remember, I guess... lovely closer - one of my favorites from this compilation! (Is this from some boot? Would love to hear more of it for sure!)

[king ubu]

Gee, I've been royally wrong about Lunceford, then, huh?

Horace Henderson - nice one! Got to play my Chrono Classics again, not sure I've made it through them up to the Horace sides at all yet...

But I did get Kenny Garrett, didn't I? -_-

[jeffcrom]

Gee, I've been royally wrong about Lunceford, then, huh?

Horace Henderson - nice one! Got to play my Chrono Classics again, not sure I've made it through them up to the Horace sides at all yet...

But I did get Kenny Garrett, didn't I? -_-

Thanks for listening, Ubu. I won't respond to every one of your comments, because I'm starting to repeat myself, and because you're obviously read the rest of the thread by now.

Nice job recognizing Garrett on #6, and you at least suspected that it was the Messengers.

Your reaction to #8 was exactly what I was hoping for with this track. A lot of folks have picked up on the Ayler-esque quality. It is a tenor, though - the sound is so unusual that I can see it being hard to tell.

You are the first listener to pick up on the "street" roots of the drumming on #9. To me, the drumming is one of the the things that elevates this track above the common level of this style. Apparently a lot of folks disagree. That's a tenor there, too.

I really enjoyed reading your comments about #11, but it's not Tadd Dameron. I have done the same thing in blindfold tests - thought I recognized someone and made logical assumptions about the personnel which turned out to be wrong, because my initial guess was wrong. So it's not Fats, Eager, Ernie Henry, Shihab, or Tadd. It is a great track, though, isn't it?

Some of the other tracks have been identified by now, as you know. I enjoyed reading your comments - even your wrong guesses showed insight.

[king ubu]

Thanks Jeff!

I definitely made a fool of myself with some guesses though... and mistaking tenor for alto twice is a bit embarrassing, too, as I have both of these at home (though currently I rarely ever play... and I just started to get my front teeth fixed today, so next change I get, hopefully, will be in the second half of this year, after all is done and finished).

[jeffcrom]

Okay, boys and girls, we're coming down to the wire. You've got about one more week to post comments, guesses, derision, etc. concerning BFT #82.

[NIS]

Got a chance to listen to the BFT again this afternoon. Don't know why I missed track 12 before. My kind of stuff. Of coarse,even though it does sound kind of familiar, I have no idea who it is.

[Big Al]

Playing catchup here, so I'll make this brief with the usual disclaimers (no peeking at the answers or previous discussions, general cluelessness, etc etc etc):

1. Guitar sounded like Kenny Burrell, can't ID the organist, not rinky-dinky enough to be McDuff, not thick enough for JOS, not like I'd know anyway! Actually, if I *hadn't* just listened to the Ray Charles/Milt Jackson summits, I woulda gone straight for that. But I know for sure it isn't that.

2. Modern dixieland! These cats know what they're doing! Swing it, y'all!

3. Ricky Ricardo swings it dixieland? I don't know. It's all good!

4. An Ornette big band trying to play Monk in a Dixie bag? I lost interest when they lost the beat, which was approximately 0.5 seconds into the.... well, calling this a "song" seems a stretch for these ears. Too much Bourbon, not enough Street, y'know?

5. And once again, what little cred I have goes out the window as I guess Glenn Miller again. I can't help it. Eventually, this will be a right answer. And it will be a right answer when it really is a Glenn Miller band, and I guess Count Basie or something like that....

6. This was all kinds of fun and I didn't want it to end! Even at 8-1/2 minutes, it seemed too short. And speaking of short, that HAS to be Wayne Shorter and I'll fight to the death anyone who tells me it ain't (even if it ain't, which it probably is. I'll even play the Schapp card and tell the actual sax player it isn't him/her!) Sounds like Fuller on the bone, or someone who learned his nuances & subtleties. My final answer is a tie between a Blakey tribute orchestrated by Shorter & Fuller with no clue as to the drummer, OR a Blakey reunion band in Blakey's final days.

Doncha love how much work and detail I put into being incorrect? I like to think of myself as the Mo Rocca of the BFT. (You listeners of NPR's "Wait Wait Don't Tell Me" will know what I mean, and if you haven't listened to "Wait Wait," it's worth your time to see what I'm talking about!)

7. {{{sigh}}} As much as I love flutes & drums, individually and collectively, this was lost on me. That's the thing about collective improv: usually a blast to play, not always a joy to listen to.

8. Searching for Loch Lomond while floatin' down the Rhein. I don't know where that came from, but it makes about as much sense as anything else in here!

You can tell how much I enjoyed a BFT by how wordy I get. This were definitely one of the better ones. Great job, Jeff! Now to go get stupid and look at the answers!

[Big Al]

Okay, I cheated a little here: I didn’t particularly enjoy this part of the BFT so I went back to read the comments to see if there was anything I was missing, and it looks as thought I probably missed the boat on a few of these. Ah well, off we go!

Track 9: Has an okay groove, but the sax solo reminded me of a tune I used to hear when I worked at Six Flags back in the 80’s, which I’ve now come to learn is a Dave Grusin track. I wouldn’t dare guess Grusin on a BFT, but just sayin’....

Track 10: This would be a lot more enjoyable if the drummer didn’t go apeshit every chorus. That got real annoying real fast!!!

Track 11: Nice enough big band, I s’pose. Might pursue further once I find out who it is.

Track 12: Hello, drummer from track 10? Yeah, I found your session, it’s right here. I’ll let this drummer know his session is where you’re at!

Track 13: Another nice big band! The vocalist was a little annoying, but that’s my own hangup.

Track 14: OK, I guess. Not bad, but not leaving a lasting impression either.

Track 15: Does it sound to anyone else like the sax was recorded in the bathroom? Lost me at the two-minute mark.

Now to look at the answers and feel REALLY dumb!