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BFT 106 discussion thread


Big Al

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3 - Reminds me of those weird Walter Wanderley 60's Verve albums, especially that strange lead instrument. Again, not a rhythm I relate to particularly well. This one has a pretty cool sense of humor.

Now THAT'S a response I wasn't expecting! But now that you mention it, I can see where you're coming from!

Thus completes the Samba side of the BFT.

And speaking of things that didn't occur to me... you're absolutely correct, despite the fact that it wasn't my intent. I like how it happened that way, though, not to mention the fact that you noticed!

5 - This is more up my alley. Like what the rhythm section is doing. Vibes player sounds like Milt Jackson, but this is too "new" to be one of the things he did with Frank Wess in the 50's. Is this one of the ones with Jimmy Heath on Pablo in the 80's? A Cedar Walton compostion with him on piano?

Neither Bags, Wess (although a good guess), Heath, or Walton (a FANTASTIC guess; I can definitely see where you're coming from here!).

6 - I like this a LOT, has such a nice 70's spritual groove to it. This is the sort of think I do a lot of listening to. None of the individual players jump out at me for distinctive style, but they do their jobs well, especially the pianist. This is the first one I'm going to go look into acquiring if I don't already have it. Reminds me of some of the stuff that came out on Black Jazz or Strata East, or that Harry Whitaker album.

Another interesting guess! It's earlier than the 70's, but I guess this means I've got some Black Jazz & Strata East albums to look into, especially if they sound like this!

7 - Carlos Santana, of course, and I was a fan back in the day, until he became so "Smooth" c/o Clive Davis. "Gardenia" from 'The Swing of Delight', the album he did with Shorter/Hancock et al. That one was a nice album, but a relative disappointment given the personnel. I like Carlos a lot on this cut, but the sax leaves me cold. I have not been a fan of Shorter's post-Miles playing, and really best like him with the Jazz Messengers.

Correct on all counts, except that I love this album! :)

8 - "Land of the Velvet Hills" by JOhnny Smith. Jimmy Atkins on vocal. That's perverse, Big Al!

WOW!!!! Would I be correct in assuming you own the Verve Elite from which I dug this off?

9 - Time and place. Probably mid-60's, probably Verve records. Conversely to cut 1, I like this more than I should. It's a lot of fun, and the guitar parts smoke. From the words, I guess it's a cover of Jr. Walker's "Shotgun", but they've totally left behind the tune and changed the groove.

Did they evah!!! :D

10 - Time and place. Probably 60's, probably Atlantic records. Surely the tenor player's album. Fathead Newman? Doing what he does, doing it well like he does. Works for me, YMMV, but hopefully not too much. And you just don't get good boogaloos anymore.

Amen and hear hear!!! Not Fathead, but can I get an amen anyway???

11 - The pianist's album. Sounds like something from Herbie Hancock's"Inventions and Dimensions" album, but it isn't, and certainly sounds like Willie Bobo, but I can't place it. I do like it.

I love it that NOW you guess Willie Bobo. :)

12 - Right in my sweet spot. Something I surely have, by a tenor player I have dozens of cD's by, but I can't place the song and hesitate to guess at the player (maybe Lockjaw Davis?). Too much wonderful music, too little time. I could spend a lot of decades listening to this sort of thing.

MEEEEEEEEEEEE too!!!! Not Jaws, though.

13 - Gotta be Weather Report or a reasonable facsimile thereof. EP sure sounds like Joe Zawinul to me, gotta think it's Weather Report. I like it. The lack of synths and the solid bottom of the bass indicate that it would be pre_Jaco, which is a good thing to me. Whoever/whatever/whenever it is, it's good.

Not Weather Report, but after reading your comment I went back and listened to it and can understand the guess! And actually, it does remind me of Zawinul, but "In a Silent Way"-era.

14 - Blecch. My first thought was Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass, but it's probably something like one of those early A&M/Creed Taylor Nat Adderley albums, before Don Sebesky got his footing and made those beautiful CTI albums. Really really dislike that style of trombone playing, though I know others here are fond of it. No doubt has "historical significance", but still...

Nope, nothing historical, and the day I put a Herb Alpert tune on a BFT is the day Sangrey puts a Four Freshman cut on HIS BFT! :lol:

15 - Marginally better than 14, but still not something I'd ever want to listen to again. Alto player's album. Hank Crawford? Never have quite "gotten" him, even though I own some Atlantic and CTI stuff by him.

Funny how folks think this is Hank Crawford, but again, I can understand why!

16 - Has to be Lennie Tristano with Lee Konitz, Warne Marsh, and Billy Bauer. Works OK for me, but it's cold. and George Russell and Cecil Taylor were certanily paying attention. I own it, I play it sometimes, I admire it. I don't love it.

Bingo!

17 - Not cold. Vibrato says Coleman Hawkins. Again, something I admire more than I like, something I no doubt own, and listen to once in a blue moon.

Not the Hawk.

Thanks for playing along, Fel "Z"! :)

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Big Al, This is a most enjoyable BFT. I have been playing it non-stop in my car, and loving it. You can really pick songs that have that certain magic to them, that makes me come back to music again and again.

Your BFT is too difficult for me though. I have no guesses, not even of the wild variety. The one exception is that I knew the Carlos Santana "Swing of Delight" song, because I bought that album when it first came out. My favorite song on that album is the last one, "Shere Khan, The Tiger".

I think that the last song on your BFT has Ben Webster playing on it, but have no idea about the song or album.

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Ok, I have time to do Disc Two right now, just because I have more ready IDs....excuse the "jumping ahead" of response.

DISC TWO

TRACK ONE - "Shotgun" by Willie Bobo. It's got a good beat and I would dance to it if I could dance. Haven't picked up this one yet, but once they got to the lyric, it was pretty easy to identify. For some reason, this arrangement puts me in mind of Woody Herman! Is this that Kenny Rogers guy on tenor again?

I'd planned on putting this track on here long before you started your Willie Bobo thread, and then when you put a Bobo track on your last BFT, I thought things might get a little redundant, but then I listened to the groove on this again (and again, cuz I can't listen to it just once!) and said "heck with it! It's staying!"

TRACK TWO - Stanley Turrnetine, Donald Byrd, & Kenny Burrell, possibly Herbie Hancock, that's all I can tell (and that's enough to know). Don't know this particular album...with that lineup, you'd think Blue Note, but it's not anything I know. Good stuff, not great but good, stick-to-you-ribs meat-and-potatoes jazz.

I certainly did, and that's precisely why it's on this BFT!

TRACK FOUR - Sonny Stitt playing some blues. If I had a dollar for every time Sonny Stitt played some blues, I'd be rich, to say nothing of what Sonny Stitt would be if he had a dollar for every time he played some blues...but alas, life is not fair. I'm going to guess that this is later period Stitt, something from the 70s? Barry Harris on piano, maybe. Nice rhythm section, more interesting than Stitt, actually, at least to me. This is one of those solos of his where the beginning of every chorus could be a head, and at some point before or after probably was. They weren't all like that, thank god, but a lot of them where.

See previous comment/complaint/whine about not being able to fool any of y'all!

TRACK FIVE - Very, very VERY Zawinul-esque, right down to the "Gibraltar" cop for the head. I don't really like copying, but I do like Zawinul (a lot) so I'm going to take this more as inspiration rather than exploitation. And for no particular reason other than the electric piano sound and the fact that it changes to organ, I'm going to guess Claire Fischer. Truth be told, I'd rather hear Zawinul do something like this, but by the time whoever it was made this record, Zawinul had probably "moved on to other things" as they say, so somebody else had to do this. It's a nice cut in spite of the derivativeness.

As mentioned before, 'taint Zawinul but, as also mentioned before, I hear it now that y'all mention it! Hadn't really heard it before!

TRACK SIX - Oh my...I think I hear Bob Brookmeyer...maybe now I better understand what drove him to drink so much when he did...

:rofl:

I'm just tickled that I finally found a track that is irritating the heck outta folks! Revenge is sweet!!!! :D

TRACK SEVEN - Old Socks, New Shoes, let's rob some banks and keep Patty in a closet. I love this tune and this version of it. Massive yet subtle overdubbing. People wonder why the SLA chose this as their anthem, hell, just listen to how those drums and that fat, open bottom keep intensifying with each chorus until it gets to be pure down home soul freaking MARCHING, not being stopped by anything or anybody...you gonna get somebody to do SOMETHING with all htat...too bad it was the SAL, but they weren't the only ones, I can tel you that. This thing just GRABBED HOLD of a lot of people, just because of all that, I know it did me...this was one of the first 5-10 jazz records I ever bought. Very much a mixed bag, but when it was good, it was REAL good.

Learn something new every BFT! I truly did not know this song was associated with such groups, and am absolutely fascinated by that fact.

BTW, this would be the last tune on the last album by The Jazz Crusaders, btw, on Chisa. The next one would be Pass The Plate by The Crusaders (also on Chisa) and for those who haven't checked, there's a few tunes that overlap between those two albums and the Hutcherson/Land San Francisco album on Blue Note. Needless to say, they are interpreded quite differently on each album.

I need to find that San Fan album and do some comparisons. I've also got PTP, and love listening to it back-to-back with OSNS/NSOS. Woulda made a great Chisa double-album!

TRACK EIGHT - Tristano, Konitz, Marsh, etc., Capitol, 1949. History. Don't know if it really counts as "free jazz", but it sure counts as displaying a willingness to improvise outside of song-from that was pretty radical for its time. Truthfully, I like all these guys bettr playing song-froms, but for them, this was a part of the process that enabled them to be as free with that material as they ended up being. Lesson being, perhaps, that "freedom" is not so much any particular specific action nearly as much as it is the state one is in when performing that action. Maybe.

This is about as avant-garde as I get! :lol: More about its inclusion at the Reveal.

TRACK NINE - Don't know the tune, but that's Ben. I'll never not like Ben.

It IS definitely Ben, and I'm right there with ya about never not liking!

Gotta listen to the first disc some more, some real stumpers there, as well as gotta get more time to post at this length, but hey, some good stuff here already. Thanks, al!

And thank YOU, again(!), for your enthusiasm and eloquence!

Edited by Big Al
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TRACK SEVEN - Old Socks, New Shoes, let's rob some banks and keep Patty in a closet. I love this tune and this version of it. Massive yet subtle overdubbing. People wonder why the SLA chose this as their anthem, hell, just listen to how those drums and that fat, open bottom keep intensifying with each chorus until it gets to be pure down home soul freaking MARCHING, not being stopped by anything or anybody...you gonna get somebody to do SOMETHING with all htat...too bad it was the SAL, but they weren't the only ones, I can tel you that. This thing just GRABBED HOLD of a lot of people, just because of all that, I know it did me...this was one of the first 5-10 jazz records I ever bought. Very much a mixed bag, but when it was good, it was REAL good.

Learn something new every BFT! I truly did not know this song was associated with such groups, and am absolutely fascinated by that fact.

Check this out: http://jazztimes.com/community/articles/41113-the-crusaders-feel-their-feeling

About the closing song of the evening, an explanation about how the Crusaders, Patty Hearst and the FBI got linked together was told by Joe.

“It seems like in all those years playing the Lighthouse every activist group loved the Crusaders and they were always trying to indoctrinate me to become a Black Panther or this or that. And one day in Hawaii, we had done a show and my hotel room phone rang and the guy said this is agent so and so. We want to know what you know about Patty Hearst. I hung the phone up. He called back again and said this is serious, this is agent so and so. I hung the phone up and the next thing there was knocking at the door. We are very serious—the first thing on the kidnapping tape was Wilton Felder’s ‘Way Back Home.’ The SLA (Symbionese Liberation Army, who kidnapped Patty Hearst) had adopted Wilton’s ‘Way Back Home’ as their anthem. I said, ‘Ain't that some shit. I think you're looking for Les McCann.’”

"I think you're looking for Les McCann..." ROTFLMFAO!!!!

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TRACK SEVEN - Old Socks, New Shoes, let's rob some banks and keep Patty in a closet. I love this tune and this version of it. Massive yet subtle overdubbing. People wonder why the SLA chose this as their anthem, hell, just listen to how those drums and that fat, open bottom keep intensifying with each chorus until it gets to be pure down home soul freaking MARCHING, not being stopped by anything or anybody...you gonna get somebody to do SOMETHING with all htat...too bad it was the SAL, but they weren't the only ones, I can tel you that. This thing just GRABBED HOLD of a lot of people, just because of all that, I know it did me...this was one of the first 5-10 jazz records I ever bought. Very much a mixed bag, but when it was good, it was REAL good.

Learn something new every BFT! I truly did not know this song was associated with such groups, and am absolutely fascinated by that fact.

Check this out: http://jazztimes.com...l-their-feeling

About the closing song of the evening, an explanation about how the Crusaders, Patty Hearst and the FBI got linked together was told by Joe.

“It seems like in all those years playing the Lighthouse every activist group loved the Crusaders and they were always trying to indoctrinate me to become a Black Panther or this or that. And one day in Hawaii, we had done a show and my hotel room phone rang and the guy said this is agent so and so. We want to know what you know about Patty Hearst. I hung the phone up. He called back again and said this is serious, this is agent so and so. I hung the phone up and the next thing there was knocking at the door. We are very serious—the first thing on the kidnapping tape was Wilton Felder’s ‘Way Back Home.’ The SLA (Symbionese Liberation Army, who kidnapped Patty Hearst) had adopted Wilton’s ‘Way Back Home’ as their anthem. I said, ‘Ain't that some shit. I think you're looking for Les McCann.’”

"I think you're looking for Les McCann..." ROTFLMFAO!!!!

Les would have been more than any of them could handle.

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TRACK SEVEN - Old Socks, New Shoes, let's rob some banks and keep Patty in a closet. I love this tune and this version of it. Massive yet subtle overdubbing. People wonder why the SLA chose this as their anthem, hell, just listen to how those drums and that fat, open bottom keep intensifying with each chorus until it gets to be pure down home soul freaking MARCHING, not being stopped by anything or anybody...you gonna get somebody to do SOMETHING with all htat...too bad it was the SAL, but they weren't the only ones, I can tel you that. This thing just GRABBED HOLD of a lot of people, just because of all that, I know it did me...this was one of the first 5-10 jazz records I ever bought. Very much a mixed bag, but when it was good, it was REAL good.

Learn something new every BFT! I truly did not know this song was associated with such groups, and am absolutely fascinated by that fact.

Check this out: http://jazztimes.com...l-their-feeling

About the closing song of the evening, an explanation about how the Crusaders, Patty Hearst and the FBI got linked together was told by Joe.

“It seems like in all those years playing the Lighthouse every activist group loved the Crusaders and they were always trying to indoctrinate me to become a Black Panther or this or that. And one day in Hawaii, we had done a show and my hotel room phone rang and the guy said this is agent so and so. We want to know what you know about Patty Hearst. I hung the phone up. He called back again and said this is serious, this is agent so and so. I hung the phone up and the next thing there was knocking at the door. We are very serious—the first thing on the kidnapping tape was Wilton Felder’s ‘Way Back Home.’ The SLA (Symbionese Liberation Army, who kidnapped Patty Hearst) had adopted Wilton’s ‘Way Back Home’ as their anthem. I said, ‘Ain't that some shit. I think you're looking for Les McCann.’”

"I think you're looking for Les McCann..." ROTFLMFAO!!!!

Les would have been more than any of them could handle.

Who, the Crusaders? The FBI? The SLA? Or all of the above? :D

"Passion Food" from 'Involvement', his first album. Somebody named Sam Thomas on guitar. I have wooden ears, but am good with a google search.

Alllll...righty then. (nice work, felser) Color me dumbfounded. My mind is in the process of being blown here, and I haven't even gotten around to thinking about the John Klemmer part. "Sam Thomas", eh? Sam Thomas? With tone like that, I've never heard of the guy? (afaicr, anyway). Wow. MUST research this.

Al, if you've got anything on Sam Thomas, I can't wait for the reveal. No, I mean literally- I cannot wait. :)

Thankfully, JSngry already took care of all of us by starting the thread and linking the various articles, because this is all I have from Sam Thomas. It's for the reason JS mentioned that this track is on here: the "neighborhood sound" of that guitar! LOVE that sound!

So far here is what I have after one time through. I haven't looked at the posts yet

01. The is the Montgomery Brothers. I have this record.

10. I am sure I have this one. Is it Donald Byrd and Kenny Burrell?

12. This has to be Sonny Stitt. I have this record too. Don't recall the title of the recording.

Gonna listen once more before I look at the other responses.

Yup, yup, and yup! Batting 1.000 so far! :)

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Back on track at last...

DISC ONE

TRACK ONE - Not disciplined enough to kept from reading some commentary and not others, so just let me say that I would have never guessed this one. Very nice, especially the piano playing.

Like I said with my last BFT, I always feel like I've accomplished something if there's at least ONE track that I can fool you with! This was another of the stumpers, and I'm glad it stumped someone!

TRACK TWO - Well now!

Did we ever figure out who this was? :g

TRACK THREE - Not as mundane as a causal listening might suggest...is that an oboe in there? Either that or a really reedy soprano. I'm going oboe. And that secondary them sounds like a "hee-haw" so I wonder if the composition is somehow donkey or otherwise "Western" themed? Trombone player sounds like Jimmy Cleveland until he doesn't. The whole thing is very controlled, but I sense more for programmatic reasons than commercial ones. And then right at the very end, somebody changes to tenor to play lead w/trombone, which had up until that point only been heard in solo..I don't know that there would be this much subtle variations and textures if the aim was just commercialism. The way the drums come in and out, that's anti-commercial right there! Nice cut, one that doesn't ask you to think too much, but rewards you when you do. Not an easy task, that.

Nope, not Cleveland, but yes the composition is western-themed if nothing else than in name!

TRACK FOUR - Sounds more "Latin" than "jazz" in execution, although vice-versa in concept...and weirdly enough sounds in many parts like some hymn we sang in church a lot back when I was a kid. Just a wild-assed guess - Tito Puente featured on vibes? Another one where the arrangement is controlled but highly variated. (I know, the word is really "variegated", but I like "variated" better).

I like "variated" better, too! Not Puente, though. Let's see if Mike Weil gets THIS one! mwah hah hah haahhh!

TRACK FIVE - Another one where I couldn't help but read the commentary...my guess before then would have been early Herbie Mann, which could be linked to Fathead, which could then be linked to James Clay. So it wouldn't have been that wrong, would it? :g Anyway, for some reason, this is one James Clay session that I've never picked up on. .probably should remedy that.

I would HIGHLY recommend remedying that! Right up there with the Klemmer track in terms of enjoyment for me! And I'll give you half-a-point for the thought process! :)

TRACK SIX - Had high hopes for this one once they got past the pretty basic modal-y noodling of the intro, seemed like the composition was going to go some different places, but...not really. That tenor tone is very familiar, kinda reminds me of Dave Young or Paul Plummer on te old George Russell sides, that stone-faced sobriety thing, but I don't think it's them, and I draw a blank past them. Very competent overall, and definitely sets a mood, but overall seems just a little superficial for my tastes, at least at this time.

Another stumper that has fooled everyone so far! I'm feeling pretty good about this one!

TRACK SEVEN - Santana, from Wings Of Delight, with WayneAndHerbieAndRonAndTony. Santana talks about Coltrane a lot, and I know he means it, but his stuff seems more out of Pharoah than Trane, some very basic-but-cool changes and melodies. Not a problem for me, becuase the guys's always been more about "feel" than "depth", and that's not a problem for me, never has been. I remember when this record first cam out, me and a buddy were somking togheter listening to it, and I said about Wayne on one tune, "does it sound to you like Wayne's kinda not really digging too deep on this?" and the guy laughed and said, "hey man, he's just being WAYNE SHORTER, it's that time for him", and yeah, I suppose it was, but...this was after everybody was saying Where Has Wayne Gone and all that and yet this was the first record that had me wondering the same thing. And really, it holds true for HerbieAndRonAndTony too, they're all sort of role-playing.

But in spite of that, Is still like the record. They might be role-playing, but they're all honest roles getting played, so hey..Santana. Saul Goode like that.

Another stumper that bites me in the behind. Ah well, the reason for its existence will also be revealed in The Reveal!

TRACK SEVEN - I've never cared much for Johnny Smith, and this is not changing my mind. Even a little. :g

Well, this track certainly won't win any converts, that's for sure! :lol:

Kudos for two discs worth of good, and often enough great, music, Al. Sorry I couldn't follow along with the 4-sided Double LP thing, but I've been having to use a computer w/o a functional CD-ROM drive. Had to send the DL link to my daughter, who then burnt the two discs. But I dig the concept, as well as most of the music. Thanks again!

Thank YOU again! I'm really glad you and everyone else (except Felser ;) ) are enjoying this BFT. That's always my main goal when putting these together, so it's nice to know that folks are getting some good vibes from all this!

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I am stumped with the rest of these tracks. A great BFT by the way.

Thanks HBJ! I'm glad you're enjoying it!

Big Al, This is a most enjoyable BFT. I have been playing it non-stop in my car, and loving it. You can really pick songs that have that certain magic to them, that makes me come back to music again and again.

Your BFT is too difficult for me though. I have no guesses, not even of the wild variety. The one exception is that I knew the Carlos Santana "Swing of Delight" song, because I bought that album when it first came out. My favorite song on that album is the last one, "Shere Khan, The Tiger".

I think that the last song on your BFT has Ben Webster playing on it, but have no idea about the song or album.

I love that Santana album, and found it in the clearance section at Half Price Books. I'll never understand HPB sometimes: multiple copies of various Herb Alpert albums sit in the regular price racks, but THIS was in the clearance??? Oh well, with the lineup on this record, I woulda gladly paid five times what I paid for it!

Yes, that is definitely Ben Webster there. I'm curious to see if anyone figures out the piano player.

I'm really glad you're enjoying my BFT. That means a lot!

Edited by Big Al
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Big Al, I enjoyed the BFT immensely, even with Jimmy Adkins warbling "Colorado" and that trombone stinker! :crazy: And love that one cut on side 2, can't wait for the answer thread to find out what it is.

Sweet! I'm VERY glad to hear this! :)

Jimmy Jones

(Come-a come-a)

:D

MG

Mmmmmmmmm!!! I wish! Ben Webster & Jimmy Jones? I'll take that combo ANY day of the week; alas, 'taint Jimmy here!

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Thanks for the BFT Al, I anticipated more than a few 70s-sounding tracks that wouldn't do much for me and you didn't disappoint. :P

But are you sure there wasn't a "Ring Dem Bells" sub-theme going on here? I surely thought so after a while.

Anywhooo ...

Side 2 Track 1: James Clay, from an album that, while I wouldn't part with it, was a bit of a disappointment. Too much flute, not enough Gene Harris. I'll admit though I do like this track - but for James Clay I'll take Tenorman, and for Gene Harris as sideman, I'll reach for Branching Out.

Side 2 Track 4 simply earns a WTF from me.

Side 3 Track 1 - lots of fun but no guesses.

Side 3 Track 2 - Absolutely positively Stanley Turrentine. If this turns out to be from after his first run with Blue Note, I'll have to find the record/CD.

Side 3 Track 4 - Sonny Stitt, and I'm more certain because I recently had a batch of Stitt in the car CD case. From the Muse era, with Barry Harris.

Side 4 Track 5 is absolutely positively Ben Webster, and I didn't need the help of having just worked through a batch of Ben in the car CD case.

Thanks again Al, I'm always interested to see the answers even to tracks that didn't merit a comment or garnish much interest. Always interesting to read why tracks were selected by the compiler.

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Thanks for the BFT Al, I anticipated more than a few 70s-sounding tracks that wouldn't do much for me and you didn't disappoint. :P

:rofl: I'm glad I'm guaranteed at least one detractor for all my hard work! :lol:

But are you sure there wasn't a "Ring Dem Bells" sub-theme going on here? I surely thought so after a while.

While I can understand folks thinking that, given that I love me some vibes, I really didn't come into this with that theme in mind, and didn't even notice it until folks started pointing it out here!

Anywhooo ...

Side 2 Track 1: James Clay, from an album that, while I wouldn't part with it, was a bit of a disappointment. Too much flute, not enough Gene Harris. I'll admit though I do like this track - but for James Clay I'll take Tenorman, and for Gene Harris as sideman, I'll reach for Branching Out.

I'm ashamed to admit to you that I completely forgot Gene Harris was on this album. See that? I almost fooled myself with this track cuz I was all set to go on & on about Vic Feldman on the piano. Thanks for saving me the embarrassment! :D

Side 2 Track 4 simply earns a WTF from me.

And Felser. And damn-near everyone else! I promise, the story behind this will (hopefully) satisfy everyone's curiosity. But yeah, I totally expected this reaction from everyone!

Side 3 Track 1 - lots of fun but no guesses.

Lots of fun indeed, which is really the only reason I put it on here!

Side 3 Track 2 - Absolutely positively Stanley Turrentine. If this turns out to be from after his first run with Blue Note, I'll have to find the record/CD.

Absolutely positively correct, but it's smack-dab in the middle of his Blue Note tenure, and he's not even the leader. This has been ID'd elsewhere here.

Side 3 Track 4 - Sonny Stitt, and I'm more certain because I recently had a batch of Stitt in the car CD case. From the Muse era, with Barry Harris.

Stitt yes, Harris & Muse, no. But very likely in your car CD case, I bet!

Side 4 Track 5 is absolutely positively Ben Webster, and I didn't need the help of having just worked through a batch of Ben in the car CD case.

Absolutely positively correct on Ben, but I bet you don't have this CD in your car CD case. At least, not under Ben's name. (Let's see if anyone figured it out now!)

Thanks again Al, I'm always interested to see the answers even to tracks that didn't merit a comment or garnish much interest. Always interesting to read why tracks were selected by the compiler.

Thank YOU, Dan! I always enjoy your honest and witty opinions. VERY glad you participated!

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Side 4 Track 5 is absolutely positively Ben Webster, and I didn't need the help of having just worked through a batch of Ben in the car CD case.

Absolutely positively correct on Ben, but I bet you don't have this CD in your car CD case. At least, not under Ben's name. (Let's see if anyone figured it out now!)

Oh, Ben's not the leader.... needs more thought. Back later.

MG

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Side 3 Track 2 - Absolutely positively Stanley Turrentine. If this turns out to be from after his first run with Blue Note, I'll have to find the record/CD.

Absolutely positively correct, but it's smack-dab in the middle of his Blue Note tenure, and he's not even the leader. This has been ID'd elsewhere here.

I'm ashamed to admit I consciously avoided this one, scared off by Yanow's AMG review - and the thought of what the Donald Byrd Singers might sound like. I actually think I might have snagged it as part of a CD trade a while back but never got to it - I've got to check as soon as I get home. Kinda cool to think of an unheard Grant Green, not to mention Byrd/Turrentine/Burrell/Hancock. Even with the Donald Byrd Singers.

So Al this was a very good BFT since it exposed me to music I should have heard a long time ago and inspired me to finally remedy that oversight. :tup

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Side 3 Track 2 - Absolutely positively Stanley Turrentine. If this turns out to be from after his first run with Blue Note, I'll have to find the record/CD.

Absolutely positively correct, but it's smack-dab in the middle of his Blue Note tenure, and he's not even the leader. This has been ID'd elsewhere here.

I'm ashamed to admit I consciously avoided this one, scared off by Yanow's AMG review - and the thought of what the Donald Byrd Singers might sound like. I actually think I might have snagged it as part of a CD trade a while back but never got to it - I've got to check as soon as I get home. Kinda cool to think of an unheard Grant Green, not to mention Byrd/Turrentine/Burrell/Hancock. Even with the Donald Byrd Singers.

So Al this was a very good BFT since it exposed me to music I should have heard a long time ago and inspired me to finally remedy that oversight. :tup

Thanks, Dan! I'm really glad you enjoyed the BFT. I don't completely agree with Yanow's review (of this OR of the Grant Green LP that Verve issued on CD). Neither album is a major effort from the respective leader, but there is much good to be mined from both albums. And, FWIW, I'll take the DB Singers over his Blue Note albums that also featured singers any day of the week. They're fun albums, nothing more & nothing less, and the CD is well worth seeking out.

Then again, you know my tastes, so you might wanna take that with a grain of salt! :)

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Side 3 Track 2 - Absolutely positively Stanley Turrentine. If this turns out to be from after his first run with Blue Note, I'll have to find the record/CD.

Absolutely positively correct, but it's smack-dab in the middle of his Blue Note tenure, and he's not even the leader. This has been ID'd elsewhere here.

I'm ashamed to admit I consciously avoided this one, scared off by Yanow's AMG review - and the thought of what the Donald Byrd Singers might sound like. I actually think I might have snagged it as part of a CD trade a while back but never got to it - I've got to check as soon as I get home. Kinda cool to think of an unheard Grant Green, not to mention Byrd/Turrentine/Burrell/Hancock. Even with the Donald Byrd Singers.

So Al this was a very good BFT since it exposed me to music I should have heard a long time ago and inspired me to finally remedy that oversight. :tup

Thanks, Dan! I'm really glad you enjoyed the BFT. I don't completely agree with Yanow's review (of this OR of the Grant Green LP that Verve issued on CD). Neither album is a major effort from the respective leader, but there is much good to be mined from both albums. And, FWIW, I'll take the DB Singers over his Blue Note albums that also featured singers any day of the week. They're fun albums, nothing more & nothing less, and the CD is well worth seeking out.

Then again, you know my tastes, so you might wanna take that with a grain of salt! :)

Verve issued the Green and the Byrd as a twofer CD several years ago. They put the Green album first, so I often take it off after HMKF has finished. Should leave it on a bit more often :D

MG

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Thanks for the BFT, Big Al. I'm sure you put a lot of time into putting it together, good job. This honestly isn't the style of music I typically listen to but that is why I enjoy these things. That also means I don't have much for comments (not unusual) or Ids (I am pretty sure I did hear Carlos Santana in there).

I'm sure that I've mentioned being a big fan of the vibe, so several vibraphone tracks works for me. The guy on the first track was probably my favorite player here, a Milt Jackson like style. I don't think that is who it is though. Track 3 is the one thing on the BFT that sounded familiar but you know how that goes. I'm going to make my one obligatory wild guess and say Johnny Lytle.

Track 16 was my favorite track. I'm not sure I've heard anything quite like it. I wonder if it is a little different for the group playing it as well. If there is a whole album like this, I will be happy to find out about it.

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I waited until the very last minute, didn’t I? I imagine most things have been identified by now. Y’all know that I don’t like long blindfold tests, but in the spirit of “everybody participates as they want to,” I decided to give all of the tracks a try, but only stick with the ones that grabbed me somehow. I’m sure I missed some good music doing it that way, but I ended up with about an hour’s worth of music I felt compelled to comment on.

1 (Side 1, track 1): Some unusual chord changes here, along with changes of feel. I liked this more and more as it progressed. Compositionally it sounds like something Teddy Charles would do, and the vibes sound like him a little bit, but it’s not any recording I know. Whoever it is, it’s pretty interesting; I want to hear it again.

2 (Side 1, track 2) I like the muscular tenor playing. The player sounds familiar to me, but I can’t quite put tone, articulation, and style together and come up with a name. Not brilliant, but very nice.

3 (Side 1, track 3) Cool groove and instrumentation. I hear several different woodwinds in there oboe and saxophone – same person? I don’t know who anyone is, but it’s nice.

5 (Side 2, track 1): Very individual flute sound – I like it. And nice medium-slow groove. The best I can do is state who it’s not, but I won’t do that. I like it, though.

8 (Side 2, track 4): I didn’t like anything about this except the guitarist, but he kept me listening – a talented guy doing a dirty job.

10 (Side 3, track 2) Oh, hell, yeah! What a great groove. That’s Tommy Turrentine’s little brother on the tenor sax, and he sounds fabulous. Could be Misters Mitchell and Green on trumpet and guitar. Part of what makes this groove so irresistible is that everyone in the rhythm section plays their part – no one strays much beyond their assigned role. In any case, why don’t I have this?

12 (Side 3, track 4) Sonny Stitt doing what he does best – just blowing. At least, I think it’s Stitt – the sound, style, and vocabulary are his (down to the tag at the end), but the articulation doesn’t seem quite right for him. Could be the way this is recorded. Anyway, it’s mighty tasty – good work from everyone.

13 (Side 4, track 1) A very interesting track, and more importantly, it got under my skin. Someone’s equally adept at electric piano and organ, and got into some very cool, slightly out-there stuff. And the rhythm section grooves hard, changing things up just enough to make it interesting. I like.

14 (Side 4, track 2) What the hell is this? I almost skipped on to the next track after a few seconds, but something made me keep going. Then – is that Bob Brookmeyer? Really? What is this?

16 (Side 4, track 4) “Intuition” by Lennie Tristano and the usual suspects, supposedly the first free improvisation recorded by jazz musicians (or maybe by anybody – I don’t really know). I’ve known and loved this recording for years, but had forgotten that Billy Bauer almost ruins it with that corny whole-tone scale passage at the 45 second mark. (If I ever write a book on improvisation, it will contain the commandment, “Don’t play whole-tone scales, unless you’re Coleman Hawkins, and you’re not.”) But it holds up pretty well 64 years later.

17 (Side 4, track 5) Just beautiful. When you have a sound like this, all you have to do is play the melody. The tenor playing is so spare that I actually had a hard time deciding between late Coleman Hawkins and Ben Webster, but there’s enough there that I think it’s Ben. Don’t know the song or the album.

Thanks for a good 'un, Big Al. I'm looking forward to finding out more about several of these. Now to read the thread and see how embarrassed I should be....

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Thanks for the BFT, Big Al. I'm sure you put a lot of time into putting it together, good job. This honestly isn't the style of music I typically listen to but that is why I enjoy these things. That also means I don't have much for comments (not unusual) or Ids (I am pretty sure I did hear Carlos Santana in there).

I'm sure that I've mentioned being a big fan of the vibe, so several vibraphone tracks works for me. The guy on the first track was probably my favorite player here, a Milt Jackson like style. I don't think that is who it is though. Track 3 is the one thing on the BFT that sounded familiar but you know how that goes. I'm going to make my one obligatory wild guess and say Johnny Lytle.

Track 16 was my favorite track. I'm not sure I've heard anything quite like it. I wonder if it is a little different for the group playing it as well. If there is a whole album like this, I will be happy to find out about it.

Thanks for playing along, NIS! Right there with ya about enjoying these BFT's for the sake of the experience, even if I get nothing out of it. :)

And yes, you (along with everyone else) did indeed hear Carlos Santana!

As for track 16, I'll be sending you a PM shortly about this.

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