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BFT 124 Reveal


fent99

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Firstly can I say thanks to all for your interest and for the opportunity to send out some choices and getting a bit of a reaction to some things I've been listening to. My choices weren't meant to be too tricky but not too obvious either it is really just a wee snapsot of my listening.

1. Bobby Previte - 23. The Passage of the Divine Bird from "The 23 Constellations of Joan Miro" BBC Recording

http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio3/jazzon3/pip/u77pn/

http://www.tzadik.com/index.php?catalog=7072

Its actually a recording I made from the radio and I've never bought the album on Tzadik. I recorded this either to my cd recorder or to a minidisc when it was first broadcast and its something I've returned to again and again. I love the instrumentation with harps and bells and the enigmatic nature of the compositions maybe a bit like Miro's paintings which I also love. I recorded it mainly because I'd seen Previte on a fondly remembered trip to NYC playing drums with beaters while keyboards and trombone cooked up a storm.
The whole set is great and made a bit more digestable by a lovely female voice introducing each piece.

2. Don Friedman - Circle Waltz from "Circle Waltz"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Circle_Waltz

Superlative piano trio from someone I know very little of beyond this album so maybe someone can direct me to more. If I was more knowledgable I'd say its influenced by Bill Evans but they are contemporaries and share a label. With Chuck Israels on bass that connection is all the more explicit. Pete LaRoca always adds a little something too.

3. Enrico Pieranunzi/Charlie Haden/Billy Higgins - For Turiya from "First Song"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Song

This could be seen as a bit of a tribute to Haden who passed in the last few weeks. I nearly picked the version from his duet album where he plays with the composer, Alice Coltrane. I've been a wee bit obsessed with Alice over the last year her albums with John, the impulse stuff then some of the meditational albums. There's a great Piano Jazz broadcast where she plays some beautiful piano and I thought I'd love to hear her tunes played by a more overtly jazz band. Of course I found I had a tune already and here it is. Pieranunzi I've seen in concert a couple of times all off the back of this album which I bought because of Haden who picks notes and plays superbly on this.

4. Raymond MacDonald/Marilyn Crispell - Longing from "Parallel Moments"

http://babel-label.bandcamp.com/album/parallel-moments

Saw this pairing duet in the Reid Concert Hall in Edinburgh at the beginning of the year (amongst other combinations) and though I'd never heard him before found out he is on the teaching staff at Edinburgh University. This is on the Babel Label and though it's not all as beautiful or elegaic as this its a really strong duet record

5. Laura Jurd - Landing Ground from "Landing Ground"

http://www.laurajurd.com/

So much of my music comes gifted or recommended by friends (a lot from organissimo!) and this came via a friend in London over a few glasses of red on a visit last November. I like the copelandesque theme and the strings to offset the solos. Maybe its not jazz but I like it... She's young and from this outing has a huge amount of ambition.

6. Wolfgang Muthspiel - Mehldau from "Live at the Vortex 2003"

http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio3/jazzon3/pip/v8iv5/

Another BBC Jazz on 3 recording so maybe slightly unfair for the guessing. The gig was one I was at. Really happy memories of the old Vortex in Stoke Newington, where I used to live in North London. Great guitar and the highlight was watching Brian Blade on drums really shining as with skittering chattering patterns keeping everyone on the edge of their seats. Really joyous stuff, with that sunny disposition Metheny often produces. For someone who likes minor keys and darker stuff this really cheers me up. Muthspiel has some really good albums out there the most recent on ECM and is really worth looking out for.

7. Arthur Blythe - Light Blue from "Light Blue"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Light_Blue:_Arthur_Blythe_Plays_Thelonious_Monk

I said in the comments that I'd overdosed on Monk probably as a result of getting the big Riverside box, but he's one of the cornerstones of my listening with recent reawakening courtesy of the solo sides in the Vogue box and the reissue of Straight No Chaser with so much more music than before. But this of course made me think again. Quickly identified and since my jazz buying has been (mainly) in the CD era I've let Blythe pass my by. My loss. I've a friend who has been talking about these albums for years but he has no turntable any more and I've yet to venture into his loft to "borrow" them. Blythe is great here and put paid to my (mis)understanding that Lennox Avenue Breakdown was the only Columbia album worth listening to... Oh and the tuba is always a treat!

Edited by fent99
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8. Hampton Hawes - Sonora from "Spanish Steps"

http://www.jazzdisco.org/hampton-hawes/catalog/album-index/ from 1968

Best jazz book I've read in years was Raise Up Off Me and was fascinated by his amazing life and great talent. I'm not so familiar with his later records so something else to explore, but on this evidence I'll need them all?

9. Matthias Spillmann - Last Piece from "Mats Up - 5"

http://www.matthiasspillmann.ch/

I've been volunteering at the Edinburgh Jazz Festival for 2 ears now and this group was one I saw last year and really enjoyed meeting. Its not been universally liked in the BFT but I like the composition and the playing and for a group of gracious young (ish) guys from Switzerland this is a good momento of a lovely gig

10. Oriole - Bate Calado from "Migration"

http://www.oriole-music.co.uk/

I went away this Easter to do some hill walking with a german friend and friends of hers. The cottage we stayed in had a pretty decent stereo and a bunch of CDs and this caught my ear so had to pick it up when I returned. Don't often get caught up in such things but this was so gorgeous and again takes me right back to a lovely trip with good company, great food and a mellow whiskey after a long walk up Ben Lawers. Its a fire collective band so Ingrid Laubrock and Seb Roachford provide some grit in this lovely ensemble.

11. Danny Thompson & Zoe Rahman - One of These Things First from "Way to Blue"

http://www.navigatorrecords.co.uk/way-to-blue-the-songs-of-nick-drake/

The only jazz cut on a mainly vocal tribute album to Nick Drake (are there more "orphaned" jazz tunes out there marooned on non jazz albums?). Danny Thompson played with Nick Drake back in the day though his jazz credentials are pretty good with Mingus tunes on Pentangle records and maybe even a stint with John McLaughlin if my memory serves. Rahman sounds great here though almost at risk of playing too much which was nearly the case when I saw her solo live once, many years ago. The enthusiasm is undeniable though and the fragile beauty of the tune is never lost.

12. Christian Scott - Isadora from "Yesterday you Said Tomorrow"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_Scott

When I picked this, I only had tickets to see him but the gig was on Sunday and his current band was really impressive. Much more powerful and commanding than is on show on this beautiful ballad. A great band especially the piano bass and drums but all played with such poise and Christain's New Orleans swagger was a treat to watch and hear. This is dedicated to his wife Isadora who was there and sang one number. I could see why he dedicated such a pretty tune to her.

13. Art Farmer/Jim Hall - A Child is Born from "Big Blues"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Blues_(Art_Farmer_album)

I was sure someone would get this since the co-leaders are among my favourites though its those Atlantic sides that continue to delight me most. Maybe the CTI production disguises their identities a bit or Mike Maineri on vibes throws everyone off. A tune thats been done a lot but a lovely reading here and one in my playlists for a couple of years

14. Spirit of Life Ensemble - Song for My Father from "Feel the Spirit"

http://www.cduniverse.com/search/xx/music/pid/1530038/a/feel+the+spirit.htm

The Leon Thomas Cd is finally here and I can see what you all mean. This cd (bought like so many others in sales or from cutout bins as the only interesting jazz cd I found that day), was picked up because of this tune being covered and is included as a tribute to Horace and to my father who passed away last year. Leon Thomas wrote the lyrics and if they are a bit too simple the message is heartfelt and its such a great tune. Clifford Adams sings so like Leon but plays trombone elsewhere on the album. Spirit of Life Ensemble are a New Jersey based community band led by Daoud-David Williams with some verve. Not sure how this ended up in a cutout bin in Edinburgh but really pleased it did.
And that is where this BFT ends. I've loved the comments and the indulgence of letting you hear my mixtape!

Edited by fent99
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Firstly can I say thanks to all for your interest and for the opportunity to send out some choices and getting a bit of a reaction to some things I've been listening to. My choices weren't meant to be too tricky but not too obvious either it is really just a wee snapsot of my listening.

After reading this Reveal, I think this is one of the all time great BFTs, as it has taught me more than almost any other about artists I did not know about.

1. Bobby Previte - 23. The Passage of the Divine Bird from "The 23 Constellations of Joan Miro" BBC Recording

http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio3/jazzon3/pip/u77pn/

http://www.tzadik.com/index.php?catalog=7072

Its actually a recording I made from the radio and I've never bought the album on Tzadik. I recorded this either to my cd recorder or to a minidisc when it was first broadcast and its something I've returned to again and again. I love the instrumentation with harps and bells and the enigmatic nature of the compositions maybe a bit like Miro's paintings which I also love. I recorded it mainly because I'd seen Previte on a fondly remembered trip to NYC playing drums with beaters while keyboards and trombone cooked up a storm.

The whole set is great and made a bit more digestable by a lovely female voice introducing each piece.

I would never have guessed that this was a Tzadik album, in a million years. I have heard of Previte but had not heard him. This is extremely interesting.

2. Don Friedman - Circle Waltz from "Circle Waltz"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Circle_Waltz

Superlative piano trio from someone I know very little of beyond this album so maybe someone can direct me to more. If I was more knowledgable I'd say its influenced by Bill Evans but they are contemporaries and share a label. With Chuck Israels on bass that connection is all the more explicit. Pete LaRoca always adds a little something too.

I was somewhat aware of Friedman, and had seen his name on album covers, but was not aware of how good he is. That is Chuck Israels, playing all over the bass but maintaining a supportive role, as I had commented earlier.

3. Enrico Pieranunzi/Charlie Haden/Billy Higgins - For Turiya from "First Song"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Song

This could be seen as a bit of a tribute to Haden who passed in the last few weeks. I nearly picked the version from his duet album where he plays with the composer, Alice Coltrane. I've been a wee bit obsessed with Alice over the last year her albums with John, the impulse stuff then some of the meditational albums. There's a great Piano Jazz broadcast where she plays some beautiful piano and I thought I'd love to hear her tunes played by a more overtly jazz band. Of course I found I had a tune already and here it is. Pieranunzi I've seen in concert a couple of times all off the back of this album which I bought because of Haden who picks notes and plays superbly on this.

Oh, so this is Charlie Haden! That is why I thought the bass playing was so good. Pieranunzi is another one of those musicians whose name I had read, but I had not really listened to his music. This is very enlightening.

4. Raymond MacDonald/Marilyn Crispell - Longing from "Parallel Moments"

http://babel-label.bandcamp.com/album/parallel-moments

Saw this pairing duet in the Reid Concert Hall in Edinburgh at the beginning of the year (amongst other combinations) and though I'd never heard him before found out he is on the teaching staff at Edinburgh University. This is on the Babel Label and though it's not all as beautiful or elegaic as this its a really strong duet record

I had never heard of Raymond MacDonald, but I like his playing a lot. I missed guessing Marilyn Crispell. I want to hear more by these musicians.

5. Laura Jurd - Landing Ground from "Landing Ground"

http://www.laurajurd.com/

So much of my music comes gifted or recommended by friends (a lot from organissimo!) and this came via a friend in London over a few glasses of red on a visit last November. I like the copelandesque theme and the strings to offset the solos. Maybe its not jazz but I like it... She's young and from this outing has a huge amount of ambition.

I did not like this piece that much, but I had not heard of her, and am glad to learn about her.

6. Wolfgang Muthspiel - Mehldau from "Live at the Vortex 2003"

http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio3/jazzon3/pip/v8iv5/

Another BBC Jazz on 3 recording so maybe slightly unfair for the guessing. The gig was one I was at. Really happy memories of the old Vortex in Stoke Newington, where I used to live in North London. Great guitar and the highlight was watching Brian Blade on drums really shining as with skittering chattering patterns keeping everyone on the edge of their seats. Really joyous stuff, with that sunny disposition Metheny often produces. For someone who likes minor keys and darker stuff this really cheers me up. Muthspiel has some really good albums out there the most recent on ECM and is really worth looking out for.

I have read Muthspiel's name before, but had not heard his music. This is fascinating to me, how thoroughly American this sounded to me. I thought it was an American folk/country musician who had gone on to study and play jazz, under a Pat Metheny influence.

7. Arthur Blythe - Light Blue from "Light Blue"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Light_Blue:_Arthur_Blythe_Plays_Thelonious_Monk

I said in the comments that I'd overdosed on Monk probably as a result of getting the big Riverside box, but he's one of the cornerstones of my listening with recent reawakening courtesy of the solo sides in the Vogue box and the reissue of Straight No Chaser with so much more music than before. But this of course made me think again. Quickly identified and since my jazz buying has been (mainly) in the CD era I've let Blythe pass my by. My loss. I've a friend who has been talking about these albums for years but he has no turntable any more and I've yet to venture into his loft to "borrow" them. Blythe is great here and put paid to my (mis)understanding that Lennox Avenue Breakdown was the only Columbia album worth listening to... Oh and the tuba is always a treat!

As I said before, I love this album and all of Blythe's albums from this period. I think that the 1970s and early to mid-1980s were a golden age of recorded jazz, which is not recognized as often as it should be. So I like to hear an example of how good that era really was.

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8. Hampton Hawes - Sonora from "Spanish Steps"

http://www.jazzdisco.org/hampton-hawes/catalog/album-index/ from 1968

Best jazz book I've read in years was Raise Up Off Me and was fascinated by his amazing life and great talent. I'm not so familiar with his later records so something else to explore, but on this evidence I'll need them all?

Oh, no wonder I said that this is recorded jazz at its highest level. It's Hampton Hawes! I have heard the Hawes albums before and after his later 1960s albums, but I had never heard anything by him in this time frame. I looked up the album cover art for 'Spanish Steps" and I am sure that I have never even seen this album. I want to get it, soon!

9. Matthias Spillmann - Last Piece from "Mats Up - 5"

http://www.matthiasspillmann.ch/

I've been volunteering at the Edinburgh Jazz Festival for 2 ears now and this group was one I saw last year and really enjoyed meeting. Its not been universally liked in the BFT but I like the composition and the playing and for a group of gracious young (ish) guys from Switzerland this is a good momento of a lovely gig

They may be among the best of the young Swiss musicians. It just reminded me of too much generic young American mainstream bop, by players without a distinct voice on their instruments. I have heard a lot, too much, of that sort of thing in the past ten to fifteen years.

10. Oriole - Bate Calado from "Migration"

http://www.oriole-music.co.uk/

I went away this Easter to do some hill walking with a german friend and friends of hers. The cottage we stayed in had a pretty decent stereo and a bunch of CDs and this caught my ear so had to pick it up when I returned. Don't often get caught up in such things but this was so gorgeous and again takes me right back to a lovely trip with good company, great food and a mellow whiskey after a long walk up Ben Lawers. Its a fire collective band so Ingrid Laubrock and Seb Roachford provide some grit in this lovely ensemble.

I had never heard of this, but it sounds great, and the more I read about this lineup and the musicians (because you included this song on this BFT), the more I want to get this album.

I find it very interesting that Ingrid Laubrock is on this recording. I saw her not long ago at the Record Bar in Kansas City in duet with Tom Rainey, and in a trio with Rainey and bassist Jeff Harshbarger. She played much more "outside" that evening, compared to this recording.

11. Danny Thompson & Zoe Rahman - One of These Things First from "Way to Blue"

http://www.navigatorrecords.co.uk/way-to-blue-the-songs-of-nick-drake/

The only jazz cut on a mainly vocal tribute album to Nick Drake (are there more "orphaned" jazz tunes out there marooned on non jazz albums?). Danny Thompson played with Nick Drake back in the day though his jazz credentials are pretty good with Mingus tunes on Pentangle records and maybe even a stint with John McLaughlin if my memory serves. Rahman sounds great here though almost at risk of playing too much which was nearly the case when I saw her solo live once, many years ago. The enthusiasm is undeniable though and the fragile beauty of the tune is never lost.

I am not familiar at all with Zoe Rahman, but I really like her piano playing, and her personal voice on piano. This is just beautiful music. I am very glad to be introduced to her music, and I want to hear more of it.

I am also not familiar with Danny Thompson by name, but reading about him, I have heard him on several albums I am familiar with. This is a real eye opener of a track!

12. Christian Scott - Isadora from "Yesterday you Said Tomorrow"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_Scott

When I picked this, I only had tickets to see him but the gig was on Sunday and his current band was really impressive. Much more powerful and commanding than is on show on this beautiful ballad. A great band especially the piano bass and drums but all played with such poise and Christain's New Orleans swagger was a treat to watch and hear. This is dedicated to his wife Isadora who was there and sang one number. I could see why he dedicated such a pretty tune to her.

I have read about Christian Scott but have not investigated his music. It is very interesting to actually hear him. He plays with more expression and restraint here than I had expected he might. Again, thanks for exposing me to someone new--another really good first impression.

13. Art Farmer/Jim Hall - A Child is Born from "Big Blues"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Blues_(Art_Farmer_album)

I was sure someone would get this since the co-leaders are among my favourites though its those Atlantic sides that continue to delight me most. Maybe the CTI production disguises their identities a bit or Mike Maineri on vibes throws everyone off. A tune thats been done a lot but a lovely reading here and one in my playlists for a couple of years

Hmmm, how could I not identify Jim Hall! How could I not identify Art Farmer! No wonder it is so good, and so memorable. I am a little bit embarrassed.

14. Spirit of Life Ensemble - Song for My Father from "Feel the Spirit"

http://www.cduniverse.com/search/xx/music/pid/1530038/a/feel+the+spirit.htm

The Leon Thomas Cd is finally here and I can see what you all mean. This cd (bought like so many others in sales or from cutout bins as the only interesting jazz cd I found that day), was picked up because of this tune being covered and is included as a tribute to Horace and to my father who passed away last year. Leon Thomas wrote the lyrics and if they are a bit too simple the message is heartfelt and its such a great tune. Clifford Adams sings so like Leon but plays trombone elsewhere on the album. Spirit of Life Ensemble are a New Jersey based community band led by Daoud-David Williams with some verve. Not sure how this ended up in a cutout bin in Edinburgh but really pleased it did.

I know other recordings with some of the musicians in this group, but had never heard of this group. They seem to have quite a few albums too. This is extremely interesting. Clifford Adams could have made a career for himself as a Leon Thomas disciple, for his fans to continue to enjoy his style. Here's another learning experience for me, from this BFT!

And that is where this BFT ends. I've loved the comments and the indulgence of letting you hear my mixtape!

Thank you for all of the new information I learned in this BFT! I am going to check out the music of many of these musicians.

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