BFT 140 - Discussion of Straight No Chaser

[jeffcrom]

Talk about it here.

[BillF]

Track 1 sounds like Zoot Sims in the early 1950s.

Track 5 is the Gene Krupa Orchestra playing Gerry Mulligan's great composition and arrangement "Disc Jockey Jump".

[jeffcrom]

We have our first correct ID - track 5 is indeed "Disc Jockey Jump."

Not Zoot on 1, though.

[BillF]

OK, not Zoot. It's Brew Moore playing "Ergo" from the album Brew Moore in Europe.

I liked Straight 2. "You Go to My Head" - I'd guess mid-1950's with vibes reminiscent of Milt Jackson and guitar reminding me of Barry Galbraith.

[jeffcrom]

You got track 1 on your second try - it is indeed Brew Moore with a Scandinavian rhythm section playing the tune he called "Ergo." My CD reissue is called Svingtet 14, but it's the same album.

I tend to give away too much too soon in my BFT discussion threads, because I enjoy the discussion. But there is an interesting connection between this track and a track in one of the other sections in the BFT.

You're right about the tune (of course) and the general time period of track 2. I like it a lot, too. Neither Milt Jackson nor Barry Galbraith are involved, though.

[mjazzg]

I like track 2 too. Haven't the faintest idea who's playing though

[Spontooneous]

More later, but for now...

Straight 2 is the Teddy Charles Tentet on Atlantic.

Straight 3 makes me very happy, whatever it is.

[jeffcrom]

8 hours ago, Spontooneous said:

More later, but for now...

Straight 2 is the Teddy Charles Tentet on Atlantic.

That's right.

Straight 3 makes me very happy, whatever it is.

I like it a lot, too. After I put this BFT together I had a vague memory of this track being on someone's previous BFT. Not sure, though.

 

[Hot Ptah]

Is Straight 3 a David Holland track?

Is that Vic Juris on guitar on Straight 4?

[jeffcrom]

53 minutes ago, Hot Ptah said:

Is Straight 3 a David Holland track?

No, but you're pretty close. It's not a "David Holland track," but it's a Holland composition, and that's Dave on bass.

Is that Vic Juris on guitar on Straight 4?

Yes - nicely done!

 

[tkeith]

Track 1 - This is pretty filthy.  The tone is very Kamuca, but the ideas are more inline with Golson, Billy Mitchell.  I’m not sure who this is, but I’m very much in tune with this.  Doesn’t seem quite as beefy as Billy Mitchell, but sure has his approach.  

 

Track 2 - This is very sedate.  I like parts of the arrangement, but the vibes and guitar are giving a very Muzak feel.  

 

Track 3 - I’m liking this a lot.  I realized I wasn’t rigidly listening, but the bass solo sucked my total attention.  This seems to be someone of a more recent vintage playing out of that traditional style, but it really works.  Bassist is a bad man.  

 

Track 4 - Blackberry Winter.  Not a huge believer in that heavy-chorus 80s guitar sound, but it works here.  Not sure who is on the unemployment stick, here.  S/he has control of the instrument, though, which is a plus (if a rare occurrence).  Tasteful guitar solo, but really… can we can some of the effects, please?  Ben Monder tends to get carried away with those, but I don’t think this is him.  Though, that could certainly be Donny McCaslin on soprano, so I’m not sure.  It’s nice, but I wouldn’t label it a keeper.

 

Track 5 - Okay, I’m old school.  This one just works.  Nothing special going on here, but it swings, and sometimes, that’s enough.  Nothing about the solos is really wowing me, but that’s not the point — on the whole, it works, and as a group effort, that’s what you want. 

[felser]

1 - I like every player and the tune.  50's hard bop in all its glory.  Zoot Sims?

2 - Very polite and genteel.  Not  something I would return to.  George Shearing?

3 - Love it, hope I have it,  but can't identify it.  Has the feel of the 70's-80's South Central L.A. UGMAA stuff, which I discovered and became addicted to last year.  I understand that it isn't technically perfect, but it's alive and beautiful to me.  My favorite cut on the entire 4-in-1 BFT by far, but likely due to my wiring as much as anything else.  YMMV.

4 - Hate the guitar sound, have no use for the track in general.  Antithesis of #3 in many ways.

5 - Well it sure SOUNDS like the Basie band, doesn't it?

#2 is Teddy Charles, really?  I guess I'll have to relisten.  And I see I botched 1/3/5 pretty badly.  And 4 I hated, so not a good BFT for me.  Still really looking forward to the reveal on #3, and hope I have it on the shelves somewhere.

[jeffcrom]

5 hours ago, tkeith said:

Track 1 - This is pretty filthy.  The tone is very Kamuca, but the ideas are more inline with Golson, Billy Mitchell.  I’m not sure who this is, but I’m very much in tune with this.  Doesn’t seem quite as beefy as Billy Mitchell, but sure has his approach.  

 

Track 2 - This is very sedate.  I like parts of the arrangement, but the vibes and guitar are giving a very Muzak feel.  

 

Track 3 - I’m liking this a lot.  I realized I wasn’t rigidly listening, but the bass solo sucked my total attention.  This seems to be someone of a more recent vintage playing out of that traditional style, but it really works.  Bassist is a bad man.  

 

Track 4 - Blackberry Winter.  Not a huge believer in that heavy-chorus 80s guitar sound, but it works here.  Not sure who is on the unemployment stick, here.  S/he has control of the instrument, though, which is a plus (if a rare occurrence).  Tasteful guitar solo, but really… can we can some of the effects, please?  Ben Monder tends to get carried away with those, but I don’t think this is him.  Though, that could certainly be Donny McCaslin on soprano, so I’m not sure.  It’s nice, but I wouldn’t label it a keeper.

 

Track 5 - Okay, I’m old school.  This one just works.  Nothing special going on here, but it swings, and sometimes, that’s enough.  Nothing about the solos is really wowing me, but that’s not the point — on the whole, it works, and as a group effort, that’s what you want. 

By now you've probably read the rest of the thread and have some answers. I find the guitar tone in track 4 annoying, but it's not a fatal flaw, in my opinion. Not McCaslin on soprano.

And yeah, Dave Holland is a bad man on that track.

3 hours ago, felser said:

1 - I like every player and the tune.  50's hard bop in all its glory.  Zoot Sims?

2 - Very polite and genteel.  Not  something I would return to.  George Shearing?

3 - Love it, hope I have it,  but can't identify it.  Has the feel of the 70's-80's South Central L.A. UGMAA stuff, which I discovered and became addicted to last year.  I understand that it isn't technically perfect, but it's alive and beautiful to me.  My favorite cut on the entire 4-in-1 BFT by far, but likely due to my wiring as much as anything else.  YMMV.

4 - Hate the guitar sound, have no use for the track in general.  Antithesis of #3 in many ways.

5 - Well it sure SOUNDS like the Basie band, doesn't it?

#2 is Teddy Charles, really?  I guess I'll have to relisten.  And I see I botched 1/3/5 pretty badly.  And 4 I hated, so not a good BFT for me.  Still really looking forward to the reveal on #3, and hope I have it on the shelves somewhere.

A couple of your comments led me to muse on atmosphere or feel vs. content. To me the arrangement on #2 is so interesting that any gentility in the approach doesn't bother me at all. Anyone know the arranger of that track?

And while I like track 4, I frankly picked it as much for the song as for the performance.

 

[tkeith]

2 hours ago, jeffcrom said:

And yeah, Dave Holland is a bad man.

 

Fixed.

 

;)

[paul secor]

Again, I haven't looked at previous comments. I will after I've posted.

1 - Brew Moore playing "Zonky", which he took credit for composing. I have a different performance of this on a Steeplechase CD entitled "Zonky". My favorite from this section of the test.

2 - Don't recognize this, but given that the vibist seems to be the leader and it's a fairly large group I'll guess Teddy Charles - don't have any of his recordings with a larger group. My favorite part of this was the guitar solo. When it began, I thought maybe Barry Galbraith, but the tone is lighter and the playing is more fluent, so perhaps Jimmy Raney?

3 - Sounded to me like generic 70's sort of Tynerlike with a lighter touch. Joe Bonner came to mind, but I have no idea. Not my kind of thing.

4 - "Blackberry Winter" written by one of Jeff's favorite composers. I have to admit that I cheated on this one. I had asked Jeff for some Alec Wilder recommendations a while ago and he mentioned this one. I won't give it away so that others can guess.

5 - I'm not a big band guy, so I have no idea. I liked the playing of the head best of all. Is the drummer the leader? I couldn't see any other reason for the drum solo.

 

Edited November 12, 2015 by paul secor

[jeffcrom]

4 hours ago, paul secor said:

Again, I haven't looked at previous comments. I will after I've posted.

1 - Brew Moore playing "Zonky", which he took credit for composing. I have a different performance of this on a Steeplechase CD entitled "Zonky". My favorite from this section of the test.

That's right. He called it "Ergo" on this album, but it's "Zonky" with a different bridge. See the Moldy Fig Stomp portion.

2 - Don't recognize this, but given that the vibist seems to be the leader and it's a fairly large group I'll guess Teddy Charles - don't have any of his recordings with a larger group. My favorite part of this was the guitar solo. When it began, I thought maybe Barry Galbraith, but the tone is lighter and the playing is more fluent, so perhaps Jimmy Raney?

Nicely done. Charles with Raney indeed.

3 - Sounded to me like generic 70's sort of Tynerlike with a lighter touch. Joe Bonner came to mind, but I have no idea. Not my kind of thing.

I think you'll be surprised when you find out who the pianist is.

4 - "Blackberry Winter" written by one of Jeff's favorite composers. I have to admit that I cheated on this one. I had asked Jeff for some Alec Wilder recommendations a while ago and he mentioned this one. I won't give it away so that others can guess.

The guitarist has been identified as Vic Juris. Feel free to spill the rest of the beans.

5 - I'm not a big band guy, so I have no idea. I liked the playing of the head best of all. Is the drummer the leader? I couldn't see any other reason for the drum solo.

Yes, it's Gene Krupa's band as you probably have seen by now. Yeah, nice texture in the head.

 

[paul secor]

4 - "Blackberry Winter" written by one of Jeff's favorite composers. I have to admit that I cheated on this one. I had asked Jeff for some Alec Wilder recommendations a while ago and he mentioned this one. I won't give it away so that others can guess.

The guitarist has been identified as Vic Juris. Feel free to spill the rest of the beans.

From Jeff's PM to me:

Vic Juris - Music of Alec Wilder on Double-Time Records is also very good - it's got Tim Hagans and Dave Liebman

[Hot Ptah]

#3 is Dave Holland's composition "The Oracle", from the 1989 album by the same name by Hank Jones. It is a trio of Hank Jones, Dave Holland and Billy Higgins.

 

#5 may be Gerry Mulligan's "Disc Jockey Jump", but it sounds a great deal like Jimmy Giuffre's "Four Brothers".  Oddly, I bought the CD of "Gene Krupa Plays Gerry Mulligan Arrangements" just recently. It is in my "to play" pile and I have not played it yet even once.

Edited November 24, 2015 by Hot Ptah

[felser]

Wow, never would have guessed Hank Jones in 1000 years, don't think of him playing like that.

[Larry Kart]

10 minutes ago, Hot Ptah said:

#3 is Dave Holland's composition "The Oracle", from the 1989 album by the same name by Hank Jones. It is a trio of Hank Jones, Dave Holland and Billy Higgins.

 

#5 may be Gerry Mulligan's "Disc Jockey Jump", but it sounds a great deal like Jimmy Giuffre's "Four Brothers".  Oddly, I bought the CD of "Gene Krupa Plays Gerry Mulligan Arrangements" just recently. It is in my "to play" pile and I have not played it yet even once.

The liner notes to the latter-day (late '50s) album "Gene Krupa Plays Gerry Mulligan Arrangements" (Clef)  state: "Mulligan's only retrospective comment is, 'It came before Four Brothers.'"

[BillF]

1 hour ago, Hot Ptah said:

 

 

#5 may be Gerry Mulligan's "Disc Jockey Jump", but it sounds a great deal like Jimmy Giuffre's "Four Brothers".  Oddly, I bought the CD of "Gene Krupa Plays Gerry Mulligan Arrangements" just recently. It is in my "to play" pile and I have not played it yet even once.

Yes, I guess there's some resemblance between those two tunes. Never noticed it before. Although your CD also includes "DJD", it's from 1958, 12 years later than the original, by which time the bop fire had cooled greatly. Fierce soloing by Phil Woods helps keep the date alive though and Gerry's arranging is always a joy to hear, at least to my ears.

[jeffcrom]

4 hours ago, Hot Ptah said:

#3 is Dave Holland's composition "The Oracle", from the 1989 album by the same name by Hank Jones. It is a trio of Hank Jones, Dave Holland and Billy Higgins.

 

#5 may be Gerry Mulligan's "Disc Jockey Jump", but it sounds a great deal like Jimmy Giuffre's "Four Brothers".  Oddly, I bought the CD of "Gene Krupa Plays Gerry Mulligan Arrangements" just recently. It is in my "to play" pile and I have not played it yet even once.

Bingo on Hank Jones and "Oracle."

4 hours ago, felser said:

Wow, never would have guessed Hank Jones in 1000 years, don't think of him playing like that.

Not that I've heard them all, but this is my favorite Hank Jones album.

I'm with Bill - I had never noticed any connection between "Disc Jockey Jump" and "Four Brothers." It's really only the first phrase that's similar. I like the texture at the beginning of Mulligan's tune - a small "bebop band" against the full big band.

[jeffcrom]

Computer problems have left The Magnificent Goldberg unable to post here, so he has emailed me his comments so that I can post them. Since I'm revealing the answers in a few hours, I'll let that serve as my reply.

1 I know the tune but can’t recall the title. Yeah, this is a jazz record all right; instantly recognisable :D

2 ‘You go to my head’; a very beautiful song; kind of preciously arranged. The vibes player sounds a bit like Milt Jackson to me, on days when he’s under the control of John Lewis. Guitarist sounds like Herb Ellis, Jim Hall or one of those other guys from out there in the fifties; I can never tell one from another.

3 Sounds like a Blue Note recording from the intro. Well, I was expecting the tenor and trumpet to come in then, but they didn’t, so perhaps they’re not there at all. Good. Sometimes real jazz just gets me – I’ll think seriously about getting this when I find out what it is. This is definitely something I can live with and need from time to time. I’m thinking McCoy Tyner and Elvin Jones in a Larry Young mood, but not whoever the bass player is. But I’m probably wrong.

4 Oh, yet another flute player who isn’t Fathead or Herbie Mann. And not a flute player, either! A soprano player who isn’t Fathead. With a seventies guitarist, ten years out of date. Well, very pretty, I’ve got to say.

5 This is a Basie tune; is it ‘Midgets’? I think so. I don’t suppose it’s Basie’s band, though it might just as well be for all the impact it’s having on me. (Hands up everyone who’s noticed I’m not a great Basie fan :))

That was all pretty interesting, Jeff. I knew I wouldn’t get anything, and don’t think I have. But even the stuff that really ain’t for me was interesting.