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BFT 221 Link And Discussion


Ken Dryden

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1. First thought was Merle Haggard.  The Window Up Above.  For some reason I associate the title with George Jones, but the voice still sounds more like Hag than Jones.
2. Piano sounds like this century, trombone is an older soul.  Herbie Hancock for a wild guess.

3. Naima!  On solo piano.  Not McCoy, and I don't think Cedar Walton did it solo.  Kenny Barron ranks right behind Art Farmer as my favorite wrong guess, and I'll try again here.
4. Sounds more like a viola than a violin.  Svend Asmussen?  No that's even deeper than a viola, bass played high with a bow or cello.  Someone to watch over me?  I don't have much of a clue, will try Barry Harris.
5. Gee, do you think it might be Bucky Pizzarelli?  Maybe with Ken Peplowski?
6. Nice ballad.  I won't rule out Art Pepper.  Yeah, I will, not many guitars featured on Art Pepper dates.  OK, how about Paul Desmond, maybe with Ed Bickert.
7. Not 100% sure this is alto rather than soprano, but could this be Sonny Criss?
8. I'll go with Bill Evans here.
9. Lover Man.  Leaning toward Sonny Stitt.
10. Got to be the bassman's date.  Christian McBride?
11. Thoughts of Johnny Griffin's Soft and Furry (absolutely not the tune, but the theme uses a faster version of the effect I love in it) and Sonny Criss album Sonny's Dream (probably not, seems like bigger band) yield to a guess of Thad Jones - Mel Lewis big band.
12. Feels like Blue Note.  Jazz Messengers?  Bass up front and the tenor is edgier than expected, so maybe later.
13. Violin on the Sunny Side of the Street.  I thought Duke Ellington's Jazz Violin Session, until I heard the applause.  Maybe Stuff Smith?
14. MJQ sounds like a possibility here.
15. Herbie Mann owns this particular neck of the musical woods.  When the vocals come in you wonder if Flora Purim is living there.

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5 hours ago, randyhersom said:

1. First thought was Merle Haggard.  The Window Up Above.  For some reason I associate the title with George Jones, but the voice still sounds more like Hag than Jones.

Correct song title, not Merle Haggard or George Jones.

2. Piano sounds like this century, trombone is an older soul.  Herbie Hancock for a wild guess.

Not Herbie Hancock.

3. Naima!  On solo piano.  Not McCoy, and I don't think Cedar Walton did it solo.  Kenny Barron ranks right behind Art Farmer as my favorite wrong guess, and I'll try again here.

Correct song title, not Kenny Barron.

4. Sounds more like a viola than a violin.  Svend Asmussen?  No that's even deeper than a viola, bass played high with a bow or cello.  Someone to watch over me?  I don't have much of a clue, will try Barry Harris.

Not Svend Asmussen nor Barry Harris.

5. Gee, do you think it might be Bucky Pizzarelli?  Maybe with Ken Peplowski?

Track 5 is supposed to be a post-bop song that lasts 6:24. I just checked it against my download from Thom's page and that's what I am hearing. Neither Bucky Pizzarelli nor Ken Peplowski are on it.

6. Nice ballad.  I won't rule out Art Pepper.  Yeah, I will, not many guitars featured on Art Pepper dates.  OK, how about Paul Desmond, maybe with Ed Bickert.

Not Paul Desmond nor Ed Bickert.

7. Not 100% sure this is alto rather than soprano, but could this be Sonny Criss?

Not Sonny Criss.

8. I'll go with Bill Evans here.

Not Bill Evans.

9. Lover Man.  Leaning toward Sonny Stitt.

Correct song title, not Sonny Stitt.

10. Got to be the bassman's date.  Christian McBride?

Not Christian McBride, though the bassist is the leader.

11. Thoughts of Johnny Griffin's Soft and Furry (absolutely not the tune, but the theme uses a faster version of the effect I love in it) and Sonny Criss album Sonny's Dream (probably not, seems like bigger band) yield to a guess of Thad Jones - Mel Lewis big band.

Not the Thad Jones-Mel Lewis Big Band.

12. Feels like Blue Note.  Jazz Messengers?  Bass up front and the tenor is edgier than expected, so maybe later.

Not The Jazz Messengers.

13. Violin on the Sunny Side of the Street.  I thought Duke Ellington's Jazz Violin Session, until I heard the applause.  Maybe Stuff Smith?

Correct song title, not Stuff Smith.

14. MJQ sounds like a possibility here.

Not the MJQ.

15. Herbie Mann owns this particular neck of the musical woods.  When the vocals come in you wonder if Flora Purim is living there.

Neither Herbie Mann nor Flora Purim are present.

 

Quote

 

Edited by Ken Dryden
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Internet sleuthing revealed that Hag, Jones, Mickey Gilley, Leon Russell and Ricky Skaggs did not have a brass instrument in the intro. After that I found out who did.  I think listeners will be surprised by the jazz credentials of the instrumentalists.  The vocalist is not known to jazz listeners, but I found him convincing and courageous.

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17 minutes ago, randyhersom said:

Internet sleuthing revealed that Hag, Jones, Mickey Gilley, Leon Russell and Ricky Skaggs did not have a brass instrument in the intro. After that I found out who did.  I think listeners will be surprised by the jazz credentials of the instrumentalists.  The vocalist is not known to jazz listeners, but I found him convincing and courageous.

I thought it might be a fun track that was a little outside of typical listening.

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Ken, thanks for the BFT. I did not like most of the tracks, and I don't want to go all negative here (as I tend to do), so I'll just comment on a few tracks that piqued my interest. 

Track 6, "The Very Thought of You", is the only track I really liked. Beautiful sound (on soprano?) Maybe Sims with ..hmm... Bucky Pizzarelly (if you trust the announcer)?

Track 10, "I Hear a Rhapsody", is from this album. I don't like the bassist too much (way too many notes, ugly amplification), and I don't think his sound gels well with that of the other musicians, but I remember there are some excellent tracks on this album with good stretching and interplay. 

Track 12. This might be one of the later Farmer / Golson albums. Good stuff.

Track 13, "Sunny Side of the Street", had me puzzled. The violin player utilizes Grappelli mannerisms and licks, but sounds more sloppy with worse control of the sound. Not sure who this could be. It's OK, but I just checked a Grappelli versions of the same tune, and it just blows the BFT one out of the water, IMHO:

        

 

Edited by Д.Д.
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10 minutes ago, Quasimado said:

#9. Ernie Henry with Wynton Kelly - beautiful. Very close to Bird in feeling - first hearing I thought it was Bird, but that didn't make sense - second hearing said Ernie, and the piano supported that.

Damn, I was pondering that track and can't believe I didn't guess it. Trouble is, I have the OJC recording of Last Chorus, and this tune is only on the Fresh Sounds Last Sessions, which has extra tracks. :(

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On 8/11/2022 at 8:34 PM, Д.Д. said:

Ken, thanks for the BFT. I did not like most of the tracks, and I don't want to go all negative here (as I tend to do), so I'll just comment on a few tracks that piqued my interest. 

Track 6, "The Very Thought of You", is the only track I really liked. Beautiful sound (on soprano?) Maybe Sims with ..hmm... Bucky Pizzarelly (if you trust the announcer)?

Track 10, "I Hear a Rhapsody", is from this album. I don't like the bassist too much (way too many notes, ugly amplification), and I don't think his sound gels well with that of the other musicians, but I remember there are some excellent tracks on this album with good stretching and interplay. 

Track 12. This might be one of the later Farmer / Golson albums. Good stuff.

Track 13, "Sunny Side of the Street", had me puzzled. The violin player utilizes Grappelli mannerisms and licks, but sounds more sloppy with worse control of the sound. Not sure who this could be. It's OK, but I just checked a Grappelli versions of the same tune, and it just blows the BFT one out of the water, IMHO:

        

 

I know the feeling, at times I have downloaded blindfold tests and if I didn't care for the first few tracks, or if it started to stray outside of jazz entirely, I usually abandoned it without posting comment. We all have different tastes and in any case, not everything is going to be a five star track or it might make identification too easy.

Track 5 is correctly identified. I meant to load a different track from the album, but there was a glitch on my part. The renumbering plays havoc with things at times trying to save them before sending the files to Them.

Track 10 is indeed from the CD you mentioned: 
David Friesen with Clark Terry & Bud Shank: “I Hear A Rhapsody,” by George Fragos, Dick Gasparre & Jack Baker
from …Three to Get Ready  ITM Pacific 970084
David Friesen: Hemage bass, Clark Terry: trumpet, Bud Shank: alto saxophone

The Hemage bass isn't everyone's cup of tea. I happen to like it, though I prefer double bass. I particularly enjoy Friesen's work with Denny Zeitlin, a collaboration that the bassist initiated. 

Track 12 is not from a Farmer / Golson reunion album.

Track 14 is obviously not Stephane Grappelli, who is always instantly recognizable in any setting. One time I heard his distinctive violin in the closing music to a Burt Reynolds film. Sure enough, the credits roled and there was his name. Of course, your song title identification is correct. Grappelli is well represented in my library and I even caught him in concert once in circa 1981-2.

 

 

On 8/11/2022 at 9:52 PM, Quasimado said:

#9. Ernie Henry with Wynton Kelly - beautiful. Very close to Bird in feeling - first hearing I thought it was Bird, but that didn't make sense - second hearing said Ernie, and the piano supported that.

Ernie Henry with Wynton Kelly. I figured that this track would be solved quickly, after JSngry started a thread on the alto saxophonist just after I submitted this BFT.

I am surprised that there have been no attempts to identify some of the other performances. 

Edited by Ken Dryden
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That Sunny Side violin solo is beautiful. Somebody thinks that's sloppy? Clean out your ears. And it has a wonderful pizzicato section. I haven't a clue, the only other jazz violinist I ever heard play pizzicato like that was Nance, who I don't believe this is. It's also much better than Grapelli, who I find too slick.

I really like track 11 the big band. Reminded me of '50s Sun Ra.

Edited by AllenLowe
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20 minutes ago, AllenLowe said:

That Sunny Side violin solo is beautiful. Somebody thinks that's sloppy? Clean out your ears. And it has a wonderful pizzicato section. I haven't a clue, the only other jazz violinist I ever heard play pizzicato like that was Nance, who I don't believe this is. It's also much better than Grapelli, who I find too slick.

I really like track 11 the big band. Reminded me of '50s Sun Ra.

I agree with you Allen.

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20 minutes ago, Quasimado said:

#7. Django with Hubert Fol on alto - "Anouman". Enjoyed the feel of this and had to track it down.

Correct. I had never heard of this composition until David Grisman & Denny Zeitlin recorded it on their duo album. I think it was written late in Django's life.

Edited by Ken Dryden
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