All Activity

Would it be fair to say the theme of this BFT is bass and voices? Enjoyed the listen. Some blow-by-blow below. Track 1 That’s the kind of treble I associate with the era when AM radio still played pop music. Which is to say that I enjoy the time capsule nature of this. I don’t know the vocalist (who I won’t presume is also the songwriter…. but are they? … I mean, the singing is almost a dramatic recital. This singer is wanting to make sure that the meaning of these lyrics really comes across). I was maybe expecting the vibrato less than I was the near-scat. Will be interested to learn the answer to the singer-songwriter question. Track 2 Sounds like a late 80s or early 90s production, and the tenor is pretty reminiscent of David Murray. Hmmm, so the theme is one thing, but the solos are going to play out over the major mode from Trane’s “My Favorite Things”? Now that the tenor is soloing, I’m 99.9% sure its Murray, but this is not from a record I remember (or recognize). Could it be one of those Red baron dates? I’m not sure the high register stuff has aged that well. But when Murray dips into the gutbucket… solid. The drummer is the hero of this track. What he’s ding is evocative of Elvin without being an imitation of Elvin. Will be curious to learn who it is. Andrew Cyrille? Definitely a part of many Murray ensembles over the years. Would not surprise me! Track 3 I like riding this harmonic escalator! The strength of both hands makes me wonder if this is Jaki Byard, but I think not. Many moods here. Stanley Cowell perhaps? There’s some church music in that left hand to be sure, and some Afrocentrism, but both have been sort of abstracted. The rhapsodism (did I just make that word up?) comes from another tradition, at least partly. I’m guess I’m saying there’s some fascinating straddling in this performance, but it still feels very 70s to me. Oh, an overtly bluesy lick around the 6:15 mark. Good - very good - stuff. Track 4 Not Nick Drake, but the bass player has probably listened to Danny Thompson. Oh… this is John Martyn, isn’t it? I’m not sure why I’ve never gotten into him the way I have Jansch, Renbourn, Drake, and that generation of English troubadours, as Martyn is most overtly “jazzy” of them all. I guess his singing requires some taste acquiring. But this track reminds me that I should give him another try. So, heck, that very likely is Danny Thompson on bass. Oh, so they are going outside here at end? Interesting. (Yeah, and Martyn just said, “Oh yes, Daniel!”) Track 5 Spacey. Guitar tone screams (in a good way) Carlos Santana. As does the groove, when it comes in. Rhodes or Wurlitzer? Its the “Riders on the Storm” electric piano sound in my mind. Is this from CARAVANSERAI? Or maybe WELCOME? I suppose this could be Santana guesting on someone else’s record, but a stronger hunch tells me this is from the Tom Coster era of his band. Either way, I’m not familiar with the tune. No complaints, even if I don’t find it all that exciting. I think I like the keyboard progression on the fadeout best. Track 6 Ah, and now the fuzzy electric piano. And B-3? OK, how many keyboard players are there on this track? I feel like its meant to smolder, but its dragging a bit for me. The dynamics also feel more “rock” to me than not. I’m not saying this is full-on Keith Emerson, but there’s some prog here. Ah, now that the vocal has arrived: I’m guessing this is Julie Driscoll and Brian Auger. Nice B-3 solo, but that synth string sound - which I’m not opposed to on principle - is diluting my enjoyment of the rest of ther performance. Auger is a fine colorist on the B-3. No Shirley Scott, no, but no slouch either. Can’t really knock the musicianship, though. Track 7 Khan Jamal on vibes? The tune sounds kind of Jamal-esque (thinking here of DARK WARRIOR on Steeplechase). This feels very “indie” and also very much like a group of local guys splashing around in their pond. The drummer is just a little too straight for me. I’d like to hear what the horn players do with a different set of collaborators. Track 8 A very different vibes player. The presence of organ - even though they’re mostly playing accents - makes me think this might be Johnny Lytle, but I’m not really a big Lytle listener. Whoever it is has their own sound on the instrument. This is not Bags, or Dickerson, or Hutcherson. Kind of “cloudy”, if that makes any sense. Tight groove! And then tenor sax kind of out of nowhere. Guitar player is giving off some strong Melvin Sparks vibes, especially with the fast picked stuff. What era is this? It’s kind of tmeless, I’d venture. Track 9 “Soul Brother (Dedicated to Malcolm X)” by Marvin Hannibal Peterson, whose tone is just marvelous here. Have loved this tune since I first heard it on Andew Cyrille’s MY FRIEND LOUIS (DIW) - a rather more sedate version that this, the original. Fire. And Michael Carvin has a lot to do with that. Why don’t I listen to more Michael Carvin? (Not to neglect what Stafford James is doing here, with playing that’s both droning and propulsive.) Track 10 A very soulful version of “Goodbye Pork Pie Hat.” This pianist really digs in, . I mean, it feels like they’re really probing and going deep, trying to overcome their ownpet phrases, to get to the emotional center of the tune. The drummer isn’t far behind. I mentioned Jaki Byard earlier… this sounds more like Jaki than not, and it wold make sense, given Jaki’s association with Mingus. But I don’t think Jaki would play some of the more stock-like phrases this pianist falls back on here and there. Really like what’s happening around the 4:20 mark. And between 7:15 and 7:40, too. Could this be Horace Parlan? With Dannie Richmond? I just saw an interview with Dannie from the 70s where he talks about how he spent much of that decade playing what he identified as rock and roll. And he said he enjoyed it because that music required him to play more of his kit than the jazz he had been playing did. I’ll have to see if I can find the clip. But I can hear a drummer playing all of his drums here. Track 11 Alicia Keys adapting Donny Hathaway’s “Someday We’ll All Be Free.” Covering Donny Hathaway is not for the faint of heart. Alicia does not embarrass herself… but a llittle bit less at the end would have come to more. But she’s young; she’ll figure it out. Also, scaling the arrangement back to just voice and piano…. the song loses a little bit of its ambivalence / ambiguity, or, better, its emotional complexity. But, again, I think she’ll figure it out, as she makes her fair share of good choices here.

👍 The Decca's are fantastic!

Peter, I haven't gotten started yet! It's been a hectic time.

Yeeeeeeeeahhh ... I passed on that at the original price (don't remember the $$) 🤑

Hey GA Russell, how are those earbuds working out for you?

A fine performance impeccably recorded. Some nice solos from the under recorded Billy Pierce.

2025 Top 10 Catches https://www.cfl.ca/2025/12/02/top-10-catches-of-2025/ ***** Top 3 Free Agents of every team https://www.cfl.ca/2025/12/03/3-top-pending-free-agents-from-every-east-division-team/ https://www.cfl.ca/2025/12/03/3-top-pending-free-agents-from-every-west-division-team/ ***** Winnipeg free agent analysis https://3downnation.com/2025/12/03/10-pending-free-agents-the-winnipeg-blue-bombers-should-bring-back/

We'll make it so. Thanks for being proactive. I'll try to keep something open later in the schedule.

Micheangelo Antonioni Eric Rohmer Jim Jarmush John Huston

I was only able to see them live once on their lone tour of the east coast a looonnnng time ago. They were great then too. If these shows had happened during the summer, I might've made the trip one of the bennies of being retired - but not just after Thanksgiving. Also, I was under the impression that these were anniversary celebrations and not an indication that the band was back to doing live shows on a regular basis. Last I heard, they were on a bit of a hiatus. They haven't released anything since 2017.

CDs, digipack, liner all Mint (played once) $24 shipped U.S. https://www.discogs.com/release/35531320-Bob-Dylan-Through-The-Open-Window-The-Bootleg-Series-Vol-18-1956-1963

Huge fan! "Nashville" is in my Top 3, and I'd give "McCabe & Mrs. Miller"a 10/10 (and still think it's on YouTube for free)

Robert Altman

👍

Richard Linklater (absolute favorite--others in no particular order) Greta Gerwig Todd Haynes Guillermo del Toro Martin Scorsese Christopher Nolan Paul Thomas Anderson Billy Wilder Ryan Coogler Wes Anderson Chantal Ackerman Joel Coen .... lots of others, but I'll leave it at a baker's dozen.

(in order) Vittorio De Sica Luchino Visconti John Cassavetes Ingmar Bergman John Huston

Still more Charlie Mariano:

This is really great -- hosted by Stan Kenton, Mort Sahl, Shelley Manne, Frank Rosolino Hosted by: Stan Kenton, Mort Sahl, Shelley Manne, Frank Rosolino, Med Flory, Harry "Sweets" Edison Liner Notes: There was a very special night that was off limits to the general public at Donte’s Jazz Club in North Hollywood. California. But the famed nitery was far from shuttered, for inside, the SRO crowd was made up of the “who's who” in the Jazz profession, gathered together for an evening of good old-fashioned “winging it.” For such a group of top flight musicians to meet al a Jazz club, sans instruments, evidences a very special occasion, and it certainty was. Hosted by Stan Kenton, Mort Sahl, Shelly Manne and Frank Rosolino, the evening became one or happy nostalgia, personal side lights about fouled up club dates, one nighters and, most of all. laughter; for aside from his creative talents, the most gratifyingly special gilt a Jazz musician has is the ability to laugh at himself. They talked or many things…foolish things…nearly forgotten things…personal things…and everybody had a three hour ball. With Kenton leading the strokes with a deftness that only someone so intimately associated with these talented guys could parry, the evening’s momentum never wavered, and when the wee small hours rolled around, the entire audience knew they had taken part in a unique experience. This album is the result of “that very special evening.” Mort Sahl, although not a musician, has become an intimate and knowledgeable spokesman and friend of the Jazz fraternity. As Stan so ably puts it, “Mort is the classic epitome of comedic talent. Like the Jazz musician, his material is always improvisational, a bit mind bending and always right on target.” Shelly Manne and Frank Rosolino, who both played with the Kenton aggregations, reflect on fellow musicians, string players, playing behind the beat, and those long, dull cross-country bus rides going from one gig to another. Med Flory and Harry “Sweets” Edison provoke near hysteria with their comments on experiences with driving cars for Claude Thornhill, “advancement” in the music business and note holding with Count Basie. lt’s all here…well, most of it anyway, just the way it happened that night at Donte’s. As you listen to the album, quite possibly you can visualize the scene yourself and as you scan the room, you’ll see what kind of company you’re in. Back there in a corner booth is Don Bagley, Dee Barton, Louis Bellson, Milt Bernhart and Pete Condoli. Up at a front row center table sits Benny Carter, nationally famous Jazz columnist Leonard Feather, Bob Cooper and one-time Kenton vocalist June Christy, Bill Holman, Calvin Jackson, Hank Mancini, Don Menza and Dave Rose. Standing at the bar is Pete Rugolo, Howard Rumsey, Bud Shank, Gerald Wilson, Dick Shearer and Nick Ceroli. And holding forth around the rest of the smoke-filled room are more Jazz afficianados whose names would fill most of these liner notes, as they have in countless albums. It was quite an impressive group to spend an evening with, yet not a note was heard; simply because it was an evening with friends, friends who play Jazz, great Jazz, and got together to swap “remember whens.” We had an unprecedented ball putting this album together and hope you’ll have a ball listening to it and getting the same kicks we did. It was the musician’s night of, but what a night it turned out to be. Other mentions: Xavier Cugat, Don Bagley, Lee Richards, Senator Philip Hart, Cream, Bing Crosby, Dick Scheer, Andre Previn (Like Young), Dee Barton, Mrs. Chandler, Zoot Sims, Saul Hurac, Art Pepper, Chet Baker

Note to self: next time I buy a laptop make sure it uses a USB C charger!