BFT #116 Discussion Thread

[Hot Ptah]

BFT #116 has 15 tracks. There is a well conceived unifying theme, as all of the songs have a lot to do with President James A. Garfield. Actually, no. That was just a random strange thought I just had. I hope you enjoy the music, and I hope I did not make it too easy for you.

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

Oh, I get it - all these musicians were murdered

I've listened to the BFT already, and it's really nice, for the most part. Can't identify anything - though I've a few guesses - but will have another listen tomorrow.

The last track is ravishing!

MG

[felser]

1 – sounds like one of the early, pre-bop players on the organ, and a bunch of swing players.

4 - liked this one, the afro-cuban thing. Maybe someone like Machito or Chico O'Farrill. Mid-50's vibe.

6 – This one feels more “retro” than #4; that one feels more authentic to the era.

7 – Soul-jazz, sounds great for what it is. Stanley Turrentine on tenor?

8 – excellent pianist.

10 – up my alley stylewise, interesting trombonist. Ray Anderson? Like the rhythm section and tenor player a lot. This is really good, look forward to getting it ID’d.

12 – I really hate that particular guitar sound. Sort of kills the whole cut for me.

13 – I’ve heard a lot of versions of “Airegin” (that’s Nigeria backwards, BTW) but none that sound like that! I do like it.

Thanks so much for the wide-reaching BFT! Much of it is well outside my familiar territory, so I’ll learn much on the reveal!

[Jim R]

I'm about to get much busier than I am right now, so I took the opportunity to listen through it once tonight. Here are a few thoughts (much of this wasn't up my alley, as it turns out).

2. St. James Infirmary, circa 1940-ish? The opening sounded like Benny Goodman. Is that Jimmy Rushing on the vocal? Did Goodman ever record with Rushing? This one is probably a gimme for most people, but I've never spent a lot of time with the big band music of that era. I'm pretty sure it's Rushing, so I guess it may not be Goodman. Hm...

5. "You Belong To Me"? That's all I've got.

6. Well, no mistaking that that's Lockjaw… and a quick look at the track timing and the album I suspected it was from reveals… that I have this (Riverside) session. It's a session that I've listened to less frequently than many of his other recordings, but since it's Eddie, I'm keeping it. I've always been a fan of Eddie, who was one of the first great and distinctive instrumentalists I bonded with when I was discovering jazz.

12. tenor sax g?, b, d bossa-ish. Modern (guitar? using chorus and delay effects)… like the tune, not crazy about the solos or the effects.

13. Airegin. Opening is reminiscent of Supersax, but then it went somewhere more modern/recent. Not really something I would choose to listen to.

14. Lament. I'm not sure if I mentioned this in the "Most Beautiful Melodies Of All Time" thread, but it deserves to be in there (possibly at the head of the list). This sounds like Tommy Flanagan, and therefore I think I must own it, and… (checks files)… yes I do. Five stars.

I'll try to check back in again later. Thanks, Bill.

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

Well, here we go.

1 This is something that’s definitely NOT what it seems. So much so that it’s got to be Sun Ra. Well, it IS ‘Clap hands here comes Charlie’ (I think). Anyway, just to cover my arse, I dug out that song by Harry Strutters Hot Rhythm Orchestra, really knowing I’d never heard your version in my life and, you know what? – It isn’t that one, either! Anyway, I note it’s live, so I dare say it’s a modern version. Well, a bit of swift research throws up Tom Waits. Yes, that sounds like the sort of thing you’d put in to put us all off the scent.

2 ‘St James Infirmary’. And such a nice version. I don’t know the singer. It’s hard for a foreigner to get his accent, but is it Chicago? Gawd, what a tenor solo! And what a lovely arrangement, too! Always changing behind each soloist. I suspect the arranger is Benny Carter.

3 A very nice lo fi version of a tune I don’t know. It sounds old; perhaps a recording of a broadcast from the thirties. Drummer’s a bit loud. I’d like this to be a broadcast by Fats Waller, but I don’t expect it is.

4 Strange little track. Really not sure what to make of it. The drummer reminds me of the guy with Dave Brubeck – was his name Gene Wright? No, Joe Morello.

5 ‘Take good care of yourself, you belong to me’. So much swing here. I’m thinking Jonah Jones, whom I’ve been listening to a bit lately with the Cab Calloway band.

6 Is this Tito Puente? I’ve got a strong feeling it might be. The way the drumming comes on, the openness of the arrangement, say Puente to me. I need to get more Puente. I know the tune – I expect I’ve got someone like Machito playing it, but this is much nicer than a Machito version would be. Really makes me think of Tito Puente.

7 Oh so funky, and so cool. Yeah! And then the trumpet player leaps and bounds and strides in, swashbuckling, and the tenor player goes along with that. Then back to the theme and the early mood. It reminds me of something Henry Mancini might have done. But Mancini would have got it into three minutes.

On a second listen, the tenor player reminds me of Rusty Bryant, but I’ve definitely never heard this before and I think I know all of his recordings both as a leader and sideman.

8 I’m getting a strong Cedar Walton feeling about this one, but if it’s Cedar with bass & drum, I’m surprised it’s out here in a BFT. Maybe we’re going to get a tenor player in here in a mo, but I doubt it. No, we get a bass solo, with a little buzz that makes me think of Ron Carter. Actually, piano trios are hard stuff for a BFT.

9 Klezmer violins? This is making me think of Maurice Ravel, for some reason. Interesting. Once they start soloing, it stops reminding me of Ravel, but stays interesting. I think Ravel would have found it interesting, too.

10 Ah, some definitely modern jazz type music! I’m going to hazard a guess and say Roswell Rudd. There’s a Mingus flavour about the way it moves from one soloist to the next. And something Shepp-like about the tenor player.

11 Oh, this is interesting and dramatic. It sounds as advanced as Cecil Taylor at times, but at others, it sounds like an old guy still playing more piano than most ever could – an Earl Hines or a Jay McShann – ‘cos there’s that boogie thing going on in the back. I think it’s McShann. Changed my mind when I was having a ciggy – I reckon it’s Eubie Blake.

12 I feel I know that cymbal. I feel I know the tenor player, too. And I nearly know the tune, but it’s designed to fool me. I don’t know the trumpet player – or is it a flugelhorn? Or a pocket trumpet? It’s miles too high-pitched for my taste, though the dog doesn’t seem to mind it. No, this is one I’m content to say, ‘O Bloody ‘Ell’, when reveal time comes around.

13 Oh, I know this tune – it’s by a Blue Note artist, but disassembled in such a way that I can only almost recognise it. The way that’s been done demands that you listen. But the solos don’t grab me the way the arrangement does.

Time for a cough and a drag.

14 This pianist has the touch of Junior Mance – I think he’s playing ‘Spring is here’ but sometimes I think he isn’t. If it’s Mance, it’s a Mance I don’t THINK I have and ought to have. Perhaps one of his Sackville albums.

Later – well, I just downloaded a Junior Mance discography and the only ‘Spring is here’ is with Cannonball from ’57, so I’m either wrong about the tune or the pianist. Oh well.

15 This must be John Lewis; the way he’s placing the notes down as if he doesn’t quite care if they’re quite in the right place, though they inevitably are. Now the strings come in and I still think it’s John Lewis, not Ramsey. (Definitely not Ramsey.) Oh, a clarinet. Struth, this is nice! Still sounds like John Lewis. What a nice piece to end with! Ravishing!

On a second listen, I’m reminded that I used to have a John Lewis LP called ‘Jazz abstractions’ which had Dolphy on bass clarinet and a few other instruments of the clarinet family. I don’t think I’d have flogged that LP if this had been on it, but you never know; I was often pretty stoopid in 1968.

I really enjoyed all of that, even the bits that didn’t grab me. Thank you, Bill.

MG

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

2. St. James Infirmary, circa 1940-ish? The opening sounded like Benny Goodman. Is that Jimmy Rushing on the vocal? Did Goodman ever record with Rushing? This one is probably a gimme for most people, but I've never spent a lot of time with the big band music of that era. I'm pretty sure it's Rushing, so I guess it may not be Goodman. Hm...

6. Well, no mistaking that that's Lockjaw… and a quick look at the track timing and the album I suspected it was from reveals… that I have this (Riverside) session. It's a session that I've listened to less frequently than many of his other recordings, but since it's Eddie, I'm keeping it. I've always been a fan of Eddie, who was one of the first great and distinctive instrumentalists I bonded with when I was discovering jazz.

The first Rushing I ever heard was with Goodman on "Benny in Brussels". But this ain't from that.

So, I should have listened to the tenor player, rather than the nice arrangement by Gil Lopez & friend. 'Happy soul' indeed!

MG

[Spontooneous]

Here's a stab at the first part. More later.

1- The chart is Fletcher Henderson's "Hotter Than 'Ell." I had fun looking that up. But I can't get around the cheesy sound of the keyboard here. Is this one of those Steve Bernstein territory band things? There's a little bit of jokiness, but the tenor player is pretty serious. Maybe my perception of jokiness stems from the drumming, which is more polka than swing. The rest of the band can stay, but the drummer has to go.

2 – Hey, this one I recognized. The two-parter "St. James Infirmary" by Artie Shaw, sung by Hot Lips Page in '41. The leader is more effortlessly bluesy than many contemporaries, and the strings really work – not just a "pretty" adornment.

3 – Dimly recorded and strange, yet lovable. Where on earth did this theme come from? Is this perhaps a New Orleans group playing some melody from a very unexpected source, like Chopin or a hymnal?

4 – I gotta guess Mr. Ra, circa 1958-9, in High Space Fidelity. Maybe on one of the Delmark albums.

5 – The song is "Button Up Your Overcoat," but I can't guess who the trumpeter is. Gorgeous tone. Maybe one of the swing guys who was still making records in the '50s, Charlie Shavers, Jonah Jones, Bobby Hackett. This could have been really corny, but manages never to be – even the drumming is engaged and responsive. Everybody admit it, this is a great track.

6 -- After a while, it occurs to me that the tenor is Eddie Davis, the trumpet Clark Terry, and this is the "Afro-Jaws" album. Looks like Jim R. got there first.

7 – Some OK New Orleans-ish piano, not great. Is it me, or does the piano jump between channels, or are there two pianos? Trumpet is OK, tenor sounds like David Newman. I'm mystified. Maybe some Ray Charles instrumental?

8 – Nice modern mainstream piano. John Hicks?

9 – This isn't one of those Mark O'Connor – Yo-Yo Ma things, is it? Because the cello improvising is better than what I associate with Ma.

More later. I'll be disappointed if there's no song about Charles Guiteau.

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

Here's a stab at the first part. More later.

1- The chart is Fletcher Henderson's "Hotter Than 'Ell." I had fun looking that up. But I can't get around the cheesy sound of the keyboard here. Is this one of those Steve Bernstein territory band things? There's a little bit of jokiness, but the tenor player is pretty serious. Maybe my perception of jokiness stems from the drumming, which is more polka than swing. The rest of the band can stay, but the drummer has to go.

Well, I was going to say - 'ere, I've bloody well got this and didn't ID it! Well, I've got Fletcher Henderson's 'Hotter then 'ell', but though this is the tune, it ain't the recording. The one I've got was done on 25.9.1934 and there ain't no organ or accordion or whatever. And the drummer's fine.

No wonder I said I'd never heard it in my life.

MG

[Hot Ptah]

1 – sounds like one of the early, pre-bop players on the organ, and a bunch of swing players.

Not quite.

4 - liked this one, the afro-cuban thing. Maybe someone like Machito or Chico O'Farrill. Mid-50's vibe.

Those guesses are not correct. I am glad that you liked it.

6 – This one feels more “retro” than #4; that one feels more authentic to the era.

7 – Soul-jazz, sounds great for what it is. Stanley Turrentine on tenor?

Not Stanley Turrentine.

8 – excellent pianist.

I agree!

10 – up my alley stylewise, interesting trombonist. Ray Anderson? Like the rhythm section and tenor player a lot. This is really good, look forward to getting it ID’d.

It is not Ray Anderson on trombone. I think that you will enjoy the ID of this one.

12 – I really hate that particular guitar sound. Sort of kills the whole cut for me.

I thought it was an interesting combination, but I can understand what you are saying.

13 – I’ve heard a lot of versions of “Airegin” (that’s Nigeria backwards, BTW) but none that sound like that! I do like it.

I think that you will be surprised by the ID of this one.

Thanks so much for the wide-reaching BFT! Much of it is well outside my familiar territory, so I’ll learn much on the reveal!

I think you will be surprised by some of the Reveal.

I'm about to get much busier than I am right now, so I took the opportunity to listen through it once tonight. Here are a few thoughts (much of this wasn't up my alley, as it turns out).

2. St. James Infirmary, circa 1940-ish? The opening sounded like Benny Goodman. Is that Jimmy Rushing on the vocal? Did Goodman ever record with Rushing? This one is probably a gimme for most people, but I've never spent a lot of time with the big band music of that era. I'm pretty sure it's Rushing, so I guess it may not be Goodman. Hm...

It is not Benny Goodman or Jimmy Rushing.

5. "You Belong To Me"? That's all I've got.

6. Well, no mistaking that that's Lockjaw… and a quick look at the track timing and the album I suspected it was from reveals… that I have this (Riverside) session. It's a session that I've listened to less frequently than many of his other recordings, but since it's Eddie, I'm keeping it. I've always been a fan of Eddie, who was one of the first great and distinctive instrumentalists I bonded with when I was discovering jazz.

It is Lockjaw. If you identified the album in your answer, it did not come through on my computer.

12. tenor sax g?, b, d bossa-ish. Modern (guitar? using chorus and delay effects)… like the tune, not crazy about the solos or the effects.

Again, I thought that this was an interesting combination of musicians, but I can see why some may not like all of it.

13. Airegin. Opening is reminiscent of Supersax, but then it went somewhere more modern/recent. Not really something I would choose to listen to.

This should surprise you, when the musicians are identified.

14. Lament. I'm not sure if I mentioned this in the "Most Beautiful Melodies Of All Time" thread, but it deserves to be in there (possibly at the head of the list). This sounds like Tommy Flanagan, and therefore I think I must own it, and… (checks files)… yes I do. Five stars.

It is Tommy Flanagan. It is not listed on the album as "Lament", but instead as a different song title. If you identified the album in your answer, it did not come through on my computer.

I'll try to check back in again later. Thanks, Bill.

[Hot Ptah]

Well, here we go.

1 This is something that’s definitely NOT what it seems. So much so that it’s got to be Sun Ra. Well, it IS ‘Clap hands here comes Charlie’ (I think). Anyway, just to cover my arse, I dug out that song by Harry Strutters Hot Rhythm Orchestra, really knowing I’d never heard your version in my life and, you know what? – It isn’t that one, either! Anyway, I note it’s live, so I dare say it’s a modern version. Well, a bit of swift research throws up Tom Waits. Yes, that sounds like the sort of thing you’d put in to put us all off the scent.

DING DING DING! You identified the artist correctly. It is Sun Ra. Now what is the album, song title and composer?

2 ‘St James Infirmary’. And such a nice version. I don’t know the singer. It’s hard for a foreigner to get his accent, but is it Chicago? Gawd, what a tenor solo! And what a lovely arrangement, too! Always changing behind each soloist. I suspect the arranger is Benny Carter.

Not arranged by Benny Carter.

3 A very nice lo fi version of a tune I don’t know. It sounds old; perhaps a recording of a broadcast from the thirties. Drummer’s a bit loud. I’d like this to be a broadcast by Fats Waller, but I don’t expect it is.

It is not Fats Waller.

4 Strange little track. Really not sure what to make of it. The drummer reminds me of the guy with Dave Brubeck – was his name Gene Wright? No, Joe Morello.

It is not Joe Morello.

5 ‘Take good care of yourself, you belong to me’. So much swing here. I’m thinking Jonah Jones, whom I’ve been listening to a bit lately with the Cab Calloway band.

It is not Jonah Jones.

6 Is this Tito Puente? I’ve got a strong feeling it might be. The way the drumming comes on, the openness of the arrangement, say Puente to me. I need to get more Puente. I know the tune – I expect I’ve got someone like Machito playing it, but this is much nicer than a Machito version would be. Really makes me think of Tito Puente.

It is not Tito Puente.

7 Oh so funky, and so cool. Yeah! And then the trumpet player leaps and bounds and strides in, swashbuckling, and the tenor player goes along with that. Then back to the theme and the early mood. It reminds me of something Henry Mancini might have done. But Mancini would have got it into three minutes.

On a second listen, the tenor player reminds me of Rusty Bryant, but I’ve definitely never heard this before and I think I know all of his recordings both as a leader and sideman.

It is not Rusty Bryant on tenor. I thought you might know this one! But then you go and guess #1 correctly instead!

8 I’m getting a strong Cedar Walton feeling about this one, but if it’s Cedar with bass & drum, I’m surprised it’s out here in a BFT. Maybe we’re going to get a tenor player in here in a mo, but I doubt it. No, we get a bass solo, with a little buzz that makes me think of Ron Carter. Actually, piano trios are hard stuff for a BFT.

It is not Cedar Walton or Ron Carter.

9 Klezmer violins? This is making me think of Maurice Ravel, for some reason. Interesting. Once they start soloing, it stops reminding me of Ravel, but stays interesting. I think Ravel would have found it interesting, too.

That is a very interesting insight.

10 Ah, some definitely modern jazz type music! I’m going to hazard a guess and say Roswell Rudd. There’s a Mingus flavour about the way it moves from one soloist to the next. And something Shepp-like about the tenor player.

There is something Mingus-like about it, which I had never thought of before. It is not Rudd or Shepp.

11 Oh, this is interesting and dramatic. It sounds as advanced as Cecil Taylor at times, but at others, it sounds like an old guy still playing more piano than most ever could – an Earl Hines or a Jay McShann – ‘cos there’s that boogie thing going on in the back. I think it’s McShann. Changed my mind when I was having a ciggy – I reckon it’s Eubie Blake.

It is not Jay McShann or Eubie Blake. The answer to this one may surprise you.

12 I feel I know that cymbal. I feel I know the tenor player, too. And I nearly know the tune, but it’s designed to fool me. I don’t know the trumpet player – or is it a flugelhorn? Or a pocket trumpet? It’s miles too high-pitched for my taste, though the dog doesn’t seem to mind it. No, this is one I’m content to say, ‘O Bloody ‘Ell’, when reveal time comes around.

I imagine that you do know the tenor player and drummer.

13 Oh, I know this tune – it’s by a Blue Note artist, but disassembled in such a way that I can only almost recognise it. The way that’s been done demands that you listen. But the solos don’t grab me the way the arrangement does.

Time for a cough and a drag.

That is a very interesting comment about the arrangement grabbing you more than the solos.

14 This pianist has the touch of Junior Mance – I think he’s playing ‘Spring is here’ but sometimes I think he isn’t. If it’s Mance, it’s a Mance I don’t THINK I have and ought to have. Perhaps one of his Sackville albums.

Later – well, I just downloaded a Junior Mance discography and the only ‘Spring is here’ is with Cannonball from ’57, so I’m either wrong about the tune or the pianist. Oh well.

It is not Junior Mance, and the song is not listed as "Spring Is Here" on the album.

15 This must be John Lewis; the way he’s placing the notes down as if he doesn’t quite care if they’re quite in the right place, though they inevitably are. Now the strings come in and I still think it’s John Lewis, not Ramsey. (Definitely not Ramsey.) Oh, a clarinet. Struth, this is nice! Still sounds like John Lewis. What a nice piece to end with! Ravishing!

On a second listen, I’m reminded that I used to have a John Lewis LP called ‘Jazz abstractions’ which had Dolphy on bass clarinet and a few other instruments of the clarinet family. I don’t think I’d have flogged that LP if this had been on it, but you never know; I was often pretty stoopid in 1968.

It is not John Lewis, but that is a very interesting comparison.

I really enjoyed all of that, even the bits that didn’t grab me. Thank you, Bill.

Thanks! I am glad that you liked it.

MG

[Hot Ptah]

Here's a stab at the first part. More later.

1- The chart is Fletcher Henderson's "Hotter Than 'Ell." I had fun looking that up. But I can't get around the cheesy sound of the keyboard here. Is this one of those Steve Bernstein territory band things? There's a little bit of jokiness, but the tenor player is pretty serious. Maybe my perception of jokiness stems from the drumming, which is more polka than swing. The rest of the band can stay, but the drummer has to go.

It is a Fletcher Henderson song, but it is listed with a different song title on the album, not "Hotter Than 'Ell." The Magnificent Goldberg correctly identified the artist as Sun Ra. In an intro which I edited off of the BFT, Sun Ra verbally introduces the song as having a different title than "Hotter Than 'Ell". But he could have been wrong. However, he did play with Fletcher Henderson in the 1940s. I need to dig out my Fletcher Henderson albums and check.

If you saw Sun Ra live from the mid 1970s to early 1980s, the entire Arkestra would be clad in shiny, outlandish costumes, and engage in much startling avant garde playing and indescribable, strange theatrics. Then they would all sit down, still clad in their wild costumes, and rip off a swing song that sounded like this. It is a fond memory of mine.

2 – Hey, this one I recognized. The two-parter "St. James Infirmary" by Artie Shaw, sung by Hot Lips Page in '41. The leader is more effortlessly bluesy than many contemporaries, and the strings really work – not just a "pretty" adornment.

DING DING DING!!! You got it. It is Hot Lips Page on both the vocal, and on the trumpet solo at the end, which I really like.

I always wonder if it will be too easy to put a swing song with strings on a BFT, that Artie Shaw will be identified as he was known for incorporating strings with his swing band.

I read that this recording hit #18 on the pop charts in 1942.

3 – Dimly recorded and strange, yet lovable. Where on earth did this theme come from? Is this perhaps a New Orleans group playing some melody from a very unexpected source, like Chopin or a hymnal?

Not a New Orleans group, and the composition is not from an especially unexpected source.

4 – I gotta guess Mr. Ra, circa 1958-9, in High Space Fidelity. Maybe on one of the Delmark albums.

YES! It is Sun Ra, but not on Delmark. You have the era right. Now what it the song title, and album?

5 – The song is "Button Up Your Overcoat," but I can't guess who the trumpeter is. Gorgeous tone. Maybe one of the swing guys who was still making records in the '50s, Charlie Shavers, Jonah Jones, Bobby Hackett. This could have been really corny, but manages never to be – even the drumming is engaged and responsive. Everybody admit it, this is a great track.

I agree with your comments. You have not guessed the trumpet player yet.

6 -- After a while, it occurs to me that the tenor is Eddie Davis, the trumpet Clark Terry, and this is the "Afro-Jaws" album. Looks like Jim R. got there first.

Yes, yes and yes!

7 – Some OK New Orleans-ish piano, not great. Is it me, or does the piano jump between channels, or are there two pianos? Trumpet is OK, tenor sounds like David Newman. I'm mystified. Maybe some Ray Charles instrumental?

You did not make any correct guesses there.

8 – Nice modern mainstream piano. John Hicks?

DING DING DING! It's John Hicks. Now what album and song title?

9 – This isn't one of those Mark O'Connor – Yo-Yo Ma things, is it? Because the cello improvising is better than what I associate with Ma.

No, it is not.

More later. I'll be disappointed if there's no song about Charles Guiteau.

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

Well, if it's Hicks, #8 sounds as if it OUGHT to be from 'Music in the key of Clark', but it isn't. So I is stumped, 'cos I don't have many albums where Hicks is the leader.

Piano trios are hard.

MG

[Hot Ptah]

Well, if it's Hicks, #8 sounds as if it OUGHT to be from 'Music in the key of Clark', but it isn't. So I is stumped, 'cos I don't have many albums where Hicks is the leader.

Piano trios are hard.

MG

It is not one of his more well known albums. I do not know if any members here have it.

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

Well, if it's Hicks, #8 sounds as if it OUGHT to be from 'Music in the key of Clark', but it isn't. So I is stumped, 'cos I don't have many albums where Hicks is the leader.

Piano trios are hard.

MG

It is not one of his more well known albums. I do not know if any members here have it.

He's made quite a few >20 I think. Few on big labels.

MG

[Jim R]

Bill, I was trying not to openly identify the Davis and Flanagan tracks. I guess I'm kind of "old school" when it comes to BFT's. We used to try to keep the ID's sort of a secret until more people had a chance to post.

The track from Afro Jaws has already been mentioned now. With regard to Flanagan's version of "Lament", it looks like an error occurred on the CD release (either that or there's a little-known alternate title for "Lament" that I was unaware of). I found this info at Michael Fitzgerald's discography page for the session:

Date: October 18, 1976
Location: CBS Recording Studios, New York City
Label: CBS

Tommy Flanagan (ldr), Tommy Flanagan (p)

a. b-05 Lament - 3:39 (J. J. Johnson)
CBS/Sony LP 12": 25AP 447 — Positive Intensity (1977)
Sony CD: 467692-2 — Positive Intensity

b. Tenderly - 2:23 (Walter Gross, Jack Lawrence)

c. Dalarna - 3:43 (Tommy Flanagan)
Inner City LP 12": IC 1084 — Trinity (1980) All titles on: Musical Heritage Society CD: MHS 512684K — Trinity (1990)

It is assumed that all these solo piano performances were from the same session. Raben gives this date for "Torment".

On Inner City LP issue and MHS CD issue, "Dalarna" is listed as "Torment".

On MHS CD issue, "Lament" is listed as "Palarna".

Edited November 4, 2013 by Jim R

[Jim R]

The evolution of these discographical errors is simultaneously aggravating and fascinating. Aggravating because it can cause you to waste a lot of time trying to figure out what's what, and fascinating because it will never cease to amaze me how careless people can be with such information. "Dalarna" (named for a Swedish province) is an actual tune written and recorded by Flanagan (originally on the 1957 "Overseas" sessions in Stockholm). The song also appears on the 1990's session "Sea Changes". I had three versions of this in my collection, all misspelled as "Delarna". It's also spelled that way on Roland Hanna's tribute to Flanagan, "Tributaries".

So, apparently somebody not only carelessly misidentified JJ's classic ballad "Lament" for the Musical Heritage Society CD release of "Positive Intensity", but also mis-spelled the incorrect title incorrectly (as "Palarna"). Brilliant.

As far as "Torment" is concerned... I don't know where that came from... "Lament" to "Torment?

[Hot Ptah]

Bill, I was trying not to openly identify the Davis and Flanagan tracks. I guess I'm kind of "old school" when it comes to BFT's. We used to try to keep the ID's sort of a secret until more people had a chance to post.

The track from Afro Jaws has already been mentioned now. With regard to Flanagan's version of "Lament", it looks like an error occurred on the CD release (either that or there's a little-known alternate title for "Lament" that I was unaware of). I found this info at Michael Fitzgerald's discography page for the session:

Date: October 18, 1976

Location: CBS Recording Studios, New York City

Label: CBS

Tommy Flanagan (ldr), Tommy Flanagan (p)

a. b-05 Lament - 3:39 (J. J. Johnson)

CBS/Sony LP 12": 25AP 447 — Positive Intensity (1977)

Sony CD: 467692-2 — Positive Intensity

b. Tenderly - 2:23 (Walter Gross, Jack Lawrence)

c. Dalarna - 3:43 (Tommy Flanagan)

Inner City LP 12": IC 1084 — Trinity (1980) All titles on: Musical Heritage Society CD: MHS 512684K — Trinity (1990)

It is assumed that all these solo piano performances were from the same session. Raben gives this date for "Torment".

On Inner City LP issue and MHS CD issue, "Dalarna" is listed as "Torment".

On MHS CD issue, "Lament" is listed as "Palarna".

I have the MHS CD issue of the "Trinity" album by Tommy Flanagan, where it is listed as "Palarna". I thought that was the correct song title.

Many thanks for posting this explanation. I find it fascinating how a song title can get so messed up.

In any event, I find this recording to be quite beautiful.

Well, if it's Hicks, #8 sounds as if it OUGHT to be from 'Music in the key of Clark', but it isn't. So I is stumped, 'cos I don't have many albums where Hicks is the leader.

Piano trios are hard.

MG

It is not one of his more well known albums. I do not know if any members here have it.

He's made quite a few >20 I think. Few on big labels.

MG

It could be more than 120, from the 1970s on.

[Jim R]

Bill, I was trying not to openly identify the Davis and Flanagan tracks. I guess I'm kind of "old school" when it comes to BFT's. We used to try to keep the ID's sort of a secret until more people had a chance to post.

The track from Afro Jaws has already been mentioned now. With regard to Flanagan's version of "Lament", it looks like an error occurred on the CD release (either that or there's a little-known alternate title for "Lament" that I was unaware of). I found this info at Michael Fitzgerald's discography page for the session:

Date: October 18, 1976

Location: CBS Recording Studios, New York City

Label: CBS

Tommy Flanagan (ldr), Tommy Flanagan (p)

a. b-05 Lament - 3:39 (J. J. Johnson)

CBS/Sony LP 12": 25AP 447 — Positive Intensity (1977)

Sony CD: 467692-2 — Positive Intensity

b. Tenderly - 2:23 (Walter Gross, Jack Lawrence)

c. Dalarna - 3:43 (Tommy Flanagan)

Inner City LP 12": IC 1084 — Trinity (1980) All titles on: Musical Heritage Society CD: MHS 512684K — Trinity (1990)

It is assumed that all these solo piano performances were from the same session. Raben gives this date for "Torment".

On Inner City LP issue and MHS CD issue, "Dalarna" is listed as "Torment".

On MHS CD issue, "Lament" is listed as "Palarna".

I have the MHS CD issue of the "Trinity" album by Tommy Flanagan, where it is listed as "Palarna". I thought that was the correct song title.

Many thanks for posting this explanation. I find it fascinating how a song title can get so messed up.

In any event, I find this recording to be quite beautiful.

Bill, if you have a database or use iTunes or otherwise have some way to conveniently check your collection, I would recommend looking for other versions of J.J. Johnson's "Lament". It's one of the great jazz ballads.

When JJ was a guest on Marian McPartland's "Piano Jazz" show on NPR, she asked him if there was a sad or emotional story associated with his composing of the tune. I'm sure most of the listeners were expecting (like Marian) to find out that there was indeed some story behind it. JJ's answer was that there was not. Whether he was being open and honest or not, it's interesting. The tune kind of begs for a story to go along with it.

[Jim R]

By the way, Flanagan later (1989) recorded another (longer) version of "Lament", on the great "Jazz Poet" album.

Edited November 4, 2013 by Jim R

[Jim R]

8 is "Bookie Please", from "Inc. 1". Props to Spontooneous for narrowing it down.

[Hot Ptah]

8 is "Bookie Please", from "Inc. 1". Props to Spontooneous for narrowing it down.

Yes, that is the John Hicks song and album (a CD on the DIW label).

You are really good at this, Jim R.

By the way, Flanagan later (1989) recorded another (longer) version of "Lament", on the great "Jazz Poet" album.

I love "Jazz Poet" and included a song from it on the first BFT I presented.

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

Well, if it's Hicks, #8 sounds as if it OUGHT to be from 'Music in the key of Clark', but it isn't. So I is stumped, 'cos I don't have many albums where Hicks is the leader.

Piano trios are hard.

MG

It is not one of his more well known albums. I do not know if any members here have it.

He's made quite a few >20 I think. Few on big labels.

MG

It could be more than 120, from the 1970s on.

Oh, as a leader? Or... is he not the leader on this track?

MG

[Hot Ptah]

Well, if it's Hicks, #8 sounds as if it OUGHT to be from 'Music in the key of Clark', but it isn't. So I is stumped, 'cos I don't have many albums where Hicks is the leader.

Piano trios are hard.

MG

It is not one of his more well known albums. I do not know if any members here have it.

He's made quite a few >20 I think. Few on big labels.

MG

It could be more than 120, from the 1970s on.

Oh, as a leader? Or... is he not the leader on this track?

MG

I meant as a leader. He has a large number of albums as a leader. He is the leader on this track.

[jeffcrom]

Enjoyed this one, Hot Ptah, although you'll see that there were a couple of tunes I didn't much care for toward the end. As usual, I haven't looked at this thread yet.

1. For awhile, it seemed like there was an unwritten rule that every blindfold test had to contain a Sun Ra track. Hot Ptah has raised the bar and set a new record, I think.

This is Fletcher Henderson’ “Yeah, Man,” played by Ra and the Arkestra, from the Horo album Unity, recorded live in 1977. It’s a glorious mess. Ra famed discipline led him to insist on accuracy of notes and rhythms, but the band didn’t seem to give much thought to ensemble blend when it played swing material. The drumming’s kind of clunky, and Ra’s cheesy organ adds a weird touch.

That may sound like I don’t like this track, but I love it. The Arkestra gives this old tune lots of offbeat energy, and it’s fun to hear John Gilmore on clarinet as well as tenor sax. Ra’s music is often greater than the sum of its parts, and that’s the case here.

2. Loves me some Hot Lips Page. This is Lips playing and singing “St. James Infirmary” with the Artie Shaw Orchestra, from 1941. Shaw himself is phenomenal. Some time back I read an interview with him in which he was asked about the pressure of being the second-best clarinetist in the world during the swing era. He immediately corrected the interviewer – “No: the best.” And he might have been right. George Auld is immediately recognizable on tenor sax – he may not have been one of the greats, but he always had a personal style. Johnny Guarnieri is the pianist; he always sounded good, but at this stage didn’t really have that personal style like Auld. I assume that the trombonist soloist is Jack Jenney, but I don’t really know. Dave Tough was the drummer in this band, but he’s not well recorded here; you can feel him, though, even if you can’t hear much of him.

Great Lips, great tune, great arrangement. I had a music-loving uncle who, according to my mother, was all over this record when it came out.

3. What is this beautiful recording? The drummer’s subtle tango is killing me. Great tune; the piano player is kind of overplaying, but if you’ve got chops like this, you might was well use them. I love this, but have no idea what it is.

4. Sun Ra’s second appearance here. This is “Watusa” from The Nubians of Pluntonia, recorded in Chicago in the late 1950s. This tune stayed in the book – last night I listened to a live version from 1973. The percussionists are the heart of of this one, including set drummer Robert Barry, who was “rediscovered” by Ken Vandermark years later. This is a good one.

5. Is this “Button Up Your Overcoat?” Some beautiful playing here – the trumpet player has a wonderful, full sound that I was going to call “brassy,” but that word might have some negative connotations that I don’t intend. The pianist sounds like Ralph Sutton – great, interesting playing within an established style. I like this a lot.

6. Well, unlike Branford Marsalis, I can at least recognize Eddie Lockjaw Davis in a blindfold test. This is “Guanco Lament” from Afro-Jaws. Jaws sounds great in this context. The trumpet soloist is Clark Terry, sounding wonderful without trying very hard. Ray Barretto deserves a lot of credit on this one.

7. This certainly flows well after the last track. Great groove. The piano player reminds me of Vince Guaraldi, but I don’t really know who anybody is. Nobody’s playing is particularly original, but who cares? This is fun.

8. Good tune with interesting changes; good players and solos. What’s not to like?

9. A cool little string trio. Some pretty wild improvisation mixed in with the exotic melody. No idea who or what this is.

10. I recognized George Lewis first, then Dave Holland, then Sam Rivers, then I realized what this was. It’s the title track of Barry Altschul’s 1977 album You Can’t Name Your Own Tune. The melody amuses me – it’s full of bebop clichés, but transported somewhere else. The way Muhal Abrams plays with/against the time in his solo reminds me of Lennie Tristano, of all people. That’s one amazing trombone solo. Great Holland (back when he had more of a sense of adventure) and Rivers as well.

11. Sun Ra makes his third appearance here, and Hot Ptah sets a new record. This amazing performance is “St. Louis Blues,” from the Improvising Artists album of the same name. That’s a strong left hand. This is a very interesting blend of tradition and outer space.

12. Nothing wrong with this, really – it’s just too slick for me. Good saxophone playing, but the stereo-amped guitar sound and the general “breeziness” weren’t my thing. And I like guitar synths when they’re used to scream and wail, but ain’t none of that here.

13. A presumably classically-trained saxophone quartet performing “Airegin” and proving themselves unable to swing their way out of four wet paper bags. I try to listen to all BFT tracks at least twice, but I couldn’t make it all the way through this a second time. Sorry, Hot Ptah.

14. A beautiful solo version of J.J. Johnson’s “Lament.” The playing reminded me of Hank Jones, but I doubt that it’s him. Very nice, whoever it is.

15. I’ve really come to love “eastern” style clarinet playing. This clarinetist is very good, as are the piano and violin players. No idea who this is, or even what musical tradition(s) they’re from, but I enjoyed it.

Thanks for a very interesting and enjoyable BFT!

Edited November 6, 2013 by jeffcrom

[jeffcrom]

Until reading Spontooneous' post above, I had never realized that "Yeah, Man" and "Hotter Than Hell" are the same tune. Fletcher recorded "Yeah, Man" for Vocalion in 1933 and "Hotter Than Hell" for Decca a year later.