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BFT 156 Reveal


Hot Ptah

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.Beloved Old Wreck, by Takana Miyamoto, from Piano Tales  (Maru Music, 2004)

   Composed by Takana Miyamoto.

Takana Miyamoto—piano.

From what I have read on her website, Takana Miyamoto is now active in Atlanta.

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Salima’s Dance, by Ronnie Mathews, from Roots, Branches and Dances

 (Bee Hive, 1979)    Composed by Ronnie Mathews

Ronnie Mathews—piano.

Frank Foster—soprano saxophone.

Ray Drummond—bass

Al Foster-drums

Azzedin Weston—percussion.

I have always liked this album very much. To my knowledge, it was never reissued on CD until 2015, in the Mosaic “Complete Bee Hive Sessions” box set.

 

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Manteca, by Cornell Dupree, from Bop ‘N’ Blues (Kokopelli, 1995)

   Composed by Dizzy Gillespie/Fuller.

Cornell Dupree-guitar.

Ronnie Cuber—baritone saxophone (solo).

Bobby Watson—alto saxophone

Terell Stafford—trumpet

Leon Pendarvis---organ, piano

Chuck Rainey—bass

Ricky Sebastian—drums

Sammy Figueroa--percussion

 

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Jitterbug Waltz, by Arthur Blythe, from In the Tradition (Columbia, 1979)

         Composed by Fats Waller.

Arthur Blythe—alto saxophone

Stanley Cowell—piano

Fred Hopkins—bass

Steve McCall—drums

I loved the Arthur Blythe albums and bought them as they were issued in the late 1970s and 1980s. To my knowledge, In the Tradition was never reissued on CD until 2016, in a four album Arthur Blythe package on two CDs, issued by BGO Records.

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Steeplechase, by Jack Sheldon, from Live at Don Mupo’s Gold Nugget (VSOP,

1997; recorded April, 1965, in Oakland, California)   Composed by Charlie Parker.

Jack Sheldon—trumpet

Howard Roberts-guitar

Joe Mondragon-bass

Stan Levey—drums

 

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Hip Shaker, by Chris Hazelton’s Boogaloo 7,  from Soul Jazz Fridays

(Sunflower Soul Records, 2016).

Recorded October, 2015, at the Green Lady Lounge, Kansas City,

Missouri. Composed by Leon Spencer, Jr.

 

Chris Hazelton--organ

Nick Howell—trumpet and trombone

Nick Rowland—tenor saxophone

Brett Jackson—baritone saxophone

Matt Hopper—guitar

Danny Rojas—drums

Pat Conway—percussion

This was recorded in a bar which is about five blocks from my office in Kansas City.

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Tears in My Eyes, by Al Smith, from Hear My Blues (Prestige/

Bluesville, 1960) Composed by Al Smith

Al Smith—vocals

Eddie “Lockjaw” Davis—tenor saxophone

Shirley Scott—organ

Wendell Marshall—bass

Arthur Edgehill—drums

I have read that Eddie “Lockjaw” Davis was given a chance by the record label to showcase any artist of his choosing, and he chose Al Smith.

 

 

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St. Louis Blues, by Johnny Copeland, from Copeland Special

(Rounder, 1981) Composed by W.C. Handy.

 

Johnny Copeland—vocals, guitar (solo)

George Adams—tenor saxophone (solo)

Arthur Blythe—alto saxophone

Byard Lancaster—alto and tenor saxophones

Joe Rigby—baritone saxophone

John Pratt—trumpet

Yusef Yancey—trumpet

Garrett List—trombone

Bill Ohashi—trombone

John Leibman—guitar

Ken Vangel—piano

Don Whitcomb—bass

Mansfield Hitchman—drums

 

This album, a combination of Johnny Copeland’s blues, and a jazz horn section with notable jazz soloists, has never been reissued on CD, to my knowledge.

 

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When Was That, by Henry Threadgill, from When Was That

(About Time, 1982)  Composed by Henry Threadgill.

 

Henry Threadgill: alto saxophone, tenor saxophone

Craig Harris: trombone

Olu Dara: cornet

Brian Smith: piccolo bass

Fred Hopkins: bass

John Betsch: drums

Pheeroan akLaff: drums

 

This is one of my favorite Henry Threadgill albums.

 

 

Edited by Hot Ptah
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Forever Charles, by the Anthony Davis/James Newton Quartet, from Hidden Voices,

(India Navigation, 1979). Composed by James Newton.

James Newton---flute

Anthony Davis—piano

Rick Rozie—bass

Pheeroan akLaff—drums

With George Lewis—trombone

 

I saw James Newton and Anthony Davis perform as a duo in Ann Arbor, Michigan, in 1980. That was an amazing performance. I thought at the time that they would become prominent leaders in jazz in the decades to come.

 

This song, James Newton’s “Forever Charles”, is his tribute to Charles Mingus. He also recorded it on his 1987 Blue Note album, Romance and Revolution. That was back when James Newton released an album every year which received attention in the jazz press and from jazz fans.

 

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Big City Blues, by Sun Ra  (actually the album lists the artist as The Le Suny’r Ra Band  for this track), from The Eternal Myth Revealed, Volume 1 (Transparency, 2011)

Composed by Sun Ra.

The Eternal Myth Revealed, Volume 1 is a 14 CD box set. This track is on Disc 12, track 11.  According to the liner notes, this track was recorded on March 18, 1956, at Bud Land, Chicago.

Phil Cohran—trumpet

James Spaulding—alto saxophone

Marshall Allen—flute

John Gilmore—tenor saxophone

Sun Ra—piano

Ronnie Boykins—bass

Robert Barry—drums.

 

The Transparency box set, The Eternal Myth Revealed, Volume 1, has an extensive booklet to accompany its 14 CDs.  There is a lot of music that Sun Ra does not play on, which the producer believes influenced Sun Ra, or on which Sun Ra may have played some supporting, or behind the scenes role. By the last CDs of the box set, we are treated to early Sun Ra recordings, such as this live recording from a Chicago club in March, 1956.

 

March, 1956! Think of what else was going on in jazz at that time. Sun Ra’s first album, Jazz by Sun Ra on Transition (later reissued as Sun Song) was reportedly recorded four months later, in July, 1956. If the date of this live recording is accurate, Sun Ra and his group were playing some very intense music for early 1956.

 

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Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child, by Fats Waller, from V Disc Recordings, (Collectors Choice, 1999). Recorded in September, 1943, at Waller’s last recording session.  Composer: Traditional.

Fats Waller—organ, spoken part.

 

This is from Fats Waller’s last recording session, a few months before his death. It was meant for the V Disc series, to be distributed to America’s military personnel overseas during World War II.

 

To me, and to Thom Keith who also commented on this, Fats Waller’s organ playing here sounds very much like what Sun Ra performed many years later on organ. When Sun Ra did it much later, it was considered unusual. I wonder if Sun Ra heard Fats Waller play like this in person, or on record.

 

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The Girl from Ipanema, by Jack Sheldon, from Live at Don Mupo’s Gold Nugget (VSOP, 1997; recorded April, 1965, in Oakland, California)   Composed by Antonio Carlos Jobim.  Comedy material by Jack Sheldon and Jack Marshall.

 

Jack Marshall—spoken part, record executive

Jack Sheldon—spoken part, musician. Vocal and guitar.

According to the liner notes of this CD release, Jack Marshall was Jack Sheldon’s long time manager.

Edited by Hot Ptah
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I have two copies, both still sealed,. both bought at DG, both arrived and placed in the ongoing clutter, neither bought with the knowledge of the other.

As for Ms. Miyamoto, exactly how is she positioned in the marketplace? Jazz? New Age? What, exactly? I really thought it was from a Ken Burns production, that cut of hers.

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47 minutes ago, JSngry said:

I have two copies, both still sealed,. both bought at DG, both arrived and placed in the ongoing clutter, neither bought with the knowledge of the other.

As for Ms. Miyamoto, exactly how is she positioned in the marketplace? Jazz? New Age? What, exactly? I really thought it was from a Ken Burns production, that cut of hers.

Ms. Miyamoto seems to be a mainstream, straightahead, rather lyrical pianist.  http://www.takana.net/e/news/news   David Sanchez guests with her on a recent project. She has recorded Sonny Rollins' "Pent Up House" on a recent release.

All of the Piano Tales album is acoustic jazz piano, in an uncompromising style. Some of it swings, some is more like the track that I picked for this BFT.

Earlier in her career, she recorded with Kirk Whalum. It does not seem like that association has continued, from what I can tell on her website.

She is based in Atlanta and seems to be quite active there. Too bad Jeff Crompton is no longer participating in the Blindfold Tests. He might be able to tell us more about her.

1 hour ago, Hardbopjazz said:

I am a fan of Ronnie Mathews and I never bothered picking up a copy of this album Roots, Branches and Dances. I don't know why. I really liked the track you selected. I will have to put it on my list of music I will buy. 

Not all of "Roots, Branches and Dances" is so Tyner influenced. All of it is quite good, I think. I bought it at Schoolkids Records in Ann Arbor, Michigan when the LP was first released. Schoolkids was a great jazz record store in 1979 and carried a wide variety of new jazz releases, on labels large to very small.

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