1 – A cultural artyfact?  Rating: N/A 2 – Third Stream Lives! Strong shades of Stan Kenton’s early 50’s Innovations Orchestra, though this was probably a few years later.  Fairly interesting, but definitely overstaying it’s welcome with me.  Though I’ll brave it out to the end.  I’m ready for that nap you mentioned. Rating: *** 3 -  Listening to this one subconsciously through my nap.   Jan Garbarek on ECM?  #2 sort of worked for me, but this one doesn’t.  Sounds more European, where #2 sounded more American (and earlier).  Rating: *1/2 4 – The nap continues.   No frame of reference at all for this one, though I dislike it less than #3.   But is it jazz?  Is #3?  For that matter, how much of #2 is?  I know, does it matter if it is or not?  The great part is that these cuts give me a broad runway for what I can include in BFT 261 next month.  Rating: ** 5 –  I actually like this, and I could (should?) see it being Kenton with one of his female singers.  June Christy rather than Anita O'Day or Ann Richards or Chris Connor (I like all four of them quite a bit).  Given some more time, I may be able to sleuth this one out  Rating: **** 6 – And now for something completely different!  Jolted me awake with the up tempo.  Good cut, I like all of the soloists.  Should be names I know.  Jimmy Raney?   Rating: **** 7 – Another good uptempo cut.  Definitely preferring the “awake” second portion of this BFT to the somnambulant first half.  These are newer guys than the ones in the previous cut, and I would guess it’s the trumpet player’s album.  Seems modeled those Columbia Woody Shaw albums, but not his earlier, more exciting Muse albums.  I may well own this one already.  Rating: ***1/2 8 – I like this, despite the static quality of the latin percussion in places.  Vinyl-sourced?  Fidelity isn’t great, but the strength of the music overcomes it.  My favorite cut on the BFT so far.  Pianist and tenor player both reached me.  Rating: ****1/2 9 – I like this, too.  We’re into the afro-cuban portion of the program with these last two cuts.  Flute player is strong, and I assume it’s his album.  The composition is good, may be a standard I’m not  recognizing.  Rating: **** 10 – There seems to be a cut like this on every BFT (except mine), an old tenor master displaying his stuff.  I tend to admire these cuts more than I enjoy them, but this one is pretty good for me, with the accompaniment being unexpected in some ways.  Rating: *** Thanks as always for a bracing listen!  

Incredible goal. 

I saw Gumbs once when he was in his straight ahead phase in the early 00's, but he was off my radar for most of his other visits to the Boston area, when he was more on the smooth side of things. He was quite the pianist that one time I saw him.

I dig his work as a sideman. Mostly hear McCoy Tyner influence. I played this solo album once and it didn’t do a lot for me but perhaps I should give it another try