tkeith

Getting in here while I'm prepping for a rehearsal, so apologies if my text is a bit distracted. Track 01 - Arrangement immediately brought me to Mulligan, then bari came in and sent me in the opposite direction. I admire the growly edge, as well as the facility of the bari. No idea who it is. This may get me in trouble with Dan, but that sounds like Scott Hamilton to me. A bit more traditional than my happy zone, but I’m fine with this across the board. A solid 3/5, Leonard. (I REMEMBERED!!!) Track 02 - Gene Ammons’ Walkin’ (and I’m not sorry for referring to it as such). Alto is quite controlled. At first, it rubbed me, but as it goes on, this player is staying within themself and not trying to recreate anything we’ve heard, and that alone makes this a winner for me. None of this is wowing me, but all of it is hitting the right nerves. Drummer would grate on me after a bit, but I appreciate what I think they are going for. Trumpet is the one catching my ear the most. A bit like mid-60’s Art, but not him. A happy comparison, though. Bass is doing everything I want them to. Fire the engineer! (not a fan of that fade) Track 03 - Nope. Track 04 - Donna Lee. I know Grachan Moncur, III used this in his teaching a lot, so I’d guess one of his students. Player has chops. I’ve always found the tune a bit masturbatory, though. (let the flames begin) 3/5, though musicianship is probably higher. Track 05 - Do I detect Billie’s Bounce? This octopus can play the piano. High energy throughout. 3.5/5 Track 06 - Interesting cross of eras, but not one I’m sure I’d visit very often. 2.5/5 Track 07 - Another trio burner. Getting a Toshiko vibe from the pianist. Tumbling drums and stabby bass are kind of confusing the issue. There we go, now we’re locked in. But then, no. Then, yes. Interesting, but a bit distracting. If the lights were out and it was night, and I could dig into this, I’d be more into it. I do like it, but I’m having trouble connecting to it. 3.5/5 (could get to 4 easily with the correct setting). Track 08 - Usually the bass (or is it cello, or “piccolo bass”) used in this fashion doesn’t hit for me, but I like this. Feels very solid and in the pocket, AND the guy has intonation (you hear me, Ron!?). 4/5. Track 09 - Straight ahead swinging piano trio. What’s not to like? Only thing that would make me like this more is if it were Mal Waldron. :D I’ll take one of these for the road, please. A little arco to boot. 4/5. Track 10 - We’re back where we started. The sweet harmonies of this pocket of the genre don’t always hit for me. Today? Working just fine. Westie tenor. Might be someone I’m familiar with, but only peripherally. Three in a row! That sure sounds like a valve trombone, which is a problem for me. It’s okay, here, but I don’t want to hear it on EVERY track. 4/5 Track 11 - Piano vamp has me recalling McCoy on the intro to Autumn Serenade, so, they have an uphill climb. :D Odd rhythmic interplay between piano and bass. Not sure it works, but it’s interesting. To my ear, this wants for a drummer, but that’s just me. 3/5 Track 12 - This is the sort of thing I can appreciate live. On record, I could not wait for this to be in the past tense. 2/5 (should be higher just for the musicianship, but just not my bag) Track 13 - Crescent, done differently. I’m not loving it, but I’m wondering if this is going to be someone I know and like a lot. As I recently heard David Murray say, “Coltrane is hard, man.” 3/5 Track 14 - Is this a tune a know or approximating something I know? Certainly capable players. First player has chops, but comes off a bit polite. I could copy and paste that for player two. That said, there is not a thing wrong with this. Good feel from rhythm section. Piano sounds QUITE familiar. Almost like John Hicks, but slowed a bit (as Barry Harris to Bud Powell). I’d take another track from this band. Remind me a bit of Sabertooth. 3.5/5 Track 15 - Some Other Time, no? As a rule, I don’t care for the recent trend of redoing standards with fancy rhythmic choices, but this one works. It works very well, indeed. I mean, I’m not getting rid of my Bill Evans records, but this is respectful of the tune, but done in their own way. More of this, please. 3.5/5 Thanks, Ken! There's a few in here I'd really like to spend some more time in. I think 7 and 15 are the two I'd return to most often.

I didn't choose them -- they chose me. Seriously, that's typically how I build them. Throughout the year, I'll make a note of anything that really grabs me. It's been a good listening year.

Later Mal is time well spent. Hell, ALL Mal is time well spent, but as he aged, he truly was like a fine wine.

Get Happy (Harold Arlen) - Mal Waldron - Mal/4 (1958) Mal Waldron - piano; Addison Farmer - bass; Kenny Dennis - drum I love Mal like I love oxygen. This one came on in my car and knocked me spinning. Nothing earth shattering, nothing avant, just Mal being Mal. To quote Nathan Breedlove: “Love! Love!” Silk ’n’ Satin (Sonny Rollins) - Sonny Rollins - Movin’ Out (1954) Sonny Rollins - tenor saxophone; Kenny Dorham - trumpet; Elmo Hope - piano; Percy Heath - bass; Art Blakey - drums I mean, Newk being Newk. Not looking to fool anyone, but you can’t go wrong with an early Rollins ballad, you just can’t. Alpha (Hank Jones) - Hank Jones - The Trio (1955) Jerome Richardson - flute; Hank Jones - piano; Wendell Marshall - bass; Kenny Clarke - drums Hank Jones does not get nearly enough love. Again, came up on the rotation in the car and just made me happy. Love everything about this. Blue Greens ’n’ Beans (Mal Waldron) - Mal Waldron trio w/Ed Xiques - Music Minus One: The Blues Minus You (1959) Ed Xiques - soprano saxophone; Mal Waldron - piano; Wendell Marshall - bass; Charles Perry - drums Couldn’t resist including another cut from this hidden album. When they released this play-along on CD, they included the original full tracks with Ed Xiques, and it’s absolutely killin’. I only knew him from his work with the Jazz Orchestra when I got this. Man, another guy nobody really knows who is a full-on beast. And, hell… Mal. A Time For Love (Johnny Mandel) - Zoot Sims - Plays Johnny Mandel: Quietly There (1984) Zoot Sims - tenor saxophone; Mike Wofford - piano; Chuck Berghofer - bass; Nick Ceroli - drums Simple fact: There is not enough Zoot on BFTs. A version of this by Warne Marsh came on in the car; Marsh, of course, is great, but the version kinda stank. It’s such a beautiful tune, though, that I went home and learned it and called it at a jam session the next week. The house band has since added it to their repertoire, which is a good feeling. Speaking of good feelings, if Zoot doesn’t touch your happy button, you’re probably dead. West Side (aka MIA) (Carl Perkins) - Carl Perkins - Introducing (1956) Carl Perkins - piano; Leroy Vinnegar - bass; Lawrence Marable - drums As you may have surmised, I’ve been on a bit of a retro kick over the last year, trying to dig into some of the lesser tapped areas of my collection. This one just grabbed me (and probably Leroy gets the credit for that). Again, nothing earth shattering, just well played, enjoyable, soulful Jazz. Comin’ Up (Bud Powell) - Bud Powell - The Scene Changes (vol. 5) (1958) Bud Powell - piano; Paul Chambers - bass; Art Taylor - drums I mean, what’s not to love? Catchy head, bad ass trio, no bullshit, straight to the point. You can hear the stable of pianists influenced by Bud that really doesn’t get talked about (talking about you, Randy Weston!). Another of those, if you don’t get the feels, you dead, Jack. It Only Happens Every Time (Thad Jones) - Thad Jones/Mel Lewis & The Jazz Orchestra - Consummation (1970) Not listing full personnel, but worth checking out, here: https://www.discogs.com/master/276264-Thad-Jones-Mel-Lewis-Consummation And here, we shift. This one really grabbed me when I heard it. Thad is certainly one of the under-appreciated geniuses of the genre. While this is not my standard fare, to my ear, this is the best of this sort of thing from the period (along with Clarke/Boland). This just works, on all levels. Hello To The Wind (Joe Chambers/Gene McDaniels) - Bobby Hutcherson - Now! (1969) Gene McDaniels - vocals; Alertine Robinson, Hilda Harris, Christine Spencer - backing vocals; Bobby Hutcherson - vibes; Harold Land - tenor saxophone; Kenny Barron - piano; Wally Richardson - guitar; Herbie Lewis - bass; Joe Chambers - drums; Candido Camero - congas I could swear this has been on a previous BFT, but a search did not uncover it. I’ve always loved, well, everything about this. Gene McDaniels vocals are in a class by themselves. Got to meet him (turns out he lived in my town) and he signed my copy of this. Absolute gentleman, and an absolute MF. You can’t go wrong with Harold Land in my world, and the exchange they have is one of the most epic things I’ve ever heard. The night I got to meet Gene, I fan-boyed him with this info. When I handed him the album, his eyes got huge and he said with degree of incredulity, “Where did you get this!? **I** don’t have this!” Then he took to the stage to sit in with the house band, and in his scat solo did this very thing. As he returned to the table, he nodded to me and tapped his chest. I could have died a very happy man in that moment. Again, epic. Also, while programming, I knew this was the track that would make Dan kick his speaker. Bewtiched (Rodgers/Hart) - Claudia Acuña - Wind From The South (2000) Claudia Acuña - vocals; Jason Lindner - piano; Avishai Cohen - bass; Jeff Ballard - drums A drummer on a gig I was on backing up a vocalist turned me on to this recording. It’s a good record if you like that Flora Purim style. Claudia has her own thing, but this tune is the class of the set for me. Not a bad band behind her, either. Again, I feel positive I’ve put this on a BFT before, but a search of the forum did not uncover that as truth. This is about as far into the “young lions” set as I go, but this one works for me. Bari’ed Treasure (Jack Walrath) - Hamiet Bluiett - Young Warrior, Old Warrior (1995) Jack Walrath - trumpet; Mark Shim - tenor saxophone; Hamiet Bluiett - baritone saxophone; Larry Willis - piano; Keter Betts - bass; Jimmy Cobb - drums Bluiett doesn’t always hit for me. This certainly does. It’s a great feel, Larry Willis (why is he not talked about more!?), that decent drummer, a lot here for me. The Bluiett relationship with Maple Shade always struck me as an oddity, but it really resulted in some interesting music. Shim is also a beast. Much to love here, for me. Track 08 (I don’t know the real title — that’s where Sangry comes in! [edit: actually ID'd as Guinea by @Milestones]) - Old And New Dreams - (live bootleg, no date) Don Cherry - trumpet; Dewey Redman - tenor saxophone; ??? - piano; Charlie Haden - bass; Ed Blackwell - drums This is a complete bootleg. Not even sure from whence it came, but as I was driving home from seeing David Murray and Kahil El’Zabar last month, this came on in the car, and Dewey FLOORED me. Cherry, too, but Dewey is dripping soul at Mal Waldron levels on this. No surprises, nothing completely new, just REAL. Sound sucks, but I could listen to a WHOLE lot of this. Any help filling in the gaps greatly appreciated! There Is A Time For Love (Dick Griffin) - Dick Griffin - A Dream For Rahsaan (1985) Dick Griffin - trombone; Gary Bartz - alto saxophone; Stanley Cowell - piano; Cecil McBee - bass; Idris Muhammad - drums I LOVE Dick Griffin. More to the point, I LOVE this entire band. Figured ending on a nice, happy note would be a good touch. Also, more people need to know about Dick Griffin. He’s still with us, and still making real music. Hopefully there was a little something here for everybody.

'Chu got eeet!

Well, he's one of those four.

This one is. A clue is that this is recorded well after Strata-East ceased production. Second clue is that this is a very well known record label.

Getting near the turn of the calendar, so I just did a quick look at the thread. Looks like the following have been ID'd (apologies if I've miscredited these, but went with first I saw): track 1 @clifford_thornton track 2 @Milestones track 3 only Jerome Richardson has been ID'd. track 4 NOT IDENTIFIED track 5 @JSngry track 6 @felser@T.D. track 7 @JSngry track 8 @JSngry track 9 @felser@webbcity@JSngry track 10 Song has been identified, but not the artist. track 11 NOT IDENTIFIED track 12 @Milestones track 13 @JSngry Happy hunting!

Holding. (I assume we're not talking about Holy Ghost, here)

Any chance you're willing to take September?

Still have openings for September and October. Would love to see some new blood in here.

I'm as certain as the personnel listing. Ding! Ding!

Nay, sir. Not bad, but probably more well known. Correct, sir! I should be able to offer you a better answer than this, but I built the test from my digital library, so I'm not certain. (When I rip to mp3, I always rip to original album title.)

Ding! Ding! I wanted to give the hint that someone had mentioned him, but not on day 2.