tkeith

Quite a bit of my listening time these days comes during my commute. What I’ll do is make notes when something really strikes me and add it to a list of songs for the next BFT. I’ve taken to loading my iPod with tunes by clicking play on a song set to shuffle, then forwarding. This gives me an eclectic mix of my collection and forces me to listen to some of the stuff hidden in the corners. 01 - Dick Cheney The Soggy Po’ Boys (2013) Seedy Business Mike Effenberger - piano, Stu Dias - vocals, Jim Rudolf - drums, Nick Mainella - clarinet, Zach Lange - trumpet, Colin Mainella - trumpet (solo), Eric Klaxton - tenor saxophone, Claude Fried - sousaphone, Matt Young - clarinet (solo) This is a local band of young-ish (mid-30s and lower) guys who play ALL sorts of music. This is one of their projects. They’re a lot of fun to see live and I just love this tune. 02 - Into A Fantasy Cecil McBee (1982) Flying Out John Blake - violin; David Eyges - cello; Cecil McBee - bass McBee is my all-time favorite bassist and something about this track really struck me. It’s not “Jazz” but it certainly is creative, interesting and thoughtful music. 03 - Arise Automaton Chris Klaxton (2015) Collage Chris Klaxton - trumpet, Taylor O’Donnell - voice, Mark Small - tenor sax, Kendall Moore - trombone, Tim Jago - guitar, Mike Effenberger - rhodes, Michael Piolet - drums, Sam Weber - bass Chris is really the backbone of the local music scene in the New Hampshire seacoast right now. He’s creative, interesting, talented and a super good guy. We did a session this spring and he handed me this, a copy of his latest effort. I really like what this band is doing. 04 - You’re Looking At Me Bill Saxton (1991) Live At The Henkelmann Jazz Club, Vol. 1 Bill Saxton - tenor sax, Christof Sänger - piano, Christian v. Kaphengst - bass, Heinrich Köbberling - drums Bill Saxton is one of those guys I like, but see in the second or third tier. It seems like I enjoy him because I identify with his struggles as a player. However, I just think this is a beautiful ballad. 05 - Nommo Max Roach (1966) Drums Unlimited James Spaulding - alto sax, Freddie Hubbard - trumpet, Ronnie Mathews - piano, Jymmie Merritt - bass, Max Roach - drums This one probably wasn’t going to fool anybody, but it is SUCH a bitch of a tune! Had to include it. 06 - Sister Caroline Nat Adderley (1958) Branchin’ Out Nat Adderley - cornet, Johnny Griffin - tenor sax, Gene Harris - piano, Andy Simpkins - bass, Bill Dowdy - drums J-Griff fools nobody. This came on the rotation and I just had to include a cut. No surprises this would be good when you look at the personnel. 07 - Ballad For Old Souls Muhal Richard Abrams (1972) Things To Come From Those Now Gone Muhal Richard Abrams - piano, Rufus Reid - bass, Emmanuel Cranshaw - vibes Another one that just caught my ear in the car. Beautiful song. 08 - Rain Is Coming Hamid Drake/Albert Beger/William Parker (2005) Evolving Silence Vol. 1 William Parker - bass, Africa hunter’s harp; Hamid Drake - drums, percussion, Albert Beger - tenor saxophone I love William Parker and Hamid Drake. I discovered these collaborations while trying to fill in some gaps in my collection. The world needs more of this music. 09 - In A Sentimental Mood Elvin Jones Jazz Machine (1980) Soul Train Ari Brown - tenor saxophone, Marvin Horn - guitar, Andy McCloud - bass, Elvin Jones - drums Andrew White also appears on this record, meaning there is a LOT of tenor. This was posted on FB and blew my away. I love Ari Brown and really don’t understand why he gets no love from the Jazz community. Though, that seems to be something afflicting the Chicago community in general. 10 - Three Gymnopedies, No. 1 Mal Waldron (1984) Plays Eric Satie Mal Waldron - piano, Reggie Workman - bass, Ed Blackwell - drums Come on. Someone once commented (perhaps here), “I’d listen to Mal Waldron set his drink on the table.” A former student hipped me to this album and boy am I glad he did. 11 - Round Midnight Max Roach (1981) Chattahoochee Red Cecil Bridgewater - trumpet, Odean Pope - tenor sax, Calvin Hill - bass, Max Roach - drums This is the second time I’ve gone to this well for a blindfold test. I love this record and can’t understand why it’s never found its way to CD (what gives, Columbia?). In my opinion, it is the best of the albums produced by this band. Hopefully this provided a balance of identifiable and challenging. Thanks to all who participated.

Doc says prognosis is good. Back feels like somebody kicked me right in the base, as it will for awhile. I plan to follow all doctors orders, which will include re-learning to play seated (I'm on an 8-lbs. weight limit for at least two weeks with a gig in 10 days) with the horns in a stand. We shall see.

I am still alive.

Getting late in the month, just wanted to drop a quick reminder in here. FYI, I'll be radio silence for a couple of days (surgery), but anticipate being back online Friday or Saturday at the latest.

In. DL preferred.

I saw T.S. Monk do a similar arrangement, same tune. I always thought 'Round Midnight sounded like a Messengers' tune uptempo. It worked that night and it works here. Not Ricky, but a quality guess. Man! You have great ears! 'Tis William on bass. If you ever want to part with any of those WP records, please consider me. I have a few (very few) gaps in my WP collection.

Cheater! Cheater! So, I cheated, too. I actually grabbed the audio from this file. This guys live one town over and I had the pleasure of doing a session with the singer in that studio back in April (which reminds me -- I have to check on the status of that). One of the most enjoyable groups I've ever seen live. They really enjoy what they do and they really GET it. Your ears serve you well on #3, though I would put them on a higher level than re-enactors. While certainly influenced by music of the period, these guys really are making their own, unique path.

Not a bad offer, but not accepted.

Push that bar! I'm a flat-out sucker for it. True, but perhaps not by as much as you think. Later. I get precisely what you're saying, but this album has grown on me with each subsequent listening. Not Pharoah. Album correct. Wrong tenor, but you named the correct one. This one blew my mind. I believe it was Tim Price who posted a clip of this on Facebook and it absolutely knocked my socks of because I love Ari Brown. I was not aware he had recorded with Elvin until I heard this. Ordinarily, I prefer this tune as a straight ballad, but when you do it this way, what's not to love? The rest of the album is quite to this level (and Marvin Horn brings *nothing* to this cut, IMHO), but still very much worth a spot in the collection. I purchased it digitally. The variation has been established above, but given the who, I respond, it most definitely is Jazz. A great question, but the answer may define re-examining what we define as Jazz, or at least our view of it. Correct, Sir! Negative on both counts. Ah yes, my hilarious commentary. It IS a Zimmerman song. The band, while not comprised of NOLA musicians, was in fact created in NOLA. Correct identification of Gene. Track ID'd above. Glad I got *something* in there to make your ears smile. Just want to take a moment to state, again, for the record how much I hate the automatic merge-posts feature. Definitely not an ivy league crew. Not Mark Feldman. Interesting guess. I hadn't considered Urbaniak, but I like the comparison. Very accurate. Me too! Or, you know, not. Right? Id'd above. Correct! Id'd above, but you're spot on with all comments! Id'd above. As stated, not my favorite arrangement by the band nor of the song, but it's so different, it really grabs you.

Morgan, no. Spaulding, yes. J-Griff fools no one. Not Junior. Correct, sir! DING! DING! Ding! Ding! Pretty fun, musically, too. Not a bad guess, but not a correct one. Good ears. It *is* a commercial release, but not a top shelf one by any means. High praise, right there. Negative. This one should be fun. Track, yes. Comments on tenor are spot on, but not one of the tribe you mention. Ding! Ding! What a fantastic record by a fantastic artist (in the true sense of the word). Ding! Ding! I agree with your assessment, but such a unique version of the tune. Thanks, Spoon. Not a bad guess, but not correct. I give these guys one notch above "mock", but follow the assessment. Negative, but I like the path your ears are on. Another strong path, but not TR nor HT. This is one of the tough ones in this BFT. I'd rank Eric well above this player on a technical scale, but again, I like the path your ears are on. Perhaps, but not this time. Nope. His influence is certainly there, but not Newk. I believe Chris would thank you for that comment. When this was ID'd it must have given you fits.

Wow. Disappointed I missed Ra. Can't believe we BOTH missed Dex!

Hope I'm not stepping on toes but I want to make sure this gets up for the first of July. Family on the way in and may not be able to get on line. Discuss it here, download it here or find the link to the online test here. One stop shopping. Should be a couple of gimmes in here, but there should be some near impossible ones, too. Something for whatever ails you! http://thomkeith.net/index.php?cID=136

Typing on at belt and doing this w/Dad. Comments may be terse because of typing. Track 01 - go-go dancing. Not feeling this. Wish it was Gary Bartz, but it's not. Track 02 - better. Sounds like Ibrahim to me, so I love it. I'm going Horace Alexander Young on alto. I could listen to this all day. Track 03 - uh, no idea. I'll pass. Track 04 - I'm in on this one. Not sure who it is. Track 05 - no idea, not sure where I'm at on this. Track 06 - that's Dirty Dozen Brass Band. Track 07 - no idea, but I have my ace in the hole (taking this with my Dad). Sounds tributey to me, not OF the period. Track 08 - Art Farmer. ditty. The Summer Knows. Smiling Billy on drums. Track 09 - not sure. Like it but that's a doubler on flute. Track 10 - a very good year. Dad guesses Big John Patton. I can't argue. Track 11 - this is cool. Burly tenor -- Nice. Ike. Dad got him first. Dad guesses Grant Green, but I'm skeptical. Track 12 - we have a guess of Pettiford on cello. Julius Watkins on French horn. Okay, Dad says Phil Urso on tenor. Now he is backtracking on Pettiford. Track 13 - Lucky! "Dancing Sun Beam album... Jimmy Cleveland, I think... Pettiford [matter of factly]". Those are Dad's thoughts. I'd have gotten Lucky, but not that quickly. Hank Jones. Track 14 - seven come eleven. The unemployment stick. Bob Wilbur is Dad's guess. Different soprano comes in. Dad's guess is Kenny DeBurn and he thinks this is Bob's soprano summit group. What the hell is the keyboard doing there? Track 15 - sounds like Scofield to me. Almost sounds like Eddie Harris. Yes, it is. No idea what this is.

Taking no chance on missing May! Listening immediately and commenting immediately! Track 1 - Nice sound in the recording (I know it’s not a sound everyone likes, but it’s very clean and I like it). Yeah, I’m into this. Even though it’s newish, it has something behind it that really appeals to me. Even though it’s new-agey, it works for me. That bass is really speaking to me with its sparseness. I like this a lot. My mind wandered a bit into it. I’d say it goes perhaps two minutes longer than necessary, but I still like it. No idea. First time I heard Avashi Cohen, this was how he struck me. He lost ground rapidly thereafter. Track 2 - At first had the feel of a late Blue Note date. That tenor is tripping over itself, though, and that’s just not a BN characteristic. I’m thinking DeJohnette on drums. Tenor just isn’t quite making it. I was thinking Joe Farrell at first, but I’ve never heard him off the mark this much. I can’t put my finger on it, but the player just doesn’t seem to be quite up to what s/he is trying to pull off. Second guessing my JD guess. Sort of sounds like a mix between Tony Williams and Jack. I like what the drums/bass are doing. Keys are awkward. Sort of like Steve Kuhn, but nowhere near as busy. This is a weird date. I want to like it, but I can’t quite get there. Track 3 - Sounds like early Cecil. That would be the easy guess, but really strikes me as Andrew Cyrille’s drumming. That’s definitely Steve Lacy on soprano. Hmmm… could also be Denis Charles, would suggest one of the dates with Buell Neidlinger. Keeper. Track 4 - What’s not to love about this? I don’t have this, but will once it is ID’d. Someone posted something by a vibes-fronted band on a BFT awhile back and I would have sworn it was Dickerson, but it was not. I know this is not Walt, but wonder if it is that album. Either way, this one needs to be in my collection. Track 5 - MUCH love. Is that early Archie? Gotta be! DIG! Gotta search the collection because if I’m right, it’s GOT to be in there. Track 6 - Oh yeah! One of my early album purchases! It’s this. I had trouble accepting this tune because Coltrane’s version was my introduction. The rest of the album, however, blew me away. When I got a little older, I came to realize judging anything in Coltrane’s shadow is a foolish pursuit. Side note: I bought this from my Dad (nothing was “given”). He’s a bit of a space shot and had ordered plain white record jackets for all his albums and either cut the photos out of jackets or just stuffed the jackets in the basement (it was bizarre). I never saw the cover for this until searching the web for album artwork while working on my iTunes collection. My cover had Benton’s name and the personnel in black Marks-a-lot marker over the front (my Dad only did this when he was selling an album). I’ve never been able to fully understand his mindset in doing this. At the time, he was rebelling against bad cover art and liner notes. Hey man, I can’t explain it. Track 7 - Pleasant, but no guesses. Track 8 - Strikes me as a second tier player (think Buck Hill). I like this a lot, but there is a certain gap in technical facility that seems to hold it back a bit. I could hear somebody like Harold Land really making this sing. Love when the trumpet comes in. General feel is very nice. I’d spin this a few times. Bitch of a tune! Track 9 - Not a lot striking me here. Could be Karen Krog, but I don’t think so. Seems like she’d be hipper about it. Track 10 - Early on I was thinking Yusef on flute, but now I’m not sure. I like this a lot. Track 11 - Sounds like Garbarek to me. Nay… that’s John Surman. I don’t recognize this. A bit towards the classical side (in that 70s-ish way) as some of John’s stuff tends to be. I like it, though. Nice split line with the bass. That works well. Reminds me a bit of the Weather Report stuff when Miroslav Vitous was with them. Creative. Is that percussive sound Surman’s horn overdubbed? Found a lot of happiness in this set.

Apologies for getting to this so late — almost missed my second consecutive one. (Oddly, I listened to BOTH more than once, something I don’t usually get to do.) A home studio project is sucking a lot of my time. At any rate, here goes: Track 1 - My first thought was Batman, but that’s not correct. Given who is behind this, I have to guess this is a Gene Harris project. Big-boned tenor beast. Like a less-agile J-Griff. Hmmm… that piano does NOT strike me as Gene. Man… “why you do this to me, Dimi?” Track 2 - Bags Groove, I’m guessing the drummer’s record because that high hat seems to be right in the center of my forehead. Shades of Kenny Dorham in the trumpet sound, but not him. Same mild attack, though. Has the feel of a mid-70s Pablo date. Great chops on the trumpeter, but he’s not even working up a sweat. Great control, spot-on rhythm… why can’t I peg this guy? Second trumpeter has a fatter sound, reminds me of Don Sleet. Doesn’t quite have the rhythmic facility of the first guy, but is playing with a bit more… struggle? I mean, he’s working it harder, but maybe doesn’t have quite the chops of the first guy. Drummer is bringing nothing to drive these guys. Like a busy Shelley Manne. A THIRD guy? If this guy were playing an octave higher, I’d guess Dizzy. I like the way the pianist is working in-and-out of the changes — almost like a sane Tristano. In fours section it’s the second guy speaking to me the most. Overall, I think I prefer them 1, 2, 3, though. No ideas. Track 3 - The Hucklebuck! (He kidded) A few years back, I went to see some local guys play — all phenomenal players. The conversation went like this: Trumpet: “Wanna play a blues?” Sax: “Sure.” Trumpet: “Take The Coltrane?” Sax “I don’t know it.” Trumpet: “It’s just a Blues in C.” WRONG! That’s what steals the feel of this music. Play the SONG, not a ‘Blues in C’. This strikes me as guys doing the latter. It’s technically correct, but I’m getting any feel of interest from it. Could be Red Holloway on tenor. Good time, good ideas (though not a helluva lot to do with Now’s The Time to my ear). No idea on the trumpet. Again, drums just seem to be coasting along, not really driving anything. All three solos are good blues solos, but don’t really fit the tune, to me. Guitarist is pretty filthy; could be Barney Kessell. Huh… I’m going to say the pianist is NOT Gene Harris, but he’d like to be. Now the ALTO is playing the SONG! Drummer is beating the hell out of the drums but not really inspiring… Buddy Rich? (kidding, but I don’t care for him) I should be able to get the alto, because he’s killing it, but I can’t peg him. Okay, he just got a little crazy up high, but still, he’s on it. Could it be the tenor player double-dipping? If so, that would support my Red Holloway guess. Track 4 - That would be Mr. Blakey. Hmmm… or would it? Sounds like Ralph Bowen on tenor which would lead me to believe this is Ralph Peterson doing is uncanny take on Blakey. Is this Out of the Blue? I had all there stuff way back, but was most familiar with the Mt. Fuji record. Nice facility on the trumpet… could be Mossman. Huh… wait… missing 3rd horn (KG). Man, I would have sworn that was Harry Pickens on piano, too — always sounds like he’s playing Parisian Thoroughfare when he solos (not a bad thing). Man… is this some obscure Gene Harris thing you’re tricking me with? Also, needle drop? Track 5 - Where or When? Now. Always hear this as a Dexter-ish swinger in my head. I’m thinking Lucky Thompson, but oddly, I’m not familiar with the version, and I have a LOT of Lucky. I’m sticking with that guess, though, because the combination of that bold, smokey sound with that Golson-esque facility just doesn’t lead me to anybody else. Gotta be Lucky. OH! Wait… early one — Accent on Tenor. Billy Taylor on piano, I think. Track 6 - Certainly has that Concord big band feel. Sounds like Grady Tate to me on drums. Track 7 - Okay… I’ve got to be right ONE time. Gene Harris on piano! (And it really DOES sound like him.) Track 8 - Loving all of this. Reminds me a great deal of a Randy Weston tune, but not him. Has that feel, though, with that driving bass. Man, I’ll take double helpings of that. Track 9 - Sad Padre. Another with that Concord sound. A Hawk influence on the first tenor, but seems to come out of that blues background. I like him, but it’s not a guy I’m familiar with. A beast, though. Hast that ‘electric’ articulation like James Carter uses. I dig it. Seems to be flirting with the Webster side of this equation, but a bit out of context (meaning a bit forced). Sounds to cool a sound to be Scott Hamilton, but I’m guessing it’s in that neighborhood. The Hawkish guy seems almost like Gator with a touch of Harold Ashby added, though I believe him to be neither. I’ll be interested to find out the ID on this one. Track 10 - Love it. Huh… Big, beastly sound. I’m thinking Plas Johnson, though the sound doesn’t seem quite so dark. Could be Sweets on an adventurous day. Me likey. Thanks again for reminding me just how little of this music I've actually heard.

Bill, sorry! I thought I had posted my thoughts and guesses. Turns out I never even wrote them down. I did listen 3 times when I had the rental car (I typically listen only once). Sorry 'bout that.

The single CD idea also appeals to me, particularly where we are having issues getting people to present. That just means you already have another test ready to go. Limiting to once every 12 months was also a good idea, if we can keep that going. If not, well, that'd be the first thing I'd wave. As for why, it's preference more than anything. Keeps the test focused and interesting and increases the likelihood of participation. Some people are definitely intimidated by a longer test.

Definitely keep it. danasgoodstuff, I know I'd be happy to participate even if someone did an "EP" length disc (just a few tunes). It really is up to the presenter. While I understand and agree about longer tests, ultimately, everybody participates to their ability (including schedules). If you can only make time for a few tunes, nobody would fault that and I'm sure test-makers would be happy to have the involvement.

Absolutely. No problem. Ultimately, I see both sides of the issue. For me, it's easy: I have a day job. That's why I always tell them. If anybody ever requested that I NOT include them, I would oblige that. Mind you, that's only the folks I know. If I were ever contacted by someone in the test who I didn't know, I would also oblige. I don't want to make it seem like I'm hanging with the folks in the test, but I DO try to include some of the folks I know to get out the message.

Egad! Just realized I never posted my responses! Track 1 - Cooker right of the bat. Don't care for the sound quality of the drums, but the track is burnin'. Seems a tad towards commercial, but in a contemporary way, but works well. Busy, a lot going on, but in a complementary manner. Alright, I'm paying attention. Sometimes the different directions annoy me; this, I am loving. Got a touch of Ra to it, but it's newer than that. Not sure how I could love this any more. It taps into the feel of some of the cartoon music I grew up with (and that is a compliment). All in. No guess. This, I need. Track 2 - This was interesting, but I actually lost track of it and had switched to track 3 without knowing it. Second listen: Speaks to me much more. Captures that New Orleans funeral dirge well. Still no guess. Track 3 - I like this but can't produce any solid guesses. Bari reminds me a bit of John Surman, but I don't think that's who it is. This is interesting, albeit abstract. I like the way the abstraction keeps getting pulled back into short melodic bits (that sound a lot like Charlie Haden's band on Ballad of the Fallen). I want to listen to this on the home setup instead of on the computer -- seems like there are a lot of layers to be contended with. Track 4 - Hmmm. Sensing a bit of a them in the overall feel of much of this music, but this one isn't really resonating as strongly as the others (even track 2). No guess. Track 5 - Instant love. Great sound, interesting playing. Reminds me of something I have and I can't place it at the moment. It's a combination of an older Stanley Clark thing, I think, and a Curtis Clark record (Dreams Deferred?). It is neither of those things, but I like it in the same way. Definite keeper. The world needs more music like this. Track 6 - Loved the bass intro, but this quickly lost me. Seems to be being abstract for abstraction's sake, but I'm not really hearing the story. Track 7 - The sound of this recording is quite troubling to me. This isn't really grabbing me. It's too much of a tribute sound. No guesses. Track 8 - In the process of typing "sounds like Khan Jamal" when I realized it's from this. KJ does cerebral well. Very cool. Track 9 - Obvious guess would be Sonny Blount, but I don't believe it's him. If not, though, a nod of gratitude is owed. Filthy bone. I'm digging this in all phases. Well, about 3:45, there's Moten Swing. Wasn't sure if it was just a quote or they were really playing it. See, they're playing this but it's not "tribute" music; they're PLAYING this. Can't tell who the alto is. Seems like someone I recognize (almost said Rob Brown), but the player is clearly more contemporary and putting his/her spin on this tune (the way you're SUPPOSED to!). Tenor loves him some Johnny Griffin. Has almost an island feel to it. Very intrigued by this. Another I think I need. Track 10 - I'd call it Better Git It In Your Soul, but it's had so many titles we could get away with calling it Mingus Spiritual. Unfortunately, for me, it's missing the spirit part. Guy can play, but it's not rooted in the blues, and that's a prerequisite for Mingus. Another recording I'm not enamored of (why so echoy?). Track 11 - You're teasing me. I'm making a trip to Jamaica soon. I'm diggin' this in spite of the stiffness (that's kind of the point). About 1:20, a nice nod to Randy Weston. Not sure who this is, but it works. A lot of money will be leaving my pockets after this. Man... I either have to cut this out or get a second job!

I should note, the archived tests are still uploading. Missed the original post, but fuss is what I'm looking for -- it's beta testing. Don't worry about hurting my feelings -- I asked for feedback. (I once included some of my own music in a BFT and my father was concerned about the feedback I might receive; I told him the same thing. People who didn't like the track apologized later, but I didn't feel that was warranted. I put it out there, I'm opening it up for criticism. That feedback is how we improve, IMHO.) I make a point of telling guys when I include their stuff. They want the feedback, as well. One of the things I do when I make the tests up is convert them to a lower-fi mp3 (can only speak for myself). In addition, the download feature will be disabled. One more thought: when I did the radio show, we posted our shows online for 8 weeks. During that time, we did NOT post our playlists. Once we posted the playlist, the shows were taken down. Musicians did not complain. Ultimately, speaking as a musician, I agree that the affect will, if anything, lead to more sales.

Thanks for the feedback, guys! After much effort to simplify the method of creating the playlists, I decided this was untenable (not so much for these tests, but for all the audio player applications I had throughout my site). I wound up purchasing the updated version of the player we were using and have it up and running here. You're welcome to check and comment on this, as well. This WILL be the interface moving forward. For those who want the information, the real issue for me was the time required to create a playlist. The first page I posted required me to upload the files and create a line of code for each song. Not the end of the world, but on my site I have literally thousands of songs. For a BFT, it meant the difference between an easy upload and a 30 minute project just creating the links (add in upload time, page time, etc.). The player we were (are) using automatically parses the files using a PHP (dynamic code) page. The difference? From the time I receive your file to the time you get your links can be as little as 30 minutes soup to nuts. Also, I think moving forward I'm going to try to host links and listening on the same page. I can change the "skin" (appearance of the player) so if that doesn't work for you, let me know. I'll go with majority rules as the point is to make this as user friendly as possible.

Hello folks, This is really addressing the frequent flyers for the BFT. I'm trying out a new interface for the BFT and I'd like to get some feedback on it. It's a LOT more work, so I may still look for an easier work around, but the current BFT (#143) can be checked out here: http://thomkeith.net/index.php?cID=136 Any reaction is good information. Thanks in advance.

Just a quick note to anyone arriving later to the game: I've become very disenfranchised with web hosting service and I'm currently migrating my site to a new host. This may, unfortunately, result in some difficulty with downloads and/or listening online. I'll get it squared as soon as I am able, but a full migration really puts me at the mercy of both hosting services. Apologies in advance.

Challenging listen (in a GOOD way!). Track 1 - Cooker right of the bat. Don't care for the sound quality of the drums, but the track is burnin'. Seems a tad towards commercial, but in a contemporary way, but works well. Busy, a lot going on, but in a complementary manner. Alright, I'm paying attention. Sometimes the different directions annoy me; this, I am loving. Got a touch of Ra to it, but it's newer than that. Not sure how I could love this any more. It taps into the feel of some of the cartoon music I grew up with (and that is a compliment). All in. No guess. This, I need. Track 2 - This was interesting, but I actually lost track of it and had switched to track 3 without knowing it. Second listen: Speaks to me much more. Captures that New Orleans funeral dirge well. Still no guess. Track 3 - I like this but can't produce any solid guesses. Bari reminds me a bit of John Surman, but I don't think that's who it is. This is interesting, albeit abstract. I like the way the abstraction keeps getting pulled back into short melodic bits (that sound a lot like Charlie Haden's band on Ballad of the Fallen). I want to listen to this on the home setup instead of on the computer -- seems like there are a lot of layers to be contended with. Track 4 - Hmmm. Sensing a bit of a them in the overall feel of much of this music, but this one isn't really resonating as strongly as the others (even track 2). No guess. Track 5 - Instant love. Great sound, interesting playing. Reminds me of something I have and I can't place it at the moment. It's a combination of an older Stanley Clark thing, I think, and a Curtis Clark record (Dreams Deferred?). It is neither of those things, but I like it in the same way. Definite keeper. The world needs more music like this. Track 6 - Loved the bass intro, but this quickly lost me. Seems to be being abstract for abstraction's sake, but I'm not really hearing the story. Track 7 - The sound of this recording is quite troubling to me. This isn't really grabbing me. It's too much of a tribute sound. No guesses. Track 8 - In the process of typing "sounds like Khan Jamal" when I realized it's from this: KJ does cerebral well. Very cool. Track 9 - Obvious guess would be Sonny Blount, but I don't believe it's him. If not, though, a nod of gratitude is owed. Filthy bone. I'm digging this in all phases. Well, about 3:45, there's Moten Swing. Wasn't sure if it was just a quote or they were really playing it. See, they're playing this but it's not "tribute" music; they're PLAYING this. Can't tell who the alto is. Seems like someone I recognize (almost said Rob Brown), but the player is clearly more contemporary and putting his/her spin on this tune (the way you're SUPPOSED to!). Tenor loves him some Johnny Griffin. Has almost an island feel to it. Very intrigued by this. Another I think I need. Track 10 - I'd call it Better Git It In Your Soul, but it's had so many titles we could get away with calling it Mingus Spiritual. Unfortunately, for me, it's missing the spirit part. Guy can play, but it's not rooted in the blues, and that's a prerequisite for Mingus. Another recording I'm not enamored of (why so echoy?). Track 11 - You're teasing me. I'm making a trip to Jamaica soon. I'm diggin' this in spite of the stiffness (that's kind of the point). About 1:20, a nice nod to Randy Weston. Not sure who this is, but it works.