tkeith

You are correct, sir. Yes, it would be. But that's a clue.

I wouldn't say it's before that era.

It *is* Sun Ra, and the vintage is correct. Not Surman... but in a way, you're sort of close. It *is* overdubbed. Correct! Not Ricky, but a contemporary who leans a bit further out. Thank you, sir. #10 is not DM, DP, nor CB. However, I like the idea of that lineup a lot!

Nailed it! Terrifying anecdote, but a real dose of reality.

Damned good ear - it is indeed Scofield. I wonder if that was the inspiration. Not Jan, but a very good reason for the similarity. You may have it, but it's not DD. Mal Waldron is correct! I'm very surprised this one hasn't been pegged, yet. Song is correct, player is not. Very much that neighborhood -- good luck finding it. Spot on with JD and Purcell. Not Abercrombie, and you haven't guessed the leader, yet. 10) Not a show tune, though could be a contrafact. Definitely NOT Michael Brecker. I'll be shocked if he ever finds his way into my BFTs as he is barely in my collection. 11) I concur -- you will want this. Glad to please your ears, sir!

Excellent!

Save the time on 8. I like the guess, but not them.

Not JP. I agree about the guitar sound. I might mention, there are actually two of them. Stopping, I believe, is on your end. I had the same initial reaction to this, then I heard it somewhere other than from my own collection and reacted extremely positively towards it. It's grown on me and I think this album is the best of the artist's recent output. Nothing quite so Braxtonian. The title, however, *is* rather thin, IMHO. I need clarification on "Goldfish bowl being stirred with a silver spoon" That would be a lady friend reaction. My father would call this "man music," a term he similarly applied to the Larry Young sessions with Herbert Morgan and Tyrone Washington. I'm not sure I can define what that mans, but I understand it and seem to agree with it. I believe they're a bit after that, but the comparison also makes sense. Not JL-P. Not sure I have any in my collection, to be honest. I'd dare say these folks are well further away from the bank than he is.

Link is posted here:

I know what you mean. Not Bluiett, but not a bad guess. Ray Anderson is correct. I'll say yes and no on our takes on guitarists. A lot of this test is outside of my typical boundaries for that sort of stuff. Notwithstanding Sonny Sharrock, I'm very much a Grant Green sort of guy.

Welcome to September! (damnit!) The link has been posted (), and the test is also available online. Please let me know if you have any issues. Now for the discussion! Let 'er rip!

Doesn't help that I'm typically listening on the laptop. Still... to miss Blakey AND Mal in the same BFT is pretty awful.

Wow... just went back and listened to track 10 again after reading the most recent posts. Man... I own that and did not recognize it. Surprisingly, my opinion of it remains unchanged.

I'm going to post a couple of days early here as I'm not going to be around the rest of the weekend. To DL: http://www.thomkeith.com/bft126.htm If you wish to listen online: http://www.thomkeith.com/tkbft and look for the folder 0rganissimo_BFT126. Click on each track to play. Good luck!

I'll be sending it out early part of the weekend just because I will *not* have time until late in the week if I wait (first week of school following a raging family weekend). That said, if you haven't laid your ears on #125, you owe it to yourself -- some GREAT stuff in there!

Weekend is a little overbooked, so I'm starting this thread a little early. Please specify if you would like a hard copy. I will provide download links to all who want them and also the option to listen online if you like. Thanks in advance!

This one nearly got away from me... just like summer did. Had some success for a change! By and large, just what the doctor ordered for a late summer listen. Track 1 - I’m in immediately. Sensing Ibrahim. That voice in the opening sure sounds like Johnny Dyani. Ah, yes… there it is. This is Ibrahim and JD. Track 1 from this. Two absolute masters. Beautiful. Track 2 - Not a clarinet fan, but this works. Seems to me that this is not a clarinetist by trade, but a doubler. Something Brubeckian about that comping, but the bass is reminiscent of some of the Ron Carter CTI stuff. Not sure who it is, but I enjoyed that piano solo a helluva lot more than I would if it were Brubeck (or so it would seem). Track 3 - This has that reliable swinging feel. Reminds me of something Ray Bryant or Hampton Hawes would play, though I don’t think it’s either. Mad chops. Track 4 - Sure sounds like a boot of Booker Ervin to me. It’s Stardust. Oh, wait. I have it as part of this. Track 5 - Odd, folkish song. It’s interesting, but I’m not sure if I actually like it. The guitar does not endear it to me. Could be Giuffre. Track 6 - I should know this tenor (and believe I do, but can’t produce a name). Lovely ballad. Oh, wait… Actually, the interlude is a nice spice to have in there. I like this a lot. Track 7 - That’s gotta be John Surman. Though I don’t believe I have this, I must acquire it. Did you mean to cut it off, or did I have an issue with the download? Perhaps an alternate take of something from Where Fortune Smiles? Track 8 - Very straight ahead, but not sure who it might be. I liked it, but not sure how well it maintained my focus. Track 9 - This is quirky and interesting. Reminds me of Tapscott’s Sleeping Giant Awakened in the beginning. No idea what this is. That bari is pretty sweet, though. Track 10 - Drummer isn’t really in tune with the pianist, but the pianist is killin’ it. Wow… drummer is really off-putting… reminds me of a Keno Duke record I have — same thing, just keeping time as though he’s the only one in the room. Some sick bop lines in that solo. Track 11 - Oh yeah! That’s my man Pharoah with Sonny Sharrock! Track 2 from this. Track 12 - Love for Sale (but at this tempo, neither the seller nor the buyer are going to be pleased. That’s Sonny Criss, track 8 from this. Sounds like Roy Haynes on drums, but I know that it’s Alan Dawson doing his best impression of Roy. Sonny was a gunfighter — blazing technique. Track 13 - Despite the sacrilegious nature, I like this. It seems like something that would happen at the end of a jam when everybody was just tired of playing standards. Not enamored of the soloists. I’m starting to believe that they may have actually be serious, but not all that capable. Track 14 - I want to say nice ballad, but something is bugging me about the trumpet. Huh… it has summoned a chipmunk to my doorstep, however. Even when I told him to beat it, he stayed. I want to imagine he is tapping his foot. Very open trumpet sound. I wonder if it might be somebody like John McNeil. Track 15 - Confession: The first time I listened to this song by choice was the Coltrane version. While most people don’t care for that version (or at least that tempo) it’s the way I always hear the tune. This is the way I never hear it. No idea… but here comes Autumn with her serenade…. Thanks for the voyage. Looking forward to the reveal. GAH! After reading the thread - Keeeeee-RIST! How did I miss Track 2!?!??!?!?!?! *SHAME* on me!

How the hell did I miss Art Farmer and Jim Hall!??!?!?

DL, please!

I don't play bass, just love the instrument. Hugh Ragin is an avant garde leaning trumpeter who works a lot with David Murray. Here is a good start: http://www.allmusic.com/album/back-to-saturn-mw0000010669 I'm surprised by the reaction to track 12, though that reaction may be more a result of what surrounds it than the track itself.

No peeking. I listened to this as I conquered a power nap, then listened for real. Lots to like here. 1 - Everything about this could qualify as overdoing it, but this just *works*. Has that trance-like feel of Horace Tapscott’s Aiee! The Phantom. The bells really bring a level of complexity that makes this over-the-top interesting. The piano is providing the base for the tune and gives some body to the unemployment stick taking the lead. My guess, due mostly to the instrumentation, is a Japanese band (maybe Sleepwalker?). This is an absolute keeper. I hope the whole test is like this. 2 - Quirky and choppy, but it’s interesting. Sort of Brubeckian, but without the handcuffed piano style. I like the bass solo a lot, but that’s nothing new. Seems like a modern group trying to capture that Bill Evans Trio feel (and doing a nice job of it). No guess, but I like it. 3 - Very Coltraney feel to me. Reminiscent of Crescent. I like this a lot, but I have no idea who this is. 4 - I really feel like I know who this is. It reminds me a lot of the Heinz Sauer recording with Michael Wollny. Saxophonist has touches of late Art Pepper mixed in with a lot of the new style approach. He’s a touch sloppy at times, which I prefer and appreciate. The only thing kind of missing is the occasional flubbed, out-of-place, bebop line. Makes me think it’s a European player. Still, I like this, overall. 5 - Hmm… This needs to get dark pretty quickly or it’s going to lose me. There we go. Sounds very soundtracky. Yeah, this isn’t really doing it for me. Hugh Ragin has some stuff like this, and that does it for me. This seems too fragmented. 6 - Another quirky one. This is the type of thing that’s fun to see, but not sure how much I’d play it at home. Has almost a blue grass tinge to it. I’m in for the bass solo, again. 7 - Well, there’s Arthur Blythe, so you have me. Bob Stewart, too? It’s Monk’s Light Blue from this. 8 - Good start! Reminds me of those fantastic Muse dates with Cecil McBee. Tune is very familiar. Has a little bit of Under Paris Skies going for it, but that’s not it. Recording is pretty horrid, but even so, I like the snappiness of the drums (3/4 always makes it work for me). Not crazy about what the bass is doing echoing the stiff piano comping, but still, it’s working. Good ol-fashioned quality Jazz playing to my ear. No idea who this is, but I could hear this a few times, for sure. Damnit, what IS that song!?!? 9 - This is slow to start, but the two horns blend very nicely when the main theme comes in. Almost strikes me as a modern reworking of Shorter’s Deluge. Is that Kenny Garrett? Tone seems a little sterile to be him, but the ideas are there. Not sure… I think I like it, but I’m not sure how it would hold up on repeated listening. No idea who the trumpet player is. 10 - Interesting, would be fun to see live, but not something I’d spend much time with. Not a clarinet guy, but otherwise, I like the instrumentation (even that horrific electric fretless). When the vocals come in, this steps up quite a bit. This stuff sort of strikes me as the evolution of the Return to Forever stuff, but I probably have that backwards. 11 - Strummed piano, bass… I’m going to like this. Feels very Ibrahim, already. Oh yeah, at 1:30, I’m all in. It’s not Ibrahim, but it’s every bit as nice. Am I sensing the hidden theme that some of these songs are reworkings of other tunes? This tune seems very familiar, but different. Man, I miss playing with piano players. 12 - Oh! 20 seconds and I’m totally in. Man, that breathy trumpet is gorgeous! Man, I HAVE to possess this! No idea what this is, but does it ever WORK! This is a lot more modern than most of the stuff that grips me, but man, am I ever in the grips of THIS! I may just listen to this all night! Oh man… PLEASE PM me the answer for this one. I need to have this yesterday! 13 - Bass, vibes and brushes… I’m going to love this. A Child Is Born. No idea who (guitar is not my forte). Not picking up who the trumpet is, but could be Eddie Henderson (something about the attack). No, not Eddie. No idea, but very nice. 14 - Song For My Father. Not sure about the vocalist. For obvious reasons, I want to say Leon Thomas, but the voice isn’t deep enough. It could actually be Bobby McFerrin. Not sure who that alto is. Very strange sound, but a modern player based on the copious licks. No idea who this is, but glad to hear somebody carrying on that Leon Thomas thing. Much love in this BFT for me! Thank YOU!

DL, please.

Plum forgot about this for most of the month. Some very pleasing ear candy in this one. Also a few that drove me nuts, but that’s more about me than any logical sonic reaction. Track 01 - I like this a lot. The piano has a nice, rolling, percussive feel. Tenor sounds somewhat familiar, but I’m guessing I’m more familiar with his/her influences as this sounds like a younger player, to me. Very musical, tasteful, and interesting. Track 02 - Very straight-ahead feel. Tenor has an older sound, but the ideas are straight Joe Henderson (though, more rehearsed). I’m unsure how much I like this. Trumpet solo is nice, but non-descript. Oy… electric bass, in a very bad way. That’s a shot to the rocks. I’m just not feeling this one (not just the bass, either). Track 03 - Something is just off, here. It’s almost like the tenor is not comfortable at this pace. I’ve heard this happen with Bill McHenry — almost like he’s *so* comfortable playing at the fast tempos that he struggles with the in-the-pocket feel. Either that or it’s like the rhythm section was recorded separately. No idea, except that it’s a modern group. It’s just leaving me a bit cold. Track 04 - Opening reminds me a bit of Charles Tolliver’s Brass Co. The 7/4 feel works well on this tune, and it’s a very thoughtful trombone solo. Clean, very nice, but ‘thoughtful’. The arrangement supports the soloist nicely and, with the help of the drums, works to a nice build. Acoustic bass — NICE! The bassist has listened a good deal to David Holland, but I don’t think it’s him. This track is a definite keeper! Track 05 - Part Gil Evans, Part Chuck Mangione. I like it on both counts. Another guy out of the Joe Henderson school, but this one speaks to me a lot more. Sounds like the trumpet player’s date. The feel of this tune is beautiful. Something about the combination of the Spanish influence of the guitar with the melancholy harmony. It’s just beautiful. Another keeper! Track 06 - Ah! I know this! I’ve got this by Shihab. Yes, it’s Track 1 from this. Underrated giant! Track 07 - Another great track! Track 4 from this. I was listening to this in the car one day, at 4:05, I got so into it that I let out an “AAaaaaugh!” followed by Alex’ response at 4:09. Awesome listening moment. Track 08 - I’m enjoying this in spite of the tenor player being a checklist of things that make me insane (from affected vibrato to strangled altissimo and everything in between). Not sure which of the NEC guys this is, but this track works in spite of him. The trumpet nails it. Track 09 - Initially, this feels like it could go the same over-learned route of the tenor, but I like this a lot. Very similar to Track 05 to my ear. A little over-arranged, but the feel is nice and they execute it nicely. Perhaps this is David Holland’s band? It’s new-ish, clean and controlled, but it works. Track 10 - Has a bit of a Cecil Brooks, III feel to it. But every time somebody includes a booty-shaker, it ends up being Organissimo, so that’s my guess. Something about this, the time is just a shade off. Track 11 - The tune sounds familiar, is it an Ornette tune? I don’t like the bass, at all. Sounds like Avishai Cohen (sound-wise). Tenor sounds like a spawn of Garzone to me. I can’t explain why these guys do this to me — there is an obvious Coltrane descendancy, and I love Coltrane. I think it’s the utter lack of originality that gets me. The technique is awesome, but I don’t hear the music. I’m not even hearing the alto. What’s bizarre is that if this were Blythe/Freeman or Bartz/Whomever, I’d probably be all over this. This just doesn’t grab me, except to rub me. Despite my reaction to Track 11, I found myself enjoying a great deal of this BFT! Thanks for the ear challenge!

Yikes! I totally booted Teddy Edwards. He's always been a guy I liked a whole lot, but lately I've been down on him a bit. After hearing this, I need to clear my head and put him back in the rotation.

Sorry, count me in -- been a busy few weeks. DL, please.