Big Al

A lot to dig here but I can see where I'm gonna have to dig deeper into Nick Goumas as I particularly enjoyed his tracks. Also gonna have to check out that Les Arbuckle album. And that McAll/Roy/Cappadocia album! A most enjoyable BFT!

I heard those stories back in the day. No doubt you (and @Joe and @JSngry ) are familiar with the local store that practically has a shrine built to the guy. It's run by two of his former employees who speak glowingly about him, which makes me curious about what they know about the guy. I only ever visited that store twice, both times I got the same vibe (as well as overpriced records) as y'all did. To the credit of the current store, they do a much better job of pricing records (and decent prices for the most part) and an all-around good shopping vibe that I never got at the old place.

I'd always hoped there would've been some kind of resurrection of this series. Streaming versions would be just fine these days or even downloadable versions.

I commend her for her honesty and desire to make a change. Here's hoping it sticks. Thing is, I've heard far worse from people who were stone-cold sober (working summers at Lone Star Park has caused PTSD for SSB singers employing all manner of unnecessary vocal gymnastics).

Something I've noticed whenever I'm able to find time to participate in a BFT: back when this all began, I was still very much getting into jazz and listening to it constantly and learning voices and sounds from various artists. 20 years later that isn't so much the case anymore and now these become exercises in seeing if I recognize anything from my collection. This explains why so many of the following answers are along the lines of "no idea but I like it" because for the most part I REALLY like this BFT! Then again, maybe I've always been doing this wrong! Track 1: Joshua Redman, something from Wish? That sure sounds like Metheny on guitar. Been so long since I listened to that album. If I'm wrong, I'm gonna find this album pronto. Track 2: Beautiful! No idea who this is and I can't wait to find out! Track 3: WOW!!! THIS is my kinda groove! Is it Trombone Shorty by chance? Sounds like a good New Orleans groove to me! Track 4: This sounds oddly familiar, maybe it just reminds me of something else. I sure do like it though! Track 5: Track 2 from this groovy album! Has this happened before where the same track is used on two different BFT's? This was previously featured on BFT 28. That BFT was one for the ages and I'm pretty sure I still have it, I'll have to get a copy to our host for the archive. I mean, check out this BFT, it's that good! Track 6: No idea but I like it! Track 7: Same Track 8: Well, it's a tenor-sax trio which I like but it sounds like the tenor is on the side of the room. Oh there's a piano after all. Never mind me, I wasn't paying too close attention to this one. Track 9: Nope. Nope. Nope. Don't know, don't care. NEXT! Track 10: No idea and I don't even know what to make of this. This sounds like one of those groups that everyone except me gets or understands. Track 11: Oh I dig this late-night groove. Bari sax with guitar-trio rhythm. Love it! Perfect way to cap this BFT! Or so I thought: I posted this guess before the song ended, not noticing I still had a whole five more minutes to go. I still have no idea who this is, though, but as usual I dig it!

After looking at this lineup, I fully regret not being involved with this BFT. Gonna download this one for sure!

That's fair. I'm just glad it's not a limited edition and will be getting a wider release this summer. I can wait for that.

Link to their website If you're in or near the DFW area, you can order it for pick up there or have it shipped to you. Not sure I'd pay their audiophile prices but it seems like they've got a decent selection of Mosaics for decent prices.

How overpriced?

Watching Jo Jones play is a thing of joy!

I like the sequencing. I enjoy listening to the development of each tune.

THIS.

The Big Al track is the title track to the Three Sounds Beautiful Friendship LP. I knew @Dan Gould would quickly identify it but I'm still tickled he didn't immediately ID it. Mission accomplished. To re-iterate my reasons for selecting this track: Awhile back I was trying to build a discogs cart to the seller's minimum order and this was listed for very cheap. I like the 3 Sounds and I like how much fun those Limelight record covers are. Ended up enjoying the record more than I expected simply because I wasn't expecting a big-band record. A very enjoyable record. When Dan announced this BFT, selecting something from this album was a no-brainer as a simple tribute to the former Gene Harris Fanatic. I kinda figured he had this record, but this felt obscure enough to fool everyone else. Which, apparently, it did. As @tkeith said, "Big Al FTW!"

I can't tell you how big a smile this put on my face, especially since you weren't crazy about my BFT last year (putting it mildly, LOL) and I didn't stray too far from the overall sound of that BFT. I'm seriously glad you dug this!

My wife and I love her. We caught her show at the Majestic last year and it was hilarious.