Big Al

My feeling is the same as Bev's. Lately, I've been going thru a serious reconsideration of all the CDs I have to see which ones still trigger something in me; a lot of them I bought because of the mentality of "gotta have 'em all" or "get it now before it goes OOP" or "this is a classic and I should really have it in my collection." In all three cases, those discs rarely if ever get listened to. Makes me wish I'd discovered Rhapsody a few months ago instead of just now; would've saved me about $300. I like it that for $13 a month, I can listen to any album I want as many times as I want. So now, a whole bunch of albums that were on my wish list have either been taken off (they weren't as good as I thought they would be) or will be listened to at some point, and if I like it then I might go get the CD. I have no intention of selling my CDs if I ever save them to a hard drive of some sort. Apparently these folks who are doing so have never heard of a hard drive crash. I do have an external hard drive that keeps my source copies for music files I listen to in the car or on the computer at work, but I'm not getting rid of the original CDs.

Is it Jackie Mac on the alto? Cecil Payne on the baritone? Am I even close?

Yeah, but for REAL entertainment value, you can't beat the telenovelas. I'm sorry, but there isn't a one American female soap star that is even remotely as sexy as the Mexican/Spanish ladies! (For that matter, same goes for the men. ) I can't understand a word they're saying, but I don't really care either!

Are you sure it's CJ? I'm almost positive this is the leadoff track of whatever album it's from, but I'll be darned if I can figure it out! Question: is that James Spaulding on alto there? Not the leadoff track - not Spaulding. I'm close to giving up here! I've searched AMG, Rhapsody, jazzdisco doesn't have a listing for Jordan, so I'm stumped. That means I'm REALLY gonna kick myself for not knowing this one!

I expected this one to be guessed pretty quickly. Well, I feel a little better knowing I don't have this album, but then I feel guilty for not owning this album! I'm tellin' ya, yesterday after I read Nate's guess, I listened to clips from this album on Rhapsody and I didn't make the connection. I don't know, maybe I accidentally skipped over this tune, but I didn't hear it last night. I did this morning, though. It's a pity this hasn't (and likely probably won't) get the RVG treatment.

Well, looks like I was wrong in my guesses for tracks 2, 10, & 15. Tracks 7 & 8 are gonna bug me all night!!! This is torture!!!

Are you sure it's CJ? I'm almost positive this is the leadoff track of whatever album it's from, but I'll be darned if I can figure it out! Question: is that James Spaulding on alto there?

For once, I have absolutely nothing to say. But that's not gonna stop me from padding my post count.

Good heavens!!!! That was..... what, two weeks after I sent it??? Heck, I could've walked it there faster! Sorry about that, man!

You got it! Holy sh.... now I'm REALLY confused! I guess this means all my other guesses (except the other two) are incorrect. I'm actually kinda happy about that; means I don't own them and therefore shouldn't know them anyway. I hope!

Time for another fun BFT go-round! Track 1: This sounded very much like a vintage Horace Silver quintet, but that tenor sax sounds like Coleman Hawkins. Trumpet definitely sounds like Blue Mitchell, and that sounds like Louis Hayes on the drums, especially with his use of the tom-tom fills. Great track! Track 2: For some reason, I want to say this is something from the Savoy label. Don’t ask me why that popped into my head. Really digging the arrangement; I love arrangers who can take six or seven instruments and make it sound like a big band! Coming to the end, for some reason Introducing Duke Pearson’s Big Band popped into my head. Is it from that? I’ll have to check my vinyl when I get home tonight. Another good one, regardless! Track 3: No clue when it comes to vocalists, but I do enjoy this singer, whoever he is. I’ve never heard the words to this song, so that’s cool. Alto for some reason sounds like Jackie McLean. Three good ones in a row! Track 4: Sax is screaming too much for me, blues-shouters like this don’t do much for me. No clue, NMCOT™. Next!!! Track 5: The stereo spread suggests some Riverside date from the early 60’s. My first thought was this was a track from Jimmy Heath’s On the Trail until that trombone entered, and now I have zero clue! I’ll stick with Heath as my guess, though. What the heck? Another nice track! Track 6: GO RED GO!!! And Plas, too! Probably not fair that I have this album, but what the hell? Otherwise, I would’ve had no clue, but would’ve been begging for the answer throughout the discussion! I always love to tell the story of how I first heard this album, and with y’alls kind indulgence, I’m gonna quote my own BFT 21 Answer thread to explain my opinion of this track: Now I’m REALLY glad I didn’t choose “Go Red Go” for my BFT! My only tiny gripe with this song is that it isn’t twice as long!!! I hope this track spurs others to go get this album. Do they even make albums like this anymore? Buncha guys get together at Rudy’s, jam for a few hours, with magical results! Fantastic track, fantastic album, and one I need to dig out again SOON!!! Track 7: I thought I knew this, but after initial research showed that it’s NOT from any of Mogie’s first 6 Blue Notes, it looks like I was wrong, and my streak of identifying songs that I have in my collection is over. Drattit! I know I have this somewhere, and it’s gonna bug me until I find it, and I’ll be kicking myself after I read other folks’ guesses, cuz I’m sure someone’s gonna get this one before I figure it out. DRAT!!! Track 8: AAAAARGHH!!!! I know I have this one, too! Oh, this is KILLING me!!! Track 9: I’m pretty sure I don’t have this version of “If You Could See Me Now,” but I wish I did! I want to say this is also Blue Mitchell. No clue on anyone else, though! Track 10: My goodness, this one sounds familiar, too!!! Guitar sounds like Johnny Smith. Now that the full band has come in, I wanna say that’s Diz on the trumpet, but no clue on the rest of it. I wonder if this is from Dizzy’s “New Perception” LP? Since this came from vinyl, and I have that vinyl, but it’s been a while since I listened, I’ll make that my guess. Track 11: No clue all the way around, and not sure I wanna stick around for eight minutes. Thought I might get some help from the band intro, but the guy’s barely audible. All I heard was Walter Davis on piano. Would never have guessed him. Anyway, this guy’s too squawky for me. Sorry! Track 12: Nice little Dixieland-sounding diversion, I guess. No clue who it is, though! Track 13: Ah crud, I should know who this singer is. There goes another honking R&B tenor shouter. I’m starting to wonder if this BFT is a showcase for what various tenors sounded like when they were paying their dues in the rollicking R&B bands before they struck out on their own. Like, f’rinstance, I think I just heard a lick that sounded like Stanley Turrentine. So, that’s my guess! Track 14: Drat, I bet I have this, too! Man, this is getting embarrassing! Cannonball maybe? Definitely a Bird disciple. Nice groove, too! Track 15: Pretty busy little piano solo. Hey, this sounds like Kenny Barron from his Sunset to Dawn LP. Have to check that out tonight, see if I’m right (or I could just look at the guesses of other folks, which I’m gonna do anyway) Absolutely spectacular BFT, Jack! Like I said before, I hope this trend of tremendously enjoyable BFTs continues (yes, I’m patting my own back, thankyouberymuch)!

I'm ringin' in the sane

I thought this was clever, but nothing more. It just didn't move me, and seemed to struggle to find a solid rhythm. Didn't care for this one as much as the leadoff track, but a nice way to end the BFT nonetheless!! This was a very enjoyable BFT, made even moreso because of the answers. I had a tough time trying to enjoy it before I knew the answers; knowing the answers helped me to listen for stuff I hadn't heard before, making the listening experience a very enjoyable one!

How long does it take you to type these up, with all those italics and accented letters? That's quite a job, and you've done it nicely! I really dig tunes like this: lots of percussion under one solo instrument. The choir of saxes is added flavor to an already tasty mix! Both feet are stompin here, in two different rhythms!!!

My God, this is gorgeous! May have to get these! The only Chico I'm familiar with is the 2-CD Verve Cuban Blues. Jack Jeffers on trombone! Nice to see he was (is?) still active. Yeah, definitely gonna have to get all three of these at some point. Man, I just can't get over how lovely and lilting this piece is! Many MANY 's!!!

Wow, whatta groove!!! For me, the real fireworks start with Cressman's trombone solo; can't explain it, just that the groove gets so deep in the pocket!!! Another foot-stomper from start to finish! Love the name of the band: Machete Ensemble!!!

I'da never guessed Palmieri, don't know enough about him to make a solid guess. Kinda takes a while to get going, but boy when it gets going.... get down!!! Yes, I can definitely hear a kind of "Listen Here"/"Sham Time" groove going on here! Speaking of Conrad Herwig, I'm kinda surprised you didn't include anything by him on your BFT! Shame on YOU!

2001... wasn't that when the whole "prayer of Jabez" fad was running rampant here in the States? I'd like to think that their choice for a song title was truly "inspired," as opposed to jumping onto the coattails of a religious fad; this song is truly inspired! This sounds a lot like Tony Williams band from the 90's (documented on the Tony Williams Mosaic Select).

Oh now, I LIKE this!!! Fiddler on the Red Sea! (sorry, that was the best pun I could come up with) Tevye would have a fit! I wish I'd had this song when our church did Fiddler on the Roof, it would've made for nice intermission music (or the wedding scene ). Goes on a little too long, though; it made it's point after about four minutes, didn't need another repeat of the strings interlude. Ah well, again, minor quibble.

Hilton Ruiz! I don't know much about him, but the few things I've heard from him I've really enjoyed! (I think I have him on a Christmas compilation, lovely playing there) When did he pass away? This one's a serious foot-stomper (forget toe-tapping), kinda reminds me of "Mongorama" from Los Ritmos Calientes! May have to get this one, too!

Wow, this one is very nice! I'll be honest: I would never have guessed this was Ron Carter. I like the percussionist on this track, I dig the subtlety of his rhythms. And to be honest, I wouldn't know if a bongo was tuned properly or not! (Every now and then, I get asked to play the bongos at church (how's THAT for a scary thought?), and I've never tuned them or noticed if they needed to be tuned. Ah, well, I guess this is why I play bass! ) Again, is the rest of this album like this tune, or is this the fluke? This might be one to get!

This one was nice, but had the same kind of engineering qualities as track 2. Also, there seems to be a prominent use of this kind of inverted crash cymbal (I have no idea what it's called) that I generally don't care for, and this track is no exception. Minor quibbles, though; overall a nice track!

Well, that shows you how much I'm paying attention: I didn't realize Grolnick and Alias had passed away. Is the rest of this album as lovely as this song? I love this kind of groove! The vibes and the flute add a real nice color to this song!

I like this track, but I've never been crazy about this kind of engineering/miking (not sure I'm conveying the right message), and I'm not sure I would buy this album. But this track is nice enough!

Wow, she's just as beautiful as her voice! IMO, she looks a lot like Nicole Kidman! During the scat section, she sounds just like Ella, which really threw me the first time. And I don't usually enjoy scat singing! Is that Jose Rodriguez the same one who played on those Tjader records of the 50's? Or am I just mixing up names?