Jim R

Yes, I think that's right (one album that I know of). He also recorded a few for a label called "Shiah" (sp?) and a CD for Capri (Wizard of Oz theme). Someday I'm going to have to track down one of his own things. Thanks for the info. I recently gave my brother (who played guitar for 30+ years before taking up the bone about 5 years ago) a 1995 CD on Concord by a player named Robert Trowers. Three other bone players participated on some of the tracks- Al Grey, Slide Hampton and Fred Wesley. I heard it, and it's pretty interesting. I had never heard of Trowers, and he may have been the most impressive player on this CD! I believe he was in the Basie band for awhile. Anyway, I would recommend this.

Paul, I tried to respond to your question but AOL quit on me right as I was posting. I was curious about Jenney, and a search led me to this (the "About Jack Jenney" page is impressive in its detail): JACK JENNEY Changing the subject, are you (or anyone else reading this) very familiar with Phil Wilson? I had heard his name a few times over the years, and then I heard J.J. rave about him in his interview with Marian McPartland. I guess he's more known as a big band player and teacher (at Berklee), but he's got a few recordings out as a leader on some small labels. I've never come across any of them- LP's or CD's. I take it his technique is prodigious...

JSngry Member Member # 1611 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ...Shank did a couple of intresting sessions that reflect an early intrest in "world music"- one a brazillian date with some trio whose name escapes me (Zimbao?)... ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ... Doctor Brown Member Member # 1220 posted April 09, 2001 03:50 PM ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- That Bud Shank brazilian date; was it with the Zimbo Trio ? Great trio! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- JSngry Member Member # 1611 posted April 09, 2001 05:20 PM ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Doctor shoots, scores, and gets paid in cash! Zimbo it is! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hmm... Maybe I missed something, but I'm not familiar with a Shank recording with the Zimbo Trio. I know Sonny Stitt did a recording with them, but I'm not familiar with any Shank/Zimbo collaberation. Shank toured Brazil (at least on one visit) with a great Brazilian jazz pianist, Tenorio Jr., and I know that he recorded on PJ with various Brazilians (and Americans), including Clare Fischer, Ralph Pena, Larry Bunker, Bob Neel, Milt Holland, Frank Guerrero, Joe Pass, Chuck Flores, Joao Donato, Rosinha de Valença, Sebastiao Neto, Chico Batera, and Sergio Mendes. I think the PJ albums were BRASAMBA and BRAZIL BRAZIL BRAZIL. Anyway, did I miss a Shank date with the Zimbo Trio?

The more I listen to Disc 1, track 4, the more I imagine plaid jackets and mutton chops. This is definitely not my area of expertise, but didn't some of the older bandleaders like Woody and Harry James attempt to get funkified back in the early 70's? Regarding track 1, I can't figure out why so many people said "Ask Me Now". I'm realizing that I never have heard a whole lot of James Brown. I wouldn't have guessed him, for sure (same with the track that's being identified as Marvin Gaye... hmm...). More listening to do...

Disc 2 1. This is another one outside my scope of knowledge/interest. Can’t say I go for the style, but again I don’t hate it. Don’t care much for the electronically altered saxophone. The opening didn’t do much for me, but the electric piano solo was kind of invigorating (the fluctuating tempo was kind of cool, and the drummer has a nice bag o’ tricks). I sort of automatically (and narrow-mindedly) think of Chick Corea when I hear this type of stuff... maybe Herbie Hancock too, but this reminded me more of Chick. The drummer is good. At first I thought this was “Nature Boy”, but I changed my mind. 2. I’m kind of torn on this one. Definitely not like anything in my collection, and I wouldn’t buy it, but I have to admit that it’s attractive in some ways. I may not lean toward this type of jazz, but I do appreciate the talent involved in creating something like this. Nice interplay between the trombone (or is that some other horn?) and sax. It’s refreshing to hear something without a chordal instrument being involved. I was going to say the percussion was getting a little monotonous, and then the “Ornette... Coleman” chant began... ah... they didn’t drag that out too long. Good. Okay, it’s over now. I didn’t dig the monotony of the percussion, but I’m sure it was intended that way, so that’s not a knock on the players. The head wasn’t particularly attractive, and the solos were just okay, so I’d have to give it a thumbs down overall. 3. Nice singing, and attractive voices at that. I don’t care for the backing too much (synths give me the creeps, and I don’t really like the guitar/bass/drums at all... or the recording quality). Kind of a “smooth” commercial sounding vibe about the whole thing, to my ears. Of course, I remember digging a lot of this sort of thing back in the 70’s, but I think in terms of musicianship and production quality, it was done much better. The tune doesn’t really grab me either. Still, very good singing, which redeems the whole thing to some degree for me. 4. I’ve never heard any of the tracks on this disc so far, and this is no exception. It has a familiar sort of sound overall, though. This one kind of reminds me a bit of that group called “Stuff”, with Richard Tee, Steve Gadd... who else was in that Eric Gale? Cornell Dupree? It’s been a long time, I don’t remember. This has a nice laid back vibe about it, which I do like. I like the composition and the arrangement, and the horns sound particularly sweet with their legato support to the melody. This is great late night music for kicking back, or taking a drive on a warm night with all the windows down ... 5. I don’t care much for this in general, but I’ve got to admit that some of the solos are pretty impressive in their execution. Still, this kind of tune always gives me the feeling like everybody is kind of sleepwalking, just going through the motions, thinking about what the next tune is going to be. That’s probably unfair to the musicians and what they each bring to the table, but it’s the style itself that seems to give me that sensation so much of the time. 6. This is a bit of a stumper. It sounded at first like an early post-bop ensemble, progressive jazz circa 1950. As the track went on, the sound felt more modern to my ears. The rhythm section in particular sounds like it was recorded much later. The composition is not familiar to me, but I don’t have much knowledge of a lot of the more adventurous composers in this style. This was quite an enjoyable listen, and I could see myself exploring this material further. 7. This piece (the composition) sounds way too “busy” for my taste. Complex, yes, and well-executed, but it sounds like it was written more for the sake of being complex and weird than being musical. Just my take, and that’s just how I feel right now. Tomorrow’s another day, so who knows. No doubt these are very skilled musicians, but for me the whole thing got off on the wrong foot and never really recovered. It’s probably preferable to hearing some mediocre rendition of “Now’s The Time”, but it’s so far out at the opposite end of the spectrum that I doubt I’ll feel a desire to go there again anytime soon. 8. Hmmm... I’ve already admitted my ignorance re big bands, and this one goes way back in time. I dig Basie (and Ellington, and most any big band) more in the post-WWII era than the prewar stuff, so I’m embarassed to say I’m not even sure I could recognize a classic Basie recording featuring Lester Young from the prewar era. That would be my best guess on this. 9. My initial reaction is to say Sonny Rollins, doing a Charlie Parker line... which I can’t name right now. Live in Europe...? I’m not sure this is Sonny, which is frustrating me. This strikes me more as somebody heavily influenced by Newk than Newk himself. There are moments when it sounds like him for sure, but I don’t hear quite the usual range of expression and sense of adventure that comes with a Rollins performance. I should be able to come up with a name or two as an alternative guess, but I’ll have to sleep on it, I guess... 10. I don’t recognize the singer. I like the sound/backup band better on this (much better than #3). Very soulful and bluesy. Some of these guys have spent some significant time playing straight ahead blues, I’d bet. Kind of short and sweet, but they get their point across nicely. 11. I really like the rhythmic patters that open this, but it almost goes on a bit too long before the horns come in. Man, there’s a lot going on here. Complex, funky... there’s a Carribean flavor to this, yes? I don’t know my Caribbean styles too well, I must say. This kind of reminds me of “Don’t Stop The Carnival”. I like the energy, the solos are very good (is that a muted trombone, or a french horn, or...?). I think I’m hearing tuba(s), as well... I like that as a way to fill out the bottom and add some different color to the arrangement. The Dirty Dozen Brass Band kind of comes to mind in that respect (which is probably getting a little off track). Anyway, overall this is fun, but maybe a tad monotonous rhythmically and melodically. Very good musicianship, though. I think I could warm up to this with more exposure... Ouch. I struggled with this, as expected. I must say, though, I enjoyed these two discs a lot more than I actually (honestly) expected I would. If variety is the spice of life, then Jim has certainly spiced up my life (or at least this week ) with this music! Now I’m going to go read everybody else’s comments and see if I’m anywhere near the proverbial ballpark on any of these...

Just got my discs this afternoon (thanks JS, and thanks RDK). Intitial impressions time (I’ll try to actually say something intelligent in my NEXT post. ). DISC #1 1. Okay, I haven’t even heard all of this track yet, and I can state unequivocally, getting these CD’s in the mail for free was DEFINITELY worth it! In fact, I was thinking that before I even heard the complete piano intro! It’s all icing from here on out! I dug this track a whole lot. The piano intro put me in the mind of Strayhorn (I was reminded a bit of “A Flower Is A Lovesome Thing”) and Ellington (the piano style itself- this player surely listened to some EKE piano playing). Beautiful chord sequences, beautiful piano sound. What IS this? I’m going to need to spend some cash, I know that, and I’m only on @#$%ing track ONE! Thanks a lot, Sangrey (I’ll refrain from calling you a bastard)! When the horns and rhythm section came in, I was put more in the mind (sort of) of a “young lions” kind of sound. 1990’s, perhaps? Could be a bit older, but then again, it could be 21st century (in other words, I’m not sure yet). The tenor solo is tasty and cohesive. Chopsville. I think I hear some Wayne Shorter influence. The trumpet player knows what he’s doing too. If these guys are young lions, I should go out and buy more young lion recordings. A child of 5 could figure that one out. Too bad it’s been so long since I was 5. But anyway, I’m still knocked out by this track. The piano player is reminding me of Horace Silver now... WHAT THE HELL IS THIS? Screw track 2, I’m going to listen to this again (I’m on my 4th spin now). It also occurs to me that this little ditty has me movin’, groovin, tappin and snappin, AND marveling at the intricacy of the writing (and the occasional movement into more adventurous harmony). The drummer knows what he’s doing too (why am I not surprised). Damn, I can’t follow what he’s doing too well right now... my wife is on the opposite side of the wall chopping some @#$%ing nuts! The more I listen to this, the more I get a general sort of Jazz Messengers vibe. More the late Blakey version, I guess (although the drummer doesn’t remind me of Art). Maybe it’s the overall group sound and the writing on this. Well, I better move on for now, it’s gettin’ dark out. 2. Wow... ? I'll have to come back to this one... 3. Hmmm... I may be less inclined to want to open my wallet for this, but I do like it. I’m only moderately educated when it comes to Mingus, but that’s what this reminds me of (not a guess, and not necessarily “strongly” reminding me of any particular Mingus recording, just a general feel I’m picking up). The intro made me think I wasn’t going to be able to really dig in, but it started grooving. Great ensemble sound- and I DO mean great. These guys (whoever they are) are first-rate players with real skill at blending their instruments in every way- timing, volume, pitch, everything. They either rehearsed their asses off for this, or they’ve played together for a significant amount of time. 4. This is a Sly Stone tune. I know- I had the album. The trouble is, that was about (insert ridiculously exaggerated number here) years ago (I would have been in junior high school). I don’t remember the name of this, which is pretty pathetic, but wtf... I’m old. This was one of Sly’s better tunes, I thought. Right out of the blues. I could see somebody like Albert Collins (and I did) playing this in a club... wandering through the audience with his 100 foot guitar cord... going out the door and playing for the folks out on the street.... “Sex Machine”? Just a guess. I could easily look this up, but I’d rather admit that my brain is shriveling up. Anyway, WHO is this... 5. “That’s My Desire”. This is tasty. Great sound, great delivery. I don’t recognize the voice, but I’m no fountain of knowledge when it comes to soul singers. I don't think this is a BIG name singer, but I could be wrong (and I'll cover my ass by saying that "BIG" is a subjective term ). 6. Very lovely. I like it. At certain moments, this is reminding me of Rosemary Clooney, but I want to doubt myself on that for some reason. It’s not sounding like her entirely, but at times it’s really sounding like her. Great arrangement, and I’m a sucker for a great piece like this with strings. 7. Cool. “Little Rootie Tootie”. This is the kind of stuff that I’ve only been exposed to on a very limited scale, and I know this style will never become a favorite style for me, but I’m WAY more open to this than I was just a few years ago. Oh great, now my son is in the kitchen helping my wife. He’s hammering a bag full of hard mint candy into little bits, for some recipe. If I screw this test up, it’s not because I’m not a blindfold test genius- it’s because of what’s going on IN THE KITCHEN!! I don’t know who is playing on this. Thought I recognized the saxophonist for a brief moment there (sounded a little like George Adams), but I’d be looking for a prayer to be answered if I even took a real guess. 8. “(Once I Had A) Secret Love”. This is a RARE early recording of Doris Day on tenor (oh, come on, we’re supposed to have FUN with this shit). Love the quotes in the head. Nice “gruff” sound from the tenor. Chops to burn. This is about as good as it gets. Now if only I knew who it was. Gotta be a vet. GOT to be. That relaxed intensity, that sense of humor, that sense of command... this is somebody I (should) know... I’ll have to spin this again. Sorry to ignore the organist, bassist and drummer, but if I’m going to figure this out, it’s gonna have to be through ID’ing the tenor player. 9. The quality/sound of the singing reminds me of Clark Terry (that’s a starting point only, because it ain’t CT). I may have never heard this guy before, come to think of it. It’s interesting, but the song is too “primitive” sounding and a little to “out there” to keep me tuned in for long. Oh well. 10. C-l-u-e-l-e-s-s. Well executed for sure, but I’m not keen on percussion features, and I’m not even all that curious about who this is. Not much more I can say, except that it just ain’t up my alley. 11. I’ll bet this was really “the shit” back when it came out. Good thing, because it’s just plain “shit” now. No, no, I have a respect for history. I don’t ever want to hear this again, but I wouldn’t have wanted to miss out on it completely. 12. This is beyond my scope of understanding. I don’t hate it. I don’t enjoy it either, but it’s intriguing in a way. I wonder about the vocalizations, and whether there’s something more than a purely creative “musical” thing going on here... A protest? There’s SOME kind of message going on here, but I’m just not latching on to it (yet). “Get in line”... that leaves the door open for interpretation, at least to me... This waltz ending is intriguing, too... sounds like something an adventurous jazz player would play for his child at bedtime (seriously). 13. This is also outside my area of knowledge, to some degree. I’ve never been much of a big band person, at least in relative terms. I have enjoyed big bands in small doses over the years, but haven’t really educated myself about who’s who and what’s what. This strikes me as perhaps 50’s- or 60’s-ish in feel, although it could be more recently recorded. Woody Herman Band? Zoot on tenor? The alto solo is very boppish (and VERY impressive), which surprised me a little bit. Another nice arrangement. The sound quality and crowd reaction at the end would seem to suggest 50’s or possibly 60’s... 14. What a disc this has been... what a rare mood I’m in... why it’s... “Almost Like Being In Love”. Very cool feel, and very nicely done. I’d guess early to mid-50’s on this. I love the overall warm ambience of this recording. These BF tests are making me more aware of the differences in different studios’ sounds. Great rhythm section! Talk about chemistry- this thing just gliiiiiides along. It just occurs to me- I’ve never heard this before. When the guitar solo started, I knew that immediately. I don’t know who this guitarist is... Billy Bauer was happening at that time, but I haven’t heard a lot of his work. It’s a little bit bluesier than I would have expected from Bauer... which makes me wonder if it could be, say, Skeeter Best, or one of those cats. The tenor player reminds me somewhat of Getz, but I’m not ready to commit to anything... not even close... 15. “Fine And Dandy” (well, at least I know some songs!). Hmmm, is this Hamp? Nice chops, whoever it is. Rhythmically happening solo. The recording doesn’t sound like it dates back to the swing era, so I wonder if this could be some younger musicians (?). The pianist is economical and tasty... and has a certain Teddy Wilson-ish elegance (hmm, I’m not sure the feel on the trading of fours near the end would support that choice, though...). Well, I want to post this and get to disc 2. Good stuff, Jim/James/Jimmy/Jimbo/Jimmer!!

I wish I had a clearer idea of what's going on myself. The trouble with this is that it's sort of a "passive" problem rather than a "active" problem. If the politics forum was showing up, that would be an obvious red flag, but I have to actually THINK (not something I like to do too often) and investigate to actually see what forums/threads aren't showing up for me on TAT. I'll try to do some more investigating, and see if I can find any patterns. Thanks again, Jim.

Over the past couple of days, it has occurred to me that there may be a technical problem. I don't know if it could be just me, but I've noticed that the "Today's Active Topics" page has not been "complete" for me lately. I was just looking at that page, and it seemed like there were far fewer threads than normal. It's past 5 pm here, and I noticed that the most recent activity showing in the "Artists" forum was 7:30 am. So, I went to the Artists forum, and sure enough there were about a half dozen threads that had been active today, but weren't showing up on T.A.T. I'm assuming that this glitch is a biproduct of the blocking of the Politics forum, since I never was aware of having this problem occur in the past. Is anybody else having this problem? If so, maybe Jim could see if there's a fix. If not, and if there's no fix, I think I'd prefer to go back to viewing/skipping the political threads on T.A.T.

... Oh man... WHY did I have to go and ask for a new board skin again? But seriously, I agree with all of the above. Jim, keep up the good work, and THANK YOU for all you've done for us.

Thanks mule. That title seems a little trite for such a beautiful composition, but maybe that's just my impression. I'll have to watch the tape again with this info in mind (I can't remember how many pieces Brubeck played, actually...). Anybody for my Nat Cole question?

I agree, and I would add that anybody who can make good music (in tune) on one of those things deserves a whole lot of credit/respect. I have an older brother who plays, and from what he's told me about the experience of learning to play, I know that's one instrument that I would never attempt. Of course, my damn brother is one of those guys that can play anything (not to mention paint, draw... ). I agree about Rosolino too. His nutty personality really came through in his playing- even if he wasn't singing "Pennies From Heaven" or "Please Don't Bug Me".

Hell yes!!!! Jim, I love this game. I've seen a lot of variations on this over the years, but this particular brand/version was sweet. With those metal blades, you could really make your point if some kid tried to reach onto the board and pick up the puck with his hand! Not only that, but there were springs in each player's mechanism that would allow you to make the players spin back and forth at the speed of a hummingbird's wings (good for distracting/frustrating your opponent if they were trying to hold the puck too long). Ahhh, I miss that game... flipping the puck around behind the net, catching it with your left wing, and in one motion, sliding a sweet no-look pass in to a hard-charging center forward who would slam it into the corner of the net before the poor kid playing defense knew what the hell had happened. He might even scuff some of the skin off his left thumb in a desperate attempt to stop the shot (thanks to the hard plastic handle on the goalkeeper's control rod). Damn, nowadays they probably have tournaments (aired on ESPN 2 on Sunday afternoons between the Poker and Scrabble tournaments) with big bucks involved...

When I was a kid, we played mostly outside (sports, "big army" and "little army"), but perhaps the most successful toy we ever had at our house was: Circa early 60's, "Hockey Night In Canada" (Canadiens vs the Maple Leafs). I was really good at it from the get-go, and proceeded to get better (absolutely mastered the sucker). My all-time record would have to be something like 500-0. I am serious. Oddly enough, I was never a fan of real hockey as a kid (and I'm still not, except for Olympic hockey).

Well, I never managed to catch a few of the episodes from the series until recently. Between my kids comandeering the TV's, and PBS going into a sickening pledge drive phase recently (every time I turn them on it's either one of those "Managing Your Money" deals or "This Land Is Your Land" and people clapping on 1 and 3 for 4 hours a night). At least Riverdance hasn't been on here for awhile. Anyway, I managed to catch the "Red White and Blues" film recently, and really enjoyed it. Intelligent, reverent and focused, I thought. It flowed very well, and the scope of the interviews was very impressive. As soon as it was over, I wanted to go back and watch it again (should have taped it). Also, a friend was kind enough to loan me a tape of the Eastwood film, which I watched yesterday. I agree with the criticisms cited above, as well as the praise. Overall, I just enjoyed the music, and the great (and I assume rare, in some cases) film clips. A couple of questions. First, does anybody know the source of that Nat Cole Trio footage? I've never seen it before, but I'm not really an avid video collector. I really dug it, especially the clarity of the image, way the camera took it in from different angles, and included plenty of shots of the great Oscar Moore. Also, one thing that really knocked me out was that first solo piece that Brubeck played with Eastwood sitting next to him, listening. That brought tears to my eyes, and made me realize that I haven't paid much attention to Brubeck's more recent playing. At any rate, when I went to view the credits at the end of the film, I couldn't read them (too small, and the quality of the tape dub wasn't too good). So, if anybody can tell me what that piece was called, I would be much obliged.

One is Wilson's BRAZILIAN MANCINI (Vault) from 1967. Indespensable also for the guitarist on the session, one "Tony Brazil" (aka "Joe Beam"). B)

FWIW, I have a (Japanese) Blakey discography from 1991, which includes the following commercial release: ART BLAKEY AND THE JAZZ MESSENGERS LIVE IN STOCKHOLM (Dragon / DIW-344) 11-23-59 Lee Morgan, Wayne Shorter, Walter Davis Jr., Jymie Merritt, Art Blakey Close Your Eyes Like Someone In Love Lester Left Town The Midget A Night In Tunisia Of course, sometimes the dates and locations on such live concerts can be shown to be inaccurate as years pass and scholarship increases...

Oh, I'm aware of the stories. I just have yet to see anybody come forth with any evidence of actual tapes existing.

...

Thanks chris. I wonder if the old saying applies here- "if you want something done right, do it yourself". Well, in way I think it might. The "do it yourself" part involves entering the types of data ("fields" is the term I use when referring to my software) that YOU want to include. That's what I like about Filemaker Pro. I can create any type of field I want. I created one called "instrument", which I basically use to identify the instrument played by the session leader or featured instrument (when applicable). When I started out, I only listed the names of the personnel, but in more recent years I've included the instrument played by each musician (should have done that from the beginning, but I can always correct that, if I want to take the time). Anyway, I understand your desire to be able to search for some data set such as all recordings that include a baritone sax. That's the sort of thing that makes having a database most worthwhile (besides the obvious one- trying to avoid buying things you already own! ).

Such as...? What can you not do with Music Collector? Just curious- I'm happy with my system (I enter my own data on the searchable/sortable Filemaker Pro software on my Mac).

I've been using Filemaker Pro since 1992. I enter my own data, which is pretty easy once you get past the initial phase of entering what you own. Entering large amounts of data (such as track listings from boxsets, etc) is easy to do by copying and pasting from discographical websites. This program is highly flexible, allowing for all kinds of fields (whatever you want to input, including graphics) and layouts (with "scripts" that can be accessed easily on the keyboard) and it's completely searchable/sortable. It's fun to use, and very handy when you want to search and sort song titles, personnel, labels, dates, or whatever. One of the best decisions I ever made.

Lon, that was really a low thing to do. You ought to be ashamed of yourself! ubu, the Wilen track on Tony's BF test was a great one, too. “Swingin’ Parisian Rhythm (Jazz sur Seine)” from the Jazz In Paris CD series, the 1958 session with Milt Jackson, Percy Heath, and Kenny Clarke. I didn't have it at the time of the test, but I DO NOW!

That's what I meant when I said that "pensativa" (track 9) wasn't listed. "Sidewinder" appears to be cut off. Anyone else notice this? Right- it's faded out before they get through the reprise of the theme.

This reminds me (thank you!) of a local garage sale I went to, probably around that same time. Despite intense competition amongst collectors and dealers in this area for cool LP's (I think most of those Mantovani fans you're talking about move to Florida from HERE... ), I stumbled onto a box of old jazz LP's- in great condition- for fifty cents a pop. They were all trumpeters. CLIFFORD BROWN MEMORIAL and TROMPETA TOCCATA on BN; BYRD'S WORD on Savoy; THE REMARKABLE CARMELL JONES and JAZZ AT ANN ARBOR (Chet) on PJ; MODERN ART on UA; SMOOTH AS THE WIND on Riverside; TAKE TWELVE on Jazzland; WEST COAST WAILERS on Atlantic... and probably a couple of others. I picked up some great LP's and at very good prices in my time, but that was one of the greatest killings I ever made on one day.