jeffcrom

Ayler was one of those game-changing musicians whose influence extends beyond his instrument to an entire movement. He was a prime influence on the "energy" free jazz players. And he was, along with Cecil Taylor, one of the prime exemplars that jazz could be jazz without conventional tonality or regular pulse; as such he influenced not only young musicians like the AACM guys, but established musicians like Don Cherry, Jimmy Giuffre, and Paul Bley. But limiting it to tenor saxophonists, how about: Peter Brotzmann Pharoah Sanders Ken Vandermark David Murray Evan Parker Mats Gustafsson Charles Gayle John Gilmore and maybe even John Coltrane toward the end. Edit: Saw Jim's post just after I posted this.

Joe Ferrell - Moon Germs (CTI)

Byard Lancaster - Personal Testimony (Concert Artists)

Similarity in tone. Probably the only major tenor players not out of Prez who had a softer tone than the Hawkins school, no? I agree, although I would use the word "lighter" rather than "softer." My point is that a similar style was already being developed in New Orleans at a time when the saxophonists there couldn't have possibly been familiar with Freeman. Charlie Cordella was recording by 1925, and Freeman didn't make any records (or probably tour very far out of Chicago) until 1927. It seems likely to me that Eddie Miller's playing was much more influenced by what was going on in his hometown than by Freeman.

Thanks, guys! Hildegarde also sang "I've Told Every Little Star" - I wonder if that's where Sonny picked up that obscure song.

I was listening to Sonny Rollins' "Movin' Out" session from 1954 this morning. The only ballad of the session is "Silk 'n' Satin," credited to Rollins. It just an improvisation (an excellent one) over a set of changes, but it's kind of unusual - a 16-bar structure rather than the usual 32 bars, and there are a few slightly surprising harmonic twists. Is "Silk 'n' Satin" based on a standard? It's not a structure/progression that I recognize. Give a listen and let me know what you think.

Duke Ellington - Unknown Session (Columbia)

Two very different flavors of vinyl so far tonight: Albert Ayler - Lorrach/Paris 1966 (Hat Art) Tony Parenti - Jazz Goes Underground (Jazzology) The New Orleans clarinetist with a bunch of Atlanta Dixielanders in 1969. I played some gigs with the drummer, Spider Ridgeway, when I was a young man, 30 years ago.

Some of my recent 78 spins include: Dave Brubeck Quartet - A Foggy Day/Lyons Busy (Fantasy, 1951) Dave Brubeck Quartet - The Trolley Song/My Heart Stood Still (piano solo) (Fantasy, 1953) Milt Buckner and His Orchestra - Yesterdays/Buck-a-Boo (MGM, 1949) "Yesterdays" is a horn feature for Julius Watkins; "Buck-a-Boo" has a tenor chase with Billy Mitchell & Alva McCain. Tab Smith - Love/Slow and Easy (Chess, 1950) Blind Boy Fuller - Step It Up and Go/Little Woman You're So Sweet (Okeh, 1940) I really like "Little Woman." "Step It Up" tracks surprisingly well, considering the fact that a previous owner etched his name into the grooves! Willie Mabon - The Seventh Son/Lucinda (Chess, 1955). Mabon is a little too urbane to pull of "Seventh Son" convincingly, but "Lucinda" is just perfect.

Pow Wow & Strollin' were recorded at the same October 21, 1943 session as "The Moose." Jimmy Pupa, Al Killian, Lyman Vunk, Peanuts Holland (tp) Spud Murphy, Bob Swift, Eddie Bert, Ed Fromm (tb) Charlie Barnet (sax,ldr) Rae De Geer, Buddy De Franco (as) Mike Goldberg, Kurt Bloom (ts) Dodo Marmarosa (p) Turk van Lake (g,arr) Russ Wagner (b) Harold Hahn (d) And according to the discography in the Drop Me Off in Harlem CD, the English Brunswick 78 you have was the first issue of "Moose." I come across Barnet's Apollo 78s occasionally, but have never picked one up. How is the one you got?

SS, I don't know to what extent this was a tongue-in-cheek reply, but to give a serious response: I don't know how much Eddie Miller was influenced by Bud Freeman, although there are superficial similarities. Miller's playing seems to have been part of a distinct New Orleans tenor sax style that developed independently of Freeman. It can be glimpsed as far back as Charlie Cordella's playing on the 1925 Halfway House Orchestra sides (Maple Leaf Rag, for example). Other New Orleans tenor players who might remind a listener of Eddie Miller are Lester Bouchon, who also recorded as early as 1925 (with Oliver Naylor), but who is best known for his work in the 1940's and 50's. Also check out Steve Giarrantano, who is on Irving Fazola's 1945/46 New Orleans recordings. And when the great clarinetist Raymond Burke played tenor, he exhibited a very similar style. All the N.O. tenor players I've named were white, but interestingly, Daniel Farrow, who came up playing R & B in the 1950's and now plays frequently at Preservation Hall, gets the same kind of sound - very Eddie Miller-like.

The Candoli/Morgan track and the Lou Levy solo were the biggest revelations to me - nice stuff. I have a 78 by the Med Flory big band; I was thinking about using it on an upcoming blindfold test, but you beat me to the punch. Very enjoyable BFT - thanks, Bill.

The Three Sounds - It Just Got to Be (BN New York mono). I know that Dan Gould will forgive me - I picked this up today, and it's my first 3 Sounds album, except for a couple accompanying saxophonists.

Kid Ory - This Kid's the Greatest! (Good Time Jazz mono). This collection of Ory's mid-50's recordings was one of the albums my sweet, encouraging mom brought home for me when I started to get interested in jazz, so it's one of the first 20 jazz albums I owned. I liked it then, and I still do. The personnel changes a lot from session to session - New Orleanians are replaced by West Coast dixielanders, Don Ewell and R & B great Lloyd Glenn alternate on piano, and Barney Kessel even takes a turn on rhythm guitar. But there is an amazing consistency of sound and approach. Listening now, I'm struck, as I was back in 1974, with the power of Ory's trombone. My favorite of the four clarinetists who appear on this album is Pud Brown, a West Coaster who ended up in New Orleans, and even had a local hit with "Palm Court Strut" at the turn of the 1990's. His low-register sound is just delicious, and he plays with a lot of imagination.

Hot Ptah informs me that he received his CD today.

Well, I'm a little late to weigh in here, and Mr. Whitby has been pretty thoroughly discussed by now. I agree that his playing is striking, but not phenomenal. He's kind of repetitious, for one thing; he plays a repeated minor three-major three-five triplet lick far too often, for example. I suspect that Whitby's playing is his variant of a style that was in the air in the midwest and southwest at that time. I also checked out the Laurie Wright Oliver book, and as Jazztrain indicates, he was in and out of Oliver's band between 1931 and 1934. In 1931 and 32, he and Lester Young replaced each other several times. John Chilton's Who's Who of Jazz indicates that he later played with the great Nat Towles band out of Omaha, and briefly with Horace Henderson. A "history changer" - probably not. But another example of the interesting, little-known individual talents that enliven the history of jazz

Hourglass - Power of Love (Liberty) The second, and better, album by the group Duane and Gregg Allman led before the formation of Allman Brothers Band. It still ain't great, but I give it a spin every once in a while. The searing "B.B. King Medley" released on The Duane Allman Anthology shows what this band was capable of when out of the clutches of Liberty's producers.

Love that one! (BFT #90 influence? ) As a matter of fact, your very enjoyable BFT did indeed send me back to this album.

Short Rogers - Short Stops (RCA Bluebird)

That's great!

Dutch Swing College Band - Party Favorites at the Jazz Band Ball (Dutch Philips stereo) Couldn't find a picture of this. It's pretty lightweight, but I had always been impressed with the tracks this excellent European dixieland band recorded with Sidney Bechet, so I picked this up for a few bucks in New Orleans. Not profound, but accomplished. Bobby Hutcherson - Total Eclipse (BN) A mid-80's "new" Blue Note/Teldec pressing - it sounds really good.

Dang! Of course that's Benny Golson on #3. Feelin' stupid, but at least I got one nobody else knew yet.

Sorry about the late contribution. The first two weeks of the month were taken up with an arranging job which took way too much time for the money involved. The third week I went to New Orleans, and after that I had a houseful of relatives and couldn't think straight. But with just a few days left in the month, I had a couple of hours to devote to BFT 90 today. As usual, I haven't looked at the rest of this thread. 1. Very nice, although I can’t identify anyone. The tenor player seemed to have the most individual voice in this mainstream setting. I liked the metric ambiguity at the beginning of the melody - it took me a few measures to figure out what the time signature was. 2. Not earth-shattering, but good. I like the way the rhythm section listens and responds during the piano solo. 3. Wow – nice! Why don’t I know this recording? It sounds like a young Charlie Rouse and Zoot Sims on tenor, but that seems impossible. Great writing, and everyone’s excellent. I’m looking forward to finding out more about this. 4. Dang – a tune that’s right on the tip of my tongue. It’s very similar to “Nardis,” but it’s not quite the same. Anyway, more nice playing by folks I don’t recognize. The trumpet player has a beautiful cup-muted sound. 5. I’m sure this has been identified by now – it’s “Booby Hatch” by Allen Eager, from 1946. Some pretty impressive bebop playing, even if it’s not totally individual. Young Max Roach sure sounds good. 6. Man, this is great. I was enjoying everyone’s playing, but Coleman Hawkins’ entrance really sent me. The trombonist sounds like Dickie Wells to me. Great Basie-esque rhythm section. It sounds like one of the Buck Clayton jam sessions, down to the studio sound, but it’s not long enough. Beautiful. 7. Someone sure likes Prez. This is good, if kind of derivative. Sounds like it could be Shorty Rogers’ writing, but I don’t really know. 8. A good one – “Claude Reigns” by Charlie Barnet’s bebop band. I like Manny Albam’s writing more than Claude Williamson’s piano playing – not that there’s anything wrong with the latter, it’s just not on the level of Bud Powell, Dodo Marmarosa, or Al Haig from this period. Great piece – enjoyed being reminded of this recording. 9. My wife and I danced to this song at our wedding, but I don’t know this recording. Someone is the harmonic equal of Art Tatum, but I feel that Tatum would have played it flashier. Very good, whoever it is. 10. More solid playing by folks I can’t identify. I’m assuming that the tenor and baritone player are one and the same – if so, I like him better on bari. He takes liberties with the tune, but is it “Jersey Bounce?” Unusual choice for a bebopper. 11. Interesting and unusual choice of tune – it’s a Charlie Parker tune which I believe is called “Segment.” Very well played – I find the pianist more interesting than the alto player, although they’re both very good. 12. Nice “New Testament” Basie groove, although it ain’t the Kid From Red Bank. Nothing wrong with this, but to my ears, nothing that special, either – except maybe for the alto soloist’s fat sound. 13. Another Charlie Parker tune you don’t hear every day – “Relaxin’ at Camarillo.” Again, no ideas as to personnel, but it’s good. The guitar and tenor soloists in particular come up with ideas just unusual enough to lift this above the ordinary. The bassist is also a very good soloist; the pianist does less for me. I enjoyed your bebop fest - thanks for putting it together.

You pretty much telegraphed that it was a joke, but I still didn't catch it. I'm not at my best today....