Hot Ptah

Has anyone heard the new Complete Horo Records CD box set? It's pricey, but if the sound quality is good I may have to spring for it. I hope that the individual albums are issued separately. However, considering how long we have waited for this, and the tortured path it took to get this reissued (as described ad naseum in the liner booklet), I think that it might be safest to just spring for the entire box now. I am especially interested in the previously unreleased bonus tracks--in particular, the new tracks from the three Sun Ra album sessions (Unity, New Steps, Other Voices Other Blues), and the new tracks from the Lester Bowie and Sam Rivers albums.

Yes. A session led by Fred Katz, I think from the Zen album. That would mean that it is Paul Horn on flute. This is a really interesting, appealing track. I need to check out more of Chico Hamilton's work.

Is #2 on Disc 3 by Chico Hamilton and his group?

I will wait a few more days to see if we get additional responses, before scheduling anything. In the meantime, I will explain how this two headed monster thing will work. I will handle the scheduling aspects of what Jeff did, and Thom Keith will provide all technical assistance, for downloading, detagging and anything else. Since I am absolutely THE worst at those technical issues, Thom is definitely the man to go to. So felser, Thom will help you with detagging. awesome_welles, almost no one requests their Blindfold Test by disc any more, so it should not be much of a problem. If there are U.S. members who want the BFT by disc, we can work something out. For example, a U.S. member could download your BFT and burn it onto discs for the other U.S. member. I can coordinate that with you. Homefromtheforest, I will send you a Private Message about Blindfold Tests in general.

Once again I have Sun Ra on the brain. "Call For All Demons" is an early Sun Ra compositions which was released on his "Angels and Demons at Play" album. As Thom and I take over the job of Blindfold Test manager, we reflect humbly on how it takes at least two people to fill the towering shoes of Jeff Crompton, who did such a great job over the past several years. I note that we presently have no one listed to present Blindfold Tests in July, August, September and October of this year. Would anyone like to present a Blindfold Test? We will help you with the general concepts, and Thom will specifically help you with how to prepare the download. (I will be of no help in that regard, for sure). Please respond on this thread, and we will sort out the schedule from the expected deluge of responses. Bill

Thousands of Organissimo board members spontaneously rush into the streets to express their feelings for the job that Jeff Crompton has done as Blindfold Test manager over the past several years!!!

I would rather wear this hat. My alma mater miraculously made the Final Four!

Thom and I have to decide who gets to wear the Grand Poobah hat. Once we get past that issue, we should be all right.

I saw Dexter live several times in the late 1970s and early 1980s. One time in particular he was so drunk that he could not speak to people at the bar between sets. But somehow he played wonderfully, and delivered several spoken song intros without slurring a word. He was very good to great every time I saw him. Also, his backing trios, with Rufus Reid and Eddie Gladden, and either George Cables or Kirk Lightsey on piano, were very energetic and exciting. There was a go-for-broke, wild excitement when they played, which I have not witnessed much in recent years with live jazz performers.

Thom, please see my private message to you.

I think that if the filmmakers were aware that the version of "Jeep's Blues" which they used in the film was a version later recorded in the studio, with crowd noise dubbed in, it would have indeed been an appropriate twist to a film about deception and things not being what they seem. I find it unlikely that many people not on this board, or perhaps on a few other online music boards which will remain nameless, would have knowledge of that fact--either while making the film, or while watching it. I agree that the Electronically Rechanneled for Stereo issue is not a big deal, because that would have been the only LP version available for purchase in the late 1970s. It was a time in which relatively little jazz had been reissued, and almost nothing had been reissued in multiple source or mix versions. It was a very different time than now, for reissued jazz. I loved the female lead's Duke Ellington charm on her charm bracelet. I think that the conversation about that Ellington charm was supposed to take place in 1978, from the words onscreen--unless the two leads had been running their scams for 4 years before they got together with the FBI agent, which seems possible but unlikely. So the male lead's comment that "he died this year" would have been inaccurate.

Would have made Preston Sturges proud? I thought that scene would have embarrassed Jerry Lewis. I think it might have been somewhere in between the two.

I agree, I thoroughly enjoyed the film and thought it was excellent.

I found it amazing that a love of Duke Ellington generally, and "Jeeps Blues" in particular, was the thing that attracted the two main characters to each other. "Jeeps Blues" is played by the two main characters on their turntable twice in the film, and the cover of "Ellington at Newport" is prominently displayed. Also, the female lead turns to jazz as a way of reinventing herself before her move to New York. She is shown examining the covers to Blue Train, Midnight Blue and other jazz albums. This seems amazing to me in a mainstream big budget Hollywood film.lI liked this film very much.

I enjoyed Wolf of Wall Street as a film. I was also amazed at the music used prominently in the film. Songs by Howlin' Wolf, John Lee Hooker, Bo Diddley and Elmore James are used in big scenes. Music by Ahmad Jamal and Cannonball Adderley are also used with other jazz.

I am in, thanks.

Okay, I will give my impressions for Disc 3. 1. This is Sun Ra's "Enlightenment", but not by Sun Ra. I first heard this song as the opening track on Sun Ra's "Jazz in Silhouette", which I think is one of Sun Ra's best albums. I have vocal versions of this song on later Sun Ra albums. I also heard Sun Ra and his Arkestra perform and sing it live in the late 1970s and early 1980s. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, I heard Sun Ra give extended orations in the middle of his concerts, but not during "Enlightenment". This is a loving tribute version, but it really points out to me that Sun Ra and his Arkestra had a unique feel to their music, which is very difficult to duplicate. Without that unique feel, there is something missing. Sun Ra and June Tyson were not technically great vocalists, but they had a unique quality to their voices, and a passion and conviction about what they were singing or saying. Without that unique quality, passion and conviction, the vocals and orations fall a little flat for me here. I think that Sun Ra and June Tyson brought all of their life experiences and thoughts to bear, on every word they sang or spoke in concert. As they had extensive and rather unusual life experiences and thoughts, their power of conviction and style of delivery were quite unique--perhaps unprecedented and impossible to come close to duplicating. When Sun Ra would orate during his concerts, he talked as if the fate of the universe depended on his message. What he was saying often did not make immediately obvious logical sense, The combination of the weirdness of what he was saying, and the passion with which he delivered it, created a very powerful experience. To me it was sometimes as close to mindblowing as I have experienced in a music concert. I do not get any of that here on this track. As no one will ever come close to really duplicating Sun Ra, it is good that there are hundreds of recordings left behind for us of his work. 2. This is a really interesting track, which I like a lot. It reminds me of the more successful late 1950s Third Stream experiments, but it sounds like it was recorded much more recently. It has a warm, appealing quality to me. The flute player is really good--I have no idea who it is. The guitarist has a familiar sound. I should know who this is, but I don't. If I don't already own this, I will want to get it after the Reveal is posted. 3. This is a powerful, muscular piece by rather contemporary avant garde players, I think. I have no idea who the saxophonist or pianist are, but I like their playing very much. 4. Charles Mingus' "Mediations on Integration", but not by Mingus. I think that this is a successful version which does capture the feeling of Mingus pretty well. Who is doing this kind of music now? I can't wait for the Reveal to find out. 5. This is either an overdubbed piece by a good bassist, or a bass duet with one bassist playing with the bow and the other plucking the bass. I really like this. I find it interesting and beautiful. I have no idea who the bassist or bassists are, but I like the playing very much. 6. Wow, this is a real barnburner of a track! I love this! I have to get it. Now watch, I already own it and just don't remember it. I love the muscular, bluesy riff. I wish more contemporary jazz ensembles would dive right into an overtly bluesy sound like this. Some of the better jazz groups of today play a sort of post-modern commentary on the blues, in which they tiptoe around the blues, abstracting it until there is no blues feeling left at all. Why do they do that? It almost seems like they are allergic to soulfulness. But not this group. I love where this group is situated, at the border between the avant garde and post bop. Some of my favorite music is on that border. The violin soloist is really good, and so wild! Who plays like that? I really like it! The guitarist descends into sheer noise, but keeps it short enough that I did not tire of it.The saxophonist knows his avant garde. I have no idea who it is. I am not sure why, but I get a European feeling from the arrangement. 7. This is very appealing. It is a happy sounding soulful bop piece, but sounds very contemporary to me. The pianist and saxophonist both play with chops and soul. I have no idea who they are. 8. This is a nice track in which the saxophonist really knows Coltrane and the drummer really knows Elvin Jones. I have no idea who it is. Since their influences are among my favorite musicians, I like this a lot. 9. This sounds a bit like the Jazz Messengers, but more contemporary. The saxophonist has a jaunty, unique sound. I should know who it is. It is as if the identification of the saxophonist is tantalizingly close, but I can't get it. This is very appealing. 10. A nice avant garde workout for two saxophonists. I really like it, and have no idea who they are. 11. The trumpet player has digested Miles Davis to the point where Miles has become part of his sound. But it is clearly not Miles. I like the catchy, infectious opening bass line. The pianist is quite good, and hints at being able to play in more styles that are shown here. 12. This is another one of those pieces on the border of post bop and avant garde that I like so much. I want to get this after the Reveal. This is really, really good. I feel like I should know the saxophonist, who has a big tone and has a noticeable Coltrane influence. I just can't quite name the saxophonist, but he sounds familiar. The trumpet player has better ideas and sound, than chops. Conclusion--I really like this disc a lot. Every track is at least quite good, and several are things that appeal to me very much.

I am working on a set of impressions of your tracks. Jeffcrom, our BFT leader, had previously posted his opinion that all BFTs should be one disc long. I was one of those who argued against the length limitation. However, I am beginning to see the wisdom of Jeffcrom's view. The music you have put together on your three disc set is amazing, but it is a lot to get through and write impressions about, in a month's time. I am working on it, though.

When I read the title of your thread, I thought it meant that you were going to have excerpts from Ornette Coleman's "Free Jazz" as your ringtones. That would attract attention in public.

James Newton--Paseo Del Mar James Newton/Anthony Davis--Hidden Voices Horo (all)

Three discs! I have difficulty filling one disc up, when I prepare a BFT. I received discs from another Organissimo member for all of the music, so I have not seen the tags for any of the music. The Miles Davis-in-the-1970s sounding cut on Disc 2 is tremendous. They get so many little details just right, the sound and timing of the percussion, the way the organ sounds, the chatter of the electric guitars--I am still not sure whether it is an outtake from a Miles album which I have never heard, or if it is another group playing in that Miles style. I think it is not Miles. Track 1 on Disc 3 is Sun Ra's "Enlightenment", first recorded on Sun Ra's late 1950s album "Jazz in Silhouette". I saw Sun Ra and Arkestra perform this song live, with the vocal included, in the late 1970s and early 1980s. This is not a Sun Ra recording of the song--I do not know who it is. I assume that some of Sun Ra's writings are being recited--I know of no Sun Ra album in which so much recitation occurred like that.

I am about the least technically adept person, not just on this board, but anywhere. Perhaps because of this, my BFTs have been plagued with problems, which other members have helped me with. I perceive from those experiences that there must be something you could do to resend the download without any information about the artists and song titles being included. What it is that you could do, I don't know, and would defer to someone who knows much more than I, about tech issues.

Is the Ray Charles (#17) available on any commercial release? I really enjoyed that track! I have the Roots album (#9) but have not listened to it for some time and in embarassing fashion, did not remember what was on it. Is the Freddie Hubbard track (#14) on any available LP or CD? I was not familiar with it at all.