felser

OK, Old Wooden-Ears will start it off for everyone's amusement: BFT 107 1 - "Darn That Dream" - Tal Farlow, I think. Love that whole style of guitar playing, Tal Farlow, Herb Ellis, etc. Lovely performance. 2- "My One And Only Love". I'm going to guess that flute is not the primary instrument for the flautist on this. He does not sound as sure of himself as the rhythm section does of themselves. Of course, these are the kind of statements that oftem make me sound like an idiot when the answers are revealed. But I am not very impressed with the flute on this, though I dig the rhythm section. 3 - Same song, different flute player, this one sounds much more sure of himself. Beautiful cut, though it feels like the guitarist is sort of coasting on his solo (love what he does the rest of the cut). 4 - "Giant Steps". Short and sweet, really like both the organist and the guitarist. 5 - "The Gambler". By a non-singer, but I sure prefer this to Kenny Rogers :-) 6 - This is the part of the blindfold test where I always guess someone else and it turns out to be Sonny Stitt, so I'll guess Sonny Stitt (and it will turn out to be someone else). But really, how can you possibly not like this cut? 7. - One of those older master players I should be able to differentiate but can't. I'll go out on a limb and guess that this is a late-career recording with a European rhythm section. 8 - Joe Henderson's "Recorda-Me" but I am not placing this performance, though it's a very strong one. Trombone player is very very good, is it Conrad Herwig? Trumpet player does well, as does pianist and tenor player. I know Henderson recorded his own big band version of this for Verve late in his career (and it's the only one of the Verve albums that I really am all that crazy about, though they're all OK), but I don't think this is the version from that album. Whatever it is, it works big-time for me, and I will want to pick it up if I don't already have it. 9 - Well, I should be able to name both the song and the pianist, but I can't name either, though the song is very Ellingtonish. But I really like it. 10 - One of those things I probably should like more than I do. Again very neo-Ellingtonish, but I don't really think that it's Johnny Hodges or any other Ellington players. Not something I would buy or listen to on my own. I could see it being someone like Lee Konitz. 11 - The first thing that comes to mind, so I'll stick with it, is Attila Zollar with Don Friedman, though the bass player's conception seems too modern for that. Whatever it is, it definitely works big-time for my ears, and I'm very interested to know waht it is. BTW, Don Friedman is phenomenal as both a pianist and a composer, and I don't understand why he hasn't been much much better known and appreciated. 12 - Huh? My mind goes immediately to "El Paso" by Marty Robbins and "Come a Little Bit Closer" by Jay & The Americans. Anyways, this one has totally and utterly lost me in every regard. Could be anything from Astor Piazzolla to Henry Threadgill to Airto to infinity and beyond for all I know. 13 - Old school. I can't place the singer, but she's not the type of singer I listen to. Wouldn't surprise me if it was the tenor player's session rather than the singer's, and I feel like he's someone I should know. I find this sort of static rhythm makes me very antsy. 14 - Second part is "Goin' Out of My Head" of course. Three separate guitar parts going on here, be it three different players or, very possibly, overdubbing. They have heard the Wes Montgomery version of this, and the acoustic player has listned to how Gabor Szabo tuned his guitar, but I can't really place this.

Yep. I was at the dreaded King of Prussia Mall over the weekend with my wife. 400+ stores, and not a single CD store or book store among those.

Not familiar with Winkler, and am happy he recognizes Nyro's genius, but will take this opportunity to express that my wife and I have, for decades, lamented that Nyro's own versions of her songs are not as well known as the "famous" covers, which invariably homogenize them. Three Dog Night's "Eli's Coming" is a fine record until you hear Nyro's own version, the same with the Fifth Dimension's "Wedding Bell Blues", "Save The Country", "Sweet Blindness", and "Stoned Soul Picnic", Barbra Streisand's "Stoney End", BST's "And When I Die", etc. And these songs are accompanied by other stunning performances on her albums. And she did maybe the greatest cover album of all-time in 'Gonna Take A Miracle", and album that has literally brought tears to my eyes at times, her singing is so beautiful and the song selection so perfect. She was a great writer, but also (maybe even moreso) a PHENOMENAL singer in her prime, and so relatively few really appreciate that. Thanks for bearing with me.

And sold out. Already a bit cheaper from some of the Amazon resellers, and my current usual best price resellers (importcds and moviemars) haven't even listed it yet.

BFrank, totally with you on the McBee, what a great album. Was so impressed with Chico Freeman in those days, so disillusioned since then. That Jackie McLean desecration caused Bob Rusch to explode into the greatest record review in the history of Cadence magazine. If my memory serves me correctly, the entire review was in bold capitol letters, and basically told the record industry to go ahead and ruin all the young players they want (I believe they named Azar Lawrence, who had just put out the horrid 'People Moving" sellout on Prestige), but that Jackie McLean was an institution, a national treasure, and they had no right to mess with him. Anyone else remember that review?

not available at my local Big Lots. If any other board member is willing to pick one up for me, I'll gladly pay the purchase and postage prices, thx.

Thx, I look forward to seeing this available!

And yet the Amazon displays showed a release date of August 2012, which is what I was responding to.

At those prices, I'll get it and pass along whatever I already have, but having trouble finding it actually available anywhere. And yes, amazing how ugly the packaging has been on this stuff in the past, especially those brownish covers on the BMG jewel case ones from 20 years ago..

Also on Collectables website, where I bought massive numbers of them a few years ago

Big Al, I enjoyed the BFT immensely, even with Jimmy Adkins warbling "Colorado" and that trombone stinker! And love that one cut on side 2, can't wait for the answer thread to find out what it is.

DL - time to show off my wooden ears some more...

PM sent on Roland Prince- Free Spirit (Vanguard gatefold mini lp) $6 Roland Prince - Color Visions (Vanguard gatefold mini lp) $6

PM sent on Byard Lancaster Unit - Live at Macalester College (Porter) $8

I'm still interested in Vol. 3 of the Stax set if there are any takers for vols. 1 and 2. Alex previously expressed interest in vol. 2.

"Passion Food" from 'Involvement', his first album. Somebody named Sam Thomas on guitar. I have wooden ears, but am good with a google search.

PM sent on $7 Gary Burton Quartet in Concert (Cherry Red) near mint

Joshua Redman?

I'll take December 2013 if still available. December tends to be a month I have a lot of time off work, so that would work out well for me, given my employment situation remains intact throughout 2013.

I know that there are a lot of delays currently on international packages to the USA.

Thanks Chuck. Do you happen to know why that was?

But we are NOT into UA era Blue Notes here! And those BN Montreux albums were notorious in how briefly they were available. They were cut out before people even knew they were released. I was fortunate to get the Hutcherson Montreux as a cut out at Third Street Jazz back in the day, and it is something I would have bought new as soon as I saw it.

Honest first impressions, posted without reading other discussion: 1 - They do everything "right",so I guess I should like this more than I do. Sort of just pleasantly fades into the background for me. Expertly played, but in a very predicatable, business-like manner to me. 2 - Same response as above. I admire the tone and abilities of the tenor player but he doesn't grab me, and the main guy I normally had that response to was Michael Brecker, so I'm going to guess it's him. This BFT reminded me that a fair part of why I don't like newer mainstream stuff is because the rhythm sections play differently than they did in the 50's'- 60's,and this is a good example of that. The drummer is really boring to me on this, even though he's likely a "name" guy, and the bass player is sort of all over the place rather than laying down a pulse that I can connenct to. Another thing that works against me for these first two is that they use those sort of samba-ish rhythms that I only sort-of take to. 3 - Reminds me of those weird Walter Wanderley 60's Verve albums, especially that strange lead instrument. Again, not a rhythm I relate to particularly well. This one has a pretty cool sense of humor. 4 - ZZZZZZZZ. Nothing "wrong" with it, but it just feels so "by the numbers". Thus completes the Samba side of the BFT. 5 - This is more up my alley. Like what the rhythm section is doing. Vibes player sounds like Milt Jackson, but this is too "new" to be one of the things he did with Frank Wess in the 50's. Is this one of the ones with Jimmy Heath on Pablo in the 80's? A Cedar Walton compostion with him on piano? 6 - I like this a LOT, has such a nice 70's spritual groove to it. This is the sort of think I do a lot of listening to. None of the individual players jump out at me for distinctive style, but they do their jobs well, especially the pianist. This is the first one I'm going to go look into acquiring if I don't already have it. Reminds me of some of the stuff that came out on Black Jazz or Strata East, or that Harry Whitaker album. 7 - Carlos Santana, of course, and I was a fan back in the day, until he became so "Smooth" c/o Clive Davis. "Gardenia" from 'The Swing of Delight', the album he did with Shorter/Hancock et al. That one was a nice album, but a relative disappointment given the personnel. I like Carlos a lot on this cut, but the sax leaves me cold. I have not been a fan of Shorter's post-Miles playing, and really best like him with the Jazz Messengers. 8 - "Land of the Velvet Hills" by JOhnny Smith. Jimmy Atkins on vocal. That's perverse, Big Al! 9 - Time and place. Probably mid-60's, probably Verve records. Conversely to cut 1, I like this more than I should. It's a lot of fun, and the guitar parts smoke. From the words, I guess it's a cover of Jr. Walker's "Shotgun", but they've totally left behind the tune and changed the groove. 10 - Time and place. Probably 60's, probably Atlantic records. Surely the tenor player's album. Fathead Newman? Doing what he does, doing it well like he does. Works for me, YMMV, but hopefully not too much. And you just don't get good boogaloos anymore. 11 - The pianist's album. Sounds like something from Herbie Hancock's "Inventions and Dimensions" album, but it isn't, and certainly sounds like Willie Bobo,but I can't place it. I do like it. 12 - Right in my sweet spot. Something I surely have, by a tenor player I have dozens of cD's by, but I can't place the song and hesitate to guess at the player (maybe Lockjaw Davis?). Too much wonderful music, too little time. I could spend a lot of decades listening to this sort of thing. 13 - Gotta be Weather Report or a reasonable facsimile thereof. EP sure sounds like Joe Zawinul to me, gotta think it's Weather Report. I like it. The lack of synths and the solid bottom of the bass indicate that it would be pre_Jaco, which is a good thing to me. Whoever/whatever/whenever it is, it's good. 14 - Blecch. My first thought was Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass, but it's probably something like one of those early A&M/Creed Taylor Nat Adderley albums, before Don Sebesky got his footing and made those beautiful CTI albums. Really reall dislike that style of trombone playing, though I know others here are fond of it. No doubt has "historical significance", but still... 15 - Marginally better than 14, but still not something I'd ever want to listen to again. Alto player's album. Hank Crawford? Never have quite "gotten" him, even though I own some Atlantic and CTI stuff by him. 16 - Has to be Lennie Tristano with Lee Konitz, Warne Marsh, and Billy Bauer. Works OK for me, but it's cold. and George Russell and Cecil Taylor were certanily paying attention. I own it, I play it sometimes, I admire it. I don't love it. 17 - Not cold. Vibrato says Coleman Hawkins. Again, something I admire more than I like, something I no doubt own, and listen to once in a blue moon.

I also like the America date, with Eddie Preston, McPherson, Bobby Jones, Byard, and Richmond. Well worth having. My main regret about it is that "Love is a Dangerous Necessity" is clearly truncated, right when it really sounded interesting. I remember really liking "Peggy's Blue Skylight" from this session.

Was just thinking that. One of the foundations of my original jazz LP collection in the early 70's was cut-out Blue Notes.