Milestones

I'm a big fan. Among his own records, I love Freedom Book the best, and after that usually go to his sterling work with Charles Mingus and Randy Weston. He died pretty young--about the same age as Coltrane. It is certainly tough to rival the work and legacy of Trane. But Booker's profile 50+ years later should be higher than what is is now.

Yes, that sums it up!

It's one of those Blindfolds where you can identify quite a few pieces, as well as styles associated with major artists, but the artists represented here are lesser known--actually a fairly common approach on BFT.

1) Stride piano. I don’t know the tune, and to me it sounds like a modern player—not a key player from the old days. Marcus Roberts or someone like that. 2) Oh man, I know this…it’s a bebop tune, isn’t it? Certainly has strong elements of the Joe Pass solo style, thought I don’t think it’s Joe. Not bad, but I can only listen to about 3 straight solo tracks in this style. 3) You seem to be selecting players who draw strongly on a prime influence. This reminds me of latter-day Sonny Rollins, though clearly not Sonny. Nice bounce to it, though I doubt the player could keep the ideas going for an extended solo. 4) A pretty cool big band track. Despite the Basie influence, it sounds quite modern. I like that pulsing bass, and the soprano solo is fine. More traditional work on the trombone, but sounding good. Is that Clark Terry going back and forth between open and muted? Actually, it sounds more like two separate musicians. 5) Some moody solo piano. Then some very laid-back guitar added. The tune is a “standard.” 6) Identified. 7) This reminds me of some things Mingus did in the mid-50’s. It’s got some West Coast and semi-classical elements. There’s an alto solo by a Bird-inspired guy. This track might even be Mingus; he was known to perform "Jitterbug Waltz." It certainly has me intrigued. 8) Nice mellow track with big band, spotlight on guitar. Nothing really coming to me. Guitarist reminds me a bit of Kenny Burrell, but I venture to say it’s not Kenny. Pretty rare to hear this much spotlight on guitar in a big band setting, unless it’s Gerald Wilson—and this is not Wilson. 9. "Tricotism" as solo bass feature. Maybe Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen. 17. "Snowfall" as a little solo guitar coda. Nice, but I have no idea of the artist.

Bill Frisell's presence makes just about any record worth hearing. He definitely added a lot to Vanished Gardens. As side note, quite some time ago Frisell played "Ramblin" with Ginger Baker and Charlie Haden.

There's a sucker born every minute.

This stuff is horrible. It's killed just about as many Americans as we lost in WW2. My wife had it; my mother-in-law (hospitalized); many others, family and otherwise. Hopefully, we are about to turn the corner.

My car is nearing 18 years old and basic in all respects!

I have not seen a BFT this tough in ages.

Whenever I rip CD tracks to the computer, they are in .wma format, or at least they used to be. I've used downloading services where the format is .mp3. I would often make playlists that feature tracks in both formats, and they would burn just fine--would play in the car or on any system. But lately it does not want to burn if .mps3 tracks are present. I don't ever recall using .wav files.

I general like my files in WMA (Windows Media Player) rather than WP3. I just noticed my computer was ripping music files into MP3 format. A CD that would not burn in MP3 format did burn when I reloaded the original CD into the computer and converted to WMA format. These days I seem to be having a lot of trouble with MP3, though in the past it was generally fine. There seem to be programs that convert MP3 to WMA. Does anyone do that? Do you have recommended programs? Thanks.

Or Frances Wayne (sorry, my mother's name was Frances).

I have seen Bill Frisell, Chick Corea, and Uri Caine at Oberlin--great, memorable performances. These occurred within the past 20 years.

The likelihood of Foreigner or Journey playing at Oberlin is zero.

The best spy novelist of all time. I don't think there's any serious competition.

Did I miss something, or is #1 still a mystery (unidentified)?

I find the 1990's to be simply one of the great decades in jazz. There were so many great musicians at their peaks and putting out one fine record after another. Randy Weston is an all-time favorite, and he OWNED that decade. McCoy Tyner started the decade on fire! This also where Bill Frisell and Joe Lovano really got going; these are the two musicians I follow most closely to the present day. These are some favorites (the list could be much longer): 1. Open Land--John Abercrombie 2. Every One of Us--Ray Anderson 3. Hipmotism—Arthur Blythe 4. Change—Chick Corea and Origin 5. Miles and Quincy at Montreux 6. Gone, Just Like a Train—Frisell 7. Have a Little Faith--Frisell 8. Pursuance—Kenny Garrett 9. Dream Keeper—Haden/Liberation Music 10. Steal Away—Charlie Haden and Hank Jones 11. Haunted Heart--Charlie Haden 12. Beyond the Missouri Sky--Haden/Metheny 13. Jim Hall & Pat Metheny 14. So Near, So Far--Joe Henderson 15. In the Spirit--Jay Hoggard 16. Vivian--J.J. Johnson 17. From the Soul--Lovano 18. Rush Hour—Lovano 19. After the Rain—John McLaughlin 20. Imaginary Day--Pat Metheny 21. Rhythm Within--Steve Turre 22. Lotus Flower--Steve Turre 23. The Turning Point--Tyner 24. Street Suite--Tynerth44 25. The Spirits of Our Ancestors--Randy Weston 26. Saga--Weston

Still wondering if anyone has an idea on why Coltrane wrote two pieces (so the credits say), yet did not play on either one.

The arco thing was fairly big with him, it seems. Like others, I'm not much into those solos. Mingus could do arco. Holland can do arco.

I've had Bass on Top for awhile now. I agree it's the better of the two records, but not by a big margin.

When he did do the leader dates, he was with Miles, as well as heavily recording with Coltrane, Burrell, Adderley, Lee Morgan, Red Garland, etc.

Yes, he died very young, but he also didn't record an album as a leader after age 25.

I finally got around to checking out this Paul Chambers record. Pretty nice, but then how can you go wrong with a supporting cast of John Coltrane, Donald Byrd, Kenny Burrell, Horace Silver, and Philly Joe? Does anyone else think it's quite odd that Coltrane has two writing credits, yet does not play on either of those pieces? Also, why was Chambers' solo/leader output so small and why did it end at such a young age?

I did not even known he had become an expatriate. I saw something about him leading a big band.

Any fans of Ricky Ford? He strikes me as one of those under-rated or under-valued tenor players. His thing is basically mainstream playing, though I notice he sometimes goes into those Jackie McLean type screams at climactic moments. I was mostly aware of him for his work with Abdullah Ibrahim's Ekaya. His stuff was never easy to find, and even now I don't see much by him on downloading and streaming services. He had a solid run on Muse in the 1980s, then quickly a few on Candid. Since then he's been scarce. I have just two of his own records...well three if I can find an old cassette around here. Not saying he is a tenor titan, but certainly worth hearing. So many good tenor players and some just slip away or fall between the cracks.