Milestones

Benson is hardly the first huge egoist in jazz, nor will he be the last. I'm sure most people on the board would agree that, despite his skills, Benson is little more than a footnote in jazz history.

Yep, it's all pure speculation.

Ten years ago. Is that a long time for a man who is now 77-years-old?

Benson from Guitar Player: "When Charlie Parker played, you could always hear that melody. The song never left you. When he played Just Friends — one of the greatest solos if not the greatest improvisational thing of all time — you could still hear the song through all of that wonderful, stunning playing."

One has to think it was some pinhead (or group of pinheads) who came up with the runner on 2nd concept.

I never noticed his stuff in the record stores, but then too I wasn't looking. I have observed that his CDs on Amazon tend to be quite expensive.

Who is Ahmad Jamal? He has been a fairly mysterious musician to me. I may have heard one record, and I don't recall it at all. It's been said by some that he was a minor musician who briefly became a major influence on one of jazz's greatest musicians: Miles Davis. I've known Jamal mainly through the song "Ahmad's Blues," played by Miles' rhythm section. But there are others who claim that Jamal is a major figure in jazz. I think he is worth exploring. I've listened to some piece from the "Essence" records in the 1990's. They are intriguing in part because of the presence of guests like George Coleman and Donald Byrd, as well as the drumming of Idris Muhammad. I guess I know little about Jamal because he was never a sideman and he's recorded for small labels (except Impulse, quite briefly) all his life.

Yes, it's odd to have the creator of the BFT not making any responses.

Most of know Monk could be sweet, harsh, caustic, mysterious, and funny--sometimes all at once.

Anyone checking out the spotlight on jazz on TCM? I have looked in just a bit. Some of the films I've seen before, such as Young Man with a Horn starring Kirk Douglas. I think it says something about old Hollywood that they chose the likes of Gene Krupa, Red Nichols, Bix Beiderbecke, and Glenn Miller as subjects.

Actually, I did name "Summertime" first.

I'd be interested to hear some tiles of jazz pieces involving summer. Of course, most of these would be popular songs intepreted by jazz artists. For instance, I have countless versions of "Summertime." There would also be these: Summer Night The Summer Knows Summer Song (Brubeck) Summer Day (Metheny/Medhladau) Once Upon a Summertime The Longest Summer (Metheny) Hothouse The Heat's On When Summer Comes (Oscar Peterson)

This thread is unusually quiet...nearly non-existent.

Not very familiar with the artists represented. Cedar Walton, certainly. Richard Davis and Ricky Ford, both underrated players, definitely. James Carter, a little bit.

Hoping this will be a more consistent effort than the two records with Morgan. Somehow, most of the tracks on those albums didn't engage me. But I'm always interested in listening to Frisell.

7) Buddhist chanting? Later on, it converts into low-key gospel. I don’t know how to respond to this. Kudos at least for putting on something completely unexpected. Sorry, but not something that grabs me. 8) The tenor’s got a thing going on, but I’m not crazy about the background, especially the weird electric keyboards or synths. 9) I can dig some mellow trumpet. It sounds a bit like Kenny Wheeler, but not as distinctive as Kenny. Nice bass solo. It’s a pleasant track, but no idea who or what this is. 10) That sounds quite a bit like Brecker—at least someone in a similar vein. Rhythm is too static for me. 11) This sounds pretty similar to #11, though the sax is reminding me more of Garbarek. A second appearance? 12) A more energized track to close things out. It seems like someone I should know. Maybe Charles Brackeen on tenor, mainly because I know he’s worked with you. n Overall, this is a very tough BFT. Not everything is to my liking, but there are some good and interesting tracks…and a lot of mystery!

1) That’ s a curious piece, with some march beats and prominent use of electric bass. Various horns and flutes, getting a bit more complex over time. It’s on vinyl, so it must be a real rarity. 2) This sounds like a 70s track. It sounds too dated for my tastes. Sax gets into some serious screaming—not too fond of that. Drumming is pretty cool, though. 3) This is spacy, like a lot of the stuff from the early days of fusion. Not too far off from Bitches Brew. Might even be Herbie Hancock on piano? 4) This definitely sounds like John Abercrombie. I think it’s the quartet with Richie Beirach. I don’t know this music as well as I should. It’s a decent track, though not necessarily one of the very best from those records. Ok, I know it: “Nightlake.” 5) The guitar sounds a bit like Ralph Towner. The saxophonist has to be Jan Garbarek. Definitely has the ECM vibe of a certain era. Could it be Gismonti on guitar and Haden on bass? But I only knew this group to function as a trio without a drummer. 6) A real change of pace now with a big band. This begins pretty standard, but then gets creative. Nice tenor solo. Nice trombone, growling. In some ways it sounds like Carla Bley, but not that much. It gets a bit noisy…and what’s this squeaky stuff? Still, for me this is the most intriguing track so far.

Is there not a big irony here? I believe Lou Reed was a huge jazz fan. He was particularly enthused by Ornette Coleman, and Coleman even appeared on a Reed record.

Even more than I expected...and many I've never heard of.

I doubt any were officially named Sonny at birth, but Sonnys are abundant in jazz: Sonny Rollins Sonny Clark Sonny Stitt Sonny Criss Sonny Simmons Sonny Red I'm sure there are more.

Are you familiar with the noirish albums by Charlie Haden's Quartet West? For me, everything works on the albums Haunted Heart and Always Say Goodbye, including the use of the Warner Brothers theme and the excerpts from Raymond Chandler.

Well, Ken Osmond died. May he rest in peace. Eddie Haskell will never die. Among the thousands of "characters" on TV, he is up near the top.

I've liked the ones where Kenny Burrell was designated (at some point) as leader: All Night Long and All Day Long. Dakar is considered one of these? Coltrane with the baritones of Cecil Payne and Pepper Adams--great session. How about Interplay for 2 Trumpets and 2 Tenors. Coltrane here too, with Mal Waldron debuting "Soul Eyes" (very nice, if a trifle long).

I will add that Springsteen has done 47 years at Columbia. Yeah, some good examples in the posts.

Dylan is set for a new release next month--original music too. I'm sure that's not news. But it seems to me that Dylan has been on Columbia for his whole career--58 years. Are they any music artists (of any sort) who have had such a consistent label association over a comparable period of time?