Milestones

Yes, my wife likes Bill Evans, Wes, Miles, Bill Frisell, the softer side of Trane, Randy Weston, and a lot more. For all the concerts I have attended over the past dozen years or so, she has been with me.

Yeah, who' still around at 90 or above? We lost some of them: Randy Weston, Jimmy Heath, Jimmy Cobb. There's still Ahmad Jamal and Roy Haynes

1. This is “Weird Nightmare,” the Mingus tune. I have no idea on the singer or the artists, but this is nicely done. 2. Interesting piece. It seems dominated by bass, which is a bit reminiscent of Charlie Haden. Nice use of marimba (I think) and some Methney-esque guitar. But I have no idea who this might be. 3. I thought this was going to break into “My Favorite Things.” Tenor is brawny and shows the Coltrane influence. In fact, the entire band is emulating the Trane quartet. 4. That’s a Jackie McLean tune. I can’t think of which one, but I have heard it many times. Sounds like sax-bass-drums. The short length and overall sound suggest an older piece, but I have no guess. For some reason, this is not very compelling. 5. The tenor sounds very mellow and relaxed; nice piano, not overplaying. This is “Lush Life,” though it takes awhile to become clearly apparent. This is a fine performance, and it holds up well to what Coltrane and others have done with it. This version is distinctive, but I can’t place the artist. 6. Ah, very cool swing feel. It makes me think of Basie, though some elements suggest someone else. But now Jimmy Rushing enters, so maybe it is Basie. Ah, Dizzy for sure! This is from Ellington’s Jazz Party. But that was not Duke at the piano (pretty sure of that). This is pure jazz joy! 7. Classic jazz…I should know this. An Ellington piece? It sounds like someone with a good feeling for this style of tenor playing. Ricky Ford? Scott Hamilton? 8. More cool tenor, traditional sounding. Nice drive and rhythm from piano/bass/drums; I especially like the bass. Reminds me a bit of George Adams, though George nearly always played in a more over-heated style. Good stuff, whoever it is. 9. This sounds like Coltrane modal style, though I don’t think there’s any tenor or any sax here. Trumpet is kind of thick and blurry; the pianist is over-busy in some spots. Not bad. You just have to let this flow over you. 10. Cool enough mix of elements—burnished trumpet and thumping deep baritone, drums usually playing rather freely. No guesses. 11. I’ll just say that I have no idea. 12. Sort of like tropical jazz, a little too close to smooth for my taste.

Ain't that the truth?

I would say RTF was popular in some sense, such as simply having a decent-sized audience. Chick returned to touring and live records with the band about a decade ago.

Yeah, a lot of talk of Benson and now Corea. Just goes to show the winding nature of a thread. Whatever else you wish to say about Corea, the man is eclectic. I've enjoyed various trios (especially with Vitous and Haynes), the duo with Burton, Origin, the latin stuff, some of the electric stuff--and that's just scratching the surface.

For all his criticism of Benson, I'm curious as to why SGCIM even read his autobiography. Then again, a few posts back he had a paragraph expressing real admiration of George Benson. So is it the presumed Parker comparison that makes you so upset?

Since Benson has jammed in the Village, why haven't there been any releases of this material? Some artists do a pretty good job of balancing (in performances and on records) a lighter or smoother type of music with legitimate jazz music. It seems to me that Herbie Hancock did this for quite awhile.

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.