Milestones

1) “Siesta for the Fiesta”—Lester Bowie Brass Fantasy 2) That sure sounds like the Ellington orchestra—early stuff, I’d say mid-30s or earlier. But the wrinkle is the presence of organ. Duke meets Fats Waller? 3) Not bad, pretty laid back. The sound reminds me a bit of John Lewis writing for a larger ensemble. That could even be Milt Jackson. It picks up and get punchier during the trumpet solo. It seems to be a full big band, plus some strings. 4) This must be Duke again. This is familiar, and it sounds like something off Far East Suite—except it isn’t (unless it’s a bonus track). Cool stuff...I like hearing flute in jazz. 5) This reminds me of Tyner’s Fly With the Wind album, although it certainly is not that. Maybe James Newton on flute, though it doesn’t sound much like him. Not bad. Bass is rather prominent. Maybe the bassist’s record? 6) Very mellow, but it sounds like low-end Third Stream or soundtrack music. 7) More modern (I’m guessing ) big band. Some interesting writing, and a nice sudden shift into a funky section just past the 5-miute mark. But I have no idea who this might be. 8) I see you favor the big band sound. Pretty good track. I’m not much up on big band stuff from the last 2-3 decades, just Carla Bley, Gerald Wilson, occasional forays by Dave Holland and McCoy Tyner. Nothing suggests it’s any of them. 9) This could be Barbieri, or perhaps it’s Brecker (whom I know better for his more mainstream work). Whatever it may be, this is what decent “fusion” sounds like. 10) Fun stuff, but I would certainly have a hard time identifying a boogie woogie pianist. 11) Flute seems to be another thread running through this BFT. I have heard many versions of “Delilah,” but not this one. Stephane Grappelli on violin? Ray Nance? Then we have some…oud? I like this! 12) Imagine, more flute! I’m thinking James Spaulding. I’ve heard plenty of his fine playing on Blue Note, where unfortunately he was never a leader. Perhaps later Spaulding. Oh man, on piano that has to be the one and only McCoy Tyner. I don’t recall Spaulding and Tyner meeting up post-1960s. I would have to think it is the flute player’s date. In any case, this is sterling stuff. 13) "Útviklingssang” by Carla Bley. This might be the version from Social Studies, or possibly a different one. I’m a big fan of her music, and this is one of my favorite pieces by her. Overall, this is a great BFT—lots of wonderful music. 1

Of course not. Nor John Fogerty, Neil Young, Loretta Lynn, Bruce Springsteen, Pete Towshend, Carly Simon, Brian Wilson, etc. Nor Dylan, but then he has a Nobel. I guess it's not really an award for songwriting, but rather for contributions (In whatever way that is conceived) to popular music.

Sorry if I offend anyone who enjoys his music, but WTF with Garth Brooks getting this award? He didn't even write his most famous tune, "Friends in Low Places," which in any case hits every lyrical and musical cliche in Country. My one favorite by Brooks is "Make You Feel My Love," composed by some guy named Dylan. Near as I can tell, he contributes to about 50% (or less) of the songs on his records, and I do mean "contribute"--he almost always has co-writers. And the records are 33-38 minutes in running time.

That must have been just a few months before Coltrane passed away.

Expansions is a great album, and so is the big band album The Turning Point (more than 20 years later).

Supertrios was also a double. Of course, all the doubles later wound up as single CDs.

I teach at a community college near Cleveland. I think nearly all the colleges in the state cancelled starting yesterday, including mine. We are just on the verge of spring break anyway, but chances are the rest of the term will be cancelled in terms of on-campus. But they want everything (or nearly everything) to convert to online, which is not hard for me. It looks like everything will be deeply affected. Not good for so many businesses, but I've never seen a crisis like this.

Tyner must have done at least 25 records on Milestone, several of them doubles. And he did most of this within a 10-year span.

OK, I do have that record (4x4), though it has not been played as much as many of the others.

Someone mentioned a piece called "The Seeker." I don't know that one.

I'm spinning Trident at this very moment. I would not mind a record of Tyner/Bartz/Clarke/DeJohnette!

The mellow and gentle side often goes unremarked. I'm thinking of pieces like "Twilight Mist," "Espanola," "You Taught My Heart to Sing," "Good Morning, Heartache," and many ballads (especially solo). All good, good stuff. From what I can tell, McCoy Tyner was still playing live less than two years ago. Yet no recordings for a decade or more.

I hope someone will release some McCoy Tyner we've not heard before, which would most likely be live material. It could be from 10 years ago or 40 years ago, but let's have something.

R.I.P. to one of my all-time favorites. He was, of course, integral to the Coltrane quartet, but what a spectacular solo career. I collected just about everything he did, from solo to big band. So much of it was excellent, including the many sideman appearances on Blue Note in the 1960s. He was a fine composer, and certainly one of the greats on the keys.

I always thought of Montgomery as the leader on Smokin' at the Half Note, though it is true that on the original release Kelly's name appears above his. But that one and Wes' Full House are genuine classics.

Any thoughts on Wynton Kelly? He's one of those guys who put in a nice stint with Miles, but does not get much credit. He had, of course, just the one track on Kind of Blue, but he was integral to Someday My Prince Will Come, which I think is a highly underrated Miles Davis record. I've been listening lately to Coltrane Jazz, where he has a big role (pus there are several bonus live tracks). Much of Kelly's best work is found in live settings, including later work with Wes Montgomgery. He played with such other greats as Dizzy, Cannonball, Sonny Rollins, J.J., Milt Jackson, Hank Mobley, and Jimmy Heath. He seemed to usually have a bright, sparkly style--though at ballad tempo he was nearly as sensitive as Bill Evans. Kelly did not seem very distinguished as a leader. The only record of his in my collection in Kelly Blue, and to be honest I've not listened to it enough to make a real judgment. I had forgotten that Kelly died quite young--only 39. That was true for so many of the players on Kind of Blue: Trane, Cannonball, Bill Evans, Paul Chambers (the youngest of all), and Wynton Kelly.

I can't say that I've heard (or even heard of) Roy Buchanan. I've heard of Quicksilver, but that's about it...before my time is part of it.

James Lipton, whose fame came as the host of Inside the Actors Studio, passed away on March 2 at age 93. I thought that was quite a good show in its prime.

I have two big band albums by Jensen: Treelines (2009) and Habitat (2014). The latter tends to have rather long pieces, but both strike me as fine records all the way through. I recall Downbeat having a nice article about her a year or so back. At this point, Christine Jensen does not have an entry in Wikipedia (Ingrid does).

Track #1 is "Contemplation," the McCoy Tyner piece--which I think first appeared on The Real McCoy. That, of course, is the ultimate version. This one features a nice bass opening; it makes me wonder if the bassist is the leader. More-than-respectable work from the tenor and piano, but they don't measure up to Henderson and Tyner. Track #3 is "You Stepped Out of a Dream," but I don't think I can guess on the musicians. It sounds bit "out" at times, and performing it as as a duet makes it pretty distinctive.

BLINDFOLD TEST 191 REVEAL Feb. 2020 1. “Respect”—Henri Texier (Respect, 1997) This is a pretty new acquisition for me—not even sure how I came across it. Texier is an important bass player from France with plenty of American connections, but I think he has pretty much been confined to foreign labels. The impressive band here is Bob Brookmeyer, Lee Konitz (not prominent on this track), Steve Swallow, and Paul Motian. 2. “Warm Canto”—Mal Waldron (The Quest, 1961) This is a genuine early 60’s classic with Dolphy on clarinet, Waldron, Ron Carter (cello), Joe Benjamin, and Charlie Persip. Booker Ervin is added on the remaining numbers. This track was identified. 3. “Farewell Blues”—Roy Eldridge/Delta Four (Little Jazz, anthology) Somebody identified Eldridge and the name of the group: The Delta Four. We have Roy Eldridge on trumpet, Carmen Mastren on guitar, Joe Marsala on clarinet, Sid Weiss on bass. It was recorded in 1935. 4. “Little Girl Blue”—Oscar Peterson (My Favorite Instrument, 1968) Oscar Peterson doing a ballad, playing solo. Good stuff. 5. “Latin for Travelers”—Charlie Hunter (Everybody Has a Plan Until They Get Punched in the Mouth, 2016) A recent album from guitarist Charlie Hunter. The other players are Kirk Knuffke on cornet, Curtis Fowlkes on trombone, Bobby Previte on drums. 6. “Illusion”—Andrew Hill (Mosaic 16) Andrew Hill with strings. I found this on the Mosaic set (released 2005), which consisted mostly of unreleased tracks. I believe it's Bennie Maupin on tenor. 7. “Flip”—Shelly Manne (The Three & The Two, 1954) Interesting trio track led by Manne with Jimmy Giuffre and Shorty Rogers. 8. “Vernal Suite”—Christine Jensen (Treelines, 2009) Big band record by Jensen, which features her sister Ingrid on trumpet. Not identified. 9. “Oahu Lizard”—Joanne Brackeen (Where Legends Dwell, 1992) Trio track also featuring Eddie Gomez and Jack DeJohnette; the players were identified, but not the record. 10. “The Drum Thing”—Conrad Herwig (Latin Side of John Coltrane, 1996) This is from my favorite of the Latin style albums that Herwig has recorded. The song was identified, but not the artist. 11.“D.T.”—Randy Sandke (Inside Out, 2002) Not identified. Cool and brief number from an interesting record. That’s either Scott Robinson or Mary Ehrlich on bass clarinet and Ken Peplowski on regular clarinet. Other players include Ray Anderson, Wycliffe Gordon, and Uri Caine. 12. “That’s For Sure’’—Marc Copland, John Abercrombie, Kenny Wheeler (That’s For Sure, 2002) Unusual trio; identified. 13. “Backstretch”—Bobby Previte (Weather Clear, Track Fast, 1991) No one identified this track from Previte. The other players are Graham Haynes, Robin Eubanks, Don Byron, Marty Ehrlich, Anthony Davis, and Anthony Cox.

Use Feb. 29 (it comes only once every 4 years) for your final guesses.

We are still looking for ID on #1, #8, #11, and #13. Track #10 has been identified as "The Drum Thing," but the artist has not been guessed (definitely not Coltrane!). Hint on #1: The leader is European, though the rest of the group features high-profile Americans--two of whom passed away about 10 years ago. It was released on a foreign label (not ECM). On #8, the leader is a woman who has released, I believe, two big band records. On #11 we have sort of two groups meeting: one neo-traditional and the other more avant garde (or at least "inside-outside"). Track #13 is a drummer-led septet, and there are some well-known players here. The record came out nearly 30 years ago.

We have just a few days left. I'm willing to offer clues. Seems like some of those who regularly check out the BFT have not done so yet.

I've heard strings be effective on recordings by Getz, Brownie, Joe Lovano, McCoy Tyner, Tom Harrell, Max Roach, Andrew Hill, Metheny, Charlie Haden, and Mark Whitfield. Not something I really look for, but it can be done well--and that includes the strings being no more than a quartet.