Milestones

The title refers to a book by David Hepworth: Never a Dull Moment: 1971, The Year Rock Exploded. His dubious thesis is that this was simply THE greatest year in rock history. A very good year, for sure, but the very best? The man has a list of 100 great rock albums from 1971, and I imagine there would be agreement on Who's Next, Sticky Fingers, and possibly Tapestry (not that we usually think of Carole King as rock). For those into Progressive Rock, you have The Yes Album and Aqualung. But otherwise, nothing from Bob Dylan and nowhere near the best work from Van Morrison, CCR, and David Bowie. And why are there albums by Barbara Streisand, Dory Previn, and Dolly Parton? Rock journalism (if such this is, and the author is described as a journalist) just seems mighty personal and subjective anymore.

I know the piece on #11, but can't come up with the title. Otherwise...guessing somewhat poorly!

On #11 it sounds like a Strayhorn or Ellington composition. I'll take a guess and say Ken Peplowski. On #12, is it Pepper Adams? On track #13 I'll guess Phil Woods, but probably I'm wrong. Track #14 is pretty cool. Where do I find that? Track #15 sure sounds like a piano duet, but I have no idea on the players. But I'm also thinking Jarrett, mainly because of the vamp and the extended applause at the end. I imagine he could sound like he's playing two pianos.

I'm finding it tough to identify most of the players, many of whom ( I suspect) I know by name only. But I think that's mostly the idea of the BFT.

Track #2 has a 50s vibes: a little mellow for bebop and too fast for cool. Nice tenor, and the trumpeter has some of the qualities of Miles. But no guesses here. Track #3 is Jackie McLean from an early session on Prestige--one that's not in my collection. I know he did a record with Ray Draper on tuba. Track #4 is a cool rendition of "Seven Steps to Heaven" on acoustic guitar. It sounds a bit like Charlie Byrd, but both the guitar work and the overall concept/sound suggest it's not him. Track #5 is, of course, "It Had to be You." No guess at all on the singer, who doesn't sound like he has much of a voice (but who am I to say?). Trombone work by J.J. Johnson? Track #6 is a nice grooving number--some virile tenor work and fine playing by the guitarist (both the solo and the comping), but he's not a really distinctive player like Wes, Kenny Burrell, or Jim Hall. Actually, the comping reminds me of Hall, but this guy goes for a bit more speed. Track #7...oh, that's instantly recognizable as the gorgeous "Single Petal of a Rose." Very nice...I've got some fine versions (but none top Duke's original), but I can't recall any with trumpet in the spotlight. Clark Terry? I doubt that it is Clark. But this is lovely; this needs to be in my collection. Track #8 is "If I Were a Bell." Did Milt Jackson do this? But it's probably not such a famous player. Track #9 is "Turn Out the Stars." The tenor reminds me a bit of Joe Lovano, but this is certainly not his version with Motian and Frisell. The pianist has listened to his Evans, but needs to slow down on the pace. Whether it's Lovano or someone else, he takes out the tune in fine fashion. That's it for now. I really like your choices. I've got several of the titles, but only on #3 am I certain of the artist.

Yeah, that sure is a beast!

I have never before heard the name Curtis Amy. I did look up information and found that he participated in some high-profile rock and soul projects--The Doors, Carole King, Marvin Gaye, etc.

So Motian on the Eddie Costa track...I'll have to listen to this yet again.

I can't think of any other artist of advanced age doing more remarkable work, both recordings and live performances, than Charles Lloyd. Maybe the late Randy Weston, but his records in his last decade or so were less frequent and harder to find than Lloyd's. I need to go back and spend some serious time with Passin' Thru, because this strikes my ears as one fine live record. The second album with The Marvels, Vanished Gardens, is also quite impressive, with the very effective presence of Lucinda Williams on half of the tracks. While he has largely preferred the quartet format for his entire long career, Lloyd certainly does other groupings at times and incorporates influences from everywhere--eastern, rock, folk, country.

OK

Isn't it time for the Reveal?

I think that on Beyond the Wall the singing, the expanded group (including Hutcherson), and the Eastern elements take it well beyond the typical Coltrane tribute or update.

"But, at the same time I wouldn’t walk up to any musician and say, You know who you sound a lot like?" Indeed, exactly my point. "Adventurous," of course, can be hard to define--just as we bandy about such words as "creative" and "deep." I think I lost some of my interest in Branford because he has been so locked into the quartet format for a long time. Why not expand ore reconstitute?

Fair enough, but I wouldn't find really close similarities, and a record like Beyond the Wall is to my ears much more adventurous than anything I can think of by Branford.

Curious that you say of Branford and Kenny Garret, "I find no real differences between he and Branford." Isn't this saying they are essentially the same? Is that a compliment to a jazz musician?

It's always interesting when a thread of mine become huge; that doesn't happen too often. As usual, some insults have been tossed around, always the case when the Marsalis boys come up. I was interested in some of the marketing/business talk. I recall reading that Columbia was first trying to go with Arthur Blythe as the next big thing, but they shifted soon enough to the younger guy with more straight-laced notions of jazz. I don't directly recall there being a big push on Blythe, which occurred shortly before I discovered jazz. I remember getting some of his used records cheap, and even nowadays his Columbia records are not that easy to find. But I'll take Blythe (on any label) over anyone in the Marsalis clan any day of the week. I think we can agree (most of us, at least) that Blythe was more adventurous than the Marsalis brothers. I did find some appeal in the early work of of BM and WM, but I think much of came from their tendency to work with major figures like Herbie, Ron, Tony, Sonny, Joe Henderson. But I guess they didn't learn anything from those guys.

That would be good. I tried to get as close to what he said as I could, given my sometimes faltering memory. But I can say that I did a double take when I read BM's words on Miles.

I too saw the VSOP group with Branford and Wynton out in front of Miles' classic 60s rhythm section--and curiously enough the then-current Miles band was on the same bill. I did enjoy the show quite a bit. But I'm thinking that Herbie, Ron, and Tony had nothing to teach the young lads. I mean just nothing!

I had a look at the current Downbeat while at the library. Branford Marsalis gets the cover story, and in the interview he gets pretty controversial--to my mind. Specifically, he thinks Miles was already an old man in the 1960s and that Herbie, Tony, Wayne, and others were the innovators who brought in the exciting new stuff. The point here, ALL OF IT! He says this: "Miles didn't teach them anything. Nothing." So what happened to the idea of the old master teaching the young ones, while (I'm sure) also learning from them? The usual notion is that Miles developed and nurtured--albeit in a somewhat eccentric way--young talent throughout his entire career. I've read stuff by Herbie where he expressed his complete awe of Miles.

I'm learning some things here. I don't know anything about Eddie Costa. I have heard the name, but that's about it. I had not known that Elvin recorded with Yusef Lateef.

Track #2 features a pianist with a nice touch, though the approach does not seem very adventurous. A lot of possibilities here; I would not hazard a guess. Track #3 is an odd one. It's like 1950's Miles coming out of one channel and 60's/70's avant garde out of the other, with no attempt to meet one another. Track #5 sounds like Sonny Rollins in a trio setting, though probably not--it could be a very good imitator. The drummer could well be Elvin Jones, though he seems to have a lighter touch. Track #6 is an alto? Not sure. It has a Classical music feel, not that your hear sax (spotlighted) over there. No guess. Tracks #7 sounds a lot like Basie, though the guitar solo threw me--Eddie Durham? It even seems to shift into "One O'Clock Jump." Track #8 is definitely "Afro Blue." Nice work on the drums to open up. Good groove in a fusion style. Some of the guitar work reminds me of Scofield. So It's the Allmans? I know the band's early work pretty well, and much of it is great. This is attaining nearly the same level, and it's jazzier. Track #9 is old time jazz with R&B flavor. This is stuff that must have influenced early rock 'n roll. My first thought on #10 is that it's very early Ellington. I've heard my share of this stuff, but can't identify the number...if it is Duke. Track #11 features a locked-in trio, and the pianist shows the influence of Monk and Nichols--maybe a bit of Oscar Peterson too. I don't know who's doing this, but it's very engaging--my favorite track on the BFT. \ Overall, an interesting and certainly diverse set of tunes.

Mark, Concerning Blythe, "Illusions" is short enough, but "Miss Nancy" runs 7 & 1/2 minutes.

That's one way to make a challenging BFT.

Two compositions by Tyner, one by Henderson, one by Ron Carter--plus several standards. Fine record. McCoy was producing a lot of good/great records in this period, in every format from solo to big band.

Actually, Wikipedia says about 6,000 singles and about 35,000 total tracks. That would seem hard to top.