randyhersom

I love Song For My Sister, it has some suprisingly Blue-Note-ish moments led by the title track.

1. Um, Cannonball Adderly?? : ) 2. David Ware's strings album? 3. Johnny Griffin? Dexter was my other thought, but I think his strings album had more modernish string arrangements. 4. Abbey Lincoln? 5. Lee Morgan a possibility 6. Steve Kuhn over Chick Corea 7. I'll try Jones-Lewis big band here. 8. I'd expect something by Andy Narrell to sound slicker. Definitely thinking steel drums, not hubkaphone. Maybe it's the trombone's date. Robin Eubanks? 9. Sounds like Weather Report. 10. Harold Mabern Jr.? 11. Unusual fragment here. Dave Bryant?

1. Nice organ groove. Don Patterson? 2. Gotta be Pops. Firmly wedged in my mind. I gotta struggle to avoid singing it out loud at inappropriate times. Gobble Gobble. 3. Mongo Santamaria? 4. Reminds me of G-Man, but that's not the track. I still say Rollins 5. I first thought Paul Desmond, which would have meant that Brubeck was in a particularly delicate mood. Sonny Criss came to mind on second play, and that's my guess 6. A tart alto in a 50's style who's not Bird. How about Stitt? 7. Tune sounds like Rainy Night in Georgia. Jug? I wouldn't even be surprised if this was particularly hip filler off a seventies R&B date. 8. Billie, but some of the tenor phrases sound shockingly like Shepp. Probably Ben. Duke's I Got it Bad. 9. Woody Herman? 10. Gerald Wilson? 11. Randy Weston's Hi-Fly on vibes. Jay Hoggard? 12. A very familiar tune from the lat 13. Moon Maiden from The Intimate Ellington 14. Stylistically like Louis Jordan. I remember his voice being a little deeper, so I'll try to dredge up another jump blues name. Jay McShann? 15. Shirley Scott and Stanley Turrentine? 16. Pretty cool beer commercial. Anita O'Day? 17. So who sounds like a cross between Helen Merrill and Mabel Mercer at a Shirley Horn tempo? I should be able to come with a better guess than Helen Merrill, but I cant.

Thanks John. Keen eye there. Hope you liked it.

Grabbed four of the five new James Finn sets. Liking what I've heard so far. Tending toward the Avant Garde, but also some nice flute work. The new design requires an extra click to get to the latest new releases so I don't consider it an improvement. Not bad though.

Wonderful set, left me feeling quite clueless. 1. I'm not good with big bands. Maria Schneider? 2. This lovely muted trumpet may come from Art Farmer 3. Guessing Anthony Braxton here. 4. I heard a lot of clarinet on the new Art Ensemble of Chicago sets on Pi. 5. Of the two names that came to mind, Dave Holland has recorded with vibes, and I'm not sure Ken Vandermark has. I'll go with Dave. 6. La Banda's my guess, an opera influenced ensemble including Willem Breuker. 7. Elvin and McCoy with Pharoah? 8. No idea at all! Maybe a group featuring Michael Moore? 9. Oscar Brown Jr? 10. Later Louis Armstrong? 11. John Mclaughlin - My Goals Beyond?

#1 would seem to be this group.

Arabesque is now showing up. Think I'll start with Jane Ira Bloom's The Red Quartets, 8 Bold Souls and Tony Malaby. More will have to wait until downloads refresh the end of next week.

Tribute is brilliant, enhancing the spanish guitar feel of Charlie Haden's bass lines with a couple of guitarists and Carlos Ward on some tracks. Very hypnotic.

Oh, yes, a recent favorite. Yo La Tengo covers Sun Ra's Nuclear War. It's an EP with 4 versions. One of them features childrens voices singing Sun Ra's lyrics that would not be permitted on network TV, unsettling but somehow appropriate.

If either of then solo piano pieces were 90's or later rock, then Brad Mehldau is likely to have played one or the other.

Santana covered Coltrane's Welcome on the album of the same name. He also dropped a quote from Afro Blue into his Lotus live album. Blood Sweat and Tears did God Bless the Child. Steely Dan covered Duke's East St. Louis Toodle-oo on Pretzel Logic.

I liked track 3 - fire away

2-1 Jazz version of King Crimson's Red, fabulous. I'm inclined to credit British musicians. Maybe John Ethridge? 2-2 Paul Bley comes to mind. 2-3 Some subtle hip-hop influences here. Graham Haynes perhaps? 2-4 Bossa feel. Bobby Watson perhaps? 2-5 Reminiscent of Keith Jarrett, but no vocalisms. Frank Kimbrough? 2-6 Quite lovely. Maria Schneider? 2-7 Pronounced rock backbeat. Maynard Ferguson? 2-8 A tenor tearing it up on Stevie Wonder's Sunshine of My Life. Joshua Redman? 2-9 Sounds like tenor and alto jamming over Rhodes rhythm section. Very fresh. Donald Harrison maybe? 2-10 Burning organ and tenor track. Agonizingly familiar, but I can't put a finger on it. Don Patterson? 2-11 Herbie's Mwandishi Band? No, that trumpet is just too Miles. Bigger band than I'm used to hearing with Miles. 2-12 More good solo piano. I hate to HAFC so I'll try Roland Hanna 2-13 Live organ date. Soft Machine?

This set seems to be about fusion in the best and most organic sense of the word. Disc 1 1-1 I'm going to guess that this is Andre Previn conducting a late Romantic piano concerto ... 1-2 ... segueing into Andre Previn, solo jazz piano 1-3 is this Wynton Marsalis - All Rise? 1-4 Something off Joe Farrell - Moon Germs? 1-5 Miles with Wayne and Herbie? 1-6 Electric Miles 1-7 More Wayne Shorter? 1-8 Kind of an inside-outside vibe here. Ted Curson? 1-9 Solo trumpet isn't done very often. Could be 50s or 60s, or a later player paying tribute. My wild guess is Leo Smith because he did a solo album, Kulture Jazz, but this isn't the style he commonly plays in. 1-10 Art Ensemble of Chicago 1-11 Blue Note era McCoy Tyner? 1-12 Piano trio is wide ranging stylistically, with an unusual vocal contribution at the end. Don Pullen? 1-13 Trumpet trios were very hard to find before the 80s. Roy Campbell? Once again, not as "out" as I'd expect for this player. 1-14 A Blue Note style with some percolating wah-wah guitar added in. Gary Bartz? 1-15 Nice. I'm going with Sonny Rollins against my better judgement. 1-16 Reminds me of Herbie Hancock's The Egg from Empyrean Isles. Whether I'm right or not, I love it.

Listened to and enjoyed my emusic download of One More Time - Steve Lacy and Joelle Leandre. With emusic you miss liner notes, so I'm wondering if anyone might post a translation of the French phone message that ends the CD. The final "Love you baby, au revoir" needs no translating and is a touching ending.

I think the same poet has collaborated with Dennis Gonzalez and MP3s are among the many full CD mp3s available at www.dennisgonzalez.com. I think his recent Old Time Revival has one broken link, though.

Having much more to choose from later in life really favors early acquisitions and perhaps leaves some quality stuff out of the running. It's probably Bruce Springsteen Born To Run. Coltrane's Africa/Brass, Neil Young Live Rust, Woody Shaw Love Dance, Walt Dickerson Peace and Stevie Wonder Innervisions would be in the running. Might be some Santana, Jim Croce and Elton John in there from my teen years. I still love 'em all.

Anybody heard Alex Skolnick? I haven't but I'm intrigued by the descriptions I've heard.

I dont guess you've heard the date he did with Frank Wright late in his career

The Piano Quartet version of The Star Crossed Lovers is a fascinating piece of music. Marty Ehrlich approaches Hodges part with much reverence, as if he feels that what he is trying maybe can't be done, but the best results will come from staying close to the source. Braxton's piano is in direct contrast - the impression I get is "Duke Who??". Of course Braxton selected the composition for his album and you know darn well he knows, but reverence is nowhere to be found in the piano playing. If I listen to it fifty more times I may be able to decide whether I like it, but I know I won't be bored.

Don Redman orchestra? or maybe Horace Henderson?

and Town Crier with Sir Roland Hanna, Paquito D'Rivera and Frank Wess.

Other new labels with jazz interest. Black Orchid (Joe Bonner) Synergy (Jim Ridl, Art Lande) MidLantic (David Eyges and Arthur Blythe) Songlines (Ellery Eskelin, Brad Shepik, Chris Speed) Passin Thru (Oliver Lake)

MAXJAZZ just landed, with Jeremy Pelt and Mary Stallings likely to hit my basket when I refresh on Monday. Hadn't noticed the Pi, will go check that out.