His Boy Elroy

Felser, thanks for putting together this test and including me on the distribution list. I apologize for not weighing in on the discussion. I did listen to all the tunes, but somehow life got the best of me in December, and before I knew it, January was upon us. I appreciate the emphasis, in particular, on the ‘70’s. I was a kid in the ‘70’s, long before I learned about jazz, and largely missed out on the entire decade. When I eventually got into jazz, I started, like a lot of people, with the hard bop of the ‘50’s, and found myself buying into the commonly-held notion among jazz purists that the ‘70’s were something of a jazz wasteland. I eventually realized this was bullshit, but it took a while, and I’m still sort of catching up with a lot of went down in that decade. Like others, I particularly enjoyed that Terry Callier cut. Killer. Anyway, thanks again

I think this one is quite good, even if it was issued on Laserlight:

Keeping it early-70's:

Yeah, that was sort of my reaction when I saw this one -- i.e., "huh . . . who knew?" I may need to seek out a few more in this genre. It was kind of cool to hear Parker in her own voice . . . Now playing: another somewhat obscure Henderson sideman appearance. Recorded in '71, including Walter Bishop and Ernie Watts, among others. A pretty solid mostly straightahead date, with the notable exception of one track ("Unseen Sounds"), where Henderson plays flute while Watts plays piccolo, and Susaye Greene floats wordless vocals over the top. It's the kind of track you'd only hear around the late '60's, early '70's, although it actually holds up pretty well to my ears. Greene adds more wordless vocals over a couple other tunes, although they're more standard in their approach, musically. Anyway, one I like to break out every once in a blue moon, and I'm usually glad when I do.

A little something different. Swings like mad

'Still a bit bludgeoned from #128, but interested in giving it another go

Inspired by a couple recent "Persuasions" posts. This is the only one of theirs I own, but it's excellent. 'Hadn't spun it in a while . . .

Recorded in '78. W/ Surman, Gomez, & DeJohnette.

O-for-29 . . . damn, that was humbling. Fun, but humbling . . .

I was a late bloomer, music-listening wise. My parents weren’t really into it and had a small, mostly-uncool collection. I grew up listening to radio, but it was all mainstream stuff where I lived. Over time, I gravitated to classic rock. In the ‘80’s, I was exposed to a bit more here and there – some college radio type stuff, some punk, reggae, but I was always flat broke and didn’t really have money for records. I didn’t really start opening up, musically, until the late ‘80’s, early ‘90’s, and even then it took a few years to get done with schooling and finally get myself into a spot where I could start buying music in earnest. Still, there were some along the way that sort of stand out in my memory . . . “Hey Jude” and Abbey Road by the Beatles. My brother and I rubbed some coins together in the late ‘70’s and bought these on 8-track to play on my father’s stereo. ‘My first intro to late Beatles, which led me to a ton of other ‘60’s and ‘70’s rock bands. “The Ramones,” “Rocket to Russia” and “Rock-N-Roll High School.” My intro to punk music . . . still a bit of a guilty pleasure . . . but perhaps moreso, in its influence on a lot of post-punk indie music that came after, which I eventually got around to. “The Violent Femmes” – Debut. This one rocked my world when I first heard it. It’s pretty adolescent in a lot of ways, but had a certain stripped-down, low-fi rawness that still appeals to me. I’ve always tended to lean toward organic-sounding rock. “The Free Wheeling Bob Dylan” – really opened me up to pre-electric folk music. Neil Young may have laid the groundwork. “Life’s Rich Pageant” by R.E.M. Early R.E.M. really influenced my listening back in the ‘80’s, nudging me out of purely classic rock and into some more indie-type sounding stuff. “Skylarking” by XTC – this one took it a step further . . . “Love of the Land” by Irish-born Robbie O’Connell. My brother, who was working at a record store in the mid-late ‘80’s, made me a tape of this one, which began a long interest in celtic music – which eventually expanded to include other European folk music, and possibly even led me to bluegrass. “Taj Mahal” – Taj Mahal. I didn’t stumble across this one until later, but it really opened me up to electric blues, and remains one of my favorite blues albums of all-time. “In The Aeoroplane Over The Sea” – Neutral Milk Hotel. This one is only 15 years old or so, but I probably wouldn’t own half of what remains of my rock collection if I hadn’t encountered this one. It really got me interested in modern indie rock again, after I’d been heading in other directions for a while. Anyway, a few off the top of my head . . . I’m sure there were many others. 'not the coolest list of all-time, lol, but they eventually got me into some pretty interesting stuff, I think . . .

Damn . . . I knew I would kick myself @ #6. How could I miss Coltrane? Funny, how context and our preconceptions can betray our own ears (or, at least for those of us without good ears ). Re: #8 - I never would have guessed Andrew Hill . . . and I'm a fan! I really thought I had Lena Horne on "Speak Low" . . . although I do think she sounded a lot like a young Carmen McRae -- something that might otherwise never have occurred to me. 'Lucky guess on the Stanley Clarke bass intro, although I'm glad I got something right . . . might that make the keyboardist George Duke? A few last thoughts on 19-29: Track 19 Man, no guesses (again!). Sounds to me like maybe a crossover guy, like a Mark Whitfield, or someone like that, but I don’t think that’s him. Pianist is a jazz cat, though, I think. 'Nice take on Wes . . . Track 20 Reverby West African music. Malian? ‘Sounds old and new at the same time. No clue, but pretty cool stuff . . . ‘especially like the guitar effects . . . Track 21 I feel like I should know that alto . . . man, I really do suck at this . . . I can’t even name the tune, even though I’ve heard it many times. 'Don’t recognize the trumpet, either. 'Wish they didn’t cut out the guitarist at the end . . . I liked his/her sound. Track 22 Jazz/soul/funk. Nice groove. ‘Don’t think that’s a jazz guitarist. More of a soul/funk player, but I have no idea who. Plays funky as hell, though! Mid ‘70’s? Track 23 Stanley Turrentine? Track 24 Sax player plays like Joe Henderson. No idea who this is. Vocals are indeed different, but do add some texture and interest to the groove. Track 25 Alex already nailed this one. I like how Bailey sounded kind of jazz and kind of country at the same time . . . Track 26 Bluesy tune - sounds almost Ellingtonian. Pianist can play the blues, but has light touch – a woman, perhaps? Longshot stab in the dark: Marian McPartland? Track 27 Orchestral intro – flutes, strings. Sounds old at first, then breaks into a kind of modern groove with a late ‘70’s, early ‘80’s vibe. No obvious leader here . . . a bit “soundtrackish” to my mind. Again, at a loss . . . Track 28 Big bass intro – laid back reggae beat, trombone lead . . . ‘not the faintest, but definitely up my alley! Track 29 Cool version of "Michelle". . . Lenny Breau, maybe? Thanks for putting this together. It was both fun and challenging, and it gave my ears a good stretching. 'Look forward to reading the results

Thanks, jeffcrom. You'd think I might have known that, given that the image I posted says right on it, "compact disc," lol . . . (I think I'm starting to lose it) This morning: