Nate Dorward

Good sleuthing! So you do already have it anyway! I didn't make a particular effort to highlight bass players, no, though there are some very fine bassists on the disc. -- Interesting that so many BFT participants say that track #6 sounds vaguely familiar.... I suppose it could be because the track is a cover of an earlier tune, though the tune in question is not a particularly well-known one! -- Fans of the Dutch scene may be able to spot a snippet of a favourite Misha Mengelberg chestnut near the end, though....

No, not Morris..... I've liked the odd thing I've heard of his but at this point don't want to hear any more of him or his music (there's some backstory here I won't go into). No, not Goodrick nor ECM. Probably not an artist you've heard (unless you've heard some of his sessionwork on pop recordings....) as this is taken from his only own-name disc (he's got another one out there as part of a collective, & that's it). Though you may well have run into this player, who lives in your neck of the woods. Well, with the first BFT I did one of the common reactions seemed to be that people were expecting something a little more avant-garde in orientation.....! So this one pushes the envelope a little more. No, not Maneri or Bang. There's actually no theme--the piece is improvised off-the-cuff with only a loose verbal instruction and title as compositional reference-points. There are actually several companion pieces to this one on the source CD.

Just one pianist, though I note that a number of participants have wondered if it was two! -- The drummer has worked with Iyer & Mahanthappa in the past.

Yes, that's right. I actually have to write a review of this for STN by Oct 20th....! (It was recorded some time ago but I think it was only a limited edition; the disc I have is the first widely-available issue.)

I don't know the Real Group! -- The spoken word on the album has a strong autobiographical element, though not in any straightforward way. It's less surreal than some of the projects these players have been involved in, though, some of which are more like Escalator over the Hill Gertrude-Stein jazz-cabaret.... Yes, that's the one (well, how many 7/4 "Green Chimneys" are there out there?). I'd agree about the soloists--if I'd had more space I'd have gone with the title-track from the album, which has hotter solos all round & a guest appearance by a favourite player on the Fender Rhodes. But I put this on for the general "feel" (rhythmic & emotional). There's one "main" drummer but I think virtually all the band members play percussion, "little instruments", radio & whatnot. Yes, I think the comparison to Bruise, especially the slammin' middle track on their latest album, is apt. I had actually considered doing a 2-CD BFT with the 2nd CD simply a "bonus" of that 37-minute track from Bruise's We Packed Are Bags. Oh, what bugs you about the head? -- I picked this track in part because it's the one that's least "typical" of the particular stylistic school this pianist (idiosyncratically!) belongs to. I like his tunes, though! Not European, nope! I'm not sure if electronics are involved or not; it may be an acoustic performance with a little postproduction e.g. for that glitchy effect (the rest of the album does have a few overdubs). Actually, one thing I really like about this player is the avoidance of FX even in contexts where fiddlers tend to go wild with electronics (e.g. fusion/jazzrock projects). But the effect of the "natural" sound of the instrument can be even more wild & deranged than anything electronic effects can add.... Like all but one of the tracks this is a North American band. The mention of Nels Cline isn't as off-base as you might suppose, despite the absence of guitar..... -- The leader/arranger tells me it originally was a piece for two horns + drummer. I could have picked a more conventional piece off the album--the next piece is devious jazz-rock in a Carla Bley vein for instance, & the ballads have a Wheelerian beauty of texture--but I thought this would be more challenging. What I admire is the way the arrangement sounds as improvised as a solo; though I imagine some listeners will find that it takes its sweet time (the variations of texture & intensity are well worth listening to behind the soloist!). Getting there: yep, it's Wierbos, but not Mary Oliver or Misha. But I'm pretty sure you know these players. (& now you know which is the one non-North American track....) * One more hint: there is a link between three of these albums, as they were released simultaneously by the same record label.

This is actually one of the more groove-based tracks on the source album, in its use of a repeated bass figure, even if it's never 1/2/3/4 in pulse. I know the bassist & he tells me that he was extremely sick the day this was recorded, so much so that he feared he'd wrecked the session! -- Anyway, I have great respect for musicians who seem to balance "inside" and "outside" approaches, which is one reason I picked this session (that, plus the fact it reminded me of the great Alarms & Excursions by Bern Nix). It's a recent recording (like all the tracks on this BFT) but it's a cover of a 1960s tune. & yes, these guys have heart--I saw them in a club a year or so ago & I was blown away; even better, they made converts of a skeptical club-owner (who was NOT a fan of free jazz) & a sparse crowd who were obviously just expecting an evening of rote bebop. Nope, not Gismonti! I find the range of response to this track particularly interesting -- I think the guitarist (whom I know) would appreciate this, especially the evident uncertainty about whether this is composed or purely improvised & what style/genre/tradition it's coming out of. This is the band's only studio album, & their live shows are very different, maybe more in line with your preferences: the compositions are malleable resources rather than being treated in head-solos-head format, & often there's a lot of wide-open improvisational space.

So how does one decipher those scores anyway? Anyone crack the code? -- I remember once reading that Graettinger left behind a fair bit of music but none of the scores that hadn't already been transcribed into normal notation during his lifetime were decipherable.

A few comments. I'll add a few more later. No, not Haden, though of course Ornette is an influence on this group. No, not Moncur, though I know what you mean about the structure of the tune. You're getting a little warm, definitely... Yes, I knew this track would be easy to Google because of the lyrics! I do find it a little surprising that some listeners found irony here, or that the music undercut the spoken word. I think the album as a whole (music + words) does a good job of telling some interesting stories that at once seem nostalgic & yet kinda bleak. Well, sometimes there are good reasons for these things...... -- Surprised you didn't spot any of the players here, this is one of the more easily i.d.able tracks on the BFT! Not Sachse, though that's a good parallel. The guitarist did spend time in Spain & has some serious classical-guitar chops. Ayler & Sanders are certainly reference-points, though there are other sources too (listen closely to the tune the sax plays near the end..... hint hint), & in fact if you can place the tune that's nagging at your brain you'll have another hint. (It's one of only two "covers" on this BFT.) The jittery nature of this track is in part related to the overriding theme/mood of the CD I took it from. Once you see the title of the piece you'll know both how wrong & how right your imagined narrative is....

Yes, though it's less surprising if you look at their site & note one of the other labels that they also distribute....

Glad you found it worth the trouble !..... I know that picking a 15-minute track risked testing some listeners' patience...

Thanks for the replies, folks: very interesting, & sometimes entertaining, reading! I'll hold off a little longer on specific comments on responses, in part because so far they've been so various (with 4 commentaries now in, I think every track has already had at least one positive & one negative reaction!) that I'm still waiting to see if any patterns of response emerge.... I will say that I picked these tracks because I thought they all, in their various ways, invite a response more than "pretty nice" or "ehh....". (Which isn't to blame anyone who has those responses, of course.... god knows, there's a lot of music I hear that just leaves me with little to say....) None of the tracks is exactly background listening, & they all are idiosyncratic enough that they will please some listeners, & turn others off.

A few introductory remarks. There's no connecting theme here, aside from the fact that these 11 tracks are drawn from fairly recent releases. Feel free to guess at the identity of the musicians, but keep in mind that there are no big-name players here. Some will be familiar names but many won't be. Perhaps it goes without saying, but: don't feel hesitant about saying if (& why) you don't like something. These are all tracks that, for different reasons, I like a lot, but I have no expectations they'll all appeal equally to anyone else. If any participants still haven't received their discs (I just heard from one today that his packet arrived, so obviously some are still floating around in the mail), or the disc is flawed, then they should drop me a line & I'll work on a replacement. * OK: dig in! * Not really a guessing-game/test, given that few of these are easily recognizable artists, but thought I'd keep track of the i.d.'d tracks: 1 (couw, if obliquely!) 2 (Red) 3 (Red) 7 (relyles) 11 (Red)

Were any of them out of print in the first place? I imagine the Evans has "Sister Sadie" as the bonus, like all other CD versions.

My recollection is that the original 2LP also had the Loose Bloose session.

Aha, good to know it arrived. I imagine the solo violin track gave the eardrums a little buzz!

Great! -- OK, only 7 packets (+ a couple to "maybe" participants whom I didn't list) that remain unaccounted for. I'll start the discussion thread on Monday morning, by which time I hope all the packets will be in people's hands.

Glad you're enjoying it! -- OK: we're up to 16 out of 25 people who've received packets.

Missed this post before: yes, they're quite good; the first album's OK but the one on 2nd floor is much stronger, I think. I'm not sure that any of the horns are knockout players but they're fine, & the rhythm section is one of the best young bass + drum teams around. Good tunes, too.

Jim--hey, good to know it arrived! Hope there's a few things on there that appeal. -- No, I'll start a proper (separate) discussion thread once more copies have arrived (about 1/2 of them have now arrived, it seems). I suppose I should stick to kicking off discussion on Oct. 1st if I want to be a stickler for dates, though given that this BFT was already postponed a month maybe it should start a little earlier.... (but don't want to step on marcoliv's toes--BFT 50 still hasn't had answers posted).

Ah, good--so about half the participants have their copy by now. (& so far haven't heard of any breakage or bad copies yet, cross fingers.)

Sorry to hear this. I wish I knew his music better--it's so hard to get hold of much of it, though I have a few sideman appearances.

My main thought (without having heard it, or even liking Vandermark) is that (1) it's on a small label, (2) it'll go out of print eventually and (3) if so then if you don't like it then it will be easy to resell at cost or even a profit. So if you have the cash & are curious about it, then it's not like you will be out of pocket if you decide you don't like it.

Yes, though the good response is in part through subterfuge on my part! -- By the time this thread was a week old, only 6 people had signed up, which had me a bit worried. So I sent emails to many of the people who had participated in BFT14, 49 or 50, asking if they wanted to participate. I'm glad many of them said yes. -- I think that the decision to keep it to one CDR helped, too. Anyway, glad to know the packets have started arriving. Last time, BFT14 (the one I did) was kind of hampered by the delivery-time of some of the packets, so I perhaps overcompensated this time by allotting a full 2 weeks for mail.

I envy you guys with Saturday delivery..... they phased it out in Canada years ago (except at Xmastime).

Or by Trystero post....