JSngry

The two Chico Hamilton albums might be worth somebody's while...there's not a lot of "serious jazz improvisation" on them, but there is a little, and they both groove like hell from start to finish. I picked up the Barbara Carroll side out of the cheapo LP bins a few years ago thinking it might be something, but it wasn't. Unless bland and boring lounge piano is something...and I guess it is... Don't go expecting the Dom Minasi albums to resemble the type of work he's now/better known for. I really don't understand why htese records got made. Ronnie Laws' Pressure Sensitive is a "classic of the genre", but I'd think that most who would really care would already have it. The two Eddie Hendersons are nice enough, but they pale quite a bit in comparison to the two Capricorn albums that preceded them. And I'd think that all who care would know by now that Knucklebean is a very, very good album, which went all but unnoticed at the time of its release.

Not that "critical reception matters, but...received via e-mail today. Again, an excellent collection of music, not to be missed if one is so inclined.

The Spice Girls Variety Show Host Hostess With The Mostess

"influential" and "imitated" are probably not the same thing...

Wink Martindale David Coverdale Whittendale

Nobody - and I mean nobody - takes a back seat to me when it comes to love and respect for Hank Hill. But - propane is to grilling what Coors Cutter is to beer.

The most disturbing -and funny - part of it to me is how Jolson says "helllooo Looouuu", like he's got an eye out for this guy as soon as he walks in. And then how he offers up an unsolicited, "you know Lou, you don't LOOK good" and then Lou, apparently not sensing Jolson's predatory nature, innocently gives up you know Al, I don't FEEL good...and then one thing leads to another, Lou drops dead, Jolson was WANTED out there, etc etc etc. But that first exchange between Al & Lou, it reminds me of how when I had more old relatives living than I now do, and they'd talk about each other all the time, about how old and frail the others are getting. It's ghoulish, really the way they would be, like, sitting there waiting and watching for the other ones to die, because if they saw it, then it wasn't them that was the one going, ya' know? It's life-affirming on the one hand, but so very, very dark on the other...and that's why you gotta laugh, I think. Laugh, but with one eye open at all times... If this is Belushi (and I'm more than happy to re-believe that it is now, seeing as how there was probably some mis-labeling of the record), then that's perfect. I can see him doing the facial expressions, the raised eyebrows, the mock-worried look, everything. It's easy to forget how flexible and really funny Belushi was before the drugs started getting to him. Belushi makes perfect sense to me on this one, much more so than Bob Perry, whoever that is.

Hurley Desper Harley Quinn Horely Town Council

Neither constipation nor diarrhea.

Theodore Roosevelt Walter Johnson Rollins Griffith

You gotta be very wary of anybody who allowed himself to be called "the high-hatted tragedian of song" and then had the nerve to ask if everybody was happy. That whole thing just reeks of dickishness. Just sayin'.

That's interesting...the cut has an intro that I edited out..a tack piano playing and a narrator saying something like "and now, National Lampoon presents a laugh from the past"...I edited that part off for obvious reasons. So that's where the piece got its name. But looking at that site, that title appears to have been a segment that usually featured actual archival comedy, and I don't think this is that. The surface noise is obviously post-production, and the comedy itself is more Lampoon than anything else. And truth be told, when I first heard this cut, I thought it was John Belushi, who was a key member of the Lampoon radio crew. The underlying voice sounds like Belushi to me. So when I got this other info, I was surprised to put it mildly. But in light of this...perhaps not. I can now re-believe that this is John Belushi doing a brilliant Jolson bit. If you remember early Belushi, you know he could get into a zone like this with no difficulty.

Yeah, the bell tree. I think that's kind of a playful touch, a winking nod to the late 70s...there's a lot of it, and I can see people grinning about it while they're doing it, I mean, there's so much of it, and it's not really subtle. Really, there's all sorts of percussion mischief going on during this track, loud and reverb-y clave clicks here and there, and even sleigh bells here and there (listen to the bridge!). I asked Monday about the sleigh bells, because those took be a while to pick up on, they're pretty deep in the mix, really, and she said that it was cool for a while in underground NY hip-hop circles to uses sleigh bells as a substitute for hi-hat, and that this guy was a part of that scene. She also said that he pulled 'em out at the session and waited for her to raise an eyebrow or something, and she never did, she got what it was he was doing and she dug it. Again, would that all makers of "pop" music would let the session players bring themselves to the music instead of expecting them to role-play. And like you said, smooth in a positive way. There's a lack of angst, anger, or malice, but unlike so much "positive" music, there's no corresponding lack of awareness and/or intelligence. Quite the opposite, I think. Of course, mileages will varyu on that, I'm sure.

No. Lalo not involved. And not really The Wrecking Crew...more like the next wave, sorta/kinda. The answers have been posted, but if you want to keep sleuthing, be my guest. It's fun, I know.

Sure didn't see this one comin'!!!!

Thanks to all who participated and/or responded. I'm glad that as much was enjoyed by as many! Most everything was generally identified , but here are the specifics (as much as I can provide them). TRACK ONE - Jon Hendricks - Mazola Commercial ca. 1982. Personnel not known but likely to include Judith and/or Michelle Hendircks This one used to play every morning during the Today show. I found it archived deep, deep in the bowels of the internet a while back and am committed to preservation through dissemination. It's on y'all now to fry 'em all. FRY 'EM ALL! And when you've been fried once too often, it's time to take it slow... TRACK TWO - Monday Michiru - Slo from Moods - Quality! Records (Japan), 2003: Monday Michiru - producer, arranger, all vocals; Donny McCaslin - soprano saxophone; Dave Kikoski - electric piano; Dave Gilmore - Guitar; Fima Ephron - electric bass; Billy Kilson - drums; Daniel Sadownick - percussion No such thing as a "typical" Monday Michiru song in terms of "style" or groove, but as she herself puts it, this is the most "pop" song on this mostly really strong album. Another tune has one of the few Chris Potter solos that has ever really pulled me into his world to the extent that others have been pulled by his other work. And Donny McCaslin plays his ass off here,albeit in a very quirky manner. Point is, Monday gets people on her sessions and lets them play, wants them to play, who they are, not to fit some preconceived notion or formula. And bless her for that! It's safe to say that it's a matter of record here how much I've been touched by Monday's work, and it was really cool to see that most here at least liked this sample. It's a wonderful melody, full of little quirks, and the transition (such as it is) to the bridge is left-field brilliant. All I can say is, there's plenty more where this came from, but it's not all like this, or even remotely like this. But the essential musical and emotional qualities are consistent. TRACK THREE - Marlena Shaw - Loving You Was Like A Party from Who Is The Bitch, Anyway? - Blue Note, 1974: Marlena Shaw w/Larry Nash - keyboards, David T. Walker & Larry Carlton - guitar; Chuck Rainey - electric bass; Harvey Mason - drums; King Ericson - percussion; Marti McCall, Julia Tillman, Patti Brooks, & Maxine Willard- background vocals. Composed & produced by Bernard Ighner, arranged by Dale Ohler This makes for an interesting contrast-and-compare with Monday's song (which I didn't really start to hear until road-testing the disc as a whole) right down to the use of an upper-register instrument to play the solos. But apart from that, this thing just grooves. Look at these names - no matter how/what many of them devolved into, it was doing stuff like this, going into a studio and laying down those fat, irresistible grooves, that put them in the place to get the chances to devolve in the first place. Seriously - check out the Rainey/Mason hookup. It's not as obvious in the mix as it would be on a straight instrumental date, but it's THERE! TRACK FOUR - Gerry Mulligan - A Weed Grows In Disneyland - from The Age Of Steam - A&M, 1971: Gerry Mulligan - baritone saxophone, Tom Scott - soprano saxophone, Sweets Edison - trumpet, Roger Kellaway - electric piano, Howard Roberts - guitar, Chuck Domanico - electric bass, Joe Porcaro - drums; Emil Richards - percussion Jaws may or may not be dropping that this is who (all) it is, but, yep, that's it. Howard Roberts plays so straight on the beat and with such totally symmetrical phrasing that he almost sounds like a Country player (and his comping after his solo gets groovier the longer the jam goes), Mulligan jumps in full of fire and vigor and then all of sudden BAM hits a wall and drops out (a true jazz LOL moment, imo), roger Kellaway is indeed insane (in a good way), and then we're done. And yeah, it grooved, big time. All the while, check out the real Star Of The Show, Joe Porcaro, the dad of the Toto Porcaro brothers, and somebody whose work I am totally unfamiliar with outside of this album (and he's mostly on percussion for the rest of it, John Guerin playing drums on most cuts). This guy, he just WHOOOOSHES all the way through, egging everybody on, and they all take the bait, fortunately. Who IS this guy, anyway? Late-60s/early '70s L.A. was a very fertile place in terms of jazz and pop (again) co-mingling, some of it on the outer edges, and some of it, like this album, edging towards what could have been a new "West Coast Jazz". Mulligan's approach on this album is very much "Mulligan" in terms of core materials, yet totally "contemporary" in terms of texture and rhythm. Very worthy music, imo, definitely worth a checkout. Of course, much has been made over the years of Mulligan's near-"corniness", that streak of old-school ENTRAINMENT, and who would personify that better than Al Jolson? Which leads us to... TRACK FIVE - National Lampoon Radio Hour - A Laugh From the Past from Gold Turkey - Epic, 1975: details given as Bob Perry & Sidney Davis, written by Sidney Davis Bob Perry turns up only a little on the internet as a comedy writer, Sidney Davis even less, but Davis wrote this brilliantly dark look at old-school "show-biz", and Perry performed the hell out it. Pure comedy genius, imo. Maye a little dark and/or "insider"-y for some, but...truer than you might think. There's a lesson here for all you kiddies... TRACK SIX - Nat King Cole - Can't Help It from To Whom It May Concern - Capitol, 1959: Arranged by Nelson Riddle The lesson is this - next time you see somebody all tux-ed out and smiling and singing all carefree and happy, just remember - the odds of there being a dead man backstage, one who just dropped dead a few seconds before downbeat, are much higher than you might think! Aside from that, though, this is not a particularly good song, and an only slightly better than average arrangement of it by the sometimes-brilliant, sometimes-not Riddle, but Geez Louise, what a tempo, and what perfect phrasing and dynamics by the band and by Cole himself. Not nearly the waht as much as it is the how, and that's another lesson of show-biz, and maybe having a dead guy in your dressing room does come into play. Just sayin'... TRACK SEVEN - Jazzanova feat. Bembe Segue - That Night from Various Artists - Neujazz - Sonar Kollectiv 2008: Obtained as an Amazon download, so other than Bembe Segue on vocal, I don't know who else is on this. Some liked this more than others, but all i can say is that may or may not be a sampled loop on drums, but I don't care. If that's a sample, then hell yeah, more of thet, then. And if it's not a sample, then hell yeah, more of that then. That, and this - Bembe Segue does not appear to in any way be a "seasoned perfomer" based on what I've seen of her live clips on YouTube, but every time I hear her on a studio cut (she's often found on Mark De Clive-Lowe's stuff), I very much like what she does, so...good enough. One more thing - the song itself has been released by Jazzanova in several different versions, some of then very un-"jazz"-like. That they have the ears to do it many different ways, all of them "fitting" for what they're going after, without any compromise or condescension, is, to me, an admirable quality, and a necessary one for musicians going forth. But that's just me. TRACK EIGHT - Willie Bobo - Psychedelic Blues from A New Dimension - Verve, 1968: Willie Bobo - timbales; Felix Wilkins - flute; Kenny Rogers - tenor, Jimmy Owens - trumpet, Sonny Henry - guitar, arranger; Chuck Rainey - bass; John Rodriguez, Jr., Victor Pantoja, Osvaldo Martinez - percussion (yeah, it's more specific than that, and I know better, but I'm a lousy, slow typist, so...no disrespect intended); Freddie Waits - drums Also available on some compilations, but honestly, this is a good enough album that I'd recommend getting it here, if you can handle Bobo's wobbly crooning on some very nicely arranged (by Don Sebesky) boleros. And that might be a big if... No idea who Felix Wilkins is, at first I thought this was Artie Webb, but, no, it's Felix Wilkins. The big question for me is this - is this Kenny Rogers the same Kenny Rogers that recorded with Hank back in the 1950's? Because this Kenny Rogers plays a lot like Dippin' era Hank. Once you get past the honks/overblows, ome of those licks could be straight out of "The Break Through". Hmmmm... TRACK NINE - Ray Charles & Aretha Franklin - Things Go Better With Coke #2 from Things Go Better With Coke - Sixties Coca-Cola Commercials 1965-'69 - Bootleg. A blogged bootleg at that. Is it just me, or does Aretha sound like she's about to bust out laughing all through this thing? TRACK TEN - Gene Ammons - You're Not The Kind from Early Visions - Cadet, 1975,: Gene Ammons w/unidentified band, 1951 I don't trust a man who doesn't like ice cream at least occasionally, and I don't trust anybody who can't get with at least a little Jug every once in a while. TRACK ELEVEN - Stark Reality - Grandfather Clock from Stark Reality Discovers Hoagy Carmichael's Music Shop AJP, 1970: Monty Stark - vibes & vocals, John Abercrombie - guitar, Phil Morrison - bass, Vinnie Johnson - drums; Left off the CD issue of the Stone's Throw reissue NOW, but the full, original album is now available as an Amazon MP3 download: http://www.amazon.com/Now/dp/B000XXOHI0/ref=sr_shvl_album_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1356848824&sr=301-2 Yes, it is a children's song, originally recorded in a quite different version by Hoagy Carmichael for Golden Records in 1957 (check out this sample clip: http://www.amazon.com/Grandfather-Clock/dp/B0092PNRJ0). And then, there was this PBS kids show on WGBH: And then this album, released on Ahmad Jamal's short-lived ALP label. And then it all went away until the crate-diggers found it and now it's a cult classic, and not without good reason. Yeah, it's goofy as hell, but people don't play like this any more. People CAN'T play like this anymore, lost innocence and all that. Think about it - Hoagy Carmichael, children's music, early jazz-rock with fuzzed vibes, children's TV, Ahmad Jamal, all of it right here in one time and one place. The mind boggles, if you let it. Speaking of Hoagy Carmichael... TRACK TWELVE - Kay Starr - Lazy Bones from Rockin' With Kay - RCA Victor, 1958: Kay Starr w/unidentifed backing Kay Starr had skills, and some pretty decent jazz cred before she went pop. No idea who put all this together, or who played, sang on it. But it works. The album itself is being credited as produced by one Harold/Hal Stanley Hal Stanley also did some work with the Blackwood Brothers on RCA: http://www.discogs.com/artist/Harold+Stanley?anv=Hal+Stanley so that might be J.D. Sumner singing bass, but...who knows? And the trombone....your guess is as good as mine. But it just goes to show you - you never know who might do what. You just never know. TRACK THIRTEEN - Stan Kenton - Artistry In Rhythm from Big Sounds From the Small Screen - Dynaflow, 2008: Stan Kenton Orch., KTTV-TV "Music Of The '60s, 3/20/1962 I've come to a new respect for the whole "Kenton thing", but I'm sorry -you say stuff like this, and, yeah, somebody's gonna put it back out there, and don't blame anybody for laughing, because it's some funny stuff. Not necessarily untrue, mind you, just funny. You ever been to a corporate party where the big boss wants to leave early but not too early, so they get up and give a big speech full of thanks and best wishes and happy-happys, and then they book out of there, leaving everybody kind of...stunned? Not MAD or anything, just...dulled a little. Well, this reminds me of that. But the thing about those parties is that if you hang around late enough, the lights go down, the mood gets mellow, and what's left to close out the night are the people who are relaxed and fun, and they don't need any help, so you don't need to do anything for them except give it right back to 'em, which is how we get to... TRACK FOURTEEN - Les McCann - Samia from Les Is More - Night Records, 1991 (also reissued on Hyena): Eddie Harris, Les McCann, Curtis Roberson, Jr. - bass, Tony St. James - drums; Recorded date/location not given, but probably early 1970s, in a club, somewhere in the world as it used to be. Eddie Harris could play the saxophone. He didn't always make "great records", but you talk about having total command of the instrument, yeah, Eddie Harris was deep in that regard. His is one of the most truly vocal approaches to the instrument ever, and yet, his fingers could move damn near any way at any time. And Les McCann...I know, a little Les McCann goes a long way for a lot of people, including me, but I keep finding these little bits in a lot of different places. And this album in particular has a lot of them. It's a collection culled from McCann's own private collection of personally recorded gigs (his and others), and the whole thing is just...nice. It's probably the one to have if you're having only one. But...you're probably not, and you probably shouldn't. But if so, then. Again, thanks to all who participated, and much appreciation to the overall reception. Really didn't know how a set like this was going to be received, what with all the intentional "lightness", but nobody asked for their money back, so I'm considering that a net positive. Thanks, good night, drive carefully, and see y'all next time. We OUTTA here!

No, we cannot.

Amazing indeed. And this version of RDMH...yeah..

Joe Mauer!

Worth remembering, perhaps, that the Terry/Monk album was actually recorded under Terry's leadership, with Monk as sideman.

I'm trying to think of a reason why American music needed an "answer" to Led Zeppelin. I mean, I like them, occasionally love them, well enough, but..that was something they needed to do, not us. I'm glad they did it, but since they did, hey, lots of other people have needed to do other things since, and have, so...apples, oranges, pineapples, fruit salad, let's eat a good meal and then go watch reruns on tv or something like that. Plenty available!

A Christmas Gift For You - Philles original found sealed in a dusty old mom-and-pop a looooong time ago. The cover has since gotten water damage, and the pressing was just a tad crackly even new, but dammit, this is how this album should sound. I've also got the Apple mono & that Pavillion/CBS stereo bastard-child (and no digital versions, are you kidding?!?!?!), but, no, this is the real deal right here. Play it loud. Play it VERY loud.

Oh no...

That's a good story, thanks for posting it. Winged Eel Fingerling? Who can forget?

Michael Zuppone David Zappini Zipparah Tafari