Joe

That Dannie Richmond interview.

Thanks for assembling this! I'm most surprised that I IDed Cowell and Parlan. I have likely listened and filed away the former record many times, but the latter is one I don't know. Time to rectify!

Would it be fair to say the theme of this BFT is bass and voices? Enjoyed the listen. Some blow-by-blow below. Track 1 That’s the kind of treble I associate with the era when AM radio still played pop music. Which is to say that I enjoy the time capsule nature of this. I don’t know the vocalist (who I won’t presume is also the songwriter…. but are they? … I mean, the singing is almost a dramatic recital. This singer is wanting to make sure that the meaning of these lyrics really comes across). I was maybe expecting the vibrato less than I was the near-scat. Will be interested to learn the answer to the singer-songwriter question. Track 2 Sounds like a late 80s or early 90s production, and the tenor is pretty reminiscent of David Murray. Hmmm, so the theme is one thing, but the solos are going to play out over the major mode from Trane’s “My Favorite Things”? Now that the tenor is soloing, I’m 99.9% sure its Murray, but this is not from a record I remember (or recognize). Could it be one of those Red baron dates? I’m not sure the high register stuff has aged that well. But when Murray dips into the gutbucket… solid. The drummer is the hero of this track. What he’s ding is evocative of Elvin without being an imitation of Elvin. Will be curious to learn who it is. Andrew Cyrille? Definitely a part of many Murray ensembles over the years. Would not surprise me! Track 3 I like riding this harmonic escalator! The strength of both hands makes me wonder if this is Jaki Byard, but I think not. Many moods here. Stanley Cowell perhaps? There’s some church music in that left hand to be sure, and some Afrocentrism, but both have been sort of abstracted. The rhapsodism (did I just make that word up?) comes from another tradition, at least partly. I’m guess I’m saying there’s some fascinating straddling in this performance, but it still feels very 70s to me. Oh, an overtly bluesy lick around the 6:15 mark. Good - very good - stuff. Track 4 Not Nick Drake, but the bass player has probably listened to Danny Thompson. Oh… this is John Martyn, isn’t it? I’m not sure why I’ve never gotten into him the way I have Jansch, Renbourn, Drake, and that generation of English troubadours, as Martyn is most overtly “jazzy” of them all. I guess his singing requires some taste acquiring. But this track reminds me that I should give him another try. So, heck, that very likely is Danny Thompson on bass. Oh, so they are going outside here at end? Interesting. (Yeah, and Martyn just said, “Oh yes, Daniel!”) Track 5 Spacey. Guitar tone screams (in a good way) Carlos Santana. As does the groove, when it comes in. Rhodes or Wurlitzer? Its the “Riders on the Storm” electric piano sound in my mind. Is this from CARAVANSERAI? Or maybe WELCOME? I suppose this could be Santana guesting on someone else’s record, but a stronger hunch tells me this is from the Tom Coster era of his band. Either way, I’m not familiar with the tune. No complaints, even if I don’t find it all that exciting. I think I like the keyboard progression on the fadeout best. Track 6 Ah, and now the fuzzy electric piano. And B-3? OK, how many keyboard players are there on this track? I feel like its meant to smolder, but its dragging a bit for me. The dynamics also feel more “rock” to me than not. I’m not saying this is full-on Keith Emerson, but there’s some prog here. Ah, now that the vocal has arrived: I’m guessing this is Julie Driscoll and Brian Auger. Nice B-3 solo, but that synth string sound - which I’m not opposed to on principle - is diluting my enjoyment of the rest of ther performance. Auger is a fine colorist on the B-3. No Shirley Scott, no, but no slouch either. Can’t really knock the musicianship, though. Track 7 Khan Jamal on vibes? The tune sounds kind of Jamal-esque (thinking here of DARK WARRIOR on Steeplechase). This feels very “indie” and also very much like a group of local guys splashing around in their pond. The drummer is just a little too straight for me. I’d like to hear what the horn players do with a different set of collaborators. Track 8 A very different vibes player. The presence of organ - even though they’re mostly playing accents - makes me think this might be Johnny Lytle, but I’m not really a big Lytle listener. Whoever it is has their own sound on the instrument. This is not Bags, or Dickerson, or Hutcherson. Kind of “cloudy”, if that makes any sense. Tight groove! And then tenor sax kind of out of nowhere. Guitar player is giving off some strong Melvin Sparks vibes, especially with the fast picked stuff. What era is this? It’s kind of tmeless, I’d venture. Track 9 “Soul Brother (Dedicated to Malcolm X)” by Marvin Hannibal Peterson, whose tone is just marvelous here. Have loved this tune since I first heard it on Andew Cyrille’s MY FRIEND LOUIS (DIW) - a rather more sedate version that this, the original. Fire. And Michael Carvin has a lot to do with that. Why don’t I listen to more Michael Carvin? (Not to neglect what Stafford James is doing here, with playing that’s both droning and propulsive.) Track 10 A very soulful version of “Goodbye Pork Pie Hat.” This pianist really digs in, . I mean, it feels like they’re really probing and going deep, trying to overcome their ownpet phrases, to get to the emotional center of the tune. The drummer isn’t far behind. I mentioned Jaki Byard earlier… this sounds more like Jaki than not, and it wold make sense, given Jaki’s association with Mingus. But I don’t think Jaki would play some of the more stock-like phrases this pianist falls back on here and there. Really like what’s happening around the 4:20 mark. And between 7:15 and 7:40, too. Could this be Horace Parlan? With Dannie Richmond? I just saw an interview with Dannie from the 70s where he talks about how he spent much of that decade playing what he identified as rock and roll. And he said he enjoyed it because that music required him to play more of his kit than the jazz he had been playing did. I’ll have to see if I can find the clip. But I can hear a drummer playing all of his drums here. Track 11 Alicia Keys adapting Donny Hathaway’s “Someday We’ll All Be Free.” Covering Donny Hathaway is not for the faint of heart. Alicia does not embarrass herself… but a llittle bit less at the end would have come to more. But she’s young; she’ll figure it out. Also, scaling the arrangement back to just voice and piano…. the song loses a little bit of its ambivalence / ambiguity, or, better, its emotional complexity. But, again, I think she’ll figure it out, as she makes her fair share of good choices here.

Madman Jones is a new name to me. Thanks for the links!

Thanks!

I misread, sorry. Put me down for March, please.

Yes, I can ID #7. Let's just say I don't think I ever expected the pianist and the srums/timbales player here to appear on record together. https://www.jazzdisco.org/montego-joe/catalog/#prestige-pr-7336 Your clue on #10 has me wondering... could that be Rusty Bryant?

Thanks Thom! I can do January!

If slots are still available, I'mm happy to assemble another BFT in 2026. Thanks!

Thanks for this playlist. Most diggable. Notes below, with only a few stabs at IDs. Plenty of typos, I'm sure; begging your pardon in advance. 1 = Shades of Rev. J.M. Gates, but it's not! Nor is it the Lemon Chill man from the old Ballpark at Arlington. The timbre is not purely a product of the recording fidelity. Is there a name for this vocal “effect”. 2 = Gil Evans for sure, from the INDIVIDUALISM record. He and Creed Taylor made a nice combo; that is, I think Taylor knew how to record Evans and bring out the cinematic aspects of his arrangements. I think this is “The Barbara Song”. I love how unhurried it is, but then you have Gary Peacock adding dramatic tension throughout. Which Wayne tunes in on. It’s almost worth listening to this again as a Shorter - Peacock duet. But then Wayne is doing so much to add even more color to the arrangement. Also, can we talk about how underrated Evans is as a pianist? 3 = A Wayne-ish tenor, and another somewhat sinister theme. I don’t think this is Ran Blake, but the harmonic language feels very Blakean. The tenor is fluid but not facile. The speech-like flourishes are actually quite subtle. George Garzone perhaps? I don’t think its Stephen Riley, but he’s another tenor who’s done something original with a range of influences. Singing! (3:00 mark or so). This is like an obbligato to a vocal only the tenor can hear. I’m surprised by how much momentum this has picked up. Not Blake, I don’t think, but the more I listen, the more this feels like it’s in that Gunther Schuller-NEC orbit. Not a criticism, BTW. So, yeah, Garzone is my guess. I’ve kind of slept on him. 4 = OK, I was not expecting more harp! Or flute, for that matter. I have no idea what it is, but I like this version of Modernism. Could this be a piece by Mel Powell or Hall Overton or another figure who straddled the worlds of jazz and modern classical music? I’m also getting Egisto Macchi vibes here (more so than Debussy or Ravel.) What pieces do I know that are scored for flute, oboe and harp? None, but I’m eager to hear (and learn) more. Also, I’m getting the tryptophan reference now. 5 = Dimetapp trombones: I’m down. I recognize this song. Jo Stafford? Yes, but dates from a very different era. This is some nicely deconstructed writing … that piercing flute note, the cello weaving in and out. I feel like we are still in the realm of Evans, somehow. Is this Rickie Lee Jones on vocal? I don’t think so. Not your typical chanteuse whoever it is. there’s kind of a hollow, clarinet-like quality to her voice that I find appealing. Not quite husky, but not wispy either. 6 = Where did this tempo come from? (Oh, we’ve hit the flipside now…) How the tenor shakes that last note of the theme. This is not Johnny Griffin, but this must be a tenor Griffin listened to very closely. I’m not sure I’m following the drummer, but that’s OK. He can keep doing his thing. Tiny Grimes on guitar? Wait, this is Jimmy Forrest with Grant Green, Harold Mabern, Gene Ramey and Elvin Jones: those Delmark dates. Ok, I need to revisit these. I thought I knew these records pretty well, but I suppose I don’t. 7 = This tune is so familiar… this is going to torture me. It’s a Lee Morgan tune, I think [?]. Horace Silver? Guiro? This bassist is doing some heroic work. Have no idea who the horns are. Is this a track from Sliver ’N Percussion? Well, no, that’s not Horace on piano. But this is a Silver tune. From TOKYO BLUES. (Googling). Holy sh*t. If this is now what I think it is, not a few surprises here … especially in the percussion session. Well, this is a record I probably never would have given a second though until now. Thanks! 8 = Drawing blanks here, but I like how the percussion is integrated into the performance. Tyner-ish piano, but I suspect the saxophonist is the key to this one. Sonny Fortune? Gary Bartz? I’m doubting Bartz, but I’m not sure why. Certainly an alto player who has reckoned with Coltrane. Backbeat asserting itself! How is this the same tune we started with. A journey for sure. 9 = Gabor Szabo on guitar for sure. Nobody else could get that sound out of an electric guitar. Could be from one of his early Impulses, but something tells me that, keeping with the percussion theme, I should be paying close attention to the drummer. So, rewinding and doing that! Oh, yes, well, tasty to say the least. But stealth tastiness. Case in point: 2:40 forward. Damn. I’m now hearing that Billy Ficca of Television was like the heavy metal version of Chico Hamilton. That is, I’m guessing this is one of the Chico Hamilton groups with Szabo. Which one, and which track, I don’t know. But as soon as all is revealed, I will be revisiting! 10 = Welcome to the bordello! This kind of sax playing is now a kind of historical curiosity, and it’s been ruined by the cliches that have grown up around it, but this track is a nice reminder of what it could express - and how other instruments couldn’t express those same things in the same way. (Although I suppose you could say that about almost any instrument, its the sometimes indeterminate nature of the saxophone’s timbre that makes it uniquely expressive, at least to my ear.) What the heck are those chords the piano player is laying down right before the 2-minute mark? Interesting tenor sound, more pitch up/registered up than I’d expect. I mean, its tenor, but its more Hodges than Webster. And do I hear some Earl Bostic in there, too? Curious to know who this is. Surely not Plas Johnson… but I’m guessing someone who’s not strictly a jazz player.

Yep, almost certainly a distribution issue. In my experience, few readers in the US understand just how outsized a role the distributors play in regulating ("throttling" may be the more appropriate term) their access to titles from small and independent presses (including university presses). Best to buy direct or use a vendor like Bookshop or Asterism. In any event - yeah, can't wait to read this one!

The hardback version is most likely to be purchased by libraries, which helps explain the pricing. Also, this is just how many academic presses operate. Looks like this will also be available as an ebook. Finally, you can also preorder via Bookshop (in case you don't want to give your $ to Amazon). https://bookshop.org/p/books/whistle-stop-kenny-dorham-jazz-and-the-journey-of-a-texas-family/548472d7f36a72cf?ean=9781496861955&next=t