Joe

Close indeed! Just take a couple of steps to the left (or downtown?), label-wise...

Bingo.

Wow, bullseyes on a couple of these. I think you've got the decade pinned down on 12. Not a name player "slumming," though. What if I told you all that there's a link between the pianists on 3 and 7? No overdubs on 5. 14: yeah, bass is the reason that track is here at all. Not to say the piano is completely without interest, but...

No Von, no Hill. The players here are more obscure, but we're not talking private press or anything. I'll also say there's a link between 4 and 14.

Bandleader and arranger are the same individual, but the composer is someone else again. Though, to the best of my knowledge, this a composition never recorded by that composer, themselves a soloist and bandleader of some note. In fact, the more research I do, the more curious and curiouser the history behind this particular tune becomes.

You may have heard the clarinet player on 1 on tenor; he records more frequently on sax (at least I think so). There are a few tricksters in this band besides. I think the leader / composer / arranger on 13 might come as a surprise... did for me!

Maybe next time.... too many cooks, you know?

The tenor soloist on rack 13 has now been identified. And, yes, major Chicago implications on track 4. As to other impressions and such: this BFT is not confined to North American players.

I know, I know... too much to choose from this year. But I am thinking specifically of terrible events in arts and culture.

Oh, you detectives... Track 12: think "current events," or at least, "terrible stuff that happened in 2016."

Afraid to say I've not tested this page on an Andriod device. However, any browser able to handle HTML5 should be capable of making the audio player embedded on this page work.

A different contrafact, but it may be based on the same chord changes. 13: follow the Kentonite connections... 14: the pianist is not as well known as AJ for their bandleading, but this one comes from an LP issued under their name

Thanks Hot Ptah. A Coltrane influence is DEFINITELY in play with track 15. Good ears on 5, 8 and 11. The key to 2 might be in recognizing the tune / composition. I'd not thought about the bass aspect of this, but, you're right, I did choose a few of these tracks based (pun intended) on who was manning "the doghouse." Best, J

You can also access the BFT here: http://slowstudies.net/bft149/. The individual tracks should play within your web browser.

On! I can confirm that track 1 does NOT feature Buddy DeFranco.

!!!

Ruth Boaz Jesse

Richard Hell Louis Cyphre Minnie Castavet

Hi all. Some advance note on next month's BFT: content will be available via my Bandcamp site, https://slowstudies.bandcamp.com/. If you are interested in participating in BFT 149, please PM me here and I will provide instructions on how to access the audio files. Bandcamp supports both streaming and downloads. Thanks, and looking forward to 31 days of hot opinions, wild guesses, and whatever else these 15 tracks inspire. 08/04/16: STREAMING BACKUP OPTION: http://slowstudies.net/bft149/

Just beginning to dig into this release, and it is pretty fascinating. It features no Ellington or Strayhorn compositions, BUT, as the liner notes make clear, two of the the Praker originals here were commissioned by Ellington about the time of Strayhorn's death (and were apparently accorded a very favorable reception) but never recorded. Colorful, tightly arranged but somehow freewheeling and rhythmically complex music that I'm guessing the Duke of The Afro-Eurasian Eclipse would have appreciated.

<giggle>

A set that some listeners may find to be too clever for its own good -- me, I like hearing Monk on prepared piano -- but John Stetch earns points fro trying to really engage with the music and find new ways to explore it.

Maybe my favorite baritone sax player period. Was just listening to his Red Records release (REFLECTIONS) earlier this week and saying to myself, "I guess I've short-changed him as a tenor player all this time." He'll be missed.

Ken Berry Larry Storch Prof. Irwin Corey

That Art & Lee LP is something special indeed. Ditto the Atlas LP with Shelly Manne, Bob Cooper, Pete Jolly and Bill Watrous in the Frank Rosolino role.