RDK

Hell, a click-through to Mosaic would be profitable...

Well at least weird...

Couldn't agree more, Mark! (With the exception that Mike has never once offered me an on-line showcase for my 3-D macaroni sculptures of jazz greats... )

Totally unfair, Dan. I really don't see your objection to this. Both boards serve different purposes, offer different things, and can coexist peacefully...

I agree - hardly a sin. I don't spin this often, but it's perhaps the finest Wynton M. out there and a lot of bang for the buck.

Now this is a cool collection of some rarities that I will return to again - plus it offers a "hunting" challenge. B) I actually have that John Lewis album - on cassette! - and coincidentally pulled it from a box of tapes just last week, though I haven't had a chance to listen to it yet. I don't feel too bad for mistaking Gonsalves for Hodges. I suspected that trk 10 might have been Bley but guessed Jarrett mostly because I rarely hear Bley play that "fast" and groove as much as that track does. (Anyone who ever hears "Open, to Love" will know what I mean.) Bley is very hit-or-miss for me, but that one's definitely a hit.

Wow, this one really blindsided me! I do have a couple of the discs but failed to recognize them. Conversely, a couple that I thought I knew proved to be wrong. More importantly, for me at least, there are a few names here that I'd never heard before who I definitely want to check out again. Hearing someone like Chano Dominguez for the first time is the sort of stuff that makes these BFTs so gratifying... Many thanks!

Fatigue? No, but a serious lack of free time the last few weeks... The BFT has become a favorite part of this forum for me and I was really on the fence about sitting a couple of them out, but I felt that my participation in the last couple of tests was subpar, and that while I enjoyed listening to the discs I wasn't able to concentrate on them enough and contribute to the discussion as much as I would have liked. So with all due respect to Nate - and the few who come after him - I'm gonna bow out for a couple. I know how much work goes into putting these together, and I don't think it's fair to receive them without being able to give them their proper due...

While I enjoy Ra's solo piano work, it's definitely not the place to start. His Arkestra stuff is where it's at.

I downloaded a bunch of Leo stuff last night. I'm really enjoying the piano quartet stuff - listening now in fact - and the "9 Standards" discs are very accessible too. I tend to really like a-g players when they're "screeching the standards." A familiar tune, even twisted inside out, gives me a reference point that a straight improv doesn't. btw, "Conference of the Birds" has been a favorite of mine for 20 years now. What exactly is his "ghost trance" music?

Hmmm... listening to some samples I think I'll take the chicken shit approach and try his "standards" albums first. The "Nine Standards" looks pretty good, as does his "piano quartet" albums of standards. What can I say? Some of his stuff scares me...

The Bill Holman Great Big Band session is the BOMB! (Disc 4 I think it is.) It is a very good set, though I'm with Lon in that I don't think to play it that often...

Exactly. What I do is decide what I want to order, then try a couple (or more) different codes to see which one comes out cheapest. My goal is always an average of less than $5/disc - tough but possible.

Well I own two of them... but only one that I consider jazz. (Really? Clapton? Jazz?)

Though i have a few old Lps and cassettes, I've never really been able to get into Anthony Braxton's music. But I also haven't given him a chance in many years and I'm now much more open to him. I noticed that emusic is now carrying the Leo label and Braxton seems well represented by them. So what are some of his "better" - and by better i also mean more accessible and somewhat less "out" - recordings on Leo that this Braxton neophyte might try? Remember, I want to embrace him, not be frightened away at first listen...

Even better... 60% off with free shipping... F4OD16 expires soon

Curious, since I haven't been over to JC in ages, but what site was Lois bashing and why?

I hope to expand my comments later today, but things are crazed right now so let me at least offer what I have before the answers are posted... 1 No clue, but I’ll take a wild guess and bet that all the musicians are deceased… 2 Very nice! Lovely sax – light as air! – sounds a bit like Hodges, but I don’t think its him. 3 I’m liking this very much as well. A bit of a Latin rhythm to it… 4 Nice solo. This recording sounds quite old, but the playing seems more modern. A bootleg? 5 Wonderful! I’ll say it again: Wonderful! 6 “Tin Tin Deo.” Or one of those early Dizzy numbers; I always get the titles mixed up. 7 Sure sounds like Charlie Haden on base. Old & New Dreams? (Though not one of their albums that I have.) 10 Sounds almost more classical than jazz - almost ECM-ish. I'm sure I'll recognize the piano player. Sounds like Keith Jarrett but without the humming. Yeah, I'll go with a Jarrett solo piece, not live... 11 Great energy. Nice playing but this kind of "trad" stuff tends to sound the same to me (even when I really like it). This sounds more modern - it's stereo at least - so maybe something from the Dixieland revival of the late 50s? (Except for that tacked piano sound at 3 minutes; sounds like swap meet music.) Many thanks for the enjoyable discs!

Just some quick comments for now. I started these last week and hoped to add more, but I'd better put down what I have before these get by me altogether and the answers are posted. Many thanks to Agustin for these discs - there's some really fine stuff on here. I only regret I haven't had more time to absorb it... 1 “Funny Bunny?” Clever. Ellington never quite sounded like this… Not Ella, but could have been… 2 Not doing it for me. 3 Like this one much more. Guitar sounds familiar… 7 “Everything Happens to Me?” 8 Me like this! Great energy. In know the tune, but am drawing a blank right now… 10 Lovely! I want to know who this is! 12 Hmmm…. Like parts of this, hate other parts. This does sound familiar, though – I think I may have this. 13 Dinah Washington? Sounds almost like her. 14 This is familiar, too, but I can’t recall the name of the tune…

Yeah, but the catch is finding a friend with a cd burner AND copies of the McMasters of these... I'd help out but I don't have them all either! My collection of these sessions is odd: I think I have one McMaster, one RVG, and another JRVG - but I'm still missing a few cuts... This one should have been a 2-fer, but it's too "big" a title to combine like that...

It's what friends with CD burners were made for!

The biggest problem that I can see is having to listen to that damn Muzak for six hours...

Actually, Clarke makes a solid case for it working in his book. Damn, has it been 25 years already?

Same deal as Alexander. Only picture links are to articles I've written. There are, of course, a ton of references to other Rays...