Dan Gould

I sort of get why people think of his music so highly but his 'look' always inspired a desire to punt his 'nads up to this throat:

Aw mannn, now it's like homework! Okay, first impressions... 1. Right off the bat, that nice loping beat, and drum rolls… sounds like Blakey. Nice minor key feel, like the tune (though I don't recognize it), like the transition to blues changes for the solos. At some point, I found that I had so much Blakey stuff that was getting too little attention, I kind of stopped pursuing his later recordings. I don't know when this is from, but I'd guess 80's? Couldn't tell you who's in the band here, although I could of course summon some guesses based on it being Blakey (unless that's wrong). At any rate, I like this. Nothing's wasted here, and the length is perfect, to my ears. Not Blakey but the influence is unmistakable. 80s is a good guess, if the decade was about 12 years long instead of 10. 2. Like the multi-horn unison theme, and the way it's arranged. This is an LP rip, which is always scary (probably something relatively obscure, which will be tough to identify). Solos… don't care too much for the alto tone, or phrasing. Pretty rough and sloppy sounding. I'd have to say the same about the trumpet. The tenor sounds more together sonically and conceptually. The piano solo doesn't do a lot for me, but I like what the drummer was doing at that point (not sure the pianist did). All in all, not bad, but if this was a first take, I would have tried it again. I'm hoping someone will recognize the tune - but per AMG, said identification will not actually help with this track. For me it defines 'obscure' but it's not entirely impossible for someone to recognize the recording. 3. Rollins-esque opening. Then again, I've heard Joe H sound like this. Now they go into "Impressions"… and now it's over. Don't think I've ever heard a tune that began that way end that way. Or that quickly. Makes it the perfect BFT track! Breaks up the monotony of my blues tunes, a little 'out' (for me at least) and so short it can be squeezed in to the one disc rule. 4. Back to the blues (wow, never would have expected that ). In The Closet. Swingin! The trumpet phrasing sounds like an older veteran player. Pianist has some of Oscar P in him, but I don't think it's Oscar. Nice Basie-like comping behind the bass solo. Drummer has skills, and a nice light and crisp sound. This whole thing has a very polished and practiced sound to it, not loose like track two. I like this one. Not Blues In The Closet per the album but maybe the theme was lifted. I'd have to check. The trumpeter is someone I always think folks should automatically know ... but I guess not. Pianist is not OP but I was curious if anyone would lean in that direction. Agree on the drummer and I am thinking about seeking out more of his small-group work. 5. I think I like the arrangement and the harmonies more than the melody. Not sure I've ever heard this tune. Sounds like there's a Hodges influence in this alto, and possibly some Duke/Strays influence in the composition. Really nice stuff. The trumpet has more of a hard bop phrasing, almost like Lee Morgan to my ears. Tasty. I wish this track had been longer. From about the trumpet solo on, this begins to feel more familiar, like something I would probably have in my collection. Must play this a few more times. Saxophonist is probably better known for tenor work. Trumpeter is a definite board fave who didn't get to record nearly as much as Lee Morgan did. 6. Oh, what is this tune called… sh!t… this is what I love about BFT's, and- this is what I hate about BFT's! Love this tune, though. Muted trumpet again. Love the pianist's imagination… he almost steals the show here for me. Tasty trumpet solo. Great tone and control. Tenor has a big sound. Doesn't sound quite breathy enough for Ben, but doesn't sound rough enough around the edges for Hawk… crap, I'm blanking. Great recording which I probably own, and I wish this had been longer too. 7. First of all, I've never heard this one- I'm sure of that. A guitarist playing "Rockin' In Rhythm" in front of a big band. Tonally, this reminds me of Herb Ellis circa '60's/70's (that's not a good thing to me, btw). I'm not guessing it's Herb, though, despite the bluesy interjections throughout. The blues licks he's playing are more straight-ahead blues sounding, and I'm thinking this is probably a younger player than Herb. I don't really care for the way he tries to squeeze in the blues licks between the melody notes at times, where there's not enough space for it. His technical ability is fine in that respect, it just doesn't sound good at all, musically speaking. Will have to mull this over (and no, that's not a subtle guess that it's Martin Mull). Funny how it seems that whenever I pick a guitar track with you in mind, you never care much for it. Not even sure if this is a track I especially lurrve - just that it was by the artist I wanted to feature, had a somewhat different arrangement ... and it fit, time-wise. 8. Wow, so far this assemblage of blues tunes is more enjoyable to me than any BFT you've put together in the past, Dan. This is nice and greasy gospelly (?), and nice and tasty. Great sound on this. Punchy and crisp. Sounds like it was recorded loud, but not too loud. The guitarist really values each note, a la Grant. Nice tone, too. No guesses at this point... 9. Am I detecting a 70's vibe here? Cool how the synth (?) makes it sound like there's a choir in the studio. Funky guitarist. No real clue, other than thinking about guys like Cornell Dupree, David T. Walker… Eric Gale… how many guesses do I get? Interesting fade-out and fade-back-in there in the middle of the track. Hmm. Anyway, nothing too exciting here for me, but enjoyable. There's a connection between 8 and 9 that will be clear if they get ID'd, which I think is a fairly good possibility. I was wondering myself about that 'choir' sound. My guess is you are right, they weren't live in the studio. 10. Dan, you're really mixing it up nicely. Exhilarating track. I have no real clue, in fact I'm listening to background handclaps and exclamations as possible clues to who this might be. 11. More surface noise here than the battle of Midway , but no matter. In terms of the piano, I feel like I'm hearing some Erroll Garner influence. 12. I'm beginning to see… that I suck at this game. Wait- Gene Harris. Did he grunt like that? Whoa- very abrupt ending. 13. Old Devil Moon, which I've been meaning to learn for awhile (only about 30 years). Very nice treatment, love the flourish at the end there. 14. Jada. Great late-night mood on this one. And right when I think it's going to be laid back all the way, the pianist plays some dazzling runs. Beautiful command of the 88's. That said, this one dragged on a bit for me. Not a favorite tune of mine. 15, I recognize this tune, haven't heard it in ages, and don't remember the title. Something about the tenor's tone is really striking to me. In fact, it's partly the recording quality, I think. Just a great sound. This track is too short! 16. At first I was thinking Sonny (either Stitt or Criss ), but I'm not confident about it being either of them upon further listening. Chops galore, but I'm not getting quite enough soul... or something. Kind of an odd arrangement too, to my ears. You are correct that neither Sonny is on alto. As far as the pianists on 11 thru 14, that will require a LOT more examination for me to know whether Harris was involved, and if so, where. Anyway, some excellent listening on this batch of tunes! Much more to think about, so I'll listen again tomorrow. Thanks Dan. Thanks for sharing your initial thoughts Jim. Looking forward to what subsequent listens bring out.

And away we go ... if anyone else would like to join in please PM me for the download link. While there is no theme, I do want to note that Tracks 11-14 should be listened to both individually and in relation to each other. Is the pianist the same? Yes this is like a section from a prior BFT - Gene Harris or Not Gene Harris? Thanks and I look forward to all of your comments. EDIT TO ADD: Tags on the tracks should not interfere with proper sequencing but for the record, the track times and tags, in order, are: Track 01 6:19 BFT 108 - 002 6:27 BFT 108 - 003 3:13 Track 06 6:24 Track 01 5:09 Track 04 5:27 Track 01 4:19 Track 01 6:20 Track 03 7:42 BFT 108 - 010 3:40 BFT 108 - 011 2:44 Track 06 2:22 Track 04 3:01 Track 09 7:26 BFT 108 - 015 3:40 BFT 108 - 016 2:25 Jim's comments match my sequencing so everything is honky-dory.

Welcome aboard, Tim! At least you get a few more days in March.

Anything by Al Grey or Gene Harris is guaranteed to put a smile on my face.

To be clear, it can be the artist pictured or someone else.

Jon creepin' up on 40 ... :party:

Mary Stallings has a couple of nice CDs on Concord including one with the Gene Harris Quartet backing her. Shoulda recognized her.

Ties in to the other pet poll - that's Karelian Bear Dog Coltrane kissing Weimaraner Gracie.

Your cover is not showing? Sorry about that; not sure which one I had picked but it was a Robert Palmer cover. Any of them will do, since he's always looking at the camera thinking to himself "little old me scores some pretty hot chicks, life is good." Smugly.

For the record I am with Mike Weil, a lot of these don't strike me as 'smug at all. But my contribution, and Guitar Watson definitely fit.

I should update for the Gould household - in the time since this poll was active, our Weimaraner, Gracie, has learned to give kisses. You might think that's instinctual for dogs but when we got her, she wouldn't. We're convinced that Coltrane's kisses showed her how love is expressed and now she especially likes to give me kisses on Sunday mornings, which is when I get to sleep in. When I get up I quietly open the bedroom door and then go back to bed. She always hears it and bursts up the stairs and leaps on the bed, where she gives a bunch of good morning kisses.

With the dogs v cat poll in action, time to bring back this golden oldie!

Welcome to everyone and UP for more!

And the Yankees have lost Curtis Granderson for the first month of the season with a broken forearm. Will probably make replacing the 100 or so HRs that left in the off-season that much tougher.

Is that a random thought or a personal observation?

No worries there - I'm pretty certain I don't have a tear, just a strain. No scream, not even serious discomfort. Does this mean I can just rest it for a few weeks? Seriously though thanks for the extensive advice.

Indeed. Did you ask for some goat's milk?

Wouldn't that kind of injury feel different - worse - than the original one? I'd think I would know if the muscle is torn off the bone vs a micro-tear as in a 'pull".

Well, arguing about a Kenny Burrell takes a special personality to take the 'anti' side. Clem/Moms/Brian are just that sort of personality. Can't say that I miss them.

After losing about 30 pounds in the past 18 months or so, and using the stairmaster regularly for the last six months or so, I felt like my 47 year old body was ready for the rigors of a co-ed softball league. I should have remembered that I have a history of leg injuries in softball. So, two weeks ago was the first game, and despite pre-game stretching, the first time I tried to go first to third, I pulled my left hamstring. I iced and rested it afterwards and within about five days the soreness was gone. Next game was two weeks later (last night) and I felt good in warmups but obviously the hamstring wasn't fully healed. I felt it grab when I moved for a relay through from the outfield, and then when I had to run the bases, it once again tore in the same place (mid-thigh maybe slightly closer to the knee than the ass). It didn't feel like as bad a pull as the initia injury but it feels pretty damn sore this morning. The problem is the next game is a week away. Any advice on strengthening/rehabbing to be able to play in a week? Or should I face facts and just retire? (At least I'd go out on a 2 for 3 night with two ribbies).

Damn, all I see is "Posted Image" now I'll never know what the hell the dude was walking.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=7j0MIR1tHvw

More here I got deeply into the blues for several years before I discovered the 'magic man' but I'm very glad I did. Great guitar work, strong vocals and a terrific band behind him. You always knew who was playing before Morris Holt took the mic.

That would be RDK.