Tom Storer

Nope, try again.

OK, let me try to get you guessing before I post the answers... The pianist on CD2, number 1 once recorded with the vibraphonist on CD1, no. 1. And say, have you seen his piano? Neither has he. The pianist on number 4 is noted for accompanying singers. The bassist has too. In fact, listen to number 4, particularly the bass but also the piano, and free associate to see what singer comes to mind. Sangry ought to get this...

Well, some recipients have yet to chime in, but I'm about ready to pull the plug and give the answers soon. Beforehand, though, I'll try to get a few more guesses from whoever's reading... Some well-known musicians who have yet to be identified on CD1 include: - pianist on number 4 - drummer on number 6 - all three on number 8! - pianist and bassist on number 10 I'll give some hints for number 8: The composer of number 8 is the bassist on number 5 and has played with the no. 8 pianist; the bassist has played and recorded with Bill Evans (the pianist); the drummer is one of the rare ones who is right at home with either older, mainstream stars or with avant-gardistes. Go on, take some wild guesses!

Elling has a lot of fans, and deserves them. He's a talented guy who clearly has fun doing what he's doing. I can't find anything to hold against him in terms of his talent and commitment. That said, I can't listen to him. He tends to be someone you either love or hate. There's a sort of preening self-consciousness about his singing that turns me right off. I don't dig Mark Murphy either. Give me Mel Torme, give me Eddie Jefferson, give me JOE WILLIAMS.

This is funny, Jim--I had considered putting a piece on my current blindfold test with Gaynair jamming in a sextet led by, yes, Johnny Griffin! I didn't, because it was something like 20 minutes long, so as a result the BFT has neither Gaynair nor Griffin. Instead of both. Which you would have preferred.

No, Griff is older. But not by much...

'Round Midnight.

I met Spike back in the 80's when he made a few jaunts to Paris. He was a friend of a friend of my wife's, and we hooked up and went out to a jazz club. Later, he came back to play at the same jazz club (the lamented Petit Opportun), and he was a beautiful player indeed. On another occasion, he and I went club-trawling and he introduced me to Sweets Edison at the bar of the Hotel Meridien. Be still, my heart! Spike was a very funny guy who would make wry comments on his long "day-job" career as an engineer in Denver. "Meetings! Meetings! For me, that's what Hell would be: meetings." Listening to a singer at the Hotel Meridien that night doing"I Didn't Know What Time It Was," when she sang "I don't know if we're in a garden/Or on a crowded avenue," Spike leaned over and said "I don't even know what key she's in." Several years later, after his stroke, I saw him at a jazz pub in London, where he had moved with his new wife. He was somewhat diminished but still swinging and having a hell of a time.

Nope.

Ooops! My mistake. I meant 1, 4, 6 and 8.

CD2 is holding up a little better than CD1. Numbers 1, 4, 6 and 7 remain untouched. But I'm sure someone will get there eventually...

Well, the pieces on this BFT have been dropping like flies before the onslaught of your collective wisdom. No one's come close to no. 6 or no. 8! Keep trying!

Miles-tree.org is back! http://www.miles-trees.org/

I don't have a specific example that comes to mind, but I know I've heard Elvin play some beautiful solos on ballads.

I wonder if Bill Laswell was involved.

I know what you mean, but Gomez doesn't always sound like that. His solos do favor speedy upper-register lines, but as an accompanist he can certainly have a rich, deep sound. Much depends on how he's recorded, I think: back in the 70's when that trebly, butterfly-in-a-box sound was all the rage, that was the emphasized in recordings. Since then, both live and on record, I've heard him be much more full-bodied. But whether the sound grabs you or not, he's a beautiful musician IMHO. His lines are never just flashy.

Good intonation is overrated.

Great! So 10 out of 20 have received the discs... hopefully discussion will kick in again in a couple of days!

OK, folks, here's the thread to discuss BFT 41, CD 2. Tomorrow it will have been one week since I sent out the packages, and the European recipients began to report before the week's end that they had received them. I'm thinking the North American, Russian, and Singaporean residents will have them in hand within the next couple of days if they don't have them already. Better early than late, so here goes! Roughly 75% of the items on the two discs are from bittorrent boots, so Dimeadozen addicts may have the upper hand. There's no special theme. There are two or three freebies, and a bunch of individual musicians whom I suspect will be quickly spotted; it may not be the most challenging BFT, but I hope you'll like the music and the way it flows. My only request is that if you know for certain what an item is, you don't spill the beans--link to AMG or something instead.

OK, folks, here's the thread to discuss BFT 41, CD 1. Tomorrow it will have been one week since I sent out the packages, and the European recipients began to report before the week's end that they had received them. I'm thinking the North American, Russian, and Singaporean residents will have them in hand within the next couple of days if they don't have them already. Better early than late, so here goes! Roughly 75% of the items on the two discs are from bittorrent boots, so Dimeadozen addicts may have the upper hand. There's no special theme. There are two or three freebies, and a bunch of individual musicians whom I suspect will be quickly spotted; it may not be the most challenging BFT, but I hope you'll like the music and the way it flows. My only request is that if you know for certain what an item is, you don't spill the beans--link to AMG or something instead.

In my humblest of humble opinions, the answer to your question is no, there is no concise way to define those types of jazz. You could probably define 1, 2 and 5 in a non-concise way with plenty of footnotes, qualifications and open questions. 3 and 4, forget it. They're not types of jazz, they're just adjectives that each listener will apply with utter subjectivity.

Looks like Europe is receiving the packages this week. Maybe the States (and Singapore) will get them over the weekend. I'll probably open discussion Sunday or Monday.

And just in case that was a serious question--of course she's not too young to be doing things because she's upset with you! All actions have consequences, right? You piss her off by putting her on the naughty step, she's got motive. Give her the means and the opportunity and you have a case.

It's not a question of careful premeditation--the kind of behavior you're talking about is impulsive. Two-year-olds are curious and exploratory and enjoying their power to do things in the world and see the effects, and they're also too young to control their impulses very well. You've got your toy, there's the window screen, you suddenly have a strong desire to see how hard you can poke it and what might happen... and pow, you do it. You're not yet at the stage where you can foresee what's about to happen, weigh it against previous injunctions, even if they were only thirty seconds ago, and make decisions about what is best. It's just like... wow... I wanna... (crash rip smash scratch) hey! that was fun! Uh-oh, Daddy's upset! Now is the time to start discovering the deep wells of patience you never knew you had!

What does "soft" mean, precisely? I think Holland's quintet and big band are excellent. I don't feel the need to pick up every release because they mine much the same vein, but it's a rich vein. "Boring"? Maybe I'm just not so easily bored.