Spontooneous

Sun Records would only give Johnny 3 minutes, so he had to cut "I Walk The Line." You shoulda heard the modulations he had to leave out.

Apologies for not responding. It's been a ridiculously busy month, and the few days when I had time to listen, I was on the road and unable to post. That Cab Calloway track made the road trip much better, though. Thank you!

Last time I heard it, I was surprised to find Chronochromie tiresome. Maybe I was just in a bad mood. But Sept Haikai gets me every time.

What David said. My favorite recording of the Variations. I really wish Abbado had recorded the Symphony too.

It's time I tried again. Download, please!

No love for the Berlin Dialogue LP, people?

Eroica! Also the quartet Op. 59 No. 1 and the sonata Op. 110. Mahler 1, 5 and 7. Mendelssohn's Octet. Debussy's Cello Sonata.

Bird Gets the Gator Yardgator Suite Relaxin' at Okeefenokee Ah-Leu-Chomp

Thing is, that lede surely got approval far above the level of the copy desk. Papsrus is right. Let's just say I know newspaper copy editors who are actively discouraged from trying to change or improve the masterly and immortal works of certain marquee columnists. And some newspaper copy editors may be perfectly willing to let certain marquee columnists hang themselves.

1. A bopmercial! Is that the real Jon Hendricks? I can't quite make out the words – are they praising cholesterol? What doesn't kill ya... 2. I feel guilty about not liking this more than I do. I'll admit to being tired of neo-soul. The melody is beautiful and well-sung, but the why-doesn't-everybody-listen-to-my-wisdom part of the lyric bugs me. Maybe I'm the curmudgeon who grumbles, "You kids act like you invented this stuff!" In the Glass-Half-Full Division, the soprano sax is pretty good, and the player really does something with the cadenza at the end. My favorite thing about this track is the acoustic guitar – wonderful comping and imaginative fills. 3. This feels more like circa-1972 soul and less like a re-creation. If it's a re-creation, they got the sound and technology right. Another superb piece of singing. Love the Moog. 4. Another pet peeve is playing "Manteca" riffs without actually playing "Manteca." There's a local band that has a "Manteca" chart that uses blues changes for blowing instead of the real changes, and I usually find an excuse to leave when they're playing it. Solos here don't do much for me either. 5. I sure hope it's a put-on, 'cause that's the only way I can take it. 6. Is that Nat or Freddy? The precision and dynamic control in the band are amazing – a nearly-lost art of playing dynamics there. The strings work. Can't imagine this being any better than it is. 7. How many Fender Rhodeses on this track, and what's the plural of Rhodes? Again, feels a lot like circa-'72 and not so much like a re-creation. But something I can't put my finger on makes me think it's neo. 8. Sounds like an old Mongo record, or a better Herbie Mann record. That's about an 11-bar blues, isn't it? I like. The tenor solo is above and beyond the call of duty. The relaxed trumpet is nice. 9. Our first sponsored BFT? Ray plays it fairly straight and lets the Nat Cole influence show a little. 10. The song is "You're Not the Kind." At first the tenor sounds like Quinichette, but the attack is harder, like someone poised between Prez and Gene Ammons. I can listen to this kind of stuff all day. 11. That's electronically fuzzed-up vibes, isn't it? Is this a Gary Burton record? The tune is, er, quaint. The guitar solo needs some rests – Larry Coryell? 12. Is the singer Dinah or somebody deeply influenced by her? Lavern Baker, or somebody I haven't heard of? She makes an effective little drama out of the song. Several worlds colliding here, with the doo-wah chorus (they don't really do any damage), the T-Bone Walker like guitar (a treat) and the good plunger trombone. 13. Right message, but probably the wrong messenger. And "Artistry in Rhythm" is always such a grimace of a tune. 14. I'll admit I don't recognize the tune or the player. But I wish I'd been in the room when it was played. This is one of those BFTs that keep poking at my brain long after I play it. The answers are gonna be interesting. Thanks very much, Jim!

Download for me, pleez.

Better pick up where I left off... 11. Oh, this is one of those Richard Davis Muse records. This is the one with Chick and Frank Dunlop, with Richard and Bill Lee. 12. At first I thought it was an imitator, but it really does sound like the real B.B. King. Maybe David Newman on tenor? Is that the real Milt Jackson? And then a curveball, a second guitar solo by somebody who sounds a lot like John Scofield (who likes to linger uncomfortably behind the beat like that). I'm sold on this one. 13. Now this is real mid-'40s Basie. Feels good. Can't ID the tune, but let me take a stab at the horn solos in order: Tab Smith or maybe Preston Love, Sweets, Rudy Rutherford, Illinois. Is it Papa Jo or Shadow Wilson back there? Sounds like a band with high morale. 14. And this is real Ellington, the leader playing that waltzed A Train intro that he used a lot from the mid-60s onward, and then his set solo in 4/4. And then a very big curveball, another pianist taking over. Presumably Oscar Peterson, and this is a recording from some Norman Granz extravaganza. Somebody says, "Go Oscar!" at 2:40. Nice of Oscar to play Ray Nance's breaks in the last chorus. But I can live without that final cadenza. 15. OK, this is different. I'll guess Henry Threadgill, maybe with Brandon Ross. The guitarist is kinda gutsy. 16. This doesn't do it for me, but some days I seem to have an allergy to guitar players. Why do I get the feeling there's a standard tune lurking behind parts of this one, buried under layers of smart-guy Berklee chords? Guess I'm not in the mood for this today. Oh well, even if I didn't like the last one, this is fun. 2, 4 and 7 are going to mess with my head for a long time. Thanks, HP!

Speaking of not being able to identify things from your own collection, as played by your friends... Track 9 is the first tune here: http://www.alaturkamusic.com/cd_store.html Recommended music from the exotic shores of Kansas City. Too bad this band seems to be on hiatus.

Before the whole darn month gets away from me, here's a stab at the first part.... 1. Circa 1955-6. Maybe 8 to 10 pieces? Maybe the drummer is the leader? Maybe one of those Osie Johnson dates? Tenor sounds like a cross between Frank Foster and Sonny Rollins. Firey trumpet, good trombone. I like the crude vigor of the piano solo. 2. About the same vintage. A jazz tenorist leaning toward R&B, or an R&B tenorist leaning toward jazz, and doing a very nice job either way. 3. Kentonish brass. The more I listen, Kentonish everything. Alto soloist might be Pepper. The interruption of the alto solo is just too much brass. The Ellingtonian piano fills in the last 8 bars are delightful, though. There, I said something nice about Kenton. 4. Took me a while to remember what the intro was reminding me of -- the awful music from the awful movie "Manos, The Hands of Fate." Which reminds me, it's been too long since I watched Mystery Science Theater 3000. I'm going to guess that this is Jazz Passengers-related. It's full of nice ideas, especially the 6/4 groove, but they don't do a whole lot with it. 5. The Bo Diddley beat -- needs maracas -- with a nice tune over it. The guitar behaves like rock 'n' roll, while the rest of the band behaves like a jazz band. The trumpet solo is what I like. The other solos aren't bad. Really, this is lovely. 6. Real strings badly recorded and produced, or synthesized strings? Might be Wynton, sounds a little more like Terence. Maybe a Don Sebesky chart? 7. Best Lester Young imitation I've ever heard. Had me fooled (I was thinking it was a take from the "Crazy Over J-Z" Savoy date) until after the trumpet solo. Then the repeater pencil blows his cover by coming back with a too-explicit quote of Lester's "Easy Does It" break. Presumably Paul Quinichette. 8. Basie-ish but not Basie, maybe Nat Pierce on piano. One of those circa-1957 things, like the Cohn-Newman-Green Mosaic is full of. The tenor's opening quote of "Baby It's Cold Outside" is funny. Is that Roy or Sweets? 9. I'm in the mood for oud... Presumably Rabih-Abou Khalil (if not KC's Alaturka). 10. No idea. Too many notes to be McShann. The player has a really nice textural sense.

DL, pls. Tnx.

Better finish this quickly before I run out of month... 10. Oh, shoot. I should know this head. Seems like I've heard the head, though not this performance. The one-sax-player-comps-for-the-other idea is dangerous, but they make it work. 11. I hear a generous amount of ECM echo. 'Zat chew, Jan Garbarek? My ear is drawn to the skittering piano, which is just wonderful throughout. So is the bass. I want this in my collection. 12. The trumpet is telling me it's Kenny Wheeler. Or is my head still stuck in ECM mode? 13. Makes me think of Ran Blake and Jeanne Lee, but that isn't Jeanne. But the spirit is right, and I'm a fan of this one. 14. It's static and not static. I like it. At first I was going to say something about the bass player's intonation, but it doesn't matter now. Thanks, Colin! This BFT is going to make me search out some discs, I can tell.

The month is getting away from me. Here's a first round of responses... 1 Lo-fi, but what the heck. The drummer jumps in with abandon, and then the tenor seems to be leading the way. The intro made me think the trumpeter would be the leader, but it seems to be the tenor. Got a Pharoah thing in his tone and vibrato, though his stamina and chops aren't on that level. Piano interlude is OK, tenor coda is nice. Must be something from a smaller label like ESP. Enjoyable. 2 Vibes with a great sense of texture and color, and the technique to bring off some pretty difficult things. Maybe Karl Berger? Maybe some new cat? Good stuff. 3 I'll guess it's recent, and that the trumpeter is the leader. I like what the bass player has to say all through this discussion. 4 There's something familiar about this, but can't place it. Impressive all around. If I don't have this record, I want it. For some reason, the tune itself reminds me of Carla Bley's writing. 5 A project with echoes of Mingus. How 'bout that alto player? And I like the clarinet even better. 6 Recent and fun. Are those gurglings in the left channel from a laptop? 7 Afro Blue with vibes. The pianist is McCoy, but I've been fooled on this before – might be someone who sounds very much like him. And the drummer is Elvin or a wannabe Elvin. Most of the excitement on this one comes from the drums. 8 Blue Monk on alto, another lo-fi but appealing thing. It's good to hear a real examination of the tune, not just a cruise through the changes. 9 A dark and slippery journey. Some really wonderful trombone here, by a rare plunger expert (Ray Anderson? Wolter Wierbos?). But the whole band moves as one. I love it.

Download, please. Like Mike, I'm leaving town next week, and bringing the BFT along would be great.

Maybe this belongs in the Chappaqua Suite thread: Ornette Coleman's Bacon number is 3 Ornette Coleman and William S. Burroughs appeared in Chappaqua. William S. Burroughs and Tim Robbins appeared in Twister. Tim Robbins and Kevin Bacon appeared in Mystic River.

Your dentist needs those teeth for his voodoo rituals. You wouldn't want to deny your dentist the freedom to practice his religion, would you?

A second to Jim's endorsement of that Richard Davis album. Also, Ricky has a beautiful wake-up call of a solo on Steve Lacy's "Vespers" (on the song "I Do Not Believe"). Not for everybody, especially those who can't take Irene's singing. But I love it.

Finishing the parts I omitted in haste yesterday... 13 – The West Coast vibe is back, on "Strike Up the Band." There's some creative writing for brass, especially after the trombone solo. No guess, but very enjoyable, and doesn't overstay its welcome. 14 – Still West Coasting. The piano pounding is positively Brubeckian. The trumpet is probably some lesser-known, with a nice attack, a good compromise between Chet and Brownie. No guess, but it's fun. This is a very entertaining BFT, Bill! Eagerly awaiting the reveal. Thank you!

OK, here's the first two-thirds... 1 - Real nice tenor here, with some of Coltrane's Carolina drawl. Is this Ravi? Whoever it is, I'm impressed. Piano solo ain't bad either. This tune is a contrafact on something, isn't it? 2 – "Just Friends," in an arrangement that sounds like an orchestral expansion of a late Prez solo. Well played. I'm not in the mood for this kind of thing very often, but I'm interested. 3 – The buzz in the tone says it's Roy Eldridge or a VERY close imitator playing "I Can't Get Started." Likely a JATP recording. 4 – Wow, I love that tenor tone. Much like Charlie Rouse's, but I'm not hearing Rouse stock phrases here, and this player's attack is more flexible. Eagerly awaiting an answer on this one, though it's probably right under my nose. 5 – The arranger lets his debt to Dameron show, and I am a sucker for all things Dameronian. It's track 7 here. 6 – Is that the real McCoy Tyner? Is this that album he did with Gary Bartz and Terence Blanchard, that I don't have? It's studio-nice and clean, but not what these players (whoever they are) do best. 7 – OK, this sounds even more like McCoy than 6 did. The pianist has his motor habits. But I can't run this one down among my McCoy big-band records. Maybe it's a curveball and this is from McCoy's recent collaborations with the Charles Tolliver big band? Good stuff whatever it is. 8 – Vaguely familiar. Sort of a second-wave bebop thing, circa 1949-51. Maybe Red Rodney or Conte Candoli. Trumpet solo is the best part. The sign-off of the bari solo is wonderful. 9 – The more I listen, the more I think that's Paul Gonsalves. Likely his Riverside album, which I don't have. 10 – Late '50s or early '60s. Beautifully played. Love the launching pad for the trumpet solo entrance. Another good one, whatever it is. 11 – A West Coast vibe. The music doesn't tell you anything you didn't already know, but it's still engaging. Love the interlude before the piano solo, and the slightly spiky piano solo itself. 12 – Oh, this is maddening. I know this tune from somewhere, though I don't know the performance. It feels like a Freddie Redd composition, but I'm not turning it up on any disc of his. It's Blue Note-connected somehow – Brooks, McLean, Walter Davis? The two tenors here were right to pick up on a great tune. No guesses as to their identities, but I'll hazard a guess that the second is more experienced than the first.