Spontooneous

It just won"t die... https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/music/in-new-orleans-scandal-tarnishes-a-jazz-star-and-the-libraries-he-was-asked-to-help/2016/07/14/6c443890-444b-11e6-8856-f26de2537a9d_story.html?postshare=2071468671281683&tid=ss_fb

Mahler also has one.

Does anybody else like the Sahib Shihab albums as much as I do?

Don't forget that Basie-ite Ed also held down a lot of the solos with Bennie Moten before Hot Lips Page came along.

The last two months, responses on the first day have been so good that one can barely get a lick in after that. So, pedal to the metal... 1. Hey, buster, keep it in the political forum! Or, in this case, leave it here. An extremely clever ode to the vice president of the United States who shot an 80-year-old man in the face. 2. No idea, but I'm interested. Sounds like the string quartet is using pickups. 3. I'd guess it's from a Dave Douglas record. Or it's by somebody who has a bunch of Dave Douglas records. 4. Maybe not a commercial release – sounds like a cold, flat, clinical soundboard recording of an impressive performance. The pianist's ornamentation keeps reminding me of Ahmad Jamal. Might be one of those things Jamal did with George Coleman. 5. I hope this 7/4 thing is lurking in my collection somewhere, because if it isn't I have to hunt it down. Beautiful and maybe a bit ahead of its time. Am I detecting a pair of Adderleys? If no, is the alto Frank Strozier? 6. Well, there's your Adderley. Somebody was really quick. 7. Seems oddly familiar, but a quick check of my Hutcherson and Dickerson records doesn't reveal it. This is the one that's going to drive me crazy. If it's Dickerson, NIS will probably get it off the top of his head. 8. Are we in ECM land? Is that an oud? I like. 9. "In a Sentimental Mood." The tone isn't Jimmy Heath's, but something about the approach makes me think of him. Which would mean maybe Tony Purrone on guitar. But wait – at the end, the drummer seems to be revealed as Elvin – which suggests Grossman or Foster or Liebman, and/or Roland Prince. 10. Heh-heh-heh. Number 6 here. 11 Heh-heh-heh-heh. Number 7 here. Not my favorite arrangement by this group, but it'll do. Another good one all the way, Thom!

Thanks for all. Any day you hear Carlos Ward with Ibrahim is a good day. The BFT was heard by two Beefheart fans in Kansas City, but neither of us figured out Drumbo. I must run down those Mae Barnes sides.

Now I'm fixated on that "Sunny Side of the Street" (which I like very much). I thought Hadda Brooks, I thought Una Mae Carlisle, and now I'm just out of guesses. Is the singer also doing the eight bars of tapping? Is the singer someone more widely known as a dancer or comedian?

Last year, he booked a 2016 gig for his big band in Kansas City. A few weeks before the show, "New Orleans Jazz Orchestra" was quietly amended to "The New Orleans 7." I didn't attend the show, but I'm told by a reliable source that the 7 consisted of 6.

Maybe what Bob really meant to say is "If that jukebox plays 'Pride and Joy' one more time, I am screaming and running out of this bar." No, wait, that was me the other night.

While we're in the neighborhood, attention must be paid to the Rex Stewart and Buster Bailey dates.

I'd also say to everyone: Don't overlook "Midnight Walk" on Atlantic, for its unique mix of personalities: Elvin, Thad, Mobley, Abdullah Ibrahim.

I'm in. Didn't have time to weigh in last month, but will try to do better this time.

Yep, never would have guessed Billy Mitchell. Never knew him to play alto. I was really thinking West Coast on that one. I think Track 7 is my real favorite of the bunch. Thanks, Dan.

Moving on to trying to decode #3, because I'm utterly defeated by #1... Are the tenor player who goes first and the alto player who trades with the drums the same person? I'm thinking no, but please correct me if I'm wrong. The alto keeps reminding me of John Handy or Frank Morgan. The drumming keeps reminding me of Frank Dunlop.

I think HP has got Track 2 exactly right. Starts with KD, then Thad at about 2:45, then Maggie (love how someone says "Yeah Maggie!" at the end). Later, 12 bars each from KD, Thad and Maggie in that order, followed by two choruses of fours in the same order. That's how I'm hearing it, anyway.

What Jim and Bill said. That second trumpet solo is nobody but Thad. I'll hazard a guess that the third is Joe Newman.

I'll be dogged. It was Tete. That one messed with my brain.

OK, here goes, focusing mainly on the things that haven't been identified... 1. Pleasantly surprised by the ID here. I was thinking that the groove pointed to a Ramsey Lewis record, or at least to Chicago and Argo. The first part of the changes could be borrowed from "Well You Needn't," but the rest is obviously not. The pianist's second bridge made me think of Barry Harris. For tenor I was guessing Harold Land, Frank Foster, Jimmy Heath. But that's all moot now. 2. When the piano solo starts, it's pretty clear this is a McCoy Tyner record, probably a Milestone. It's the title cut here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/13th_House People forget how many chances McCoy took with instrumentation and texture over the years, and how it almost always worked smashingly. 4. It's Django's tune – that's "Nuages," isn't it? -- but since it's stereo, obviously it isn't Django. Nice, but a little too chopsy for me, or maybe I'm guitarred out today. 6. The trumpet makes me think of Bill Coleman, or Buck Clayton. Dicky Wells on trombone? Nat Pierce on piano, maybe even Ellis Larkins? If I keep guessing, I might hit something sooner or later... 10. Sounds like John Hicks to me. It's that firm left hand while the right floats all over the time. On about the third listen, I'm starting to think the song is "I'll Keep Loving You." 12. OK, this is fun. A snatch of melody in the opening section makes me think it might be a fantasy on "I Loves You Porgy," but halfway through it turns into "Come Sunday." Wonderful chops. I give up, but I'll throw out a guess of Dave Burrell, just because. 13. Kamasi's album reminds me of a nasty remark someone made about Richard Strauss (it might have been Stravinsky) – to the effect that Strauss creates a beautiful painting, then when you think it's done, he keeps painting over it because he still has some paint left.

Point taken about going to a less-frequent BFT. I've been thinking for a couple of hours about a possible alternative BFT game. Here's a sketch of a proposal: The game would become Mystery of the Week. Every Monday a tester starts a thread that presents one cut, just one, for listener comment. The game goes on until the commenters identify the performance or until the following Monday, whichever comes first. If the cut is identified quickly (say, by Tuesday), the tester will have a runner-up track available to keep the game going. And it the runner-up is identified quickly, a second runner-up will be available. It might broaden the appeal of the game and draw in some new people. One drawback, it might be more demanding on the BFT administrators. But potential benefits might outweigh the drawback. Merely a proposal here, seeking a way to keep the game alive.

I'd love to see it continue. Even if we have to go to bimonthly or something like that. The idea of a length limit, say eight or ten cuts, is appealing.

Got to run down that Eisenstadt album somehow, because I can't stop playing that track!

Yessir. Missed ya.

Late for the party, but enjoying it nonetheless. Some really good listening here. I'll focus on the things that haven't been identified. 2 Time for another round of that classic BFT game, Bass or Cello? A cello on the left, a bass in the middle. Eventually it's "Just A Closer Walk With Thee." The clarinet is tasty too. The next question that comes to mind is, is this the real New Orleans or someone paying tribute? The clarinet and possibly the drums seem like the real thing. There are some serious classical chops on that cellist. The more I hear it the more I like it. 3 A little dry at first, but it warms up. That trombone off to the left, or is it a French horn, sure is good. The tune that starts about 3 minutes in is very nice, perhaps a folk or pop tune from a culture I know nothing about? I'm really liking this. Just the horn choir and drums? Is this perhaps a Mikiel Braam thing? 5 Bass or Cello? It's cello, really good cello. Then we get to the rest of the band. For some reason I'm thinking ECM. Nice arranging touches in there. I'm going to be looking for this record. 6 Like the bass, love the trumpet, really really love the piano. This one has grown on me enormously. 9 Hey, that's drumming sounds like Han Bennink. Hey, this sounds familiar. Especially that trombone and that alto. Heh heh heh. I'd be disappointed if you hadn't included something like this. It's track 10 here. 11 The reggae groove feels good. The piano itself needs some work, but the pianist is fine. Many thanks. More discs on the want list now!

My feelings on this are close to Rooster's. I'll admit, though, the Second Symphony really got under my skin. Perhaps it's one of the works where Piston was really learning how to sound like Piston. (I'm using the Schwarz recording, now on Naxos, formerly on Delos.) If you ever see that LP of Charles Munch conducting the Sixth Symphony, grab it -- for Piston and for the Martinu Sixth on the other side.

Woody III has been a board member, and he hasn't said anything about my mom's reputation, so I won't say any more about his.