clifford_thornton

okay, I guess the CD is coming out this week so I'll be able to hear it soon. Denis was never someone I'd call pedestrian, which leads me to believe he may not be the drummer.

yeah, I guess he got hacked on FB at one point.

Well, I had zero guesses on who any of the performers were, but here's my take: 1. I like this more than I expected I would -- the flutist is more than capable with a bright sound and creative improvisational lines. Certainly a very recent production, and the rhythm section is solidly in the pocket. No guesses, but I enjoyed it. 2. Been guessed, but good to hear it again and it's interesting to now know who's part of the ensemble. I will admit I'd not known of Lakecia Benjamin before this BFT and am impressed. 3. The tune has been identified and this is an excellent rendition, but I can't hazard a guess as to who the performers are. I'd imagine it's somewhat recent (within the last 20-30 years) but beyond that, am not sure. The bassist and tenor saxophonist are certainly hitting some areas that are within my wheelhouse. 4. Not really my thing at all as far as the arrangement & composition go. But everything has its place. No guesses, probably would not revisit. 5. Spaulding is an interesting guess but I don't really think it is him. Ebullient rendition of a classic tune, though the pianist's solo doesn't really do it for me. 6. As I was talking to a fellow board member the other day, the Santana feel is strong here, though it's certainly not them (him?). Once the vocals began I checked out. 7. I do understand the valid connection between jazz and hip hop but this isn't my cuppa tea. It does seem very contemporary. 8. Recent guitar-organ fare, I recall being sent some things like this by the PosiTone label when I was reviewing albums. No guesses. The guitarist presents ideas in a cohesive manner that I could see going places, but the overall flavor isn't too distinctive. 9. I guess this would be crowd-pleasing in a concert setting, but again, I don't get it. Stevie Wonder's "Higher Ground" reimagined as a jazz-funk tune? Sorta. Personally, I only lasted a few minutes. 10. Okay, the sentiment is admirable and the delivery is okay -- I'd gather the poet/speaker has spent a fair amount of time listening to how Amiri Baraka did things, at least on some level -- but the music doesn't deliver and feels quite, I don't know, not compelling, which is weird given the subject. Trumpet has some Hannibal-isms but I highly doubt it's him. Another Ropeadope release?

so they probably do bulk licensing deals from various labels?

essential music. I love those Savoy avant-garde LPs and hope that one day they're given really special reissue treatment.

would love to have seen that.

He can play the saxophone better than I can! I've seen and certainly enjoyed him but not felt the need to own any of his CDs. I do like him with Motian as well.

Interstellar Space and Signal are two shops that are supposed to be quite good. I have not been to CHI in years.

Lovely album. Took a few copies to find one without a lock groove.

Some of those Jazzland covers with abstract designs remind me of 'stock' covers that various labels used throughout the '60s and '70s. They are very cheap but some have their charm.

oh for sure.

I'll have to pick that LP up the next time I see it. Another fine Chris Albertson annotation.

Welcome! #2 & #3 both feel very familiar but I am struggling to place them. Just took a brief gander overall, will hopefully have time to report back in more detail soon.

yeah, definitely a money issue. The Bley was released in the early 70s and that is its original cover design. It is a good one. Another Timbre is a cool label for sure. I have some of their early CDs and CDRs.

Some of those I am interested in. When I was stocking up on Ogun many years ago, I concentrated on the older sessions and archival releases, so a few of the newer Moholo titles I never picked up. Then again, staring at walls and walls of music, I'm not sure if I actually need much more...

Like, I guess my argument would be that it takes work to be minimal and their cover art practice just got lazy.

Ah, that is too bad -- indeed, his music on the Aketa's Disk label, and that of his compatriots whom he released, is very interesting. Glad to see that a bunch of it has been reissued legitimately. Looking at my spreadsheet, he shares a birthday with Tristan Honsinger, which seems appropriate.

Yep. That Kühn is excellent.

A lot of the 1970s ECM covers were pretty cool, and even the 80s and 90s weren't totally offensive (or I could deal). These days not so much.

Damn, too bad. A fabulous musician indeed.

I'm looking forward to hearing the recordings and will be interested to see if it's actually Frank/Huss rather than Denis.

The Rostvold can definitely be had cheaper (with patience). I believe it is streaming too, but not on CD alas. This BFT was certainly an excuse for me to dig out some records I hadn’t heard in a while and probably wouldn’t have identified if I were on the other side of it. Glad folks found some things to dig into further!

Thanks again to all who listened and participated. I guess this was a little long in the tooth for some (which I'll factor in for next time) and maybe focused a bit more on the obscure... in recent years I have become for whatever reason kind of obsessed with musicians' birthdays and thanks to a spreadsheet from Andrey Henkin, my former editor at the NYC Jazz Record and my copyeditor for Singularity Codex, I have access to a lot of birthdays. I'm continually updating and revising it too. So that was the theme for this month's BFT -- namely, March Birthday Madness. 1. “Caravan/Connie’s Groove” from the Mara Rosenbloom Trio Respiration (FSNT 609). Rosenbloom (p, composer of non-“Caravan” piece, dedicated to Connie Crothers), Sean Conly (b), Chad Taylor (d, mbira, b. March 19, 1973). Mara is someone I saw a lot when I lived in the city and don’t get enough of an opportunity now. I am glad some folks identified “Caravan” and hopefully Mara and her music get some new fans. Chad Taylor is a subtle force here as is Conly, and Mara... she's really something else. 2. “New Tenor Tune (For Flying)” from the Vinny Golia Trio Slice of Life (NineWInds 108). Vinny Golia, ts and hochiku, b. March 1, 1946); Roberto Miguel Miranda (b); Alex Cline (d). Both the album and the discogs entry seem to show an incorrect track length for this tune, which added an extra four or so minutes to the BFT! Anyway, I really love this Golia group and feel like he/they don’t get enough dues. Not sure if Hamid was listening to Cline or Parker listening to Miranda, but I could definitely hear the comparison. 3. “Hussen Kalle Mazel tov” from Booker T. Trio Go Tell It On the Mountain (Silkheart 114). Booker T. Williams (ts, b. March 3, 1949), Saheb Sarbib (b., b. March 22, 1944), Andrew Cyrille (d). As identified by Thom Keith and, partly, mjazzg. I agree that the rhythm section really locks this one in but Booker T. is no slouch in my book, either, and I’m glad he’s been recognized by a brand new CD under his leadership as well. 4. “Float” from John Lindberg Trio Give and Take (Black Saint 0072). John Lindberg (b, composition, b. March 16, 1959); George Lewis (tb); Barry Altschul (d). This music seemed to be a bit divisive here; I love Lindberg’s writing and playing and wanted to include him, the challenge being that it’s hard to find something that doesn’t take up a full LP side. It was a good excuse to revisit this record, and remind myself what fantastic musicianship is on offer here. Kudos to mjazzg for the guess on the leader of this unit. 5. “Wound Round Sound” from Thomas Chapin The Bell of the Heart (Alacra 1005). Thomas Chapin (saxello, composition, b. March 9, 1957 d. February 13, 1998), Lucian Williams (g), Mario Pavone (b), Emmet Spencer (d). Really nice tune from Chapin’s second album as a leader. I regrettably never got the chance to see him live, as he was clearly a force of nature and had some interesting ideas that would develop over the years. 6. “Venusian Blue” from Bjarne Rostvold Switch (Odeon MOEK-9). Bjarne Rostvold (d), Allan Botschinsky (tp, b. March 29, 1940 d. November 26, 2020), Ray Pitts (fl, composition), Kenny Drew (p), Niels-Henning Orsted Pedersen (b). To me this almost sounds like an AACM-related piece, though of course it is not and was recorded in Denmark in 1966. Botschinsky sounds great here and Kenny Drew is a bit of a surprise, playing some figures in the written parts that I normally would not associate with him. Pitts is maybe not the biggest ringer but contributes a neat tune and his playing on tenor is a bit more assured. The whole band sounds wonderful throughout the album. 7. “Castle Cats” from Hiroshi Suzuki & Masahiko Togashi Quintet Variation (Columbia Takt XMS-10014). Hiroshi Suzuki (tb, composer), Masahiko Togashi (d, b. March 22, 1940 d. August 22, 2007), Yuji Ohno (p), Tetsuo Fushimi (tp), Jun Suzuki (b). I was a bit surprised this didn’t garner more interest, but YMMV. Togashi had recorded a bunch before this early 1969 LP but this is his first as a leader or co-leader and among the earliest released Japanese “free jazz” LPs (though a number of his compatriots were already pushing the envelope as well). 8. “Blues Deflection” from Giorgio Azzolini Crucial Moment (Car Juke Box 00014). Giorgio Azzolini (b, composer, b. March 25, 1928, d. April 12, 2024), Enrico Rava (tp), Franco D’ Andrea (p, b. March 8, 1941), Aldo Romano (d). I really love this album overall (and pretty much anything with Romano & Rava from the 60s gets an ace from me). Azzolini was a major force on the Italian jazz scene (notably leading a big band and working with the young Gato Barbieri), and Franco D'Andrea's trio music is also well worth seeking out. The directness and rawness of this music/record really speak to me and I put it in a similar category as Jazz Realities and the Lacy/Rava unit, as well as some of Giorgio Gaslini's music of the period. 9. “Medley” from Marzette Watts Ensemble (Savoy MG-12193). Marzette Watts (ts, b. March 9, 1938 d. March 2, 1998), Marty Cook (tb), Steve Tintweiss and Cevera Jehers (b), Tom Berge (d). Hell of a record from Marzette; I think a lot of folks got the general time period and recording location right — late 1960s New York — and if one is looking for a fine example of that environment, this record has it in droves. A couple of tracks were compiled on a Savoy double LP with erroneous credits, but the full album sadly remains un-reissued. 10. “My Elegy” but clearly including “All The Things You Are” from Toshiko (Akiyoshi) At Top of the Gate (Takt XMS-10008). Toshiko Akiyoshi (p, composition credit), Lew Tabackin (ts, b. March 26, 1940), Kenny Dorham (tp), Ron Carter (b), Mickey Roker (d). Tabackin and Dorham were correctly identified by Sangrey, and I believe this is the only record on which they appear together. Every time I went to shows at Le Poisson Rouge in New York, I had to pinch myself and try to think of its past history as the Village Gate (with some structural reimagining). The Toshiko-Tabackin small group records from the late 60s and early 70s are generally out of sight. 11. “Gémeaux” from Barney Wilen Zodiac (Vogue CVLX 9130). Barney Wilen (ts, overdubbed, b. March 4, 1937, d. May 25, 1996); Karl Berger (vib, b. March 30, 1935, d. April 9, 2023), Jean-François Jenny Clark (b), Jacques Thollot (d). Kind of tough to include a single brief track from this album of astrologically inspired and often atmospheric vignettes, but the twin Wilen lines are kind of a nice trick and as with anything on this record, the group playing is inscrutable. I was lucky enough to see Berger quite a lot before he died, close up at the Lace Mill here in Kingston as well as at various locations in NYC over the decades. 12. “Piece 2” from Eje Thelin Acoustic Space (Odeon 4E 062-34180). Eje Thelin (tb), Joachim Kühn (as, p, b. March 15, 1944), Adelhard Roidinger (b), John Preininger (d, credited as John O’Prayne). Free improvisation with a high level of commitment — there are two albums by this group (one under Kühn’s name) and it was tough to choose between them, but Thollot already appeared on the previous track so there was my answer. I was kind of expecting someone to guess Kühn, either by the piano-side humming or the alto in place of the piano, but I guess not. Thelin is a beautiful trombonist as well; had some nice discussions with someone on here years ago about his playing. Might’ve been slide_advantage_redoux but I am not sure. 13. “Himalayas” from Seiichi Nakamura Adventure In My Dream (Three Blind Mice TBM-53). Seiichi Nakamura (ts, composer, b. March 17, 1947), Kiyoshi Sugimoto (g), Fumio Itabashi (p, b. March 8, 1949), Yukinori Narashige (b), Takuji Kusumoto (d). Nakamura’s name first hit my radar years ago through the first few Yosuke Yamashita Trio LPs that he’s featured on, before being replaced by Akira Sakata. His own LPs as a leader are more in the post-bop realm but I really like them too. I suppose the title is apt given the “climbing” motif in the theme, and I think the band is strong overall.

ah, ok. Dan hasn't weighed in yet -- ha -- but can do before I hit the hay.