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01 - El-P, Please Stay (Yesterday) from High Water (2004) From Thirsty Ear’s The Blue Series Continuum. This was an interesting project from Thirsty Ear that you can read more about here. I first heard some of this on Prime Cuts on MPBN back when Ken Eisen was hosting the show. Roy Campbell - trumpet, Steve Swell - trombone, Matthew Shipp - piano, Daniel Carter - woodwinds, William Parker - bass, Guillermo E. Brown - drums, El-P - producer 02 - Henry Butler, Fivin’ Around from Fivin’ Around (1986) This was a discovery back in my college radio days. Knew nothing about Butler, but fell in love with this track. Jeff Clayton - oboe, Henry Butler - piano, Charlie Haden - bass, Billy Higgins - drums 03 - Martina Almgren Quartet, Rumsia Samla from Unden (2009) I discovered this completely by accident back when I was subscribing to eMusic. It popped up and I listened to clips, liked it, took a chance. Nothing ground-breaking, but really enjoy most of this record. Björn Almgren - tenor saxophone, Tommy Kotter - piano, Owe Almgren - electric bass, Martina Almgren - drums 04 - Bridgewater Bros, Dear Trane from Lightning And Thunder (1978) I found my way to Cecil through Max Roach’s band, and then to this record via an article about the Thad Jones/Mel Lewis band. Cecil Bridgewater - trumpet/flugelhorn, Ron Bridgewater - tenor saxophone, Stanley Cowell - piano, Reggie Workman - bass, Michael Carvin - drums 05 - Robert Stewart, Get Out! from In The Gutta (1996) Robert Stewart is another guy I discovered through Ken Eisen. Robert used to have all of his stuff on his website. I sent him a message letting him know it was all downloadable. He said he knew. I told him I’d prefer to see him make a living and offered to pay for the downloads. He told me he wanted people to have his music. So I have it. (And yes, I have bought the albums, since). Robert Stewart - vocals & tenor saxophone, Ed Kelly - organ, Reginald Veal - bass, Jeff “Tain” Watts - drums 06 - Bobby Battle, To Wisdom, The Prize from The Offering (1993) This record showed up in my iPod rotation and never fails to send me to the screen to see what I’m listening to. Mapleshade really managed to capture that Prestige drum sound, and it frequently messes with me when trying to ID a track. Larry Willis - piano, Santi Debriano - bass, Bobby Battle - drums 07 - Sonny Fortune, Billy Harper, Stanley Cowell, Reggie Workman, Billy Hart, Awakening from Great Friends (1986) Billy Harper is a hero to me, but I like his own stuff usually much better than his stuff as a sideman. This one is is the middle ground. Sonny always leaves me a bit off, but again, he works in this setting. Sonny Fortune - alto saxophone, Billy Harper - tenor saxophone, Stanley Cowell - piano, Reggie Workman - bass, Billy Hart - drums 08 - George Adams, City of Peace from Paradise Space Shuttle (1979) My father picked this record out for me at Loony Tunes in Boston when I was… hell… 13? At first, I didn’t care for it, but George quickly became a personal favorite. This was the inspiration for my first attempt at improvising on the saxophone. Thanks to Richard Gardzina for his patience and support in that endeavor. George Adams - tenor saxophone, Rahn Burton - piano, Don Pate - bass, Al Foster - drums, Azzedin Weston - percussion 09 - Lloyd McNeil, Salvation Army from Treasures (1976) I became familiar with Lloyd through the BFTs. Man, am I glad I did! Covering this tune is a goal of the current quartet/quintet project I’m involved in. Lloyd McNeill - flute, Dom Salvador - piano, Cecil McBee - bass, Brian Blake and Portinho - drums, Ray Armando - percussion 10 - John Gordon, Making Memories from Step By Step (1976) I’m a sucker for most all things Strata-East, and this is no exception. John Gordon - trombone, Charles Tolliver - trumpet, Roland Alexander - woodwinds, Stanley Cowell - piano, Lisle Atkinson - bass, Andrew Cyrille - drums Probably a good time to mention that none of the reoccurring personnel on this BFT were intentional, excepting the two tracks from El-P. 11 - Charles Brackeen Quartet, Cing Kong from Worshippers Come Nigh (1988) available here: https://silkheart.bandcamp.com/ Brackeen is an under appreciated genius in my estimation. Here is the link to Silkheart's bandcamp page. Charles Brackeen - tenor saxophone, Olu Dara - cornet, Fred Hopkins - bass, Andrew Cyrille - drums 12 - Frank Lacy, Settegast Strut. 12:50 This is another tune I want to cover with the current project. I *love* Frank Lacy. I first heard this covered by Bluiett’s Baritone Saxophone Group, and they completely missed the feel of the song. This song has the strut, and Lacy feels the spirit. This interview may also be of interest. Frank Lacy - trombone, Katy Roberts - piano, Radu Olawu Ben Juda (Richard “Radu” Williams) - bass, Doug Hammond - drums 13 - El-P, Please Leave (Yesterday) from High Water (2004) Roy Campbell - trumpet, Steve Swell - trombone, Matthew Shipp - piano, Daniel Carter - woodwinds, William Parker - bass, Guillermo E. Brown - drums, El-P - producer