BFT-31 Discussion The Bonus Disc

[tjobbe]

and here it goes for 10 Tracks on the Bonus disc....

Have fun !

Cheers, Tjobbe

[tooter]

Only ten more tracks to go. I’ve always been a supporter of maximum freedom in BFT’s but I just wonder if these marathon sessions are off-putting to some, hence the lower number of participants lately. Not sure how many signed up for BFT31 though.

1. Don’t know – like it though.

2. Soprano and alto – nice again – still clueless.

3. Now this is a tune I know because I like it a lot, perhaps rather surprisingly in view of the composer. The version I go on so much is Frank Strozier’s (the only one I knew until now) whose alto playing I remember hearing described as sounding like a road drill (pneumatic drill) on the BBC by Peter Clayton’s, the much missed presenter of the weekly Jazz Record Requests. Can’t dredge up anything for the piano or drummer but the bass playing sounds so familiar – no dice.

4. Another tune I know, by Diz. Don’t know this version.

5. Very atmospheric – no ideas.

6. This is the track I like best on this disk. Still bereft of inspiration however.

7. All Blues, from the first five bass notes! Okay but singer ruins it for me.

8. Is it A Pretty Girl is Like a Melody? Not sure. Getting nowhere on this disk.

9. A tune I know sounds tantalizingly present in some bits but not sure what it is, let alone whether this is really it. I’ve no idea of the players.

10. Herb Ellis – boogie woogie-ing – with????

I’m a “do it now” person, or at least try to be on good days. Even poorer effort here than on disk 1 though, which I put down in part to BFT fatigue. Perhaps I should try spreading it out over several days, or even weeks, as many do. Don’t know if it would make any difference and anyway not so much time left this month.

Wish I could contribute more but at least it leaves the field wide open for all those who have yet to post – I’ve just looked and see no has posted yet. Lots I like in this one, Tjobbe, as with disk 1. The answers will no doubt come thick and fast soon as the big guns appear.

[king ubu]

Just started playing this - need to i-d #1 right ahead: these are them Vienna Art guys led by that swiss man in Vienna... prob. the great unsung Matthieu Michel on trumpet (or flugel?). Can't pin a name to that track, but it coulde be that "Back to the Blue Notes" tune? Or something from the "art&fun.25" programme... he's certainly providing a lot of highlights these days (I think the VAO has gone a bit drab over the course of the years, sorry to say... but Michel, Gansch, Mears, Sokal, Scherrer, and a few others still provide great solos, with Breinschmid and Gonzi being a very very nice rhythm section... it's more the arrangements of Rüegg's that got a bit boring in my humble opinion... need to play the hatO "Minimalism or Satie" again soon - now that was what VAO/Rüegg were about!)

[Stereojack]

1. A nice big band track – I like the flugelhorn soloist, no clue who it is. I wonder if this might be Thad Jones, soloist and composer?

2. I’m pretty sure the alto is Benny Carter, although he seems a little rusty. This might have been made late in his career? No idea on the soprano or piano. A nice mood piece.

3. “What’s Going On?” Not much, I’m afraid, although I like the drummer’s snare sound.

4. “Con Alma” Might the alto be Leo Wright?

5. Interesting writing, alto is unfamiliar, as is the trumpet. Pleasant enough, but didn’t really knock me out.

6. I hate to damn with faint praise, but again, nothing grabbing me here. -_-

7. “All Blues” Once again, frustrated by my inability to identify any of the soloists. It seems that at the very least I should know the vocalist! Possibly Pony Poindexter on soprano? Hate that guitar sound. Nice alto. By the time the piano starts, I’ve lost interest.

8. “For Heaven’s Sake”. A nice tenor player, whoever he is.

9. In places I’m hearing some McCoy Tyner influence, but really have no idea who anybody is.

10. Herb is probably Herb Ellis, and with the Oklahoma reference, I’m guessing that the announcer/guitarist is probably Barney Kessel. This was a lot of fun, and a nice closer to a string of mysteries!

Am I mistaken, but is every track on this disc live?

[dutchmanx]

Another piece of excellent work. No clues though.

Andrew

Edited November 27, 2005 by dutchmanx

[mikeweil]

At last I found a suitable method of working my way through these discs: Listening once or twice, then a third time while writing down my notes. Here they are:

Track 1: A wild guess would be the Big Band des Hessischen Rundfunks (or Westdeutschen Rundfunks or whoever) with John Scofiled guesting - I know they did a project like that. This is very well done and features good soloists, but is not quite my cup of tea. I don't hear enough relation of what that flashy trumpeter plays to what the band plays behind him. No real band spirit, at least not like the bands I admire had - Clarke/Boland, Jones/Lewis et al .....

Track 2: I would call that a jazz bolero - strange neutral bass sound. The horns play the theme very nicely, I like their subdued tenderness. Benny Carter? If not, someone who plays a perfect imitation. That perfect saxophone section writing would certainly fit. One of the great sax stylists, a star in jazz heaven, he inspired all the others in that ensemble to excellent solos. Upright bass with pickup: The notes, but not the sound of the instrument. But they all play very well - timeless stuff.

Track 3: Marvin Gaye's "What's Going On" - played rather casuallly here. Nothing of the charm of the original, which never fails to move me to tears. Insensitive drummer banging too loudly on his snare - a sensitive backbeat is very hard to do. Pianist is nice, but captures none of the poetry of Gaye - I never would dare to play that tune if I hadn't something very original to do with it - but in this case it is impossible to get even close to the atmosphere of the original, which I cherish. (Just my thoughts, of course.)

Track 4: Dizzy's "Con Alma" - that alto sounds pretty much like Cannonball. Organ? Huh? No, not Cannon. I'm curious who this is. How's the rst of this album or concert?

Track 5: Nice big band voicings in the Evans - Brookmeyer wake, but the soloists do not capture my attention, like in most big bands - too many notes and textbook licks. But the chart is played and written nicely.

Track 6: This makes me lose my patience: the bass sound is awful, although the interplay is good. At least until the pianist starts the double timing and somewhat loses control over his left hand, which "garners" along ... that pseudo backbeat is bland. Much too long for what they have to say. Sorry, but this gets a from me.

Track 7: They capture the groove and mood of Miles' famous original so well it makes me smile. Oh - soprano sax. And vocals ... I know who this is, I saw him sing that live with a local rhythm section at one of the annual summer concerts in the botanic gardens in the city where this was recorded. But this here is some of the best he ever did. He captures the essence of these lyrics better than everybody else. Very underrated musician, a true original on the soprano, and one of the first before Coltrane to play this horn in modern jazz. When I remember his career with all its ups and downs I get somewhat angry .... A true all-star band, with Germany's most swinging drummer, yes he was the swinginest! I regret I sold another LP he was on - I should have kept it only for him. Saw that trumpeter live, too ... and it was in the hall where this was recorded that I saw my second jazz concert ever. They turned the building into a modern multiplex cinema a few years ago - it had great acoustics, but I guess the technical equipment was much too old for today's requirements. Oh yeah, this one brings back memories - out of context this track really sounds great. I could have bought the LP a few years ago but shied away when I read the price, but now there is a great sounding CD ..... wonder if anybody else gets this.

Track 8: Nice sensitive tenor, but no idea who it is.

Track 9: The drummer was the first I recognized. He was discussed on this board several months ago. The rhythmic intricacies in the theme are a little shaky, but the concept is great. I have that LP. One of Europe's better pianists, and a highly original drummer. But I find a later studio LP of them even better.

Track 10: Herb? Ellis, I presume. Barney Kessel the other. Very nice good time closer!

Thanks a lot for the ride, and for the reminder to dig out two rare German albums!

p.s. I didn't peek - but my comments to a previous post were inserted here, that damn new edit settings placed them here instead in a new post!

Edited December 4, 2005 by mikeweil

[tjobbe]

I could have bought the LP a few years ago but shied away when I read the price, .....

this is the problem with most records released by that Label ! They got extremely expensive and only few of their great albums are re-issued yet.

Cheers, Tjobbe

[mikeweil]

7. “All Blues” Once again, frustrated by my inability to identify any of the soloists. It seems that at the very least I should know the vocalist! Possibly Pony Poindexter on soprano? ...

You're closer than you think, Jack!

9. In places I’m hearing some McCoy Tyner influence, but really have no idea who anybody is.

Yes, there's definitely a Tyner influence - I always think that when I heard this guy.

[tjobbe]

I'll post answers for the tracks on here end of next week....

Cheers, Tjobbe

[MartyJazz]

I finally got to listen to this disc and here are some jotted down responses. Incidentally, I find the total number of responses to tjobbe's discs to be somewhat disappointing. These discs take quite a bit of time to assemble and send out, not to mention the expense. It seems more recipients should be responding, especially other than to just say, "thanks".

Anyway, here goes:

1) Pleasant big band side. Reminds me of Thad & Mel, although I cannot identify one soloist which leads me to believe that it may be a primarily non-American orchestra.

2) Got to be the venerable Benny Carter on alto. He was the "Lily Pons" of the alto IMO, although Bird put that appelation on the Rabbit. He probably arranged this track also.

3) "What's Going On" in more ways than two? I hate when jazz musicians do soul covers, the end result invariably sucks IMO. Did Marvin Gaye, Smokey Robinson, et al, ever feel the need to do a vocal cover of "Oleo"?

4) My favorite track by a long shot so far. Diz's "Con Alma". Beautiful, soulful alto playing by who, I just can't place although I think I'll recognize the name as being represented in my collection once identified .

5) Goes nowhere, NMCOT.

6) Again, nothing special. I wonder why the last two pieces were picked. Very nondescript.

7) "All Blues". The singer should never be allowed to be in front of a microphone again.

8) Tenor feature on a standard, which for heavens sake I can't place right now.

9) This is much too "percussive" and in a bad way, unlike the same critique I hear from classical enthusiasts when they're listening to a dynamite modern jazz pianist.

10) Guitars. Verbal clue in there.