BFT 34 Discussion

[brownie]

Finally, some time to post at length! More listens than usual, but no looks.

Thanks to Brownie for a stimulating collection of (mostly) non-familiar material. These guess will be just that for the most part!

TRACK ONE - Sounds like a movie cue, mostly due to the alto flute in the 2nd section, and, I think, French horn in the opening ensembles. Alto flute was a trademark of Mancini, but I seriously doubt that this is him. Possibly an excerpt of a soundtrack by Quincy Jones from the 1960s, but again, I doubt it. Whatever, it serves as an effective opener for the disc, with a bit of combination martial/spy thing going on - we're on a recon mission, baby, coordinate your watches! Nice writing, and the stylistic impurity works both for and against it, depending on what its origianl intent was meant to be. Here, it defintiely works.

Before the discussion thread got underway, a couple of people recognised this! Once the thread got going, no one has seemed to figure this out. Just a small track that I thought would be fun to start a BFT in an appropriate and grandiose way!

TRACK TWO - From the git-go, I recognized this one. This album wasn't released in the states, which is a crime, and this is the only cut on which this scion of Lima, Ohio appears, which would be a drag if the rest of the album wasn't as good as it is. The only other time that this tenorist & pianist appeared together was on a nifty little album on Palo Alto that was reissued a few years ago. They made a good pair, I think.

I knew YOU would get that one. A shame this very good album had such small distribution... Nate Dorward was about to identify that one but it took the great JimS to nail it!

TRACK THREE - Don't know this one at all, tune or players. It's nice, definitely out of a Bill Evans-ish "introspective romantic" bag. Can't say that a lot of this would be something I'd look forward to, but as an occasional "flavor" dropped in the mix, I enjoy it. The pianist is really influenced by Evans w/o copying him too much. Could be Denny Zeitlin, but I don't think so. The tune has, for me, a kind of "French" air to it, which would, of course be fitting!

Not Zeitlin. Even if a couple of posters found Russian overtones to the tune, this is a French affair, indeed!

TRACK FOUR - Fellow board member Greg Waits loaned me a Martial Solal big band LP a while back that sounded very much like this, but I don't remember it well enough to say that that is what this is. Besides, this doesn't sound like a full big band, but rather like a 9-10 piece group. I like it. There's a strong "non-American" flavor to the writing and the improvising that I find refreshing, not because it's "different", but simply because it's non-imitative. People who dismiss Euro (and other) jazz for not sounding "American" are sometimes the same ones who will then turn around and complain about a lack of "individual voices". Well hell, if you're not American, why sould you sound like you are? The altoist is somewhat reminiscent of Steve Potts, which, in the light of that previous statement, would be ironic in a way, but then again not. No matter, this is music of integrity, passion and skill. Good enough for me, no matter where it comes from!

Not Potts. The alto player is one of the most underrated musician around! Great soloist and session musician.

TRACK FIVE - Nice. Tenor could be Ronnie Scott, with that Mobley-esque tone. Bassist is walking a very nice line. I'm digging the pianist's comp too. Sounds like some players who took to Hard Bop as their language and gave themselves over to it wholly and willingly, which at the time this was probably recorded, would have been the "right" thing to do. Curious to find out who this is.

One of the surprises of this discussion thread is that nobody so far recognised this one. The disc has been dealt with at length in a thread of its own. The idea behind this BFT was to make several very worthy discs available to a number of people. Hope this will make people even more aware of the existence of this very enjoyable album!

TRACK SIX - "My Romance", with some quaint vibratos! Again, no idea. Tenorist has a very Haw-ish flavor to his eighth notes, and a nice "mainstream" quality overall. Sounds like somebody who was touched by bop, but not radically changed by it. I dig players like that, who could retain their older personality yet still incorporate some more chromaticism into the content of their lines. Alto player I'm less enamored of. Maybe past his prime, or having a bad day. Obviously a fine player, with trraces here and there of early Konitzian rhythmic gamesmanship, but on the whole, he sounds less than inspired to me. Pianist is kind of stiff, and ever so slightly on top of the beat, which is something else I usually don't care for. Thre's also some latent Bill Evans influence there, which might account for the "rushing" quality. Evans was like that a lot of times himself. The tenorist is the hero of this cut for me. Fine player and fine playing there! It's not Gianni Basso by any chance, is it?

Another rare album which might surprise people. It's not Basso on bass!

TRACK SEVEN - Well, I was all set to give this one a "huh" until HE showed up. I'd listen to a Kenny G record if Lockjaw was on it! Sounds like some kind of Sweets/Jaws thing with a "Parisian" flavor to it. I have no idea what that might entail, but any Lockjaw that I've yet to hear is a blessing, so I am blessed by this cut!

I included this because I was sure non-French participants would not be aware of this album. JimS' excellent ears recognised the tenor player right away , and also the trumpet player!

TRACK EIGHT - Well now, that's just a gorgeous tune. Since I'm beginning to suspect some sort of "French" theme to this test's contents, I could guess Barney Wilen. but I'm still not familiar enough with the bulk of his catalog to do so on anything more than a hunch. But the tune is really beautiful, and it's played well, with plenty of feeling (and again, a little bit of Mobley-esqueness). Another one I'd be interesting in finding out more about.

No Wilen here. The tenor player is really unknown to all. Stumbled on this session by chance and thought a good idea to include it! Not really excellent but a very good live date that I included so that people could have a chance to dig this! I barely heard of the leader before listening to this album.

TRACK NINE - A J-Mac sample! Or is it a fresh cut? NO idea, but something totally unexpected. The curiosity is piqued!

I indeed included this because of the J-Mac connection. I had been told that he actually took part in the session but this turned out to be false! However the McLean-like impression is right on!

TRACK TEN - Again, no idea, but this is very nice. Some really spontaneously interactive duet work, which happens less often than you'd expect. That's a lot of piano...Tenorist almost, almost sounds like Getz in more than a few spots early on, less so as the thing progresses...Well, so much for the duet! WTF?!?!?! This is different! And in a good way! Again, the curiosity is piqued!

This one has intrigued a number of participants. By the time the answers are posted I hope to be able to ascertain if the piano player overdubbed his part!

TRACK ELEVEN - Hmmm...sounds like....I dunno...that melody is pretty "forward looking" relative to the time it was recorded (early-mid 50s, I'm guessing). Not exactly "standard" changes either...Trumpeter spunds like he's scuffling with that. Not his chops, but trying to find a way to fit his vocabluary into that which the tune requires. Sounds like Jimmy Knepper on trombone, which would suggest something at lest tangentally Mingus-related, but I'm not at all familair with this. something fromthe Debut box/sessions? But that's not Mingus on bass, I'm pretty sure...Is that Yusef on tenor? Yeah, that's Yusef, so that's Bernard McKinney on euphonium? Defintiely not Curtis Fuller... This thing ends up a helluva lot faster than it started out... Probably(?) a Yusef Savoy date, and one with which I am not famiiar. But I sure dig Yusef, so, again, the curiosity is piqued.

Lateef is here indeed as several people indicated correctly. Another rare CD that had very limited distribution. Lots of other greats involved! A very intriguing and interesting album.

TRACK TWELVE - Helen Merrill, perhaps? Or perhaps not...The timbre of the voice is similar but not exact. Same w/the enunciation. And this is far more "unvulnerable" than Merrill would ever do a song like this. Neither a song nor a singer with which I am familiar. And the ending, that's definitely not Merrill...Time for a little research...Ok, google tells me that it's an Irving Berlin song. Berlin could write these lyrics that could be either hopelessly mawkish or genuinely touching, depending on the interpretation they were given. This singer goes the latter route, and I enjoyed everything about it. She really took the story seriously and gave it a moving interpretation. Which of course is different that a "personal" interpretaion, but that is an altogether different art. I have no quibble either way as to which one is "better". It's all good when it's all good, dig? And this is good.

Not Merrill but a superb and too little know singer. I rate her as high as Helen! This record came and went and has been nearly impossible to find for too long!

TRACK TWELVE - Ok, I should know this one. I really should know this one. But damned if I can call it. Whatever...It's GROOVY! Seriously, it is! Nice tight, little chicka-boom thing going on that gets the feet to tapping, nothing wrong with that. Guitarist sounds like a busier Jim Hall...Howard Roberts? Arrangement gets a little "heady", to no real effect, but to no real harm either...One wants to guess Chico Hamilton, but one does not quite think so...No idea, but very groovy!

'Track 13'. actualy Another very little know musician deserving of wider recognition even if a recent reissue brought him back somehowto the limelight.

TRACK THIRTEEN - Wow, that's pretty cool. One of those "friendly" bebop type heads, and you don't hear the old-school organ until the solos begin. First tenor calls Stitt to mind, might well be him. Second tenorist also calls Stitt to mind initially, but less so as he proceeds, and begins to call Griff to mind, but I don't think it's him. But maybe...Drummer is really into Max...This is a most....intriguing cut, and yet again totally unfamiliar to me. Do I need to say that my curiosity is again piqued?

'Track 14' A very good date that went under the radar as soon as it came out. A reissue of it went nowhere!

TRACK FOURTEEN - Cool! In both senses! From a private tape originally, obviously. Interesting...But no idea.

'Track 15'. A very private tape and a very hard to get CD from one of my very favorite trumpet player!

TRACK FIFTEEN - From the same source as #9? Wish I spoke French... As Sinatra would say, "Koo Koo!" I get the feeling that, as on #9, this is some sort of "remix" job. No idea, but again, the curisoity is...you know.

'Track 16'. Once more, yes the singer is the same as on track 9! Great backing group. No remix involved as far as I am aware of!

A most interesting compilation. Merci beaucoup!

You're very welcome! As usual

Edited March 19, 2006 by brownie

[king ubu]

Finally, some time to post at length! More listens than usual, but no looks.

Thanks to Brownie for a stimulating collection of (mostly) non-familiar material. These guess will be just that for the most part!

TRACK ONE - Sounds like a movie cue, mostly due to the alto flute in the 2nd section, and, I think, French horn in the opening ensembles. Alto flute was a trademark of Mancini, but I seriously doubt that this is him. Possibly an excerpt of a soundtrack by Quincy Jones from the 1960s, but again, I doubt it. Whatever, it serves as an effective opener for the disc, with a bit of combination martial/spy thing going on - we're on a recon mission, baby, coordinate your watches! Nice writing, and the stylistic impurity works both for and against it, depending on what its origianl intent was meant to be. Here, it defintiely works.

Before the discussion thread got underway, a couple of people recognised this! Once the thread got going, no one has seemed to figure this out. Just a small track that I thought would be fun to start a BFT in an appropriate and grandiose way!

I posted enough links above to make clear that I nailed it, didn't I? I just didn't want to spoil the fun! I can PM you the disc and the track # if you still don't believe me!

[Clunky]

I posted enough links above to make clear that I nailed it, didn't I? I just didn't want to spoil the fun! I can PM you the disc and the track # if you still don't believe me!

Likewise I thought is was bad form to brag about nailing a track so early , so I offered hints only (JiP)

[brownie]

My humblest apologies to both King Ubu and Clunky who nailed that opening track

They're the ones I had in mind when I commented on JSngry's answers. I had it in my messedup mind that they had done this in another thread of this BFT!

I should have doublecked

[king ubu]

My humblest apologies to both King Ubu and Clunky who nailed that opening track

They're the ones I had in mind when I commented on JSngry's answers. I had it in my messedup mind that they had done this in another thread of this BFT!

I should have doublecked

couw nailed it first, over there, but him being on vacation I guess it will take a while until he posts his guesses!

[brownie]

My humblest apologies to both King Ubu and Clunky who nailed that opening track

They're the ones I had in mind when I commented on JSngry's answers. I had it in my messedup mind that they had done this in another thread of this BFT!

I should have doublecked

couw nailed it first, over there, but him being on vacation I guess it will take a while until he posts his guesses!

couw said that he would not have time to take part in it. But he is very welcome to comment whenever he finds time!

And he is the original one who opened his own BFT with the same music well before my time on these BFTs

[brownie]

In view of the fact that the various tracks were picked to present a selection of neglected musicians (a number of them at least) or albums that did not have the right distribution, you did pretty well, Marty!

I'll trust you'll read back the previous answers to have an idea on some of those tracks.

A couple of brief remarks:

track 5 comes from a West Coast session!

the singer on tracks 9 and 16 is Gainsbourg indeed!

And a final indication. I looked into the 'Penguin Guide to Jazz on CD' (7th Edition) and could not find any of the albums I selected!

[Peter Johnson]

I will not look! I will not look! I will not look!

Nice mix, brownie. I love it. In typical fashion, I more often stumped than not, but having listened through a few times, have a couple ideas. I'll try to post my thoughts later tonight.

[birdanddizzy]

(I've not looked the answers of the others, I just give my impressions and propositions...

#1 : A composition of Serge Gainsbourg composed c. 1958. Roger Guérin is the trumpet player. Gainsbourg was really a fantastic composer... A true lover of modern jazz.

#2 : free-jazz? I don't know very well free-jazz. Great (US black?) sax player, interesting pianist, strong rhythm section. I suppose at least one of the musicians appears on your photos of the last Wax Poetics ?

#3 : I love the double bass. The theme is familiar but I can't say more. The influence of the Bill Evans' works is evident.

#4 : free-jazz again... big band... must be great to see live.

#5 : I don't know why, the sax makes me think to Barney Wilen. The kind of jazz I'm fond of.

#6 : the second sax is in the vein of Paul Desmond. Really nice band.

#7 :the first notes I was thinking to Johnny Halliday "Les portes du pénitencier"! A nightmare! And then the trumpet player like the one on "Armstrong", the song of Claude Nougaro. Familiar but I can't say more.

#8 : quiet tenor sax, in the vein of Lester Young but it is not him.

#9 : Serge Gainsbourg again, "Quand mon 6-35 me fait les yeux doux". Arrangements of Claude Bolling ? I habe this album somewhere.

#10 : I guess Jean-Claude Fohrenbach.

#11 : the melody line at the beginning is exciting and the piano who follows immediately, amazing! Great players, nervous drummer.

#12 : like Diana Krall at the very first. But she sings better than Krall.

#13 : Yeah! Yé-yé! The guitarist could be Jimmy Gourley, but why there? the association tenor sax-guitar is quite good. Barney Wilen on sax ?

#14 : it sounds as a mid-50s european band. Just an impression. Just swingin'. The sound of the (hammond?) is horrible...

#15 : I'm sure I've already heard the leader somewhere, I can't find his name. I'm near sure that he played in France, but I'm not able to throw a name for the moment.

#16 : Gainsbourg again, quelle classe!...

Merci beaucoup Guy for this nice blindtest, I'm awaiting the answers with impatience!

[Bright Moments]

great BFT brownie! thanks!!!

[brownie]

(I've not looked the answers of the others, I just give my impressions and propositions...

#1 : A composition of Serge Gainsbourg composed c. 1958. Roger Guérin is the trumpet player. Gainsbourg was really a fantastic composer... A true lover of modern jazz.

#2 : free-jazz? I don't know very well free-jazz. Great (US black?) sax player, interesting pianist, strong rhythm section. I suppose at least one of the musicians appears on your photos of the last Wax Poetics ?

Not free-jazz. Non!

#3 : I love the double bass. The theme is familiar but I can't say more. The influence of the Bill Evans' works is evident.

#4 : free-jazz again... big band... must be great to see live.

#5 : I don't know why, the sax makes me think to Barney Wilen. The kind of jazz I'm fond of.

Not Wilen

#6 : the second sax is in the vein of Paul Desmond. Really nice band.

#7 :the first notes I was thinking to Johnny Halliday "Les portes du pénitencier"! A nightmare! And then the trumpet player like the one on "Armstrong", the song of Claude Nougaro. Familiar but I can't say more.

Not Hallyday. The trumpet player is not the same as on the Nougaro song.

#8 : quiet tenor sax, in the vein of Lester Young but it is not him.

#9 : Serge Gainsbourg again, "Quand mon 6-35 me fait les yeux doux". Arrangements of Claude Bolling ? I habe this album somewhere.

Oui. But Bolling had nothing to do with this!

#10 : I guess Jean-Claude Fohrenbach.

Not Fohrenbach!

#11 : the melody line at the beginning is exciting and the piano who follows immediately, amazing! Great players, nervous drummer.

#12 : like Diana Krall at the very first. But she sings better than Krall.

#13 : Yeah! Yé-yé! The guitarist could be Jimmy Gourley, but why there? the association tenor sax-guitar is quite good. Barney Wilen on sax ?

Non! Not Wilen!

#14 : it sounds as a mid-50s european band. Just an impression. Just swingin'. The sound of the (hammond?) is horrible...

Not Europeans! Oui on the Hammond!

#15 : I'm sure I've already heard the leader somewhere, I can't find his name. I'm near sure that he played in France, but I'm not able to throw a name for the moment.

The trumpet player never played in France. Unfortunately!

#16 : Gainsbourg again, quelle classe!...

Merci beaucoup Guy for this nice blindtest, I'm awaiting the answers with impatience!

Nice try!

[randyhersom]

Wonderful set, I'm realizing I really don't get enough listening time to recognize tones, so I end up working mostly from playing style.

1. Familiar, but can't place it. Max or Blakey on Tympani? Nice overture type track to kick things off.

2. Got to be Mal Waldron on piano. Jackie McLean?

3. Nice Piano trio with a Bill Evans - Scott Lafaro influence. The number of people it could be seems pretty large to me, so I'll go with Evans, but with a post-LaFaro bassist.

4. Renee Rosnes with the European big band?

5. Farmer - Golson Jazztet?

6. Sounds like Art Pepper to me.

7. It's got that Hawk/Ben brawny tone, Coleman Hawkins comes to mind here, would have to be pretty late.

8. Johnny Griffin is coming to mind just a bit more than Dexter Gordon.

9. Totally in the dark here. Milton Nascimiento just because I don't think it's Joao Gilberto.

10. Getz with Kenny Barron?

11. Another stab in the dark. George Wallington?

12. Shirley Horn?

13. Grant Green?

14. Stanley Turrentine?

15. I think Bird's in there somewhere, second soloist not the first.

16. Was Getz/Gilberto recorded live?

[brownie]

Randy, glad you liked it! The idea was to bring unusual or rare music to listeners who might have overlooked the albums or the musicians. I was not expecting many people to recognise the various tracks that were included in the BFT, I was just hoping they'ld like discovering some of the sides!

It is Mal Waldron on track 2! No McLean there...

About the final track (16), it was recorded in a studio with the idea of recreating a club atmosphere!

[fent99]

I've listened and enjoyed but not penned any thoughts yet. If I'm honest there's nothing I recognised at the first listen but I'll put some thorough spots down later

[randyhersom]

You know, if I listen real close I can tell an alto from a tenor about 80% of the time

[John B]

A very enjoyable BFT! I've really enjoyed listening to this disc. Thanks again to brownie for compiling and sharing this music.

1. Very familiar tune. I could have sworn I had this disc, but it must be from one of the other Cinema volumes that I don't yet own. Very nice tune and a great opening to the BFT.

2. This has to be Mal Waldron, but I have no clue who any of the players are. Nothing too adventurious or out here, but a fantastic tune. I enjoy this track very much.

3. No clue. A very pretty, contemplative tune. The closest connection I can make is to someone heavily influenced by the Bill Evans Trio.

4. Not really my cup of tea, and I didn't really focus on the tune until the alto kicked in. Very nice. I'm not sure I'd need to hear the album this track came from, but I'd love to hear more of the alto player in a smaller group setting.

5. I'm probably going to kick myself when I read who this is. It sounds so very familiar, like it comes off of a late 1950's Blue Note album that I won and have heard many times, but I'm just not able to identify anyone here. It makes me wonder if the album is possibly more obscure or more modern than it sounds at first listen.

6. A nice enough track, but nothing that is really sticking with me. No clue who this is. If I had to guess I'd say the horn players are from the swing era and were influenced to some degree by bop, without radically changing their sounds. I'm reminded of the style of Hawk's The Hawk Flies High album.

7. No clue who this is, although the horns sound familiar. I really enjoy this track. Kind of a strange mix of styles...very quirky. A joint French / U.S. collaboration, perhaps? I'm not going to be able to identify anyone but I'd love to hear the rest of this album.

8. Another beautiful tune. The sax player sounds heavily influenced by Dex. I had no idea this track was recorded live until the applause kicked in at the end. Very nicely recorded. A warm, intimate sound, with all of the instruments sounding lush and full. Nothing earth-shattering here, but a very solid, pleasant listen.

9. This sounds an awful lot like Jackie McLean. No idea if it is indeed him or not. Not much else to say here.

10. An awful lot of fairly hyper piano with some relaxed tenor. It makes for a very interesting contrast between the two instruments. Wow, this just got much stranger. Goodbye piano / tenor duet, hello two trombones. What an odd tune! If nothing else, my curiosity has been piqued.

11. This sounds like a very forward-thinking 1950's tune. Lateef on Tenor? The sound quality isn't all that great, which makes me think this is taken from well-loved vinyl. I really like this tune.

12. Nice enough, but not really my cup of tea. I'm not really a fan of jazz with vocals.

13. Sort of a Sidewinder-ish groove. The band doesn't sound very tight. They almost sound tentative in places, which makes me think they were not very familiar with each other or the tune prior to recording. I'm guessing this is the guitarist's date.

14. Very nice! The organ is not very prominent at all, so I almost didn't realize it was there at times. No clue who this is but I'm really looking forward to finding out.

15. An older (pre-1950's) private tape. The group sounds like a mixed bag: nice alto, not so impressive trumpet. Interesting, but not really enough to get me to come back looking for more.

16. Back to the same singer as before? I like this more than track #9.

Edited March 24, 2006 by John B

[Clunky]

could track 11 be a Tadd Dameron piece..... ????

[brownie]

could track 11 be a Tadd Dameron piece..... ????

The idea is interesting. But doubt this very much.

The session was recorded when Tadd Dameron was making a comeback. However his name has not been mentioned anywhere in regard to this disc!

[Durium]

Track 5: Great music. The piano player reminds me of Larry Willis. Or could it be Elmo Hope on piano with Percy Heath or Leroy Vinnegar on bass?

[brownie]

Track 5: Great music. The piano player reminds me of Larry Willis. Or could it be Elmo Hope on piano with Percy Heath or Leroy Vinnegar on bass?

I mentioned previously this was a West Coast date! And it is Leroy Vinnegar on bass!

[Д.Д.]

Brownie, thanks for the compilation (and thanks for ubu for providing me with it).

1. Opening full of suspense. Timpani? Talk about drama… I like the trumpet sound here – very soft and nuanced. Very well arranged, and flute at the end is a nice touch. Concise but eloquent. Very nice. Very French.

Movie theme?

2. Nice bass sound. Well, there are not too many people playing bass like this – this is Mr. Reggie Workman. Very nice opening bass solo – punchy and powerful, and I like the way Workman plays chords on bass. Elegant. Tenor. Excellent sound, and I like the ideas. Quite a tensely reserved solo. I thought of Ricky Ford at the beginning, but hear more Henderson-isms than Ford has, so I am not sure who this is. Nah, of I know who this is. It’s Henderson himself. Good solo (but now, having recognized Henderson, I can say that this is far from his best). Such a confident bass – Workman lets the notes linger for a long time, making the bass really sing. I remember seeing him live – he would strike the strings with a great force and his hand would fly off the bass – as if he was fighting a dangerous animal risking his hand being bitten off.

OK, by the end of tenor solo it is quite obviously who the pianist is – Mal Waldron, with his dark, repetitive figures. This might be his composition, thinking about it. Quite a typical Waldron solo – a bit primitive, but eloquent. OK, but not the best Waldron solo out there – its (relative) blandness allowed me to focus on drums – and this is some nice, and also easily identifiable (very musical and quite aggressive) - Cyrille.

Excellent.

Long track (10 minutes), and I didn’t even notice it passing.

3. Talking about singing bass. Michelot? Probably not. Regardless, it’s beautiful (but damn, I should know this bassist). Great drums - tasteful, and very resourceful without being flashy – sound like Humair to me (one of my favorite drummers), but probably not him (Humair usually uses cymbals more, but here there is this “scratch” on cymbals that is very Humair-ish). Elegant piano (Bill Evans influence I hear?). Beautiful melody. Could this be HUM? Short and sweet. Bravo.

4. Big band. I like the theme. Quite an intricate arrangement (I am listening in headphones, and there is quite a bit of stuff going on), without being overloaded. Piano solo is good – sounds composed to a large extent, but this is understandable in the big-band framework. Tenor (or alto) – good sound. Also sounds pretty calculated, but a good one (and piano’s doing some interesting sparse comping behind it). Drums are a bit of a let-down after these fireworks.

Good one.

5. Hmm, now we get into some Blue Notish territory. The opening theme sounds nice but pretty trite (very dated – late 50s–early 60s, I guess). Nice tenor. Shit, that’s some extreme stereo separation! Beautiful trumpet solo. Nice bluesy piano solo. Sweet but not too deep. Don’t want to dismiss it, it’s a first-class music, but it just sounds like too many other things recorded in early 60s. Blue Mitchell or stuff like this.

6. Begins too peaceful, but as soon as alto starts jumping in there is a bit of intrigue created. This tenor sound is a bit colorless, and too relaxed for my tastes. I do not hear tenorist really challenging himself in the solo. Alto is more interesting, but also sounds fairly predictable. Funny how alto sound is similar to Braxton’s (this is not him, of course). Generic piano solo. Now there is some simultaneous playing – would have been more interesting if tenorist interacted with altoist a bit. Drums could also have stretched a bit more. Don’t like it too much.

As for ID-ing, I thought of Lee Konitz at the beginning, but this is not good enough for him, IMO.

7. Didn’t expect the guitar here! And some squeaky trumpet – more movie themes? Nice melody, by the way. I am not a big fan of this sort of trumpet sound – too rattling for me, but here it works well. Tenor is a bit vulgar, no? Or is it two tenors??? Hawkish sound(s). And a switch from guitar to piano in the middle as an accompaniment – good idea. And back to guitar when trumpet starts playing – very nice. And even some vibes at the end! Good stuff!

8. Nice ballad. Good tenor sound. Got a bit sleepy by the piano solo. I thought the piano solo was quite weak – just clichés, no original ideas. Back to tenor, and I the piano plays too much behind it – less notes would have worked better (given very economical approach of the tenorist), IMO. OK stuff.

9. Good opening. Again, horrible stereo separation. Oh, shit. Vocals.

I mean, I appreciate “the character”… But first, why so out of tune? Second, why so upfront vs. the band? The vocals are just too mannered and pretentious. Too much character, I guess. The band is excellent, btw. I wonder if the vocalist likes the backing himself (although I doubt this is all recorded at the same time – probably overdubbed).

10. Quite a ride, this one. Pianist (Joachim Kuhn, I guess –all this over-the-top baroque stuff…should be him) plays too many notes, but tenorist manages to navigate in this dense field really well. A beautiful theme interplay at around 2 minute mark – bravo to tenorist, quick mind! Sounds like they played quite a bit together. Piano solo. Impressive. Yes, it’s over the top, yes too many notes, bordering on tasteless even – but you have to acknowledge the monster chops (sound like the guy has three hands) and all this exuberant baroque/Chopin stuff is incorporated nicely. Oh shit, didn’t expect this brass interlude – that’s excellent! What a surprise! Now, this does not really work – this repetitive riff by the brass section (overdubbed?) and improvisation by the tenor/piano – but it is interesting, nonetheless. Beautiful playing by the tenor, and shame on me for not identifying him (I thought of Andre Jaume first, but then decided it’s not him – sound is similar, but ideas are different; could this be Jerry Bergonzi stretching himself, by chance? – if yes, bravo to him).

I enjoyed this track a lot (listening to it for the second time)! And it is interesting, because is far from perfect, IMO – piano overplays, this brass interlude is out of place – but there is searching, there is excitement of trying something new…and it is fascinating to see creative minds in work.

11. Large band. Good mainstream piano solo. Trumpet pyrotechnics – not bad. Passing chord changes off as bass solo does not work. Excellent muscular trombone solo. It’s 5 minutes now and my attention begins to wander. I mean tenor solo is also good (excellent altissimo!), but this monotonous bass is dragging things down.

12. Don’t like the singer too much – forced vibrato, too studied intonation. No ease. The band I like. The ending is particularly weak with really unfortunate choice of notes.

13. Fun. The bass is a bit awkward. By the end bass gets a bit tiring – if he played it at double tempo the whole thing would have been much more fluid and light, as I think it had been intended to be.

14. Nothing that could hold my interest here (except for little tasty drum breaks at the beginning). Organ backing is horrendous, IMO. And hearing this mechanistic metronome-like bass makes me remember why I don’t listen to traditional big bands. Solos are solid, particularly the alto one. This thing does not want to end... enough is enough.

Least interesting track for me here.

15. Heeey, this one I like. Interesting, not trivial theme. I cannot figure out what is this instrument that’s soloing! Cornet? Clarinet? I liked the solo – has a desolate and somewhat careless feeling. Alto solo is excellent as well. Nice melodies he comes up with. I wish the sound quality was better…

16. Some compressed big band sound. Is this our friend from track 9 singing? I like this a bit more. In tune, at least. I don’t like forced laughs in songs, though. Good band.

Brownie, excellent collection. This BFT will probably lead to some CD purchasing – tracks 1, 2, 3, 10, and 15 left me very intrigued.

[brownie]

A stowaway on board?

OK David, you're welcome!

Brownie, thanks for the compilation (and thanks for ubu for providing me with it).

1. Opening full of suspense. Timpani? Talk about drama… I like the trumpet sound here – very soft and nuanced. Very well arranged, and flute at the end is a nice touch. Concise but eloquent. Very nice. Very French.

Movie theme?

It is French, and movie music

2. Nice bass sound. Well, there are not too many people playing bass like this – this is Mr. Reggie Workman. Very nice opening bass solo – punchy and powerful, and I like the way Workman plays chords on bass. Elegant. Tenor. Excellent sound, and I like the ideas. Quite a tensely reserved solo. I thought of Ricky Ford at the beginning, but hear more Henderson-isms than Ford has, so I am not sure who this is. Nah, of I know who this is. It’s Henderson himself. Good solo (but now, having recognized Henderson, I can say that this is far from his best). Such a confident bass – Workman lets the notes linger for a long time, making the bass really sing. I remember seeing him live – he would strike the strings with a great force and his hand would fly off the bass – as if he was fighting a dangerous animal risking his hand being bitten off.

OK, by the end of tenor solo it is quite obviously who the pianist is – Mal Waldron, with his dark, repetitive figures. This might be his composition, thinking about it. Quite a typical Waldron solo – a bit primitive, but eloquent. OK, but not the best Waldron solo out there – its (relative) blandness allowed me to focus on drums – and this is some nice, and also easily identifiable (very musical and quite aggressive) - Cyrille.

Excellent.

Long track (10 minutes), and I didn’t even notice it passing.

Right on all counts. From a very good nearly unknown album!

3. Talking about singing bass. Michelot? Probably not. Regardless, it’s beautiful (but damn, I should know this bassist). Great drums - tasteful, and very resourceful without being flashy – sound like Humair to me (one of my favorite drummers), but probably not him (Humair usually uses cymbals more, but here there is this “scratch” on cymbals that is very Humair-ish). Elegant piano (Bill Evans influence I hear?). Beautiful melody. Could this be HUM? Short and sweet. Bravo.

It is Michelot. Not HUM! And yes, 'short and sweet!'

4. Big band. I like the theme. Quite an intricate arrangement (I am listening in headphones, and there is quite a bit of stuff going on), without being overloaded. Piano solo is good – sounds composed to a large extent, but this is understandable in the big-band framework. Tenor (or alto) – good sound. Also sounds pretty calculated, but a good one (and piano’s doing some interesting sparse comping behind it). Drums are a bit of a let-down after these fireworks.

Good one.

5. Hmm, now we get into some Blue Notish territory. The opening theme sounds nice but pretty trite (very dated – late 50s–early 60s, I guess). Nice tenor. Shit, that’s some extreme stereo separation! Beautiful trumpet solo. Nice bluesy piano solo. Sweet but not too deep. Don’t want to dismiss it, it’s a first-class music, but it just sounds like too many other things recorded in early 60s. Blue Mitchell or stuff like this.

I picked several rare sessions but also included overlooked albums that are commonly available. That was the case for this one which has been discussed on a thread of its own. Surprised that no one has identified this very enjoyable West Coast session from the early '60s.

6. Begins too peaceful, but as soon as alto starts jumping in there is a bit of intrigue created. This tenor sound is a bit colorless, and too relaxed for my tastes. I do not hear tenorist really challenging himself in the solo. Alto is more interesting, but also sounds fairly predictable. Funny how alto sound is similar to Braxton’s (this is not him, of course). Generic piano solo. Now there is some simultaneous playing – would have been more interesting if tenorist interacted with altoist a bit. Drums could also have stretched a bit more. Don’t like it too much.

As for ID-ing, I thought of Lee Konitz at the beginning, but this is not good enough for him, IMO.

The alto is the leader of this one. He is quite a way below Konitz" standards!

7. Didn’t expect the guitar here! And some squeaky trumpet – more movie themes? Nice melody, by the way. I am not a big fan of this sort of trumpet sound – too rattling for me, but here it works well. Tenor is a bit vulgar, no? Or is it two tenors??? Hawkish sound(s). And a switch from guitar to piano in the middle as an accompaniment – good idea. And back to guitar when trumpet starts playing – very nice. And even some vibes at the end! Good stuff!

Not a movie theme! The main tenor player is a favorite of many people here!

8. Nice ballad. Good tenor sound. Got a bit sleepy by the piano solo. I thought the piano solo was quite weak – just clichés, no original ideas. Back to tenor, and I the piano plays too much behind it – less notes would have worked better (given very economical approach of the tenorist), IMO. OK stuff.

9. Good opening. Again, horrible stereo separation. Oh, shit. Vocals.

I mean, I appreciate “the character”… But first, why so out of tune? Second, why so upfront vs. the band? The vocals are just too mannered and pretentious. Too much character, I guess. The band is excellent, btw. I wonder if the vocalist likes the backing himself (although I doubt this is all recorded at the same time – probably overdubbed).

No overdub as far as I know. The session was recorded at night to accentuate the jazzy atmosphere!

10. Quite a ride, this one. Pianist (Joachim Kuhn, I guess –all this over-the-top baroque stuff…should be him) plays too many notes, but tenorist manages to navigate in this dense field really well. A beautiful theme interplay at around 2 minute mark – bravo to tenorist, quick mind! Sounds like they played quite a bit together. Piano solo. Impressive. Yes, it’s over the top, yes too many notes, bordering on tasteless even – but you have to acknowledge the monster chops (sound like the guy has three hands) and all this exuberant baroque/Chopin stuff is incorporated nicely. Oh shit, didn’t expect this brass interlude – that’s excellent! What a surprise! Now, this does not really work – this repetitive riff by the brass section (overdubbed?) and improvisation by the tenor/piano – but it is interesting, nonetheless. Beautiful playing by the tenor, and shame on me for not identifying him (I thought of Andre Jaume first, but then decided it’s not him – sound is similar, but ideas are different; could this be Jerry Bergonzi stretching himself, by chance? – if yes, bravo to him).

I enjoyed this track a lot (listening to it for the second time)! And it is interesting, because is far from perfect, IMO – piano overplays, this brass interlude is out of place – but there is searching, there is excitement of trying something new…and it is fascinating to see creative minds in work.

No Kuhn: No Jaume! No Bergonzi! The tenor player is another very overlooked player. The pianist has six hands at some point, thanks to overdubbing!

11. Large band. Good mainstream piano solo. Trumpet pyrotechnics – not bad. Passing chord changes off as bass solo does not work. Excellent muscular trombone solo. It’s 5 minutes now and my attention begins to wander. I mean tenor solo is also good (excellent altissimo!), but this monotonous bass is dragging things down.

12. Don’t like the singer too much – forced vibrato, too studied intonation. No ease. The band I like. The ending is particularly weak with really unfortunate choice of notes.

13. Fun. The bass is a bit awkward. By the end bass gets a bit tiring – if he played it at double tempo the whole thing would have been much more fluid and light, as I think it had been intended to be.

14. Nothing that could hold my interest here (except for little tasty drum breaks at the beginning). Organ backing is horrendous, IMO. And hearing this mechanistic metronome-like bass makes me remember why I don’t listen to traditional big bands. Solos are solid, particularly the alto one. This thing does not want to end... enough is enough.

Least interesting track for me here.

15. Heeey, this one I like. Interesting, not trivial theme. I cannot figure out what is this instrument that’s soloing! Cornet? Clarinet? I liked the solo – has a desolate and somewhat careless feeling. Alto solo is excellent as well. Nice melodies he comes up with. I wish the sound quality was better…

16. Some compressed big band sound. Is this our friend from track 9 singing? I like this a bit more. In tune, at least. I don’t like forced laughs in songs, though. Good band.

Mais oui, the same singer as on track 9. From the samealbum, with the same musicians!

Brownie, excellent collection. This BFT will probably lead to some CD purchasing – tracks 1, 2, 3, 10, and 15 left me very intrigued.

Very welcome comments!

[Д.Д.]

Shit, I was pretty confident this was Kühn on track 10 - I cannot think of anybody else playing like this.

I think I will guess the tenor on this track - I have a feeling that I know him. I just need to work through my CD collection.

So it is not Humair on track 3? Michelot is easily recognisable (and you are right about him being one of the most precise bassists - every note is exactly where it should be - and not a single note more than necessery) - I would have been sure ( ) has it not been for badly reproduced low end.

And yeah, I should stop pretending I can credibly tell tenor and alto apart. Soprano/baritone is the best I can do.

Edited March 26, 2006 by Д.Д.

[brownie]

You'll find out who the pianist on track 10 is when I post the answers in about one week!

Unless someone identified him correctly in the meantime!

And once more it's not Humair on track 3!

[JSngry]

I picked several rare sessions but also included overlooked albums that are commonly available. That was the case for this one which has been discussed on a thread of its own. Surprised that no one has identified this very enjoyable West Coast session from the early '60s.

http://www.organissimo.org/forum/index.php?showtopic=14366