BTF 40 - Disc Two

[Eloe Omoe]

Here's the discussion thread for Disc Two. Take your time, and enjoy the music.

luca

Edited September 6, 2006 by Eloe Omoe

[Big Al]

Track 1: Nice lazy rainy Saturday afternoon groove to this one.

Track 2: Nice way to open “Star Eyes,” but the rest of it is just your standard groove. Nice enough, though; can’t say anything bad about it.

Track 3: Lovely, sensuous groove here! My God, this sounds like an ABBA outtake, ABBA unplugged! That’s a compliment, BTW. I love the way the voices harmonize. And I love the sound of the vibes like that. Is the rest of this album as lovely as this one track? I am really digging this!

Track 4: Gotta be Erroll Garner!

Track 5: Lord, here we go again. NMCOT, HAFC, DKDC, and WTF???? Sorry.

Track 6: Ah, now this is nice! Love the way the piano player dances all over the keys. Not to hip on the electric bass, but the drummer keeps things sprightly!

Track 7: Starts off like a Hubbard/Spaulding riff, and then goes….. nowhere. It’s a three-minute intro to a song that never happened.

Track 8: Nice and lilting. How does that tenor player get that tremolo going? Pretty amazing, but also kinda distracting. Quick: the tenor player just shot up into the stratosphear! Someone bring him back before he blows up the song! “He ruined the ending! One of the loveliest parts of the whole—HONK HONK SQUEEEEAL BLATT—piece!” (anybody know who I’m quoting here?)

Track 9: Some more good greeeeaze! Who’s that smooth guitar player (smooth as in nice and slick, not like Earl Klugh)?

Track 10: Not sure what to make of this one. Like the drummer, though. In fact, I’m quite digging the battle going on between him and the tenor player. Drummer is putting on a helluva fireworks show!

Track 11: Another nice little groove here. Man, Luca, you sure like your sax players to hit those high notes, don’t ya?

Track 12: Sounds like a New Orleans funeral march. That bass trombone is just baaaaaaaaaaad!!!! What is it with these sax players playing as loud and hard as they can? I can’t take this anymore!!!! AUUUUGGGGHHHHH!!!!!!

Track 13: This has the kind of groove I could tap both feet to all day! Nice bass solo, and I don’t usually dig bass solos. Enjoying the tenor sax for his understated playing. Still got three minutes to go; hope the tenor player doesn’t start trying to blow his brains out like some of the other players on this disc! Ah, he didn’t. Now that I’m thinking about this, the tenor player sounds like Stan Getz.

Track 14: Nice enough. No clue about anyone, though.

Track 15: No clue again, but a nice rollicking way to wind up this BFT!

Another nice job, Luca! Again, I can’t say I enjoyed all of it; however, once again, I can tell your heart is in this, so praise for a job well done!

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

BFT 40 DISC 2

1 Piano, bass, drums intro to big band. Solos from alto, trumpet and organ or synth. Boring.

2 “Star eyes” by spiky alto & rhythm. I don’t like this, though it’s probably quite good.

3 A very nice groove. I love these things where the bass player comes on with that “A love supreme” groove. Nice vibes, nice vocal, wonderful vocal duet sections. Tenor comes in unexpectedly. This is a dream track! Mind you, I don’t think a soloist could go wrong with this groove behind him. I guess this is an Italian band. But the vibes player reminds me of Roy Ayers. I’ve had to stop and play this three times before continuing!

4 Swing number played by piano bass & drums. Very nice. Reminds be a bit of Nat “King” Cole, but isn’t.

5 Free tenor player, sounds like Pharoah to start off with. One tenor for one minute, then two for another minute, then three. This ain’t Pharoah. Then an alto player comes in. Very interesting. Quite pleasant, too, though that’s not the intention. Not my kind of thing.

6 Tenor and quaint band. Old fashioned sound to this. Extremely cheerful! Pianist seems to be playing all sorts of odd stuff; Monk maybe (not enough left hand though. Or some joke track by someone. Back to the tenor player and back to the cheerful old style stuff.

7 Portentous intro. I keep expecting this to break out into a frantic 6/8 groove. But it hasn’t so far. Just into another portentous intro. And another. This must be the latest offering from “The Portentous Intro Band”.

8 Nice sound to the tenor player. European, I guess. Pleasant original ballad, without being notably emotion-grabbing. Musicianly. The overblown bit at the end is completely out of context, it seems to me.

9 Alto & organ, guitar, bass & drums. GG follower on guitar, but with more technique than GG (but not the beautiful sound). Alto solo very good. Not a player I know. Decent organist. Sounds like a European band trying to play a more “serious” kind of organ jazz – without all that nasty greeeaaassyyyy stuff.

10 Oh a fast & furious thing here! Tenor, bass & drums. Frantic tenor player. Long drum solo (too long). If it were a live gig, you could understand it. Oh, it IS a live gig. Oh well, OK.

11 Nice riff in pianist’s left hand. Then turns into a hard bop something with tenor & rhythm. Another pianist playing funny notes. Wonderful rapport between tenor and piano. This is more like I think Monk probably is with a horn player, though still not as much left hand as I’m used to from his trio recordings. Drummer is really prodding the others, too. Interesting bass solo. Good exchange with drummer. This is definitely not my sort of thing, but it’s very, very, good indeed.

12 Piano intro to ballad. Familiar sound to pianist. Then into Gospelly tune with belching trombone, hard alto sax. Alto player trying to hold notes for just a little too long, it seems. Is this what they call circular breathing? I really like this. The alto player is really preachin’. I am really WITH this one! I love the new thing guys who’ve really got ROOTS down into the honkers & screamers of the ‘40s. Dying to know who this is.

13 Tenor & bass/drums. Lovely sound to the tenor player. Great tough backing from other two. Got a story to tell, this saxman. A bit too much from the bass & drums on this, I fear. Otherwise this’d be A1.

14 Tenor & trombone & bass/drums. Fruity trombone. Familiar tune. Trombone with cup mute solo. Both reminiscent of Al Grey/Billy Mitchell – but wrong instrumentation.

15 Oh, what a nice way to end! Such good-hearted fun! Oh, after nearly four minutes, in comes that roaring tenor player, who really is doing it. And it’s perfectly in character with the rest of the track! Another one to look for.

As with disc 1, a good lot of stuff I like very much and some I really don’t like at all. As it should be, I expect.

MG

PS used fast reply, so can't check spelling.

[Eloe Omoe]

BFT 40 DISC 2

8 The overblown bit at the end is completely out of context, it seems to me.

Well, it is (was) his trademark...

[JSngry]

Here we go, fresh out the envelope!

TRACK ONE - I like the lay of the beat. And the layering of the textures. The tune's out of the 60s Miles vibe, this is a nice way to recontextualize that thing. Good, not superb solos, definitely saying something. Interesting cut, older style trying, pretty much successfully, imo, to move ahead. Much love for the intent, and a strong like for the results.

TRACK TWO - Don't care for the recording quality, but oh well... Some interesting alto playing mixed in with some not so interesting alto playing. Nice piano work. A ever-so-less-fast tempo migh have benefitted all concerned, including the listener. HA! Sounds like somebody missed a cue outta the piano solo! ColTRANE ColTRANE!

TRACK THREE - Ah! DO like the recording quality, mix that Rhodes and bass into a nice dark, fat bottom, let the vibes waft in and out, and let it ride. Don't know the song, the artists, or even the "genre", but it sure SOUNDS good. The good lessons of CTI well-learned. That tenor player's a sneaky sonofabitch, like Harold Vick used to be sometimes. I like that! A very pleasant surprise, to be sure, this one.

TRACK FOUR - Sounds kinda like a Dial side. Nat comes to mind, but no... Dodo? I'm clueless, obviously. Nice.

TRACK FIVE - A study in overtone production turning into a mimimalist/repetition thing. Once you know how it's done, the mystery's gone and all that's left is the willingness to get into it for meditative purposes. Sometimes I feel it, sometimes, I don't. May or may not be one player overdubbed. Sounds like it probably is.

TRACK SIX - I much prefer Jaki Byard, or Air Lore. But that's just me.

TRACK SEVEN - Ok. But time has marched on.

TRACK EIGHT - George Adams. Can't miss that phrasing, tone, and vibrato. George Adams was a beautiful player. Can't say that this is one of my favorite performances by him, but the spirit comes through nevertheless. It does seem to be a very nice tune, though, and one perhaps not fully grasped with one listen. I'll be coming back to it, that's for sure. Just because it's George Adams.

TRACK NINE - Not quite in the pocket, and this kinda thing is about pocket first. A lesson for us all, no doubt. Other than that, nicely played, and James Spaulding might wanna check his mail to see if anybody's claiming to be his illegitimate son. Surely Dookie Coleman is not alone in this world.

TRACK TEN - Hard to argue with that! Dewey/Blackwell in intent, Joe Farrell/Buddy Rich in execution. That might sound like a dis, but it's not. We are who we are. And besides, that's one helluva bass drum. BOOM!

TRACK ELEVEN - Snappy! Taking those crazyass Bird head phrasings at face value. Gotta love that! The tenorist shows no small amount of seasoning in his phrasing, especially in how he ends his lines. Cat's a player for sure! Hell, the whole band is. They keep their focus while straying just a little bit "out". Not nearly as coomon as I'd like for it to be. And that drummer is holding it all together, keeping the groove while always adding commentary and color. The whole things a little "straight" for me in temrs of eighth note feel, but that's more a matter of personal "flavor" than anything else, I think, and wehn everything else is as together as this is, I'm more than willing to accept it as just that. We got us some players here!

TRACK TWELVE - Very Monkish intro, then a not very Monkish tune. A very spirited romp. This sounds quite familiar...Abdullah Ibrahim w/Carlos Ward? Dudu Pukwana? Guess I'm hearing some kinda South African vibe to it... It's working for me!

TRACK THIRTEEN - Sounds a little faux-old to me. But maybe I'm feeling a little faux-young right now. Either way, it's not working for me too well, except for the drummer, who is displaying some rather cool limbular independence behind the bass solo (and elsewhere).

TRACK FOURTEEN - Shades of Shelly! Nice, playful head. I'm digging the drummer (again - Luca, you got good taste in drummers). Overall, nice, but not particularrly compelling. I'm cool with "small", but small and ultimately insignificant (to the big picture) are totally different things, and this one falls just slightly towards the latter end.

TRACK FIFTEEN - The Microscopic Septet. There was a DJ on KNTU in the early 80s who played them constantly (yeah, times have changed...), and this was one of the cuts he featured most heavily. This is good stuff, the writings cool, the band's tight, everybody's on the same page in terms of vibe and interpretation, and if none of the soloists are particularly "strong", they paly quite effectively within the context of the band and the charts. Helluva nice group this was. Too many cats don't want to (or can't) devote themselves to playing in (and for) a band at the expense of their "personal identity". Well hell Roy, not everybody has that strong of a personal identity, so not everybody needs to be hanging out blowing shit just to be blowing shit. Sometimes it's nice to play charts that give you a chance to make a statement that's in line with your own identity. Don't everybody have to be a "soloist" to be a good/meaningful musician, dig?

And not everybody is hip. You can be cool without necessarily being hip (or vice-versa...). These guys are all a little "corny" in fact (or so it seems), but they're still cool. It's that self-honesty, that lack of pretense, that appeals to me. "Good" is good enough if the spirit is true, and I hear absolutely nothing in this band to make me think that the spirit is not 100% true.

Yeah, the Microscopic Septet was a pretty nifty little band.

Well, that's it. Some more good stuff, and zero crap. Thanks, Luca, and thanks for the hookup Big Al. Enjoyed the ride!

[Big Al]

Man, the mail sure is fast in these parts! I only sent it out on Friday!

[Nate Dorward]

Just got back from the Guelph fest--listened to both discs on the way there, just pulling them out again. Spotted Lovano on disc 1, & on this one there's a track I actually own, the little overdubbed bit of abstraction..... link here (track 7). Will get to the rest later on once I've got the Guelph writeup done--mostly enjoyed both discs quite a bit.

[JSngry]

Wow, I've got that one. Oh well...

[Nate Dorward]

Yeah--interesting disc, though I find it hard to listen to because of the volume problems (without EQing, the quadruple overdubs mean that each track ends 4 times as loud as it begins!), but the long solo "blues" is amazing.

OK, just spinning vol 2 now--

1) more of a "contemporary" style than much on disc 1. One of those tracks where I like the feel/sound without any of the (brief) solos actually standing out for me.

2) "Star Eyes" in Bird's arrangement taken in Traneish directions. Hm, just listening to the playing of the head this alto player ain't doing it for me... & neither does the solo. I dunno, could be Kenny Garrett except I'd except this to be, uh, a lot better. Sounds like a Criss Cross or Steeplechase session of the 1980s. I guess I just don't find this flows very nicely--too many loose ends & in general a half-baked feel.

3) No idea what/who this is! But I liked it--"smooth" in the non-pejorative sense, with some interesting touches & good playing. A mood piece.

4) Ugh, this is so frigging cute I can't take it, even at two minutes. Someone like Wallington or Duke Jordan on a really short tether? Early Shearing?? I really don't know. Anyway, obviously an early chapter in the conversion of bebop to something more easily digestible/popular.

5) A cool-schooler experimenting in the studio, as mentioned above. John Butcher move over!

6) Probably Dutch guys, say Ab Baars & Misha Mengelberg (not Bennink on drums, I think). Note the Herbie Nichols + early Cecil Taylor touches in the piano for instance (+ the Monk quote). It's OK though a pretty so-so example of New Dutch Swing (the tenor seems kind of lame for instance).

7) Jeez, this needs to have a 20-minute blowout after the head.... what's the point of just stopping there?

8) Strange tune in that it reminds me of a Duke/Strays tune but ISN'T one.... I think it's "Melancholia" I have in mind. S'OK tune, not exceptional, with a really unusual vibrato on the tenor...... hm, the jump into free-jazz yelling at the end makes me wonder if this is someone like Avram Fefer. A "plays it straight" track from someone who may be more of an outside character.

9) My first thought was "Zorn doing an organ date"--actually he's on a Patton album (John not Mike, I mean), isn't he? Nope, the alto solo ain't JZ, it's too coherent/straightforward in a Jackie/Trane bag. Nice stuff, if somehow not really getting as exciting as I'd expected.... it just kind of ambles on from chorus to chorus, solo to solo, without really gaining a lot of steam. Still, I liked this one.

10) "Song X" by tenor + rhythm. A very "inside" rendition, but it's done very nicely! Would have traded the drum solo for more tenor, though. No idea who anyone is here. Is the tune rendered correctly, though (it's a tricky line)? Some of the notes seem off to me (just checking with the original recording). Doesn't really matter, anyway.

11) This one surprised me because it starts with one of those cute tricksy bouncy post-Bird blues lines which I generally hate, but the rest of the performance is excellent. Great rhythmic feel here with the phrasing during the solos really nicely picked up on/rounded off by all the other players, & after having heard a lot of contemporary albums where the drummers really get all over the place this one is refreshing for the dead-on economy of the drumming. No idea who this is, but they're ace.

12) OK, Monkish opening, then in turn I think of "When Sunny Gets Blue" & "Peace".... The rolling ensemble comes in as a surprise. South African jazz feeling, but I don't think it's Ibrahim.... a younger player? Mseleku or however you spell it? Rough-edged, & I'm not sure I could take too much of the alto player, but I liked this one, right down to the squalling ending.

13) Hm, futher South African feel here though the tenor has a Gonsalves feel! Neat drumming, the rest is fine though the endless vamp's not doing it for me--if they're going to keep it unchanged why don't they try pushing it into some real intensity? I can't date this one--perhaps the 1970s, as it's hard to think of too many recent tenors cultivating a sound like that.

14) Probably European. Lots of fun here in the tenor/trombone back & forth, though it's not doing a lot for me. I'm willing to bet this was placed as the last track of the album--has that cheerful-farewell mood &, yep, sure enough it fades out.

15) Hm, European stuff again? It does have some of that playful vibe to some of the ARFI records I've heard. Anyway, this is as fun as the last track but offers far more to chew on in the arrangement. I could have used more room for soloists & a less repetitious arrangement (when a theme comes back, couldn't it be varied or extended?), but when it finally gets to the solos, especially that nifty baritone section & the surprise bit of handclaps (sometiems it's a gimmick, but it works beautifully here), it's worth the wait. By the end I'm less sure it's European--that R&B feel is a little too authentically American.... Again that carefree-farewell mood which I guess is what recommended this track as a sign-off for the BFT. -- Anyway, a strong finish to this compilation.

Edited September 13, 2006 by Nate Dorward

[Stereojack]

BFT #40, Disc 2

1. My first reaction was Andrew Hill, something off one of his recent recordings. The keyboard synth threw me off a little. Nice alto, nice trumpet. Greg Tardy, Charles Tolliver? There’s no piano solo, so maybe it ain’t Andrew.

2. I hate these lightning fast bebop things. I’m sorry, the alto player is just running up and down the horn, saying nothing. Don’t get me wrong – I love bebop, but too many younger players just don’t get it. No stars.

3. This I LOVED – very pretty and atmospheric. I’d really like to know who this is.

4. A vintage late 40’s/early 50’s piano trio. Nothing special here.

5. “OK, boys, now that you’re warmed up and you’ve established that all your keys work, it’s time to play some music.”

6. OK, I get the joke. It just isn’t very funny. Snoooozzz…

7. This rambles on for about three minutes, goes nowhere.

8. They establish a mood – not terribly compelling – and then shatter it with that screech at the end. Next!

9. Eric Kloss with Don Patterson?

10. Reminiscent of Sonny Rollins.

11. Pleasant enough, no ideas who this is.

12. Starts out with Monk-ish piano. When the band comes in, they’re on a totally different page. I think this is a South African group. Dollar Brand/Abdullah Ibrahim?

Eventually the alto starts to make a racket.

13. I liked this. The bass & drums intro, then the tenor. Very nice!

14. I liked this, too. A nice feel throughout. Good soloists. This tenor recalls Sonny at times.

15. A catchy tune, I can live without the tenor player.

Fewer “hits” on this disc for me, but I still appreciate the effort.

[Tom Storer]

Here go my best guesses for CD2:

1. A little slick, but I like the arrangement and mood. The alto player doesn't convince me, though. Here you'd need a Kenny Garrett, a fat and soulful tone. The alto sound here is too thin, and the player sounds a little quick and nervous--there are flurries and hiccups that don't match the mood. The trumpeter (flugel?) hits the right feeling for me. Could this be a Terence Blanchard thing with Donald Harrison?

2. "Star Eyes." They could have taken it down a peg in tempo. The alto doesn't give the impression he's all the way focused. The pianist sounds like someone used to more modern material than this. No idea who they could be.

3. Gorgeous! A great example of the fusion of jazz with, uh, something. Lyrical, grooving, sincere. An appropriately sensual contribution from the tenor. I want it!

4. Curious. The pianist keeps it so simple you wonder if he's a full-time pianist or somebody moonlighting from his main instrument.

5. Not unpleasant to listen to but nothing much happens. If you're looking for something to happen, you'll be disappointed. Otherwise it all depends on how much you like the textures. For me this isn't very memorable, but do you want wallpaper to be memorable?

6. This seems to be an "old-time" thing played by non-old-timers--someone's idea of a fun thing to do, and maybe something that gets a good response in concert. The pianist seems to be the most involved, playing around with the expectations of "old-time" jazz by goofing around in a more modern style. The whole thing sounds pretty perfunctory to me, though.

7. This kind of po-faced thing with soprano and flute(s) noodling over bowed bass and sporadically thrashing drums may once have sounded fresh, but it sure is dated now. Sounds like "Part 1" of something. Maybe we'd need the rest to see what it was leading up to.

8. I like the Ellington/Mingus feel. It's a nice composition. The needle seems to jump into distortion on the treble end, unfortunately for the tenor player. I would have liked to hear a tenor solo, but hey. The ending is a bit intemperate--I think it would have been easier to judge that if the sound had been better.

9. OK, but nothing thrilling. Could it be Peter Bernstein on guitar? If so, probably a Criss-Cross date.

10. Definitely Ornette-inspired. At first I was thinking Joe Lovano with Ed Blackwell, but in fact I don't think it's either of them. I like that drummer, though.

11. Sounds to me like Branford's quartet with Tain Watts. Except... maybe not. Tain is being unusually well-behaved if it is he. Still, I'll go with the guess. I like this a lot.

12. Good and rollicking after the piano introduction. Could it be a Randy Weston group? Talib Kibwe on alto?

13. I like the gruff tenor sound. The bass vamp sounds like the kind of thing Stanley Clarke used to do in the 70's--backing Joe Farrell for example. But this isn't Farrell, nor is it Stanley Clarke, whose soloing style was not this. This bassist is better at vamping than soloing. Hey--nice drums! I'll be interested to see what this is.

14. I'm going to guess this is from one of Wycliffe Gordon's Criss Cross releases. Nothing earthshaking but well done. I like it.

15. Nice party feel to this. As soon as I heard the theme I had the feeling I had always known it, which is a good definition of "catchy." It would make a good theme for a jazz radio show. I don't know if I could listen to it all that often, because there's something a little cloying about it when all is said and done. The soloists do a good job with it, however. A good closing piece for BFT 40, as it no doubt is at concerts by this group.

Thanks, Luca, for a worthy collection of tunes in a broad mix of styles. I look forward to getting the key! Some of these I'm going to want to pick up.

[king ubu]

Another great disc, Luca! I enjoyed the first one a wee bit more, but I can't really say why...

#1 Trumpet sounds nice, rest a bit cold (like many new recordings, in my opinion) - not that it's bad, but the tune and the sound of the recording don't jump at me the least... not inviting at all.

#2 "Star Eyes"... is there a version that doesn't start with this intro? Hm, sounds familiar but I can't place it right now... Jmac? Nope... sounds very familiar, but I can't place it right now.

#3 Very nice folky groove. Like this one! Sax solo is nice. Not sure I'd need a whole disc of this, but there's plenty of recent Italian music that I enjoy, including guys like Mirabassi, Trovesi, Coscia, Biondini, Tonolo, Zurzolo etc.

#4 Nice and short...

#5 Kinda weird... the second one (left channel) could break out into "Sentimental Journey" any second... nice one, very minimalist. Not jazz, really, is it?

So I see... it's a sax quartet... the only one coming to mind that is able to do something like this would be the Arte Quartett, but I assume there are others coming from a more classical background. Very nice track!

#6 Oh yes! Can't get much more basic... but this is a recent recording, judging from the (rather ugly, mind me) bass sound. Tune sounds familiar, but that doesn't necessarily mean anything...

#7 Some will say "yuck!" but me likey!

#8 Nice one... very subdued... beautiful! The ending suggests this chap can be all over the horn if he wants to...

#9 Not quite sure if I should know this... nice singing geetar, Mr. Green?

#10 Ornette-ish sounding line and groove - very nice one!

#11 Nice, slightly angular (Monk influence?).

#12 Is this Monk himself now? Or at least a Monk tune? Oh, wait, that's them krazy GDR fellaws doing them olde germanic lieder... great! Love this group a lot!

#13 Eddie Harris and his electric sax shtick? Hm, it only sounds electric at the beginning... like this a lot (as I do like Eddie who, too)! Bass is nice... sounds a bit like Charlie Haden. Nice cut, but I lost attention a bit... if I was home I would hit repeat, I think, so it's not that I found it boring, just not that gripping upon first listen.

#14 Very, very nice! A wild guess: Craig Harris on trombone? Beautiful track, this one!

#15 Great closer! Upbeat and funny... could be from a side project of some Vienna Art Orchestra guys, maybe, but I can't really tell.

[king ubu]

Ha, funny how everyone takes the Ossis for ZA musicians... they got their thing together! No bass trombone, either, as far as I know, just one of the very best 'bonists you ever going to hear! (Saw him live once with his brother in slides... astonishing!)

[Eloe Omoe]

#12 Is this Monk himself now? Or at least a Monk tune? Oh, wait, that's them krazy GDR fellaws doing them olde germanic lieder... great! Love this group a lot!

I knew you were going to get this at once... It's a perfect track for a BFT, don't you think?

[king ubu]

#12 Is this Monk himself now? Or at least a Monk tune? Oh, wait, that's them krazy GDR fellaws doing them olde germanic lieder... great! Love this group a lot!

I knew you were going to get this at once... It's a perfect track for a BFT, don't you think?

Yes, definitely! And what a great band they are! I have three of their four albums (including the most recent one from where you took this title) and they're all terrific! I slightly prefer the self-titled one from 1989 (not done for the label which releases their CDs, originally), but that might just be because it was the first I got.

The exuberance and joy of this music is great. As heart-warming as the opener on your first disc, but in a rather difficult way... great to hear some favourites on your BFT, in a context in which I haven't heard them, myself!

[Nate Dorward]

Incidentally, re: my doubts about the exact pitches in "Song X" & the rendition on track 10, take a look at this, from the horse's mouth:

http://thebadplus.typepad.com/dothemath/20..._the_inbox.html

(scroll to the bottom).

[mikeweil]

# 1: The type of sound engineering I hate: Unnatural instrument balance and imaging, different types of room ambience on different parts of the group .... the drummer is lower in the mix at the end: Why did they do this? Arrghh! I don't like this type of post-modern jazz ..... Some group like EST in quintet size? Imagine this engineered like an old Blue Note record and its musical substance would shrink to proper size.

# 2: That alto has chops but is a little too exuberant for my taste - I'm sure I have heard him before. Pianist is not my taste. It sounds like he was finished but the others missed his cue, so he had to add a chorus, which shows that he plays mostly over the changes, not the substance of the piece - Star Eyes, of course. Well .... this beautiful tune has yet to be played in the proper tempo.

# 3: Now this is really beautiful and perhaps my favourite from both discs, that's why I am complaining so much about some details of the sound. Why are the bass, udu, brushes (bass drum is inaudible once more!), electric piano and guitar all more or less cramped together in the middle, while the vibes get an unnaturally wide stereo spread? Some engineers have crazy conceptions! A better mix would make this sound more transparent. Pity, because it is such a nice piece played competently. Tenor is appropriate but should have avoided some standard modern licks, but he is fine in this context.

Is this Sardic language? I'd say folk singers. Some Italians do a very nice job recently integrating folklore and jazz! I love these voices! What are the words about?

# 4: Again, a strong contrast. Like this pianist, probably from the 1940's but can't name him. Would like to hear more.

# 5: It took me some time to get the idea: He adds a track with each round, thus giving insight into the process. I would have put in more variation or kept the passage a little shorter. But I wouldn't listen to that more than once or buy the record ....

# 6: Hahaah! Another one that had me laughing all the way through. Are they playing like this all the time?

# 7: This reminds me of a lot of things I listened to in the 1970's. I don't like that kind of pipe-like flute playing. Without the flutist it would have been nice.

# 8: Some Strayhorn tune comes to mind, but this is different. I think the bass is too much up front (darn those pickups) - that aside, it's a heartfelt, very good performance. I'm curious who that tenor player is - Ernie Watts? I get the message behind the shrieks at the end, but would have liked it better without them.

# 9: Off to Hammond county again! Organ with alto is too rare ..... electric bass in the band? Hmm ..... This alto is in tune, for a change .... nice hard hitting combo, but a pedal bass would have made it sound meatier. Yeah, this is still greazy enough to merit repeated playback! I'm still awaiting an all-organ BFT!

# 10: Some more from the post-bop Ornette school. But hey, they sound Ornettish but play the changes, which is rather more conservative. These players sound ineresting enough to me. Yes I like this somehow - is this Higgins himself? If not he's big fan ..... no not Higgins. Yes - one of the few tracks in that vein I really enjoyed in recent times.

# 11: Juggling rhythms of the type I like, although that left hand - bass unison menthod is a little worn off. As is the right hand with the tenor. I find this very good, on the whole.

# 12: Now this is a little too much over the top for my taste ....

# 13: That darned latter day bass pickup sound again ..... soundwise, no good match to that almost lazy tenor sound that must come from a veteran player. A little meandering. Maybe a younger player with an older sound concept? The old tenor masters didn't use these modal vamps, did they? And without a piano, the bassist must do the work! Where are the variations, the interaction? This doesn't sustain my interest too long.

# 14: Now this is more to my taste - they make more out of the vamp and are in good spirits!

# 15: Again a band slightly reminiscent of the Deidda brothers - there is a tradition for street band inspired jazz in Italy, it seems. Very nice, and the perfect closer. If the rest of this album is like this, I'll try and get it!

Thanks again - that's the way a BFT should be! The fun you had in preparing shines clearly through!

p.s. edited for a bad typo - and another one

Edited September 18, 2006 by mikeweil

[RDK]

Took me a little longer to get to and through D2 than i had hoped. It's a more inconsistent disc imo, with more highs and lows, than D1, but the highlights are mighty fine. Very eager to know what some of these are, though I dread how much this BFT is gonna cost me in the long run. Again, many thanks Luca!

Disc 2

1. Hmm. The rhythm section’s much too mellow/easy for my tastes, though the soloists aren’t bad at all. Not really my cuppa.

2. Much better! Star Eyes – a favorite of mine. Sax starts out sounding like Art Pepper or Phil Woods, but I’m not so sure by the end...

3. Interesting, and quite lovely voice. Not very “jazzy” but I like it.

4. Enjoyable enough, but this sounds rather quaint and old-fashioned – almost downright dull – compared to the “riskier” stuff on this disc.

5. Not the sort of think I listen to often – avant-guard-ish sax improvisations – but I like this one and it grows on me with each listen. Like how the two saxes weave in and out of each other – I find this much more interesting than if it were a solo horn. Could be Braxton, but it’s probably a pair I’m unfamiliar with.

6. I love this one! Swinging, jaunty, and loads of fun – almost humorous in construction and intent. Makes me smile and tap my foot.

7. Don’t care much for the “tune,” but I really like the sound of the flute moving with/around the sax (soprano?).

8. Lovely, with a touch of fire at the end.

9. This sounds familiar – I think I may have it – but it’s not a favorite track.

10. Pretty sure this is Ornette, though I can’t recall the tune.

11. Okay for a while but it goes on too long.

12. Love this! Might be my favorite track of both discs.

13. Another great track. Love the bass walking behind the growling sax. This and the previous track are the highlights of this disk for me.

14. Three wonderful tracks in a row. Love the “talking” bone – sounds rather old-school – but I’d bet the track is fairly recent. I dunno – maybe Mangelsdorff playing unusually inside?

15. Another fun track – almost too much fun if you know what I mean – with a theme that sounds almost like TV show music. But it works, and gets especially interesting toward the end, when the guys cut loose a bit. Great ending to the disc! (Listening to this again and liking it even more.)