BFT #43-disc 1 Answers

[RDK]

With Durium's BFT #44 getting underway I wanted to post the answers to BFT #43. I had intended to post these a few days ago, with my own comments, but it's been a wacky week. I'll add my comments this weekend, but wanted to get the answers up and out of the way before #44 gets into high gear...

DISC 1 ANSWERS

1. “’Round Midnight” (Monk) Wayne Shorter (s) & Herbie Hancock (p) Jazz at the Opera House (Columbia, 1983)

2. “Elm” (Beirach) Richard Beirach (p), George Mraz (b), Jack DeJohnette (d) Elm (ECM, 1979)

3. “Como En Vietnam” (Swallow) Gary Burton (v), Steve Swallow (b), Roy Haynes (d), Tiger Okoshi (t) Times Square (ECM, 1978)

4. “I Remember Clifford” (Golson) Odean Pope (s), Cecil Bridgewater (t), Calvin Hill (b), Max Roach (lays out) Chattahoochie Red (Columbia, 1981)

5. “The Nearness of You” Buster Cooper (tb), Johnny Hodges (leader), Paul Gonsalves, Hank Jones, Jimmy Jones, Tiny Grimes, Milt Hinton, Gus Johnson Triple Play (RCA, 1987) recorded 1967

6. “Brother Sam” (Rivers & Schiano) Sam Rivers (s), Mario Schiavo (s), Dave Holland (b), Barry Altschul (d) Rendez-Vous (Red/Vedette Records, 1977)

7. “Night Crawlers” (Albam) Manny Albam, Bill Evans, Art Farmer, Phil Woods, Frank Rehak, Eddie Costa, Al Cohn, Addison Farmer, Ed Shaughnessy Something New, Something Blue (Columbia, 1959)

8. “Ghost Riders in the Sky” (Jones) Bob James (p), Ron Brooks (b), Bob Pozar (d) Mercury 40th Anniversary V.S.O.P. Album (Nippon/Jasrac, 1984) recorded 1962

9. “Bird Raga” (Sprague) Peter Sprague (g), Bill Mays (p), Bob Magnusson (b), Jim Plank (d) Bird Raga (Xanadu, 1983) recorded 1980

10. “Brotherhood of Man” (Loesser) Gary McFarland, Clark Terry, Doc Severinson, Bernie Glow, Herb Pomeroy, Bob Brookmeyer, Willie Dennis, Billy Byers, Ed Wasserman, Al Cohn, Oliver Nelson, Phil Woods, Sol Schlinger, Hank Jones, Kenny Burrell, Joe Benjamin, Osie Johnson How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying (Verve, 1961)

11. “Every Once in a While” (Rome) Randy Weston (p), Benny Green, Slide Hampton, Melba Liston, Frank Rehak (tbs), Peck Morrison (b), Elvin Jones (d), Willie Rodriguez (perc) Little Niles (Blue Note, 1976) originally released as Destry Rides Again (UA, 1959)

12. “Pete’s Meat” (Rogers) Pete Jolly (acord), Jimmy Giuffre (s), Shorty Rogers (t), Howard Roberts (g), Curtis Counce (b), Shelly Manne (d) Jolly Jumps In (RCA, 1955)

13. “Petite Fleur” (Bechet) Bud Shank (s), Chet Baker (t), the Star Trek Choir Michelle (World Pacific, 196?)

14. “Mornin’ Reverend” (Jones) Thad Jones & Mel Lewis Orchestra, Gregory Herbert (s) Live in Munich (Horizon, 1977)

15. “Road Time Shuffle” (Akiyoshi) Toshiko Akiyoshi-Lew Tabackin Big Band Road Time (RCA, 1976)

16. “The City of Dallas” (Swallow) Steve Kuhn (p), Harvie Swartz (b), Bob Moses (d), Sheila Jordan (v) Last Year’s Waltz (ECM, 1982)

[Tom Storer]

Looks great! Reading this, I regret that I didn't participate.

[Dan Gould]

With Durium's BFT #44 getting underway I wanted to post the answers to BFT #43. I had intended to post these a few days ago, with my own comments, but it's been a wacky week. I'll add my comments this weekend, but wanted to get the answers up and out of the way before #44 gets into high gear...

DISC 1 ANSWERS

11. “Every Once in a While” (Rome) Randy Weston (p), Benny Green, Slide Hampton, Melba Liston, Frank Rehak (tbs), Peck Morrison (b), Elvin Jones (d), Willie Rodriguez (perc) Little Niles (Blue Note, 1976) originally released as Destry Rides Again (UA, 1959)

If this was on the mid-70s Weston double LP reissue, then the BFT rule that says you will own at least one track yet not identify it continues its amazing streak. Only my early AM laziness keeps me from checking.

[RDK]

Looks great! Reading this, I regret that I didn't participate.

You still can, Tom. If nothing else, feel free to download the tracks - the links are still up on the other thread.

[mikeweil]

5. “The Nearness of You” Buster Cooper (tb), Johnny Hodges (leader), Paul Gonsalves, Hank Jones, Jimmy Jones, Tiny Grimes, Milt Hinton, Gus Johnson Triple Play (RCA, 1987) recorded 1967

Dan's not the only one - I have this but didn't listen to it in a long time, and, BTW, I have the Randy Weston, too ...

[sidewinder]

the Star Trek Choir [

Oh dear - Looking at the list, I've got so many of those (Mercury VSOP set, Road Time, How To Succeed') etc. It all sounded so damn familiar....

Excellent selection by the way !

[sidewinder]

Can't believe I missed the Weston. I have that Blue Note twofer..

(puts gun to head).

[mikeweil]

(puts gun to head).

Put it down again! You just signed up for another BFT!

[Jim R]

9. “Bird Raga” (Sprague) Peter Sprague (g), Bill Mays (p), Bob Magnusson (b), Jim Plank (d) Bird Raga (Xanadu, 1983) recorded 1980

I'm glad to have heard this. I had three Sprague LP's back in the day, but when I revisited my archives, I noticed that BIRD RAGA was not among them. Funny how time can change your perception of someone's playing. I remember Sprague as having nice chops, but not to this extent. He's a very versatile musician (and that's probably an understatement), who plays many styles and utilizes a varied arsenal of tone, phrasing, and general conception. I think the reason I haven't followed his career is partly due to his eclectic nature... I just wasn't interested in going along for that ride.

[catesta]

Looks great! Reading this, I regret that I didn't participate.

Same here.

[RDK]

Looks great! Reading this, I regret that I didn't participate.

Same here.

Still available here for your enjoyment...

Disc A: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=K9P57M7E

Disc B: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=TCAJAR90

[RDK]

9. “Bird Raga” (Sprague) Peter Sprague (g), Bill Mays (p), Bob Magnusson (b), Jim Plank (d) Bird Raga (Xanadu, 1983) recorded 1980

I'm glad to have heard this. I had three Sprague LP's back in the day, but when I revisited my archives, I noticed that BIRD RAGA was not among them. Funny how time can change your perception of someone's playing. I remember Sprague as having nice chops, but not to this extent. He's a very versatile musician (and that's probably an understatement), who plays many styles and utilizes a varied arsenal of tone, phrasing, and general conception. I think the reason I haven't followed his career is partly due to his eclectic nature... I just wasn't interested in going along for that ride.

Agreed. I used to see Peter a lot back in my college years down in San Diego. He was a real fine straight-ahead player when he wanted to be, but could get a bit hippy-dippy on record. I have a live TV studio date that he did that I worked on back in '86 or so that I may toss up as a torrent one of these days. It's the way I prefer to remember him (though that Bird Raga album is mostly very good - it's also, I've since discovered, available on Emusic.com).

[marcello]

14. “Mornin’ Reverend” (Jones) Thad Jones & Mel Lewis Orchestra, Gregory Herbert (s) Live in Munich (Horizon, 1977)

One of the great late ones, Gregory Herbert.

I told Eddie Daniels a couple of months ago, that I'll aways love him for his solo of this song on THAD JONES-MEL LEWIS JAZZ ORCHESTRA, MONDAY NIGHTS (Solid State), but this one is great also.

Herbert plays one of the great tenor solos on Greeting and Salutations.

Edited January 28, 2007 by marcello

[Dan Gould]

Up for Ray's comments!

C'mon Ray, you picked 'em, tell us why you like 'em so!

Or are you now all ...

[RDK]

Up for Ray's comments!

C'mon Ray, you picked 'em, tell us why you like 'em so!

Or are you now all ...

Nah, I just didn't think anyone cared!

Gotta run now, but I'll add some comments later today.

[RDK]

Okay, Dan convinced me... a couple of additional comments...

I have to admit to embarking on an all-vinyl BFT for purely selfish reasons: I have a lot of older vinyl that I hardly ever listen to anymore and this forced me to dig deep down into the collection. There were a couple of problems with that, of course, one being that not all the LPs sounded all that great (scratches, pops, etc.). Not that i mind listening to scratchy LPs on occassion, but I really didn't want to waste my time burning these inferior-sounding tracks to CD for "posterity." The other problem, more critical actually, was that the majority of my LP buying was done in my earlier years of listening to jazz... so while perhaps ecclectic in style my collection isn't necessarily that deep. I realized this early on when most of the tracks were identified relatively quickly. Still, I hope there were some obscurities and discoveries for at least some of you...

Compiling this was a blast - a real trip down memory lane since I can remember where and when I purchased many of these, some going back nearly 30 years. There were actually a few discs that I either never listened to shortly after buying or that my tastes since developed to fit them; I actually "discovered" a lot of this music (either again or for the first time) while listening to these tracks for posible inclusion.

One additional note: the 50 cent bins are your friend!

1. “’Round Midnight” (Monk) Wayne Shorter (s) & Herbie Hancock (p) Jazz at the Opera House (Columbia, 1983)

Like Jim, I'm shocked that this 2-LP set has never been released on CD. Some very good music here and some unique collaborations. I was surprised that so few guessed that it's Wayne playing. This was a late addition to D1 since I was short room before cutting something else. I almost used an edit of Wayne's (at least I assume it's Wayne's) declarative "This is for Monk!" statement to open the disk - I just love the way he says it with such simple authority. Monk died just a few days before...

2. “Elm” (Beirach) Richard Beirach (p), George Mraz (b), Jack DeJohnette (d) Elm (ECM, 1979)

One of my favorite tunes, at least of the last 30 years. I used a different version of this on my first BFT a few years ago because I wasn't able to copy my LP at the time. This is Beirach's original version, from one of my favorite ECMs during, imo, their finest period. The slighty icy "ECM sound" works terrifically on this sort of music, no?

3. “Como En Vietnam” (Swallow) Gary Burton (v), Steve Swallow (b), Roy Haynes (d), Tiger Okoshi (t) Times Square (ECM, 1978)

Continuing a mini-ECM fest. Someone mentioned (maybe Mike?) not really digging Burton all that much but really liking this track. I agree. From one of my favorite Burton albums, again from ECM's peak years. As a composer, Steve Swallow is really hit-or-miss for me, but this one works. I picked this up, along with maybe a hundred other ECMs, during a distributor change cut-out sale during the early/mid-80s. Probably paid a buck or two for the sealed LPs.

4. “I Remember Clifford” (Golson) Odean Pope (s), Cecil Bridgewater (t), Calvin Hill (b), Max Roach (lays out) Chattahoochie Red (Columbia, 1981)

Heh. Though having the leader of the session not actually play on the track might fool some of you. Not Sangry.

5. “The Nearness of You” Buster Cooper (tb), Johnny Hodges (leader), Paul Gonsalves, Hank Jones, Jimmy Jones, Tiny Grimes, Milt Hinton, Gus Johnson Triple Play (RCA, 1987) recorded 1967

This, my friends, is my all-time favorite trombone track, first heard on the Johnny Hodges compilation LP noted above. Hodges doesn't solo here and it's virtually all Buster. A bit gimmicky for some of you and that's understandable, but it gets me every single time.

6. “Brother Sam” (Rivers & Schiano) Sam Rivers (s), Mario Schiavo (s), Dave Holland (b), Barry Altschul (d) Rendez-Vous (Red/Vedette Records, 1977)

I've never seen/heard this record anywhere else before and there's only the barest mention of it found on the net, in some Rivers discography. Bought this at a Tower Records import LP blow-out around 1990 or so, probably for .79. A bit inside for Sam's work of the period and maybe that's why i like it so much. Also probably the closest we'll ever get to Sam playing "C-Jam Blues."

7. “Night Crawlers” (Albam) Manny Albam, Bill Evans, Art Farmer, Phil Woods, Frank Rehak, Eddie Costa, Al Cohn, Addison Farmer, Ed Shaughnessy Something New, Something Blue (Columbia, 1959)

From one of those Columbia multi-artist showcase LPs of the period. A really fine album overall. This wasn't actually my favorite track (though it soon grew on me), but it sounded the best and I wanted to include some Albam, who's underrated and seems to have been nearly forgotten over the years.

8. “Ghost Riders in the Sky” (Jones) Bob James (p), Ron Brooks (b), Bob Pozar (d) Mercury 40th Anniversary V.S.O.P. Album (Nippon/Jasrac, 1984) recorded 1962

Makes me smile every time. I actually thought many of you would hate this one for all the gimmickry and wit; glad I was wrong.

9. “Bird Raga” (Sprague) Peter Sprague (g), Bill Mays (p), Bob Magnusson (b), Jim Plank (d) Bird Raga (Xanadu, 1983) recorded 1980

I used to see Peter play a lot during my decade in San Diego. I actually recorded him one for a KPBS-TV music special (during my brief time as a TV studio audio engineer). He never hit it as big as I thought he might. At times he came across as a Pat Metheny-lite, at other times a bit too hippy-dippy or sappy. But he could sure play straight-ahead when he wanted to.

10. “Brotherhood of Man” (Loesser) Gary McFarland, Clark Terry, Doc Severinson, Bernie Glow, Herb Pomeroy, Bob Brookmeyer, Willie Dennis, Billy Byers, Ed Wasserman, Al Cohn, Oliver Nelson, Phil Woods, Sol Schlinger, Hank Jones, Kenny Burrell, Joe Benjamin, Osie Johnson How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying (Verve, 1961)

Another cheap find, though a more recent acquisition. Wasn't too familiar with McFarland before a couple of years ago, but this LP and a couple of others won me over. There were a ton of these jazz-versions-of-movie-soundtracks done at the time and only a relative few have really remained famous and in-print. But there are treasures to be found if you look. Didn't realize this had come out on CD at one point. It sounds expensive now, but it's another to track down. It was very hard to pick which track to include here. The title track, featuring Oliver Nelson, is another killer.

11. “Every Once in a While” (Rome) Randy Weston (p), Benny Green, Slide Hampton, Melba Liston, Frank Rehak (tbs), Peck Morrison (b), Elvin Jones (d), Willie Rodriguez (perc) Little Niles (Blue Note, 1976) originally released as Destry Rides Again (UA, 1959)

Heh. Had to include a sample of what was left off of the Mosaic select box. Yes, this is from the BN two-fer from the mid-70s.

12. “Pete’s Meat” (Rogers) Pete Jolly (acord), Jimmy Giuffre (s), Shorty Rogers (t), Howard Roberts (g), Curtis Counce (b), Shelly Manne (d) Jolly Jumps In (RCA, 1955)

Damn Tooter and his friend who knows everything about jazz accordian (and worse, who will admit it)! Was not really that familiar with Jolly's work prior to this album, but he sure had some talented friends. Doesn't sound bad for original vinyl from 1955 bought for less than a buck a year or two ago.

13. “Petite Fleur” (Bechet) Bud Shank (s), Chet Baker (t), the Star Trek Choir Michelle (World Pacific, 196?)

Laugh all you want but this stuff sold. For some reason I have three copies of this one and, ironically, they've all been very used. But even playing this shit, Shank sounds good.

14. “Mornin’ Reverend” (Jones) Thad Jones & Mel Lewis Orchestra, Gregory Herbert (s) Live in Munich (Horizon, 1977)

Picked up this one just a few months ago and it was a last-minute addition to the BFT. Never heard of Herbert before, but I really dig his solo here. Not the best recording as many of you noted, but it's a strong performance.

15. “Road Time Shuffle” (Akiyoshi) Toshiko Akiyoshi-Lew Tabackin Big Band Road Time (RCA, 1976)

I'm a huge fan of the Akiyoshi-Tabackin band and have most if not all of their albums, at least the early ones on RCA. This is really special stuff for me, and it's criminally underrepresented in the CD era, at least here in the U.S. Seek it out! The LPs can still be found on the cheap.

16. “The City of Dallas” (Swallow) Steve Kuhn (p), Harvie Swartz (b), Bob Moses (d), Sheila Jordan (v) Last Year’s Waltz (ECM, 1982)

Heh. Thought this one wouldn't go over too well, but didn't expect Jim's outrage. Interesting analysis, though, and certainly no hard feelings. Personally, I love it; it always puts a smile on my face. Certainly not Sheila's finest hour as a vocalist, but it's a silly set closer and, imo, isn't meant to be anything more than fun. The other tracks are polished and far more conventional, but not nearly as divisive.

[Dan Gould]

Thanks, Ray for writing these comments up. Personally I always want to find out why a particular track got included and any personal comments the compiler has.

It almost makes up for your Gene Harris selection.