BFT 239 Discussion Thread

[webbcity]

Well, as always I am late to the party but at least we have a few days left before the end of the month! Next month I swear I am gonna get to this earlier!

Here are my comments as I listened... have been careful not to read any of this thread yet.

Track 1 - @Big Al - This... is the beginniiiing... of a beautiful friendship... and a great beginning to this arrangement. I really like all that's happening in the horns. Supple support from the bass and drums and some very tasty piano playing here. Must be the pianist's record? Sort of a Ramsey Lewis thing going on to my ears, but then again my ears aren't super familiar with RL so I could be way off. Very nice track though!

Track 2 - @Dan Gould - In a 70s bluesy/gospel vibe now. I sort of want this one to groove harder than it does. Sounds a bit too polite. The rhythm section is tight but I'm not FEELING it. The alto solo is helping a bit. Still the band is leaving me a little cold and what I really want is to hear this altoist in a completely different setting.

Track 3 - @danasgoodstuff - Boy this one is confusing me. Two different pianists? Almost playing two different songs? Ah, but it settles in just before the one minute mark. Oh wow, The Wind Cries Mary! That was a surprise. Even though I heard that chromatic chord thingy back at the beginning. Hmm... this is pretty good but I'm still not sure what to make of that intro. Must go back and listen again. Some pretty interesting piano playing here though. Ohhh now I get it, that intro was really part of the melody but just very obscured. This is wild. Even though I'm a little conflicted about it I'm definitely interested in listening more just to try and figure it out!

Track 4 - @Dub Modal - Trombone war! No wait... more horns. This is cookin! Boy, there's an alto player influenced by Bird if I ever heard one. That's not meant as a criticism-- I really like this. Trumpet player has got it going on too. Nice solos all around, nice groove. Feel like I should be able to get this one but I've got no guesses. Just enjoying it!

Track 5 - @Eric - Oh man, this sounds familiar. I'm sure I know this alto player. I love the interplay between the alto & bass here. This is right up my alley. Sounds like a Black Saint date or something...hmm. OK, wow, the piano-drum duet is fantastic too. Some DeJohnette-ish stuff happening in the drums. It's killing me that I can't get this, so much here sounds familiar. Anxious to find out who this is.

Track 6 - @mjazzg - Oh hell yes, REALLY digging the groove from beat 1! Love this! Hypnotic...and I'm liking the way it builds slowly. Is this two bassists or a bass and a cello? I think maybe the latter. Love that woody sound. Oh yeah, gotta be a cello or something similar. This is just fantastic. Really looking forward to the reveal!

Track 7 - @randyhersom - Ah, I know this one! Fly Me to the Moon, Roy Haynes Quartet from Out of the Afternoon. I just love following Kirk's thought process on this solo-- he's barely tethered to the form at certain points. And Flanagan of course is unsurprisingly great as well, but the primary reason for me buying this record in the first place was Henry Grimes. He and Haynes are not always locked in here, but I do love his soloing on this, and he sounds great throughout the record. Haynes' fours are impeccable. Excellent!

Track 8 - @Rooster_Ties - Pretty much immediately love this. Boy this is sounding a lot like something off Miles' Filles de Killimanjaro album...or no... a bit later. Obviously a strong influence here. Love the overall sound, and the playing of both the tenorist and the trumpet player who both sound recognizable to me but I'm not sure I have a guess. Fantastic bass solo at the end. Very curious about this one.

Track 9 - @sidewinder - I already like where this is going! Nice tune and it's got that great open 70s feeling I love. Damn I love this tenor player! And the whole band is right there. This is outstanding and I need this record... unless I already have it which honestly is very possible.

Track 10 - Well of course, this one is a killer!

@Dan Gould Thanks so much for corralling us all and getting this together. And @tkeith as always for hosting, esp with the PITA situation that arose this month.
 

On 1/31/2024 at 10:00 PM, JSngry said:

@webbcity No surprises, but very pleasant in a non-superficial way. Tenor brings a little sumpinsumpin extra to the game, hello!!! Pianist as well. Sounds like a good date for all!

On 2/24/2024 at 8:10 PM, tkeith said:

@webbcity -- It's got an air of Woody Shaw that makes me happy.  Not Woody, but certainly a capable trumpeter.  I've heard this.  There's a little bit of... slop is too harsh a word... it's imperfect, and that's what is endearing about it.  The musicianship is there, the story is there, but there's no sense that this has been practiced ad nauseam prior to recording it.  There's something very honest about this.  Then the tenor comes in.  Sounds a bit like Lew Tabackin, but it's not up to what the previous players set up.  Hints of David Murray in there, as well, but the execution isn't quite there for me.  Piano puts it back on track.  On the whole, the track is still a win.  Wait, now, about the 5-minute mark, there's a couple of lines that lead me to believe this might just be John Hicks.  Maybe not, but certainly from an adjacent school of thought.  Funny part is, all of the above was written before I realized it was your track (due to the aforementioned shuffle issue).  In hindsight, every word of this makes complete sense.

Veeeeery interesting! @JSngry and others seem to have enjoyed the tenor player on this cut, but he fell a bit short for @tkeith...who I know for a fact happens to love this tenor player.  I guess that could be a hint... for Thom anyway.  

[Dan Gould]

Thanks for jumping in @webbcity. 

[Dub Modal]

Did we discuss how we want to do the reveal? Guessing that will be posted tomorrow.

[Dan Gould]

1 hour ago, Dub Modal said:

Did we discuss how we want to do the reveal? Guessing that will be posted tomorrow.

I plan to post the reveal thread with the answer on my selection.

Other contributors should post at their earliest convenience.  Maybe to make reveals "pop" the contributors should use a larger font?

[mikeweil]

I will find the time to listen only tomorrow - I won't peek.

[Big Al]

On 2/24/2024 at 7:10 PM, tkeith said:

@Big Al

-- This sounds like something else, but I can't figure out what.  And it's overlaid with the music my grandmother used to have going on the radio ("Beautiful music, from the top of Mt. Washington..."), but way hipper.  Tinkling pianist is familiar, but I can't quite get there.  I'm enjoying the hell out of this (which is a feat, because I'm in an absolutely shit mood).  It's fun, it's tasteful, and it's arranged without being overly so.  Big All for the win!

 

I can't tell you how big a smile this put on my face, especially since you weren't crazy about my BFT last year (putting it mildly, LOL) and I didn't stray too far from the overall sound of that BFT. I'm seriously glad you dug this!