BFT 254 Reveal!

[mjzee]

1.  Charlie Parker - Cherokee (Vic Damon Version) (Ray Noble).  Charlie Parker, alto sax; Efferge Ware, guitar; Edward "Little Phil" Phillips, drums.  Vic Damon's Transcription Studios, Kansas City, MO, June 1944.  From the album “Bird In Kansas City” (Verve).  This track was, for me, the revelation on the recent Kansas City album.  Bird is backed by the mysterious Efferge Ware (very little is known about him; I only have him otherwise on three tracks by Harlan Leonard and his Rockets), who provides a lovely chordal cushion.  Bird is relaxed and swings like crazy.  It’s fascinating to compare this to “Koko,” recorded 17 months later.  Bird uses a lot of the same phrases, but by 1945 his sound was frantic and hard edged.

2.  Brian Charette - The Kicker (Joe Henderson).  Brian Charette, organ; Avi Rothbard, guitar; Jordan Young, drums. 2/4/12, 12/3/13.  From the album “Good Tipper” (Positone).  What can you say about a good organ trio?  It’s a lot like a good pastrami sandwich: the thing speaks for itself.  Surprised that more people didn’t recognize the tune, given that Joe Henderson is a favorite on this bulletin board.  Charette is fast becoming a favorite of mine.

 

3. Wilbur Ware - Wilbur's Red Cross (Wilbur Ware).  Don Cherry, trumpet; Clifford Jordan, tenor sax; Wilbur Ware, bass; Ed Blackwell, drums.  January 1968.  Ripped from Clifford Jordan Mosaic box; also available on “Super Bass” (Wilbur Ware Institute).  Not sure how Red Cross became Wilbur’s Red Cross (with Ware taking writing credit); maybe it’s like Gunther Schuller claiming writing credit for "Variants on a Theme of Thelonious Monk (Criss-Cross)” on Jazz Abstractions.  Seems like this track got the most positive response of this BFT.  Glad you liked it.

 

4.  Joe Turner - Well You Needn’t (Thelonious Monk).  Joe Turner, piano.  2/6/76.  From the album “Another Epoch-Stride Piano” (Pablo).  I always got a kick out of the fact that, at one point in 1976, Pablo had two Joe Turners on their roster: the blues shouter and the stride pianist.  This Joe Turner was a contemporary of James P. Johnson, Willie The Lion Smith and Fats Waller.  I recently came across his Pablo album.  Alongside tracks of his contemporaries, I was pleasantly surprised to find this rendition of Monk’s Well You Needn’t.  There was once a PBS documentary about Monk; in it, Randy Weston demonstrated at length that one of the foundations of Monk’s style was stride piano, so this track seemed like a master paying tribute to a progeny.

 

5. Carla Bley - Major (Carla Bley).  Carla Bley, piano; Steve Swallow, bass.  October 1998.  From the album “Are We There Yet?” (Watt/ECM).  Are these all major chords?  Cute tune, perhaps borne from a theoretical exercise.

 

6.  Sam Lazar - Bag's Groove (Milt Jackson).  Sam Lazar, organ; Miller Brisker, tenor sax; Joe Diorio, guitar; Phillip Wilson, drums.  Ter Mar Studios, Chicago, IL, Summer 1962.  From the album “Playback” (Argo).  The mysterious Miller Brisker seemed to get more love from our BFT participants than the leader, but Sam’s OK with me.

 

7.  The Kenny Clarke Trio - Low Life (Johnny Mandel).  Jimmy Gourley, guitar; Lou Bennett, organ; Kenny Clarke, drums.  Koblenz, Germany, 1/3/63.  From the album “Americans In Europe” (Impulse).  I think the track swings, though the organ can sound a little corny.  I was surprised to find Kenny Clarke leading an organ trio.  Gourley was an excellent guitarist.

 

8.  Count Basie - Jive At Five (Basie, Edison).  Milt Jackson, vibes; Count Basie, piano; Joe Pass, guitar; John Heard, bass; Louis Bellson, drums.  Burbank, CA, January 26, 1977.  From the album "Kansas City 5” (Pablo).  May as well go to the master.  Very sweet smooth swing, great tune.

 

9.  Thelonious Monk - Just A Glance At Love (Teo Macero).  Bobby Bryant, Conte Candoli, Freddie Hill, Bob Brookmeyer (trumpet); Lou Blackburn, Bob Bralinger, Billy Byers, Mike Wimberley (trombone); Ernie Small (baritone sax); Gene Cipriano, Buddy Collette, Tom Scott, Ernie Watts, Charlie Rouse (reeds); Thelonious Monk (piano); Howard Roberts (guitar); Larry Gales (bass); Ben Riley (drums); John Guerin (percussion); Oliver Nelson (arranger).  November 19 & 20, 1968.  From the album “Monk's Blues” (Columbia).  I worked hard to find a Monk track that board members would not be familiar with.  This was probably the least favorite track of the BFT, and it’s hard for me to fault that judgement.  But it is interesting to hear Monk not sound like himself.

 

10.  Gary Burton - Blame It On My Youth (Levant, Heyman).  Gary Burton, vibes.  From the album "Easy as Pie” (ECM).  Gary Burton has a sound that I just luxuriate in.

 

11.  John Scofield - You're Still The One (Twain, Lange).  John Scofield, guitar; Larry Goldings, keyboards; Steve Swallow, bass; Bill Stewart, drums.  April 3 & 4, 2016.  From the album “Country For Old Men” (Impulse).  I guess the most controversial track of this BFT.  I think the genesis of this album was Sco’s love of wordplay, but he probably likes this tune more than he cares to admit - listen to the way he caresses the melody, the voice-like way he “sings.”  I remember one time in the late ’90’s, seeing Sco at NYC’s Bottom Line.  I sat pretty close to the stage, and was fascinated by how his left hand barely moved on the fretboard, but dug into each note and phrase.

 

12.  Benny Carter - Tribute To Louis Armstrong: When It's Sleepy Time Down South, Confessin', When You're Smiling (Muse, Rene, Rene; Daugherty, Reynolds, Weiburg; Shay, Fisher, Goodwin).  Cat Anderson, tp, vocal; Joe Newman, tp; Britt Woodman, tb; Benny Carter, as, tp; Budd Johnson, ts, ss; Cecil Payne, bars; Nat Pierce, p; Mundell Lowe, g; George Duvivier, b; Harold Jones, d.  Kosei Nenkin Hall, Tokyo, Japan, 4/29/77.  From the album "'Live And Well In Japan!” (Pablo).  This is one of my “comfort food” albums - there’s not a raw note or bad thought in these grooves.  It’s not nostalgia if it genuinely moves you.  Listen to that audience react!  Kudos to Thom for accurately identifying the audience.

 

Thanks for participating.

[JSngry]

Miller Brisker is a perfect jazz tenor player name!

[JSngry]

IIRC, the first few Newport In New York festivals had nighttime big band dances every night. One of (maybe the only) leaders) was Benny Carter. So that explains that!

[webbcity]

3 hours ago, JSngry said:

Miller Brisker is a perfect jazz tenor player name!

Indeed! Gimme more Miller Brisker! 

Wow, a lot of surprises here. Track 9! 🤯 And now I more clearly understand the motivation for your question about the major chords on the Bley tune! 

Some good stuff here, thanks for putting it together! 

[mjzee]

56 minutes ago, webbcity said:

Indeed! Gimme more Miller Brisker! 

Wow, a lot of surprises here. Track 9! 🤯 And now I more clearly understand the motivation for your question about the major chords on the Bley tune! 

Some good stuff here, thanks for putting it together! 

Look at that band on Track 9!

[JSngry]

Bob Brookmeyer on trumpet!!!!!

[Dan Gould]

I own four of these - the Basie, Lazar (love his organ), Carter and Americans in Europe (but only on vinyl and don't even think I transferred to CDR), and plan to pick up the new Bird by the end of summer.  Probably a record for BFTs and Me, and more support for Thom asking if this one was something I had curated.

Well done  - thank you.