BFT 261 (December 2025) Discussion Thread

[felser]

Here is BFT 261.  Something for everyone (including @Dan Gould for one cut), and my usual boundary stretching and 60's/70's-centric focus.  Looking forward to reading and responding to your impressions and guesses.  Only one cut that is likely to stump everyone (even @rostasi ).  The person with by far the best chance of getting it is @randyhersom (and that's a clue).

https://thomkeith.net/blindfold-tests/2025-blindfold-tests/ 

 

[felser]

Paging @webbcity to give a listen to cut #4.

[Dan Gould]

Your words of the day:

Offensive/Inoffensive.

That's the best way I can describe a Felser compilation.  Listening to his BFTs over many years now, for me it reinforces the "music of my youth" cliche and today I was wondering, if I were his age, and he mine, would we have the same radical differences of opinion, only from a different angle of opposition?  It has to be recognized that the jazz I like was not in any way the music of my youth, but I did come to the music when neobop was in its ascendancy, and my earliest listening was a mixture of classic swing and bop/hard bop. 

Something I pondered while swinging between degrees of offense.  On to the specifics:

TRACK ONE:

I think you had to be there.  Is there a jazz connection here aside from the sort of scat the vocalist briefly attempts? Inoffensive:  **.

TRACK TWO:

Sunrise, Sunset?  After two minutes I want to say NEXT but I did persevere (work emails helped distract).  Is that Elvin?  Piano is better ... I think because it is much harder to make ugly sounds on the piano (if you stick to, you know, the keys).  Offensive: Zero stars.

TRACK THREE:

Not my style of piano.  Inoffensive:  ** 1/2 

TRACK FOUR:

Really had to be there.  What the hell is he singing about?  Offensive: *

TRACK FIVE:

No notes taken, so  ... Inoffensive:  **

TRACK SIX:

See #4, but final evaluation is Inoffensive:  **

TRACK SEVEN:

Oh hell no. Offensive: Zero stars.

TRACK EIGHT:

Following up one of the worst with the track for me?  Is this a Cedar tune? Hutch? I don't think its his regular partner Mr. Land on tenor. 

Neither offensive nor inoffensive - *** 1/2 (1/2 star removed for the congas which rarely thrill me that much)

TRACK NINE:

When the band came in .... I went out.  Offensive:  Zero stars.

TRACK TEN:

Wait a sec this is obviously the Dan selection.  Doesn't thrill me the way Gene would.  ***

TRACK ELEVEN:

More vocals I have a hard time understanding ... Inoffensive:  **

 

Thanks Mr. Felser and remember, if you were offended by offensive/inoffensive, you always get the last word since my BFT follows yours.  

[felser]

Thanks Dan, I'm a (Philadelphia) Eagles fan, and Jalen and Saquon say we don't do offense anymore, so none taken!  I'm 11 years older than you, which music-industry-wise is a lifetime (Woodstock vs. MTV), with music probably holding a very different meaning to my youth than it did to yours.  My earliest jazz listening (1972, first semester of college) was John Coltrane, Miles Davis, and Blue Note.

tracks #1 and #4 - I was there.

track #2 - the pianist is a favorite of mine.

track #8 - Not Hutch or Land, not  written by Cedar, or Hutch.  But a well known tune (though not in this version).

Thanks as always for your good-natured feedback - I even read it to my wife!  And I'm sure many will breathe a sigh of relief (and some will re-engage in the BFT process) when you're up in January.