Big Al

Happy birthday big guy! Friday birthdays are the best!

Desmond RCA, arranged in chronological order. Kinda fascinating, actually.

I almost guessed Billy, too. "Where's your messiah NOW??? Yeah... yeah... where's your Moses now, see? Let my people go NOW! Yeah... yeah.... where's your Moses... NNNNOWWW????"

What a great story! Thanks for sharing that!

Firesign Theater? I was actually gonna guess this if my non-white/Sammy Davis path didn't pan out.

I was also thinking of that Spike Lee movie ("Bamboozled?"), something like that.

Indeed. The fact that he was married for 70 years - and in the profession he was in - says an awful lot about the man. Amen to all of the above. God bless Dave Brubeck. Like Clifford said earlier, just because it's inevitable doesn't make it any easier when it happens. RIP

Is it Sammy Davis Jr then? Worked beautifully in the car, especially tracks 7 & 8. GREAT driving music!!!

Hey Dan, on second thought, maybe don't go through with it: my first BFT didn't have 21 tracks on it!

Was listening to the BFT on the drive home tonight and it occurred to me that the performer of track 5 is neither old, nor Jewish, nor (and this is what makes this track so funny) pale in complexion. RIGHT???

Al, great minds think alike - I was considering recycling all my old BFTs into a new one, while preserving the sequencing. BFT1 Track 1 BFT2 Track 2 BFT3 Track 3 BFT4 Track 4 Lather, rinse, repeat. And I was going to give the "theme" away up front: "What's Old Is New". If anyone figured it out, they'd come off as a BFT savant. I beg you, please do this so that I can finally bat 1000% on one of these things!

Al, Sheri said it sounded like the stuff I play "all the time." I took offense! lol

Are you sure the music being played on "Parks & Rec" was Goodman & Davis? Sounded like a Pharoah Sanders bit to me....

Ahhhh, a JSngry BFT! Fitting it’s in December, because without even listening to it, I know I’m in for goodies not unlike the kinds the man in the big red suit brings every year to good little boys & girls like me! See, we have a UPS driver who dresses in red every December…. Track 1: This put SUCH a big smile on my face!!! Sounds like Lambert Hendricks & Ross doing a commercial for somebody. Love it!!! Track 2: Sounds like Stevie Wonder’s backing group (or, heck, could be Stevie himself playing all those instruments) with Syreeta on vocals. This sounds like something one might hear on 730 AM KKDA! May just try to run this through some of kinda audio-futzer to replicate that lovely AM sound! Ah hah! There’s the jazz connection: that’s Wayne Shorter on soprano, I’d know some of those lovely licks anywhere! You can’t fool me on THIS one! Track 3: Crusaders!!!! Or a reasonable facsimile!!! Oh... well, don’t know they ever used any singers. BUT, same comment for track 2 applies here: I feel like I’m driving around town with 730 AM on the radio dial! Some serious SOUL goin’ on here! Ooooooooooh, I am SUCH a sucker for that 70’s-synth solo going on there. I’d like to say it’s Styx but Dennis DeYoung only dreams of being this soulful. (Heh! See what I did there? Incorporating the lyrics into my guess there? Hoo hah!) Track 4: Listening to this at work may have been a mistake cuz I needs to GET UP & GET DOWN!!! This puts me in mind of George Benson’s BODY TALK and sounds like it coulda been an outtake from those sessions. And DAMN if that drummer ain’t trying to pull a DeJohnette on me, which is gonna sound even sillier if it really IS DeJohnette. I think I can get away with saying it ain’t Benson simply because the fidelity sounds too recent and.... Ooooohhhhh, a bari sax! Now that’s just DIRTY!!! Trying to mix up the sound of 60’s-Columbia Benson with 70’s-CTI Benson!!! I LOVE IT!!!!! Only four minutes??? I gotta figure out a way to make this a constant uninterrupted loop of GROOOVE!!!! Track 5: Great! I love the old Vaudevillains, those old stories, and I tell ya: I never realized until now just how accurate those old cartoons were in their impersonations of the great Jolie! Plus, I like that it’s programmed right after that funktastic groove of track 4 for me to catch my breath! Thanks for sharing this, man! Track 6: Would you believe the first person I thought of was Johnny Mathis? I dunno, it just has that wonderful controlled vibrato nicely mellowed with age. What do I know? Track 7: Rrrrrrrrrrrrright back to the groove!!!! I’m not even listening to the singer, so I’m not even gonna hazard a guess. That band! THAT FREAKIN’ BAND!!!!! I want them as MY backing band!!! Track 8: Or THIS band!!! Wild guess here: Jerome Richardson on the flute! This sounds like his kinda groove. Oh... my.... gosh.... Could that really be Sam Rivers playing over a fat-ass groove like this??? Oops, false alarm. Nah, gonna go with Joe Farrell on the tenor now that it’s gotten past the initial squawk. Hmmm..... Clark Terry? Guessing Diz would be too easy, since this isn’t as flamboyant as I generally associate with Diz, and it has that nice easy riding-the-groove that I love Clark Terry for! Track 9: A Ray Charles-Aretha Franklin commercial for Coke? I am HIGHLY offended and will NEVER listen to another Ray Charles or Aretha Franklin record EVER!!!! This is because I am a lifelong Pepsi drinker (and I have the pictures to prove it!) and hoped they woulda had better taste than this. But, hey, I understand you gotta pay the band, so... Track 10: What is this, a standard bop tune on a Blindfold Test? Whattya think this is, a JAZZ forum or something??? Sheesh!!!! Okay, okay, all kidding a-snide, (I kid a lot. Ask Jim R. He’s a big kidder (not to mention a big kid!), too.) Well, that just flew by in a matter of minutes, was this another commercial? Maybe THIS was the Pepsi commercial! Maybe that’s Fathead breaking away from the band to earn some extra bread from the Pepsi people! Maybe all these years of Pepsi drinking has destroyed what few brain cells I have remaining and you all are the unfortunate sufferers! The truly SILLY thing about this is that this track ended two minutes ago and I’m still commenting on it!!! Track 11: Fuzz-vibes!!! I love it! Jim, can you show me how they do this before next fall? Next year is my son’s senior year of high school and marching band, and I wanna go out in a blaze of glory and wire all the marimbas, vibes, & xylophones to get that desired Hendrix effect with feedback & distortion galore. Plus, I dig the Four Freshman cameo there. This sounds like something that mighta come out on Chisa or Blue Thumb back in the day. I’m not even sure that’s a guitar, but if’n it IS, then I’m gonna guess Joe Beck. Or Sonny Sharrock. Or Phil Upchurch. Track 12: Nice band, annoying vocalist. Actually, I take it back: the trumpeter sounds like Wynton trying to do his faux-Tricky Sam Nanton. The only thing that keeps me from saying this is one of Wynton’s Ellington rip-off units is that guitar intro. Wynton with a guitar? Track 13: Will do! Track 14: Now THIS sounds like Fathead, what with the reaches into the upper register like that. Nice way to end a BFT! Man, this one wore me out, but in a good way!!! This one was so good, I feel sorry for the poor bastard who has to follow this BFT in January! Oh, CRAP!!!!

Giving this the 2012 bump since I figure Jim's busy with touring, recording, family.... not necessarily in that order. Happy holiday listening!

Thanks, Dan! Anyone seeking a copy can just drop me a PM. I'm glad folks are still enjoying it!

5. Quincy Jones?

That is correct! I overheard this CD in Prospero's Books in Kansas City, a small, independently owned used book store, and asked the owner if I could buy his copy. He had a whole stack of them behind the counter. Egad!!! Don't ya just love stumbling over stuff like this? I love it when that happens!!!

So close! Congratulations ss1!!!

More thoughts on track 8: someone earlier mentioned Osie Johnson on the drums; was that a correct guess? Could this be Howard Rumsey on the bass? It kinda has that Lighthouse All-Stars feeling, or maybe those two 10" records that Osie put out that are nicely collected on a Fantasy CD whose name escapes me but reminds me that I need to order it before I die.

And I wish they would, too. It's such a lovely BFT!!!

Drat! Wait, so this isn't the exact same track what was on JSngry's BFT? Of course I'll defer if I'm wrong, but there were so many times I had to keep checking my player because I thought I'd somehow switched BFT's!

Oh boy THIS was SO much fun!!!! Of course, I don't know anything, which makes it that much more fun for all ages! Track 1: Recent vintage of an old tune. I hate when I hear a melody I should be able to identify but can’t. I love this track though! Excitement abounds! Track 2: Wow! I like this line-up: sounds like two trombones, a tenor, and a rhythm section with guitar instead of piano! Sign me up NOW!!! Gonna guess Arnett Cobb on the tenor just cuz that’s the first thing that came to mind, not because I know any better! Oh, I guess there is a piano after all. Have I mentioned how clueless I am when it comes to these things? Hmmm.... Spare piano.... Basie or a reasonable facsimile? Track 3: LOOOOOOOOVE this sound! Oh, what is that riff the trombones are playing? My my my, that bridge is delicious!!! Simply MUST seek this out!!!! Track 4: Ptah, I gotta give you credit for holding out this long before unloading the skronk!!! I still can’t listen to it, though. Track 5: A groove like this for ten minutes? Bring it, baby!!! Oh boy, it did! It stayed on that groove, the solos were warm & tasty like comfort food, no sudden tempo changes, no squawking anythings, etc. Ohhhhhhhh yeah, gonna be listening to this again A BUNCH!!! Wait... where did that reverbbed guitar come from??? That just makes me wanna jump up and yell OH YEAHHH!!!! Track 6: sounds like a Freddie Hubbard CTI. If it is, then my CTI knowledge just took a massive hit to the ego, because I thought I knew ‘em all. Oh geez, that piano riff sounds SO familiar. It’s gotta be from SKY DIVE or POLAR AC. One of the two, and I clearly haven’t listened to either one as closely as I thought. {{{groan}}} Track 7: Ha! You think you’re so smart, thinking you’ll put this on here and everyone’s gonna think it’s Pres, but I know it’s not! I know it’s the Vice Pres! And that’s Freddie Greene! And this is from that Verve Elite that combined the 12” and the 10” that drew from a slew of sessions into a nice compact package! And that’s Jimmy Jones on the piano! And I’m too lazy to look up track names or album names. Which means if I’m wrong about any of this, then I’m gonna feel awful silly about the above display of braggadocio! Track 8: Sounds like it could ALSO be from the aforementioned Vice Pres disc, but it actually reminds of me of something from the Illinois Jacquet Verve Elite. If I’m wrong, then it’s all good cuz I need to give that a spin, and then find out who THIS is and see if it’s available anywhere! I love this sound: small group sounding a lot bigger than it really is! Gimme this ANY day of the week!!!! NOTE TO SELF: seems to me that Mercury put out a lotta great small-group records like this back in the late-40’s/early-50’s: the aforementioned Quinichette record & Jacquet record, then there were the Terry Gibbs Big Band records they put out. I need to investigate this further!!! Track 9: is that a banjo being played like a sitar? Whatta groove! Okay, now it’s starting to get a little weird. Maybe some Yusef Lateef? Ahhhhh, what is that, an autoharp? Or Ahmed Abdul-Malik? Track 10: Nice, but I wish I had the faculties to be able to tell one solo piano from another. I know it’s not Fats Waller, Jelly Roll Morton, Fatha Hines, Teddy Wilson, or Art Tatum. Do I get points for knowing who it ain’t? Track 11: Ahhhh, nice intro, don’t let me down! Oh, this is pretty. Very lovely cello playing so far. Loving the guitar accompaniment! Wishing it wasn’t so loud here at the office so I could hear this better, must listen later with headphones or something. Is it a Jacques Louissier (sp?) thing? Oh boy, now that the full band is in full swing, this just took on a whole ‘nother level of fun! Track 12: Wow! Sounds like mid-90’s vintage. It’s clichéd, but in all the right places so as to be completely fun & free-wheeling! Sounds like everyone’s having a good time just playing the blues! Can’t argue with that! Track 13: This must be a first: a track from a previous BFT reappearing on a subsequent BFT. This first appeared on JSngry’s BFT #4 from AGES ago, Count Basie’s “K.C. Stride!” Funny thing is, I actually contemplated making my next BFT nothing but tracks from previous BFT’s just to see if anyone was paying attention. Does anyone else give those old BFT’s a regular spin? I know I do! There’s a vast treasure trove of great music on those collections! Track 14: Where oh where is the Duke playing this? Duke live is ALWAYS a good thing! I love this arrangement, the version with which I’m familiar can also be found on the PIANO IN THE BACKGROUND album! Track 15: Started out good enough, but.... I dunno, did a cross-breeze knock everyone’s music off their stands and they just decided to wing it from there on out? Track 16: Solo guitar. MUCH love! Pat Metheny? Geez, Ptah, maybe I’ve been wrong about you this whole time! Now I feel so bad for all the grief I ever gave you about noisy music, I’m thinking I may need to change the course of action for MY BFT coming up in January. Or not. THIS, my man, will be getting regular multiple listens! One for the ages & all that!

Back in the early daze of the BFT*, my very first BFT came with a special bonus** Christmas BFT, which got quite a favorable response (especially since the BFT occurred in August***). Since then, I've made the BFT available as a download for those who haven't heard it or lost their copy or want to drive annoying people out of their house for the holidays. So, with that in mind and since JSngry has specifically said there will be NO HOLIDAY SONGS on his BFT, reply here or shoot me**** a PM and I'll get you taken care of. Guaranteed stress-free***** Christmas****** music.******* *1922 **Not sure how accurate this word is: everyone got one whether they wanted it or not. Thankfully, most everyone wanted it. Or they're good at lying about it. ***I'm lying. It really was December. I just thought it would be a good joke. Apparently, I'm neither good at lying nor coming up with a good joke! ****Not in the literal sense, PLEASE! *****All except the last song. That one drove a few people nuts. Just warning you. ******To address those who are easily offended, the reason I referred to this as "Christmas" music and not "holiday" music is because "holiday" music implies it could be played for any holiday, and these are all Christmas-specific songs. That said, if you really wanna be radical, I suppose you could play this music at your next Memorial Day gathering, or your 4th of July party, or your Boxing Day suarez. All I ask is that you take pictures of the resulting bloodshed. *******There's nothing significant. I'm just having fun with footnotes.