(1) This drummer feels familiar. Something about the crispness of the accents. And that turnaround or fill he plays… where have I encountered this groove before? (Vocal kicks in.) Ah, its the Headhunters. With or without Herbie? Not sure. But that’s Mike Clark drumming and, I suppose, singing. Bennie Maupin doing Bennie Maupin things. I totally forgot about this record.
(2) This starts out sounding like the Taj Mahal Travellers or something… ring modulated violin? Certainly sounds like a stringed instrument. “Hey Jude” I was not expecting, nor the brass. The sensibility says Carla Bley, but I can’t be sure. It might not be irreverent enough. (Trumpet solo with echo/delay) Ah, I think this might be a Don Ellis venture. Whatever it is, its a trip! (The late 60s truly were the golden age of ring mod. See also: Annette Peacock.) Yet somehow this is also carrying a certain progressive big band tradition forward.
(3) The vibrato and color of the tenor sounds a bit like Stan Getz. Could this be from his Burt Bacharach record? I don’t recognize the tune, but it has the outlines of a pop song. Bouncy but relaxed. The solo is as soaring as you might expect / hope from Getz during this era… if it’s Getz. But it almost has to be!
(4) No idea! But I like the “shadowing” of guitar and bass on the intro. What relationship does this have, if any, to Ellington’s “Star-Crossed Lovers”? (Instrumental break.) Ah, well, I guess it actually a cover / reinterpretation of same. Intriguing! The rap here feels less like the point that the ostensibly background vocal. I’m betting I’ll be saying “of course” once these names are named! Also, nice beat - VERY 90s.
(5) This feels “programmed” in a good way. The audio is warbly / crunchy in a J. Dilla kind of way. But how much is sampled? And who is this vocalist? (2:40.) This make me think this might be a remix. But of who? I’m just not up enough on my contemporary jazz vocalists to say. But whoever this is has got a little more soul (music) in him than, say, your Mark Murphy types. (No offense to Mark Murphy.) He’s no Marvin Gaye, but there’s something about how he plays wihin his pretty wide vocal range that evokes Marvin. Will be interested to learn who this is? Props to the bass player too!
(6) Milt Buckner? Tonally, maybe, but this player has a different relationship to the beat. Slippery! Something tells me this is a player who may be more at home in avant settings. Those changes under the sax soloist actually sound pretty Sun Ra-lke to me. And the sax soloist’s articulation sounds kinda Gilmore-like, too. If this is Ra, Its from a record I don’t know at all. Gotta listen to this one again and just listen to the bass pedals! Landing stuck… maybe not.
(7) The synth is really throwing me off in the sense that the horn players sound so familiar but this seems like the “wrong” (I just mean unexpected) setting for them. Is this late period Eddie Harris? He sounds like he’s laboring a bit here and there. (2:15-ish.) Those licks sure sound Sonny-like, but by way of Joe Henderson. The presence of trombone makes me think this might be Sonny with Clifton Anderson. There is a lot of bop in this line. Why am I not trusting that this is Sonny? Because I don’t really know his 80s and 90s records, but I’m going to say its Sonny in chameleon mode. Honestly, this is a bit of a mess, but its weirdly tight, too. (5:20-ish.) Gotta be Sonny!
(8) Pizzicato! Gary McFarland? Its certainly odd enough to be McFarland, and I do hear vibes. The writing for the string section is particularly out there. How long has this subverting of genres been going on? This drummer is shuffling to the beat of another, um, drummer for sure. And what is going on the last minute here? Now it's almost a different tune! Trombone… Kai Winding. It has a distinct mid-60s Verve vibe for sure. I suppose it could also be one of those JJ Johnson RCAs from about the same time. I don't know them, but I seem to recall they feature larger bands. I look forward to being surprised by the reveal on this one.
EDIT: OK, I could not help myself and had to do some sleuthing on this. DO NOT CLICK HERE UNLESS YOU DON'T MIND SPOILERS!
(9) The Godfather! And so we kind of come half-full circle to another funky drummer. Interesting to compare / contrast the BPM of this track with the first one. To paraphrase Jimi Hendrix: if 76 were 74. I think I might have slept on John Morgan. Jamming of the highest order. I mean, the way these classic JB tracks ebb and flow but maintain a consistent intensity.
A joyful note on which to end a joyful BFT!
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