Joe

A good chunk of this BFT goes back to that late March drive to and from Houston.

I can say no more re: track 1. You're warm on 5... but the question becomes which territory? 9 dates from about the time of the initial release of "Close Encounters of the Third Kind," actually... And, though you did not provide a film analogy for 22, there is a cinematic connection there. Thanks for auditioning these tracks!

Hi all. All tracks (including DLs) are available here: http://slowstudies.net/bft111/ Enjoy! J

Thanks for listening! No comment on the comment on 1 You know, I'd not thought about the tenor player on 2 showing an Ervin influence, but I sure hear it now. Though his time is just a shade different from Booker's... again, IMO, the key to identifying this track is the trumpet player. I'm not familiar with Tony Holland, or at least I'm not recognizing the name. Anthony Holland, who played with A. Spencer Barefield and the Griot Galaxy? Care to say more about what you are hearing herein? (And, yea, I love this track and the entire LP from which its been pulled.) 23 is almost certainly the most obscure track included on this BFT.

8, 9 and 10... wow! Extremely happy to have all that info. And 12, too! (BTW, I liked the Krakauer, though I'm surprised to learn this date appeared on Label Bleu and not Tzadik.)

My pleasure! And thanks for your thoughts. 2 features at least one rather familiar name, and one, if I may, "cult favorite." For me, this track is all about how the trumpet player states the theme. 4... in all honesty, I did not know about the Three Dog Night version of this tune. Must now hear it for myself. 11 is of more recent vintage than that, but Hubbard's CTI dates do provide a touchstone I'd not previously considered. 13's temperament is indeed a bit challenging. I'm not sure this approach would work except in miniature. 20 is also of more recent vintage. Within that context, the identities of the organ player and percussionist may come as a surprise to some. 21: tonality, tonality, tonality! I like the notion of this alto player connecting with Von Freeman (though this alto player is associated with the fertile scene in a city that's not Chicago). Really looking forward to more comments on 10 and 12! Best, J

More good (early) Jodie Christian to be heard on this set...

Axesome!

Have not been active at the Speakeasy for some (many?) years now; discussion of new music there was almost always vibrant and insightful. Do hope to see some familiar names / faces join up here.

a-HA! "Distraction In The Coop" by Hen Gates with Peck Morrison. I KNEW it! Amazing detective work!

Absolutely not! If anyone has not yet done so, consider this a plug for Its a good'un. What with the holiday weekend, travel, etc., I had to let this hen out while I could. Don't let it peck you to distraction, though.

It's time! To listen and / or download, please visit: http://slowstudies.net/bft111/ As per usual, no theme here other than these are selections drawn from my recent listening. (That said, if you have an aversion to Fender Rhodes or non-piano keyboards in general, consider this an advance warning.) There are chains of association strewn all across these 25 diverse tracks -- self-indulgent, I know; but my weak defense is that many of these tracks are relatively short... by "jazz standards" -- but far from every association is clear / apparent even to me. (Assembling one of these typically sends me into a kind of waking DJ Dream state.) I'm not out to trick listeners... well, not too much... either, rather offer enjoyment, divert, and surprise. So, above all, have fun. Or at least use this BFT as a means of shaking off the dust of every-day life. Looking forward to the chatter. Ciao, J

Not a repertoire I typically associate with Warne Marsh... intriguing...

There's not one selection here I failed to enjoy. Copied below my listening notes, very warty. I tried not to agonize too much over identifying musicians and to concentrate instead on my manners of habits of listening. Greatly looking forward to the reveal. 1 -- The conception feels familiar, but the trumpet player's voice does not.. the occasional rasp, the use of vibrato here and there as a filigree, almost Mogie-like (mid-60's Morgan, after he started relying more and more on tricky lipping and vocal effects, some of which I swear he adapted from Kenny Dorham)… there's a nice, dark center to this player's tone as well, one that almost makes me think this is a flugelhorn… the bass sound says 70s / early 80s… (Whoa, did not see that guitar coming!) This player does not want for technique. Really like the tumbling quality of some of the phrases in the fours with the drummer. Could very well be a player of an generation older than Morgan, or Hubbard, or Charles Sullivan. Could this be Idrees Sulieman or Howard McGhee? Maybe even Louis Smith? Has to be someone who could burn like Smith could. 2 -- Monk's Mood, but not Monk. Monk would never play the middle phrase of the melody quite like that… not that this pianist rushes it, but he or she definitely is moving to a different pulse. And the bridge feel "classed up" to me, that is, played with a kind of classical pianist's sense of organization and dynamics… I mean, the solo is kind of far out in that respect… Something in the articulation says Bud Powell to me, but I don't think so. And what is the second theme? Not a performance with which I'm familiar, but I'm certainly intrigued. 3 -- One thing I love about really good early jazz is how otherworldly it can feel. And when the clarinet player here solos… what an amazingly elastic, electric sound. Sound might even find it grotesque. With that in mind, is this Johnny Dodds? Love the way, too, ensembles emerge, break apart, and recombine in performances like this. 4 -- Feels like the trombonist's band, by virtue, perhaps, of the way in which the performances has been recorded. Even though the clarinet takes the first solo, which does stray into some Pee Wee Russell-esque territory there in the final bars. Would like to hear more from the pianist… the left hand more than than the right! 5 -- The guitarist's palette and and the Middle Eastern-isms of this intro make we wonder if we are not within John Zorn's orbit. And with the entry of the clarinet and rhythm, I feel we must be. But there's no kitsch leavening this intensity, at least not to my ears. I wonder now about the relationship between the 3 clarinets in tracks 3, 4 and 5. If 3 is Johnny Dodds, could 4 be Bob Wilber (or someone of his generation)? Whoever this clarinet player is, obviously, jazz provides only one frame of reference; I like his (or her) ears. My real interest, though, lies in whoever is playing accordion. 6 -- Not a groove that can be easily replicated, maybe because no one uses percussionists quite like this anymore. Tenor player has real "snap" to his notes / phrases, even when he runs off a Coltrane lick. Is he coming back? Trumpet solo seems a bit weak, not as in the pocket as it could be. I like the little organ interlude before the guitar solo… so this is a bandleader willing to vary the formula. With that in mind, I'm going to guess Charles Earland. Also, there's some Larry Young in his solo, so it almost certainly has to be Earland. Or Leon Spencer. But I don't know of any live Spencer recordings. Anyway, the rest of the band? (Tight, BTW.) Wait, this organ solo has entered some pretty strange territory. I like it: counter-intuitive, if what you want is a capital S Solo, but still funky. More about shapes than lines, if that makes any sense. And given the tools with which he or she is working, why not? 7 -- OK, I had to listen to that intro several times over… Monk-ish, right, or am I just kidding myself? Which makes the vocal that follows all the more, uh, surprising. Modern in its harmonies and outlook, intelligent, elegant yet oblique at times (the band's punctuation of the vocal melody), but not "modern jazz" in that its beholden to bebop. Is that Lee Konitz? Sounds a bit like Konitz on a cough syrup jag (not a bad thing at all)? Could be the Thornhill band, whose repertoire I don't know as well as I should. Bu the more I listen, the more I hear evidence of Gil Evans… those closing chords… 8 -- The alto player has me stumped, though I really like his / her tone, approach, the whole package. Both the pianist and trumpet player (gets a little fussy, though, yes?) are wise, I think, to let the alto be the dominate voice. The tune's structure almost couldn't be simpler, and yet the drummer especially finds all sorts of ways to generate material of new interest. As original as the alto player is -- I want to say Oliver Lake, but I know its not -- the drummer might be the MVP of this performance. 9 -- Under all the embellishment, a tune I feel like I should know. And the tenor reminds me why: "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes." So there is a kind of Monk theme to this BFT. Let's hear that intro again… very nice, and reminds me of Don Friedman in his approach to standard material. Tenor sounds very, very, very indebted to Coltrane. Dave Liebman? Steve Grossman? More emotional heft, IMO, than either of those players. Wow, this pianist really sounds like Don Friedman, but I know its not. The lines aren't quite the same; this player does more to vary line lengths, and the long lines don;t have quite the same logic as Friedman's. I like this little disappearing act he or she tries to pull around the 5 minute mark… and now, all of a sudden, whoever it is sounds very much like Keith Jarrett. Hmmmm… As much as this is the pianist's performance, I bet he or she isn't the leader here. Ditto the tenor player. 10 -- Soprano sax, guitar and organ? This has to be Sidney Bechet, yes? Or a master of Bechet's caliber. My favorite vibrato, period. Lovely performance, oddly forlorn, or like an unused romantic interlude from a M. Hulot film (I'm erring now on the side of this being Bechet with a French group.) Beyond that, I know nothing. 11 -- The theme feels very Ornette, but the performance itself is something else. A real sour quality to the saxophonist's tone. My first thought was that this is Marion Brown. Tone (just that little bit of extra air), phrasing, conception all say Marion Brown to me. But the drummer is throwing me off. Said trappist is either a moonlighting Keith Moon or Han Bennink… or someone else equally interested in provocation. If this is Brown and Bennink, then I am guessing this is from PORTO NOVO, a record I have not listened to in a long, long time, in part because I found the recording quality too harsh and an impediment to my enjoyment. I may need to correct myself. 12 -- Rock and roll! I mean, the real stuff. Who's kicking all those marching saints in the ass with his (or her) baritone sax? For once in my life, I feel like I am, indeed, among the many embraced in the term "everybody." 13 -- Pops! (So, in think for connections back to the previous track… could that be Danny Barker on vocals? I only know his late 80's SAVE THE BONES, but I know he made tons of recordings over the years). Ah, but what era of Pops. And who is in the All-Stars at this time? Very nice… a little buttoned-down (so surely this is later Pops) but he still does some marvelous stuff in delivering this lyric… I like the hint of lasciviousness on the bridge… This tune ends up getting more than it deserves, right? 14 -- Jonathan and Darlene Edwards / Paul Weston and Jo Stafford. Genius. Its hard to appreciate at first, but it is extremely difficult to play this stuff so thoroughly wrong (quotation marks around wrong optional). I mean, if not for the instantly recognizable lyrics, couldn't this be a completely new composition. And now I'm able to go back and finally read everyone else's observations and guesses.

Only available in rose (with Trucoat®), I'm afraid. Will do. "Live" tracks and DL's will be available from a single web page... full details Friday (5/24)!

Another vote for this. Would be especially nice to have his 40's discography straightened out.

You got it!

There is a greater than 0% probability of said inclusion. (Though the advisedness, much less the broaditude, of the audience in question is a matter of point-of-view...)

Perhaps... it ain't all jazz, or jass, for that matter.

Late to the party, but I would love access to a download provided one's still available.

... is on the horizon. Please check back here in a couple of days for additional information. As in the past (68; 87), tracks will be available on a "streaming" basis online, and listeners will also have access to a digital download of the "album" itself. I would prefer not to make and mail discs unless absolutely, 100% necessary. However, if you do wish to apply for a hardship exemption drop me a PM and we can discuss. Looking forward! Ciao; best, J

Love that cover photo!

Paul was (not sure about is) a great bass player, and a historically important one at that. He had bigger ears than he's often given credit for ("Carnival of Light"). But I can't quite imagine him jamming with this trio...

Not my favorite -- I can't pick one; his discography is just too diverse -- but I will say that THIS DANCE IS FOR STEVE MCCALL is some rather under-rated Roscoe... http://www.allmusic.com/album/this-dance-is-for-steve-mccall-mw0000621807