Big Al Posted January 14, 2005 Report Posted January 14, 2005 (edited) All answers, conjectures, slanders, alibis, and various other ramblings are from the heart. I claim no superior jazz knowledge, and will gladly eat crow if the situation calls for it. Also, this writer assumes no responsibility for anyone falling asleep on their keyboard as a result of the answers below. I may never get a chance to write anyone’s liner notes, so this may be my only shot. So there! That said, hear we go!!!! Track 1: The Warner Bros. Orchestra, Carl Stalling, conductor - It Had to Be You (excerpt from Book Revue, (1945)) From That’s All Folks: Cartoon Songs from Merrie Melodies and Looney Tunes (Recording date unknown, but I would guess sometime in 1944-45, as that's when the cartoon came out) Many of you commented that this track set the tone for this BFT, and that’s just what I was hoping for! Merrie Melodies and Looney Tunes are what got me into jazz in the first place. Carl Stalling was a brilliant arranger, and the way he could get that Orchestra to swing was pure magic to this little boy’s ears! As a side note, Book Revue is, IMHO, one of the funniest wildest cartoons ever made, with Mel Blanc doing a great scat halfway thru the picture! Wanna get your kids hooked on jazz? Start ‘em here!!! Track 2: Terry Gibbs Dream Band – The Big Cat From Dream Band, Volume 5: The Big Cat (Recorded January 1961) Terry Gibbs-vibes Joe Maini, Charlie Kennedy-alto saxes Richie Kamuca, Bill Perkins-tenor saxes Jack Nimitz-bari sax Al Porcino, Ray Triscari, Conte Candoli, Stu Williamson, Frank Huggins-trumpets Frank Rosolino, Vern Friley, Bob Edmondson-trombones Pat Moran-piano Buddy Clark-bass Mel “The Tailor” Lewis-drums (players in bold represent the soloists) It’s a shame this band didn’t last longer than it did, for this is one of the most exciting recordings (if not THE most exciting recording) of one of the hottest big bands going in the late 50’s & early 60’s. Everything clicks on this one, from the delirious playing and leading by Gibbs, to the rip-roaring solos, to the huge climax that almost wraps things up (dig the way the trombones just “wow” behind everything!), but instead leads to yet ANOTHER frenetic vamp which Gibbs just dances over. The hootin’ & hollerin’ by the band is extremely contagious! This is my favorite big band record, and the liner notes—penned by Jack Tracy—are, IMHO, the funniest and contagiously inviting album liners this side of a Paul Desmond record! Track 3: The Oscar Pettiford All Stars – Not So Sleepy Currently available on John Coltrane: The Bethlehem Years (Recorded October 1957) Donald Byrd-trumpet John Coltrane-tenor sax Frank Rehak-trombone Gene Quill-alto sax Al Cohn-bari sax Eddie Costa-piano Freddie Green-guitar Oscar Pettiford-bass Philly Joe Jones-drums Originally part of an album simply called Winner’s Circle, but padded to this collection in yet another Keepnewsian move to keep otherwise interesting material indefinitely unavailable. But that wasn’t why I put this track on here; I originally wanted to showcase one of my all-time favorite musicians: Freddie Green. No matter what he’s playing on, he adds a nice shade of rhythm to whatever he plays, and even though he’s not always audible, you can tell when he ISN’T there. Sometimes I think having Freddie Green in the rhythm section makes all the difference in the world. But after listening to this track a few times, two other things revealed themselves: first of all, for my money, there is no greater drummer for big bands of the 50’s and 60’s than Philly Joe Jones. At times sounding like an entire orchestra by himself, he gets such a full, rich sound that just opens up the music. In fact, I wish OP had used PJJ on all the other tracks that were from this session; not to knock Ed Thigpen, another wonderful drummer, but Philly’s sound is just so sweet! (I know he bored some of you guys on this track; ah well, different tastes!) And second, Donald Byrd plays in that gloriously full tone of his that he seemed to abandon after a while. For some reason, that late 50’s/early 60’s sound of his just warms my ears! Sorta reminds me of Blue Mitchell, come to think of it! Track 4: Six Flats Unfurnished – Benny Goodman Orchestra From Volume 3: All the Cats Join In (Recorded July 27, 1942) Benny Goodman-clarinet, leader Jimmy Maxwell, Lawrence Stearns, Tony Faso-trumpets Lou McGarity, Charlie Castaldo-trombones Hymie Schertzer, Clint Neagly-alto saxes Jon Walton, Leonard Sims-tenor saxes Bob Poland-bari sax Mel Powell-piano Dave Barbour-guitar Cliff Hall-string bass Hud Davies-drums Richard Maltby-arranger There are a number of reasons I included this track: First, Benny Goodman’s Orchestra was another giant stepping stone in my journey thru jazz. I’ve always dug the way his orchestra played those fantastic Fletcher Henderson charts. And this particular CD was one of my very first jazz CDs, long before I even fully got into this music, back in the summer of ‘89. That was a particularly happy summer for me, and a lot of those memories are attached to this disc. Some fifteen summers later, it still gets regular airplay in my house! Second, I wanted to see if anyone could pick out a Benny Goodman track despite the fact that the leader has no solo during the song! In fact, he’s barely audible! The liner notes indicate that the tenor solo is played by Jon Walton (BTW, does anyone know if Leonard Sims is any relation to Zoot?), who, according to Goodman, “died too young.” Wonder what kind of impact he might’ve had if he’d lived. Kudos to MartyJazz for seeing right thru my little scheme! And third, this is my small tribute to my Gramma, who not only loved the big bands (and is a HUGE reason why I love this stuff in the first place), but she enjoyed a song by the arranger of this song, Richard Maltby. The song she always enjoyed was called “Kiss Me Again.” I’ve never heard the song, and even up to her death in 1997, I was still searching for this song! Pity she didn’t live to see the full digital revolution, as it might’ve been easier to locate it then! In any event, this song is my way of saying, “Thanks, Gwamma!” Track 5: Kinda Dukish-Rockin’ in Rhythm – Duke Ellington From Piano in the Background (Recorded June 20, 1960) Andres Merenghito (Fats Ford), Willie Cook, Eddie Mullens, Ray Nance-trumpets Britt Woodman, Booty Wood, Lawrence Brown-trombones Johnny Hodges-alto sax Russell Procope-alto sax, clarinet Jimmy Hamilton-tenor sax, clarinet Paul Gonsalves-tenor sax Harry Carney-bari sax, bass clarinet Duke Ellington-piano Aaron Bell-bass Sam Woodyard-drums (Lineup copied from the liner note booklet; it indicates that Harry Carney has the clarinet solo, Booty Wood on the trombone solo, and Fats Ford ridin’ the top of the brass section in the finale) Holy SHIZZIT, does it get more rollicking than this?!?!? I wasn’t trying to fool anyone with this; I mean, how can you NOT recognize the Duke’s sound? But I was kinda surprised that more people didn’t get this right off that bat, but that’s more a testament to how little I know the Duke than anyone else trying to remember just which version this was! And yes, the rest of the album is just as hot as this track, for those of you who don’t own this yet. So, really, this was nothing more than me shilling for my favorite reissue this year! Edited January 22, 2005 by Big Al Quote
Big Al Posted January 14, 2005 Author Report Posted January 14, 2005 (edited) Track 6: The Hook – Paul Quinichette From The Vice-Pres (Recorded January 30, 1952) Paul Quinichette-tenor sax Buck Clayton-trumpet Dicky Wells-trombone Count Basie-piano Freddie Green-guitar Walter Page-bass Gus Johnson-drums From one of the better Verve Elites. Thought I’d try and fool y’all with a track that fooled me the first time I heard it. I thought it was a Basie small group! Hell, it may as well be: Basie, Green, Page … if they’d had Jo Jones, it would’ve been a full-fledged reunion! Also, I wanted to throw some more Freddie Green into the mix. Just can’t have enough Green! Also, for a group this small, they sure sound as big and powerful as any of the big band tracks that preceded it in this collection! Anyway, a lot of y’all saw right through this as well. In fact, Milan sent me a PM before the discussion even started, he was so excited about this track. Track 7: Nasty – Harry “Sweets” Edison From The Swinger (reissued in the Verve Elite Series with Mr. Swing) (Recorded September 18, 1958) Harry “Sweets” Edison-trumpet Jimmy Forrest-tenor sax Jimmy Jones-piano Freddie Green-guitar Joe Benjamin-bass Charli Persip-drums Sweets at his swingin-est!!! I love it that it kicks off with just a simple riff and the band just swings it from there. Jimmy Forrest clicks with Sweets throughout this session like nobody this side of Ben Webster, and I definitely need to check out more of his stuff. Jimmy Jones is a piano player I’ve long admired for his chameleon-like ability to emulate the greats--particularly the Duke and the Count--without coming off as a cheap imitation. Perhaps Jones’ strongest suit is his judicious use of space, almost to the point of making you wonder if he’s still soloing cuz the rhythm section’s just going along wondering when PLINK there, he did it again! I love solos like that!!! And have I mentioned how much I love Freddie Green?!?!? Track 8: Goza – Cal Tjader Originally released on Ritmos Calientes, currently available on Los Ritmos Calientes (Recorded March, 25 1954) Cal Tjader – timbales Eddie Cano – piano Al McKibbon – bass Armando Peraza – conga & bongos Okay, this was a deliberate trick: a Tjader track without vibes! The thing that I love about this CD is that Tjader’s percussion playing is given equal weight with his vibes playing, and this track is a fine example of his timbales playing. And how about Eddie Cano? There’s another guy I need to dig into some more; I really dig the big-band sides that Tjader did with him (on the Latino CD). He composed this track as well as playing piano. Wonder whatever happened to him? Dig the final chorus and those lovely ringing chords, almost Red-Garland-ish in their octave-playing! Al McKibbbon is one of my favorite bass players, and I’m glad he’s still going strong some fifty years after this song was recorded!!! This is a wonderful yet underrated CD, full of some of the wildest Latin percussion this side of a Mongo record (oh yeah, he’s on this CD as well!). It was also the first Tjader CD I ever owned, and it still remains my favorite! And it was also my attempt to try and fool mikeweil which, alas, failed miserably! Track 9: Summer in Central Park – Horace Silver From In Pursuit of the 27th Man (Recorded October 6, 1972) Horace Silver – piano David Friedman – vibes Bob Cranshaw – electric bass Mickey Roker – drums For the life of me, I will never understand why this Silver album isn’t held in higher regard; I must be the only person who bought this, as so many of you guessed that the piano player was very “Silver-ish!” This was the first record of his since the 50’s to feature a different lineup than the standard trumpet-tenor-rhythm lineup he’d been using for twenty years. That in itself would be cause for celebrating a new direction for Silver; but then they go and pull off this feat with such lovely aplomb! I know Cranshaw’s electric bass bugs a lot of people, and to be fair, it took a while to grow on me as well. But I enjoy it a lot more than I thought it would, and for me it doesn’t interfere with any of the other tracks. This is my favorite track from that album, but then this is probably my favorite Silver album period. Heck, I could listen to that two-chord vamp for hours! Three cheers to RVG for sneaking this one out a few years back! Track 10: Down Through the Years – Clifford Jordan From the album Starting Time, currently available on Mosaic (Recorded June 14-15, 1961) Clifford Jordan – tenor sax Kenny Dorham – trumpet Cedar Walton – piano Wilbur Ware – bass Albert “Tootie” Heath – drums It didn’t surprise me that a lot of y’all figured it was Kenny Dorham on trumpet; I was surprised that some of you didn’t know it was Clifford Jordan on tenor. Yeah, I s’pose Dorham is just that recognizable, but truth be told, as lovely as his solo is, he sure doesn’t sound too comfortable with it; sticking mostly to the melody and not even taking a full chorus, which I was kinda disappointed with: would’ve loved to hear him navigate that lovely vamp! And it’s that vamp that got the song onto this BFT in the first place! That and the harmonies between the tenor and the trumpet during the head! I should also confess that the rest of this CD didn’t do much for me, so this was just an excuse to take a favorite song and place it with other songs I love! Track 11: Darben the Redd Foxx – James Moody From James Moody (the Argo LP currently available as a Verve LPR) (Recorded August 1959) James Moody – flute Johnny Coles – trumpet Tom McIntosh – trombone Musa Kaleem – bari sax Gene Kee – piano John Latham – bass Clarence Johnston – drums I absolutely love this album, and am grateful to Verve for putting it out; it frightens me to think of how much good music is out there that I may never hear simply because it isn’t available. Well, this one is and if you haven’t jumped on it, get it. NOW!!! Seriously, this is the leadoff track on the album, and it was the audio clip of this song on the Verve website that sold me on this album. It also made me realize that James Moody is someone I need to discover more of. I started a thread asking for recommendations and once again you guys came through! Tom McIntosh is another player I’m not too familiar with, but I understand he recorded an album released in 2004 called With Malice Towards None which received favorable reviews (that song is actually on this album) That’s another one I need to pick up. All this rambling to say I don’t know squat about any of these players; this was a happy fluke which I hope repeats itself very soon! Track 12: Someone to Light Up My Life – Antonio Carlos Jobim From Terra Brasilis (Recorded probably 1979-80) Musicians unknown; arranged by Claus Ogerman A tribute to one of my bestest buddies, Jim R! It was his incessant pestering (for like, almost two years) that made me get this album, after which I then pestered him for two years apologizing for not heeding his advice when he originally told me to! That’ll learn me!!! In the four-thousand-plus years he and I have been corresponding, nothing makes my day like seeing an e-mail from him because it is guaranteed to make me laugh myself sillier! And don’t listen to him: HE is infinitely funnier than I will ever be! Terra Brasilis is, IMHO, Jobim’s greatest work (and to a large extent the greatest work of Claus Ogerman). It finds him reconciling his past with what was to come. But all is not wistful misty-eyed world-weary heavy-handedness. In fact, the real beauty of this album, for me anyway, is the way it makes me feel melancholy without resorting to maudlin theatrics. It walks a very fine line, and that line is my heartstring being plucked with every beat of each song. But then there are impish tongue-firmly-in-cheek performances like this song. I mean, I know it’s cheesy! Hell, I’ll bet even Jobim & Ogerman knew it was cheesy; I’m pretty sure you can hear them snickering like naughty little boys who’ve put a rat in the cookie jar while making this song! And yet, for me, it works marvelously! The beginning of the crescendo that starts around the 1:54 mark just makes me smile; and then, as if THAT weren’t enough, there’s that little extended coda which cuts itself off! I mean, it’s almost holiday-schmaltz on a Brazilian Island! And I love it!!!! I could go on forever about this album (and Jim will tell you I already have; many times over)! So I’ll shut up for now and say this: do yourself a favor and get this album. It’s as grand a summation of an artist’s life as anything you’ll ever hear! But for anyone curious, the dreaded “track 17” that Jim R and I keep referring to is called “Two Kites,” and it’s the silliest song on the album. I used to hate it, but now I like it, but it can really grate on you if you’re not ready for it! Edited January 22, 2005 by Big Al Quote
Big Al Posted January 14, 2005 Author Report Posted January 14, 2005 (edited) Track 13: Blue Mode – Reuben Wilson From Blue Mode (Recorded December 12, 1969) Reuben Wilson – organ Melvin Sparks – guitar John Manning – tenor sax Tommy Derrick – drums From the cheesy to the greeeeeazy!!! Of COURSE I’m gonna slather on the lard for a good chunk of the BFT!!! A word about the intro: yes, that is James Brown & Bobby Byrd doing the intro; I lopped that from the song “Make it Funky,” which of course lives up to its title! Got into a lot of JB this past year, but the one I kept coming back to was the compilation Make It Funky: The Big Payback, 1971-1975. Two solid discs of pure FUNK!!!! Pretty greeeeazy, too, cometothinkofit! And speaking of GREEEEEEEEEEEAZY, for me, it don’t get any greeeeazier than this wonderful album which seems to be the lightning rod of greeeaze, and I think I know why: it’s basically a Prestige session on the Blue Note label. Someone asked in the discussion whatever happened to John Manning. I wish I knew! On this track, as on the rest of the album, he comes across as a Sam Rivers-meets-the-Holy-Trinity-of-Greeeaze! Then there’s Melvin Sparks. Man, this guy was properly named! “Sparks” fly whenever this guy plays the guitar, and dare I say that I like HIM more on an organ date than Grant Green! Not to knock one of the Trinity, but the thing about Sparks is this: the man found a groove early on, nailed it, and has been riding that groove ever since!!! Track 14: Keep That Groove Going! – Plas Johnson & Red Holloway From Keep That Groove Going! (Recorded April 24-25, 2001) Plas Johnson (right channel, first solo), Red Holloway (left channel, second solo)– tenor saxes Gene Ludwig – organ Melvni Sparks – guitar Kenny Washington – drums So I’m driving to work one day and KNTU plays this hellaciously wild track with these two tenor titans duking it out like their lives depended on it! Almost got a speeding ticket while this played! Called up KNTU to find out about this song and album, and had it ordered by the end of the day! Having said that, the track that they played is not what I ended up putting on the BFT (that tune was “Go Red Go” and letmetellyou, trying to decide between that tune and the present one was no easy task!). But this tune was the one I settled on for the simple reason that this track showcases almost all the players (except Washington, who doesn’t solo, but propels the track nonetheless), including and ESPECIALLY Melvin Sparks!!!! The master of the greeeeazy guitar is still going strong and packing a fiery punch that puts some of the younger guys to shame! Like I said before, when it comes to greeeazy guitar, for me, Melvin is da MAN!!! Plas & Red strut their stuff in fine fashion, as they do throughout the album, and they assembled one helluva band to drive them through some grand old-school tenor-battle greeeaze! Track 15: Theme from Electric Surfboard – Brother Jack McDuff From Down Home Style (Recorded June 10, 1969) Brother Jack McDuff – organ Jay Arnold – tenor sax Charlie Freeman – guitar Sammy Greason (how’s THAT for a name!) – drums unknown – trumpet unknown – electric bass Another favorite! The album jacket alone is worth the price of admission to the Greeeaze Hall of Fame! This is another nice groove that I can ride for hours on end! No real surprises here, just a nice fun groove. Can you dig that? Track 16: Spiffy Diffy – BIG John Patton From Along Came John (Recorded April 5, 1963) Harold Vick, Fred Jackson – tenor saxes Big John Patton – organ Grant Green – guitar Ben Dixon – drums ALL HAIL THE HOLY TRINITY OF GREEEEEEAZE!!!! Of course I’m not gonna let a Blindfold Test pass without some hot smokin’ groove from my all-time favorite organ trio. And it doesn’t burn much hotter than this! I guess it could be said that if you’ve heard one record from these guys you’ve heard ‘em all. To which I counter with, “You can’t have too much of a good thing!” Ben Dixon pounds those drums as if to prove he can demolish an entire country by providing one of the fiercest backbeats this side of a Blakey record. Vick and Jackson don’t duke it out much on this album, which is a pity. Can you imagine these guys going at it over the hailstorm that is Patton-Green-Dixon? And then there’s Grant Green and John Patton. These guys were perfect foils for each other; for further proof of that, I strongly urge you to pick up Got a Good Thing Goin’ to hear how much they enjoyed greeeazin’ up the joint together! For my money, NOBODY has as distinct a tone on his instrument than Grant Green. You instantly know it’s him! Finally, there’s the Godfather of the B3 (IMHO)! Not enough good things can be said about Big John. The man could solo, he could comp, he could lay down those fat bass lines with all the soul of any R&B stomper. It’s a tragedy that he passed on when he did, and I’ll always be jealous of Soul Stream, who got to meet the man himself; it sounds like the man’s heart was as big as his name indicates! Track 17: Frank’s Tune – Jack Wilson From Easterly Winds (Recorded September 27, 1967) Jack Wilson – piano Jackie McLean – knife-sharpened alto sax Lee Morgan – trumpet Garnett Brown – trombone Bob Cranshaw – bass Billy Higgins – drums Man, Blue Note finally gets it right and reissues one of the loveliest albums I’ve ever heard! This track, or rather the opening minute which I heard on an Amazon sound-clip, sold me on this album. I love the harmonies of the opening and closing; the chord structure and phrasings by all the soloists are absolutely scrumptious! And then there’s Wilson’s solos. It’s a shame he hasn’t recorded more often, as I love his sensitive playing. His trio version of “A Time For Love” from this album is definitive, IMHO (sounds like his arrangement of the Tony Bennett version, which is also lovely, BTW). Reissue of the year for me last year. I hope I’m not too bold in predicting that those of you who don’t already own this album will be acquiring this one soon because of this track! Heck, y’oughta get it just to see that “interesting” picture of the band (and Higgins & Cranshaw in particular) on the inside! Thanks for playing, y’all. Thank for indulging me my tastes in music and for making me feel that my tastes aren’t as conservative as I’ve always thought they were. But most of all, thanks for having fun with me!!! Edited January 22, 2005 by Big Al Quote
Noj Posted January 14, 2005 Report Posted January 14, 2005 I heard JB's voice, put his name down, and sat there thinking, "Damn, when did JB play organ like this?" Thanks again Al! Quote
king ubu Posted January 14, 2005 Report Posted January 14, 2005 Oh holy crap! I have "The Swinger" & "Mr. Swing" twofer! It's on the pile of stuff that needs closer listening... so that was Jimmy Forrest of course! A very nice 2CD set! At least I guessed right as far as the origin of the Vice Prez track is concerned... ubu Quote
couw Posted January 14, 2005 Report Posted January 14, 2005 so, does anyone else find the bari to be way off on the Moody track (11)? Or is all just swell and are my ears way off? Quote
brownie Posted January 14, 2005 Report Posted January 14, 2005 Track 4: Six Flats Unfurnished – Benny Goodman Orchestra From Volume 3: All the Cats Join In Benny Goodman-clarinet, leader Jimmy Maxwell, Lawrence Stearns, Tony Faso-trumpets Lou McGarity, Charlie Castaldo-trombones Hymie Schertzer, Clint Neagly-alto saxes Jon Walton, Leonard Sims-tenor saxes Bob Poland-bari sax Mel Powell-piano Dave Barbour-guitar Cliff Hall-string bass Hud Davies-drums Richard Maltby-arranger That track was the big surprise, as far as I am concerned. The fact that BG was not heard on it prevented me from identifying it. But it's really an interesting tune with an arrangement that give it justice. And I'll go back to that tenor solo by Jon Walton. Dick Sudhalter mentions it in his book 'Lost Chords'. He describes Walton as British-born. Never heard of him before. Need to check on him. I'll take more time futurely to answer the BFT listings. The Terry Gibbs and Harry Edison albums I have and I should have identified those tracks! Quote
catesta Posted January 14, 2005 Report Posted January 14, 2005 Track 10: Down Through the Years – Clifford Jordan From the album Starting Time, currently available on Mosaic Clifford Jordan – tenor sax Kenny Dorham – trumpet Cedar Walton – piano Wilbur Ware – bass Albert “Tootie” Heath – drums It didn’t surprise me that a lot of y’all figured it was Kenny Dorham on trumpet; I was surprised that some of you didn’t know it was Clifford Jordan on tenor. Yeah, I s’pose Dorham is just that recognizable, but truth be told, as lovely as his solo is, he sure doesn’t sound too comfortable with it; sticking mostly to the melody and not even taking a full chorus, which I was kinda disappointed with: would’ve loved to hear him navigate that lovely vamp! And it’s that vamp that got the song onto this BFT in the first place! That and the harmonies between the tenor and the trumpet during the head! I should also confess that the rest of this CD didn’t do much for me, so this was just an excuse to take a favorite song and place it with other songs I love! D'oh. I was making a CDR for my girlfriend's mother lastnight and pulled this one out. Quote
JSngry Posted January 14, 2005 Report Posted January 14, 2005 so, does anyone else find the bari to be way off on the Moody track (11)? Yeah, he's off, but in a not-bad way. Quote
JSngry Posted January 14, 2005 Report Posted January 14, 2005 That was Jimmy Forrest? Could have fooled me. Hell, DID fool me. Quote
Man with the Golden Arm Posted January 14, 2005 Report Posted January 14, 2005 (edited) Thanks Big Al! A beauty of a BFT to come back to and provide further investimentigation. Really, what can go wrong with a disc from Texas with a Daffy intro? Edited January 14, 2005 by Man with the Golden Arm Quote
couw Posted January 14, 2005 Report Posted January 14, 2005 I won't ask where you got that pic and how long you have been sitting on it if you promise not to tell Quote
couw Posted January 14, 2005 Report Posted January 14, 2005 investimentigation good neologism, makes sense Quote
Man with the Golden Arm Posted January 14, 2005 Report Posted January 14, 2005 I won't ask where you got that pic and how long you have been sitting on it if you promise not to tell Thherrendipity! Quote
JSngry Posted January 14, 2005 Report Posted January 14, 2005 Halledab'ldoya, it's Serendippitydoo! Quote
couw Posted January 14, 2005 Report Posted January 14, 2005 Halledab'ldoya, it's Serendippitydoo! Serendippity-Do Styling Gel, you never know what it's gonna be like, but it'll be better than what you were hoping for. Quote
couw Posted January 14, 2005 Report Posted January 14, 2005 fegh man, with TWO brushes! that's insane Quote
MartyJazz Posted January 14, 2005 Report Posted January 14, 2005 Track 4: Six Flats Unfurnished – Benny Goodman Orchestra From Volume 3: All the Cats Join In Benny Goodman-clarinet, leader Jimmy Maxwell, Lawrence Stearns, Tony Faso-trumpets Lou McGarity, Charlie Castaldo-trombones Hymie Schertzer, Clint Neagly-alto saxes Jon Walton, Leonard Sims-tenor saxes Bob Poland-bari sax Mel Powell-piano Dave Barbour-guitar Cliff Hall-string bass Hud Davies-drums Richard Maltby-arranger There are a number of reasons I included this track: First, Benny Goodman’s Orchestra was another giant stepping stone in my journey thru jazz. I’ve always dug the way his orchestra played those fantastic Fletcher Henderson charts. And this particular CD was one of my very first jazz CDs, long before I even fully got into this music, back in the summer of ‘89. That was a particularly happy summer for me, and a lot of those memories are attached to this disc. Some fifteen summers later, it still gets regular airplay in my house! Second, I wanted to see if anyone could pick out a Benny Goodman track despite the fact that the leader has no solo during the song! In fact, he’s barely audible! The liner notes indicate that the tenor solo is played by Jon Walton (BTW, does anyone know if Leonard Sims is any relation to Zoot?), who, according to Goodman, “died too young.” Wonder what kind of impact he might’ve had if he’d lived. Kudos to MartyJazz for seeing right thru my little scheme! I appreciate the “kudos” for seeing through your “scheme” but if truth be told, my identification of this track can be traced back more than 4 decades ago when my father introduced me to jazz via swing. Not having a lot of money back then (come to think of it, nothing much has changed), I used to cop 45 RPM extended play records that RCA and Columbia used to put out rather than the more pricey LPS; they only ran from 79 cents to $1.29. Each EP had 2 tracks on each side. One of them that still sits in my collection was a BG Columbia "Hall of Fame series" EP that had "Six Flats Unfurnished" plus his versions of "A String of Pearls", "Jersey Bounce" and "The World is Waiting for the Sunrise". When your initial collection consists of a couple of LPs and a few EPs, and you play the hell out of them, you tend to remember them many years later (assuming you still have your wits about you). On another note, your wonderful comments have prompted me to put on your disc again for further enjoyment. Many thanks. Quote
Dan Gould Posted January 14, 2005 Report Posted January 14, 2005 (edited) On the negative side, this BFT surely set a record for me for tracks from albums I own, and I only definitively ID'd one, the Jack Wilson track. But I own #6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 14 and 16 and 17 and have no excuse for missing Sweets. On the positive side, I did say "A James Moody Argo" so I'm counting that! So while I might have gotten 8 out of 17, at least I still set a personal mark with two correct. B-) Thanks again, Big Al. Edited January 14, 2005 by Dan Gould Quote
marcoliv Posted January 14, 2005 Report Posted January 14, 2005 i feel the same way Dan, i have tracks 3/6/7/13/15/16/17 but i was a total failure... anyway, this BFT is great and Al did a marvellous job Marcus Quote
Big Al Posted January 14, 2005 Author Report Posted January 14, 2005 Thanks, guys! Tell the truth, all along, after hearing how challenging the previous BFTs were, I was afraid folks were gonna see this as something of a letdown; i.e. "This ain't very challenging, Al; how much boring can you get?" (don't answer that; PLEASE don't answer that!) So as you can tell, I went for the pure joy of jazz, as opposed to trying to stump everyone (you see how well those few experiments panned out! ) Quote
catesta Posted January 14, 2005 Report Posted January 14, 2005 joy is never boring It's the fresh lemon scent! Quote
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