BFT 65

[Guest Bill Barton]

Either the board's software or my connection were being a pain yesterday and I couldn't get this thing to post...

Here they are:

1. Mark O'Leary & Han Bennink - "Just Like with René" - Television - ayler records ay IDL-081 (track #8)

O'Leary - guitar; Bennink - drums

2. David Haney & Julian Priester - "Fire Speaks and Recedes" - Ota Benga of the Batwa - CIMP 357 (track #8)

Haney - piano; Priester - trombone

The moody, melancholy, indigo ambiance present on this track is of-a-piece with the rest of the CD, dedicated to one of the 20th Century's most tragic public figures.

3. Atipico Trio - "Red Tango" - Allegro Con Brio - Leo CD LR 400 (track #3)

Carlos Actis Dato - bass clarinet, baritone saxophone

Piero Ponzo - alto saxophone, clarinet

Pepe De Filippo - soprano, alto & tenor saxophones

4. Simon Nabatov Trio - "Lady Sings the Blues" (Herbie Nichols) - Autumn Music - Leo CD LR 397 (track #4)

Nabatov - piano; Ernst Reijseger - cello; Michael Vatcher - drums

5. Dave Douglas Tiny Bell Trio - "The Gig" (Herbie Nichols) - Constellations - hatOLOGY 542 (track #5)

Douglas - trumpet; Brad Shepik - guitar; Jim Black - drums

6. Pachora - "Niger" - Astereotypical - Winter & Winter 910 082-2 (track #10)

Chris Speed - clarinet; Brad Shepik - tambura, electric saz, nylon-string guitar;

Skuli Sverrisson - acoustic bass guitar, electric bass, baritone guitar; Jim Black - drums, percussion, pianica

Shepik was eventually idenitified but the other band members remained a mystery. All except Sverrisson (who is originally from Iceland) have a Seattle "connection." I'm a big fan of Speed's clarinet playing and the recordings under his own name are also heartily recommended.

7. The Perry Robinson 4 - "Sprite's Delight" (Henry Grimes) - Funk Dumpling - Savoy Jazz SV-0255 (track #2)

Robinson - clarinet; Kenny Barron - piano; Henry Grimes - bass; Paul Motian - Drums

8. Wally Shoup/Gust Burns/Reuben Radding/Greg Campbell - "Caressing the Cube" - The Levitation Shuffle - Clean Feed CF073CD (track #3)

Shoup - alto saxophone; Burns - piano; Radding - bass; Campbell - drums

This track turned out to be the biggest mystery. One of the mainstays of the Seattle improvised music scene, Shoup is a fine painter, writer (about music), organizer (one of the co-founders of the Seattle Improvised Music Festival) and all-around cultural force in addition to being a kickin' musician. His alto playing has a deep foundation in the blues no matter how "out" it gets and his control of the horn's lower register is phenomenal. It's not surprising that some folks thought that this was a tenor. Outside Seattle, Shoup has his followers. Pete Gershon, the Editor of Signal to Noise, is a big fan. And Shoup has had a long association with Thurston Moore and the Sonic Youth crowd. Burns and Campbell are likewise ubiquitous in Seattle and Radding lived here for quite some time before heading back East.

9. Don Cherry - "Pettiford Bridge" (Carlos Ward) - Multikulti - A&M 75021 5323-2 (track #7)

Cherry - pocket trumpet; Carlos Ward - alto saxophone; Bob Stewart - tuba; Ed Blackwell - drums

10. Karl Berger/Dave Holland/Ed Blackwell – "Dakar Dance" - Transit - Black Saint

(track #1) [adapted from a traditional Senegalese song by Berger]

Berger - piano (!); Holland - bass; Blackwell - drums

11. Sun Ra - "Magic City Blue" - God Is More Than Love Can Ever Be - Saturn 72579

(track #2)

Ra - piano; Richard Williams - bass; Luqman Ali - drums

12. Cecil Taylor - "Charge 'Em Blues" - Jazz Advance - Transition (1956) reissued 1991

on CD by Blue Note (track #2)

Taylor - piano; Steve Lacy - soprano saxophone; Buell Neidlinger - bass; Denis Charles – drums

Edited June 2, 2009 by Bill Barton

[Big Al]

Okay, I need to go back and listen to 7 (for Barron & Motian), 10, 11, & 12 (because I quit long before reaching these tracks). Looks like the best for me was saved for last!

[jeffcrom]

Enjoyed my first BFT very much - thanks!

[thedwork]

lots of very good music here and more than a couple surprises for me. some new stuff i'm glad i've got in my head a bit.

but the Perry Robinson 4 is something that i'm gonna absolutely gonna go find. beautiful. it would seem to someone who doesn't know me that, since it's the 'straightest' thing on your BFT, that that's the stuff i generally like. not really the case. this one cut just really sits well in my ear.

thanks bill!

[Nate Dorward]

Thanks for the listen, Bill. I think the one album I should seek out is the Robinson.

[Guest Bill Barton]

  Big Al said:

Okay, I need to go back and listen to 7 (for Barron & Motian), 10, 11, & 12 (because I quit long before reaching these tracks). Looks like the best for me was saved for last!

  jeffcrom said:

Enjoyed my first BFT very much - thanks!

  thedwork said:

lots of very good music here and more than a couple surprises for me. some new stuff i'm glad i've got in my head a bit.

but the Perry Robinson 4 is something that i'm gonna absolutely gonna go find. beautiful. it would seem to someone who doesn't know me that, since it's the 'straightest' thing on your BFT, that that's the stuff i generally like. not really the case. this one cut just really sits well in my ear.

thanks bill!

  Nate Dorward said:

Thanks for the listen, Bill. I think the one album I should seek out is the Robinson.

You're welcome, y'all. This was great fun! Gotta do another one...

Yes, that Perry Robinson album is classic. I have a real weakness for musicians who don't fit into any easily defined category. He's definitely one of them. Probably all of us who are jazz and improvised music fans/aficionados have fantasy recording scenarios. One of mine is an album with Robinson and Pee Wee Russell matching wits, say with maybe Mal Waldron, Henry Grimes and Ed Blackwell? Sigh... "A dream, only a dream."

[NIS]

Thanks for the BFT, Bill. It was great fun. It also caused me to listen to a number of albums I haven't heard in awhile, Julian Priester, Cecil Taylor and a bunch of Don Cherry.

I really liked the Simon Nabatov track. I have read a number of on-line reviews on the album it comes from. They range from very positive to not so much (Mr. Dorward). If you don't mind, what is your opinion of the album?

[Bright Moments]

Finally got to listen to this BFT and enyoyed it muchly! Thanks Bill!!

only one complaint - WHERE'S THE RRK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Big Al]

  Big Al said:

Okay, I need to go back and listen to 7 (for Barron & Motian), 10, 11, & 12 (because I quit long before reaching these tracks). Looks like the best for me was saved for last!

Well, that'll teach me to give up on a BFT before listening to the whole thing: those last three tracks MADE the whole disc for me, and track 7 was a very nice added bonus! I'll be listening to those again. A LOT! Thanks again, Bill!

[Guest Bill Barton]

  NIS said:

Thanks for the BFT, Bill. It was great fun. It also caused me to listen to a number of albums I haven't heard in awhile, Julian Priester, Cecil Taylor and a bunch of Don Cherry.

I really liked the Simon Nabatov track. I have read a number of on-line reviews on the album it comes from. They range from very positive to not so much (Mr. Dorward). If you don't mind, what is your opinion of the album?

My take on that album is much more positive than Nate's. In fact, when it first came out it was one of those discs that rarely strayed too far from the player. I still come back to it from time to time. The track I chose for the BFT is one of my faves. The humor that Nate found excessively arch I found just right.

  Bright Moments said:

Finally got to listen to this BFT and enyoyed it muchly! Thanks Bill!!

only one complaint - WHERE'S THE RRK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

What, you didn't discover the hidden Rah rap embedded in the rar file?

  Big Al said:

  Big Al said:

Okay, I need to go back and listen to 7 (for Barron & Motian), 10, 11, & 12 (because I quit long before reaching these tracks). Looks like the best for me was saved for last!

Well, that'll teach me to give up on a BFT before listening to the whole thing: those last three tracks MADE the whole disc for me, and track 7 was a very nice added bonus! I'll be listening to those again. A LOT! Thanks again, Bill!

Glad you dug those, Big Al. You're welcome.

And that reminds me that the month is almost over and I still haven't checked in on BFT #66. Eek! The laptop was laid low with a scarily aggressive virus for a few days and I'm only now catching up on stuff...