BFT #81 Reveal

[Tom in RI]

Thanks to everyone who participated. Here's disc 1, I hope to get to disc 2 later tonight or tomorrow morning.

Disc 1

Track 1 – Sunny Jain, As Is, from Mango Festival, Zoho ZM 200404. This features Rez Abbasi, guitar, Gary Wang, bass, Steve Welsh, tenor, and Jain, drums. I’ve had this cd for a few years on it has really grown on me. I know Thom didn’t like the overdubbing, actually it was, according to the notes, looped in realtime. Its Welsh’s composition.

Track 2 – Consuelo –Jon Quintet, Last Sunday Morning, from Last Sunday Morning, Accurate Records AC-5025. Consuelo Candelaria, piano, Jon Hazilla, drums, Billy Pierce, soprano, Tom Varner, French horn, Ron Mahdi, bass. Another cd I am very fond of. Tom Varner is given very little to do on the date. I am not a big fan of soprano sax but I really dig the sound Billy Pierce gets here. Hazilla has led trio dates with both John Hicks and James Williams. I think he is a TDWR.

Track 3 – Edsel Gomez, To the Lord, from Cubist Music, Zoho ZM 200601. Edsel Gomez, piano, Don Byron, clarinet, Miguel Zenon, Alto, Greg Tardy, tenor, Drew Gress, bass, Bruce Cox, drums. This is a fascinating cd, Gomez’s concept is to translate Cubist art from visual to aural perception. The liner notes go into more detail. The 1st time I listened to it I didn’t really care for it. But, over a couple more listens it grew on me. People seemed to like this track.

Track 4 – Anat Cohen, Lonnie’s Lament, from Poetica, Anzic 1301. Cohen, clarinet, Jason Linder, piano, Omer Avital, bass, Daniel Freedman, drums with a string quartet. Seems everyone got the tune and 1st responder Hot Ptah correctly surmised it was Anat Cohen. The thing I like best about this track is the use of strings. In the liner notes to Joel Harrison’s The Wheel, another jazz date utilizing strings, Harrison notes that it would have been more difficult 20 years ago to find classically trained string players who could also play with the right feel for jazz. Spontooneous felt the piano player was trying too hard but I think he gets off a very nice solo here.

Track 5 – Jerry Gonzalez & the Fort Apache Band, from Moliedo Café, Sunnyside SSC 1016D. Gonzalez, trumpet, Carter Jefferson, tenor, Joe Ford, alto, Larry Willis, piano, Andy Gonzalez, bass, Steve Berios, drums. Seeline picked this out right away. Spontooneous felt this track took too long to get to the point and I can understand that. I’ve listened to this track a lot and I enjoy the way the arrangement unfolds. But on the 1st listen it may seem to be a lot of exposition to get to the improvisation.

Track 6 – Simone Guiducci, Manoir De Mes Reves, from Django’s Jungle Splasc(H) Records CDH 829.2.Guiducci, guitar, Chris Speed, clarinet, Gianni Coscia, accordion, Florin Nicolescu, violin, Salvatore Maiore, bass, Kyle Gregory, trumpet, Zeno De Rossi, drums. Thom Keith felt the trumpet was the only redeeming quality on this track. I haven’t encountered Kyle Gregory anywhere else but I also really dig his playing throughout this date. I bought this based on a positive review in Cadence.

Track 7 – George Schuller, Filles de Kilimanjaro, from Round ‘bout Now, Playscape PSR#J021302. Schuller, drums, Donny McCaslin, tenor, Ingrid Jensen, trumpet, Tom Beckham, vibes, Dave Ambrosio, bass, Matt Dariau, bass clarinet, Sonny Barbato, accordion. Several people got the tune right away, this rendition left a couple of people cold. Maybe it would have made more sense in context with the rest of the cd. I had enjoyed parts of Shuller’s Playscape release, Hellbent and I am a big Donny McCaslin fan. This was the first time I had ever heard Sonny Barbato, who plays on two cuts.

Track 8 – Holus Bolus, The Long and Winding Road, from Altogether…All at Once (my copy doesn’t list a label or number). Josh Sinton, baritone, Jeremy Udden, alto, Peter Bitenc, bass, Kota Nakamura, drums, Marc Riordan, drums. Flurin picked out that there are two drummers, my hat is off for that. Sinton holds down the bari chair in James Darcy Argue’s Secret Society and also has gotten some buzz for his Steve Lacy tribute band, Ideal Bread. Sinton also has a pretty articulate blog at his website.

Track 9 – Les Arbuckle, Bush Crew Boogaloo, from The Bush Crew, Audioquest CD1032. Arbuckle, tenor, Mike Stern, guitar, John Abercrombie, guitar, Essiet Okon Essiet, bass, Victor Lewis, drums. In hindsight I think this track probably fits in the least. Oh well.

Track 10 – Pete Robbins, Centric, from Centric, Telepathy Records. Robbins, alto, George Garzone, tenor, Mike Gamble, guitar, Chris van Voorst, bass, Pete Zimmer, drums. I like this cd pretty much, enough that I picked up Robbins subsequent cd’s on Playscape. I think Garzone really raises the temperature during his solo.

Track 11 – Ken Serio, Purple Dreams, from Live…..in the Moment, Tripping Tree 71562.Vic Juris,guitar, Pete McCann, guitar, Mark Egan, bass, Serio, drums. Yeah, this was probably a lot more fun having it sprung in the middle of a set in a bar. I bought this primarily due to it having Pete McCann, who I really enjoy. He has a list of all his sideman dates on his website and I pick ‘em up when I see ‘em.

[tkeith]

Huh, I almost guessed a Billy Pierce disciple on track 2. I'm quite disappointed I didn't get Les on track 9. I'm a big fan of him as both a player and a person. I'll have to lay my ear on that one again.

[Spontooneous]

Sharped two that are in my collection right by me, tracks 2 and 3.

[Tom in RI]

Hey Spontooneous, look at the bright side, you said you liked 'em.

[lipi]

Hey Spontooneous, look at the bright side, you said you liked 'em.

Which is a good point for me to chime in and apologise for not getting around to posting comments this month. I barely found time to listen to the whole thing one time, and on top of that had no clues about any of it whatsoever. Most of it is incredibly far outside my comfort zone. But thanks for putting it together!

[seeline]

I think I need to get a copy of "Django's Jungle." Very nice interpretation of the piece in question, and I'm interested in hearing more... (I have one of Guiducci's albums, but it's focused on his reinterpretation of Italian folk themes - this is the 1st I'd heard him play a standard.)

Edsel Gomez: [slaps forehead] I have this CD, but it's been a long time since I last listened to it.

[jeffcrom]

Thanks for the BFT, Tom. Sorry I never got around to disc 2.

[Hot Ptah]

I enjoyed Disc 1 a lot, and have heard almost none of the albums mentioned here. So that is Vic Juris playing on "Smoke on the Water"! Thanks for putting a fun BFT together, and I am looking forward to the Reveal for Disc 2.

[Tom in RI]

Disc 2

Track 1 – Cedar Walton, Ojos De Rojo, from Roots, Astor Place TCD 4010. Walton, piano, Ron Carter, bass, Lewis Nash, drums, Joshua Redman, tenor. This date features the trio and an ensemble with trumpet, trombone and 3 reeds plus guest soloists. Redman plays on three cuts, this is from 1997. I’ve pretty much liked his playing here more than on his own dates. I am a big Cedar Walton fan.

Track 2 – William Cepeda, Bomba Swing, from My Roots and Beyond Blue Jackel BJAC 5028-2. Cepeda, trombone, Slide Hampton, trombone, Donny McCaslin, tenor. People were put off by the synthesized beginning to this particular piece, there was a time when I would have dismissed music for something like that by I am a little more accepting now. I am very enthusiastic about this cd which swings and grooves and generally makes me feel good when I put it on. Slide Hampton and Cepeda both take solos on this, the notes don’t identify which is which. You can generally get this on Amazon for less than $5 including shipping. Go ahead, treat yourself.

Track 3 – Stephan Crump, Allende, from Tuckahoe, Accurate AC-5045. Crump, bass, Miguel Zenon, alto, Chris Cheek, tenor, Jamie Fox, guitar, Dan Rieser, drums. Here’s another always cheap disc on Amazon, I tried to give a copy away in the Pay It Forward thread but had no takers (I’ve since given it to a friend). Crump has a couple of more recent discs out with the Rosetta Trio featuring Liberty Elman and Jamie Fox on guitars. Crump also plays with Vijay Iyer (I haven’t heard any of that). I like Chris Cheek’s solo on this, now there’s a guy who gets around.

Track 4 – Ryan Cohan, Think Again, from Here and Now, Sirocco Jazz SJL 1016. Cohan, piano, Tito Carillo, trumpet, Scott Burns, tenor, James Cammack, bass, Tom Hipskind, drums, Ruben Alvarez, percussion. I picked this up out of a cutout bin. Cohan is, or at least was, based in Chicago. I am not familiar with any of the sidemen.

Track 5 – Juan Pablo Torres, Four/Como Fue, from Trombone Man, Tropi Jazz CDZ-81601. Torres, trombone & vocals, Paquito D’Rivera, clarinet, Hilton Ruiz, piano, Andy Gonzalez, bass, Mario Rivera, alto, Diego Urcola, Trumpet. I guess Paquito is a pretty distinctive clarinet player. I am a big JP Torres fan. I feel kind of bad that I didn’t put in a track with his trombone playing, maybe in my next BFT. Torres was a very influential Cuban musician was important as an arranger and instrumentalist.

Track 6 – Amos Hoffman, Hamsa, from Evolution RazDaz SSC 4606. Hoffman, oud, guitar, Avishai Cohen, bass, Ilan Katchka, percussion. A little exotic but I think this swings. I really dig the percussion on this. Maybe the instrument demands a certain approach but I am ok with that.

Track 7 – Mark Zubek, Yes Yes, from Horse With a Broken Leg, Fresh Sounds New Talent FSNT 078. Zubek, bass, Phillipe Thomas, trumpet, Chris Cheek, tenor, Seamus Blake, Tenor, Chander Sardjoe, drums. For those of you who alphabetize, you need more Z’s. I like the way the arrangement and interplay floats along. The tenor solo is Cheek. Does this track sound noirish to you?

Track 8 - Deidre Rodman, Roadlonely, from Sun is Us, Sunnyside SSC 10980. Rodman, piano, Ari Hoenig, drums, Bob Bowen, bass, Russ Johnson, trumpet, Tony Malaby, tenor. I like the episodic nature of this composition. A couple of people guessed Dave Douglas which I assume is a comment on the arrangement as much as the trumpet playing.

Track 9 - Other Side Of Ellington, Mount Harissa, from Other Side of Ellington, Palmetto PM 2051. Matt Wilson, drums, David Berkman, piano, Joel Frahm, tenor, Pete McCann, guitar, Ben Allison, bass. I guess Wilson is the leader, he wrote brief liners and is listed 1st. I love the flow of Frahm’s tenor solo, sometimes I wonder how much of it he had worked out before hand as it hangs together so well.

Track 10 – Sonny Barbato, Crackerjack #1, from Crackerjack, Cool Sun CSR 918. Barbato, accordion, Jimmy Ponder, guitar, Mike Taylor, bass, George Heid, drums, George Jones, percussion. After I heard Barbato on the George Schuller date fromn disc one I started looking for more by him. I saw reference to this disc but I couldn’t find it anywhere online. Finally I found an accordion site that had a copy for sale. Yeah its quirky but hey, most people liked it in spite of it being accordion. It’s all music, right?

Track 11 - Gene Bertoncini, Giant Steps/On a Misty Night, from Quiet Now, Ambient Records CD-005. I had the great good fortune to see Bertoncini give a master class at a local junior college on a weekday afternoon two years ago. He played and talked and played. I bought this disc from him that afternoon.

Well, that’s that. Watch for me to go O’fer on the January BFT.

[seeline]

Miguel Zenon keeps popping up on both of those discs - I could have sworn I heard him (Don Byron, too), but then said "Nah - I'm imagining things."

Amos Hoffman: I've really liked his work with Avishai in the past and will have to see if this one is on emusic.com Despite my comments (how wrong was I?), I'd really like to hear the whole disc.

Re. the William Cepeda, I could kick myself. (I have this one, too, but it's been a really long time since I last heard it - obviously.) William is a terrific player - check on YouTube for some live vids; also one with him and a Puerto Rican folkloric dance ensemble.

Juan Pablo Torres: ! Gotta get that record! (fwiw, I liked his version of "Four.")

Thanks for an interesting and challenging BFT - lots of good material - and for the intro. to Sonny Barbato's playing. (I *like* the accordion!)

I guess Paquito is a pretty distinctive clarinet player.

It's his tone, imo... plus he seems to be the 1st call for a lot of Cuban players who want a clarinetist.

Edited December 29, 2010 by seeline

[Bright Moments]

i enjoyed this BFT! Much thanks!!!

[Chicago Expat]

Tom, I didn't even participate in this bft, but just the list of ensembles you've provided give me fits of excitement as I prepare to investigate their music. Sinton's Holus Bolus is the first on my list.

Thank you so much.