BFT 105 - The Answer Thread

[JSngry]

Thanks to all who participated and/or responded. I'm glad that as much was enjoyed by as many!

Most everything was generally identified , but here are the specifics (as much as I can provide them).

TRACK ONE - Jon Hendricks - Mazola Commercial ca. 1982. Personnel not known but likely to include Judith and/or Michelle Hendircks

This one used to play every morning during the Today show. I found it archived deep, deep in the bowels of the internet a while back and am committed to preservation through dissemination. It's on y'all now to fry 'em all. FRY 'EM ALL!

And when you've been fried once too often, it's time to take it slow...

TRACK TWO - Monday Michiru - Slo from Moods - Quality! Records (Japan), 2003: Monday Michiru - producer, arranger, all vocals; Donny McCaslin - soprano saxophone; Dave Kikoski - electric piano; Dave Gilmore - Guitar; Fima Ephron - electric bass; Billy Kilson - drums; Daniel Sadownick - percussion

No such thing as a "typical" Monday Michiru song in terms of "style" or groove, but as she herself puts it, this is the most "pop" song on this mostly really strong album. Another tune has one of the few Chris Potter solos that has ever really pulled me into his world to the extent that others have been pulled by his other work. And Donny McCaslin plays his ass off here,albeit in a very quirky manner. Point is, Monday gets people on her sessions and lets them play, wants them to play, who they are, not to fit some preconceived notion or formula. And bless her for that!

It's safe to say that it's a matter of record here how much I've been touched by Monday's work, and it was really cool to see that most here at least liked this sample. It's a wonderful melody, full of little quirks, and the transition (such as it is) to the bridge is left-field brilliant. All I can say is, there's plenty more where this came from, but it's not all like this, or even remotely like this. But the essential musical and emotional qualities are consistent.

TRACK THREE - Marlena Shaw - Loving You Was Like A Party from Who Is The Bitch, Anyway? - Blue Note, 1974: Marlena Shaw w/Larry Nash - keyboards, David T. Walker & Larry Carlton - guitar; Chuck Rainey - electric bass; Harvey Mason - drums; King Ericson - percussion; Marti McCall, Julia Tillman, Patti Brooks, & Maxine Willard- background vocals. Composed & produced by Bernard Ighner, arranged by Dale Ohler

This makes for an interesting contrast-and-compare with Monday's song (which I didn't really start to hear until road-testing the disc as a whole) right down to the use of an upper-register instrument to play the solos. But apart from that, this thing just grooves. Look at these names - no matter how/what many of them devolved into, it was doing stuff like this, going into a studio and laying down those fat, irresistible grooves, that put them in the place to get the chances to devolve in the first place. Seriously - check out the Rainey/Mason hookup. It's not as obvious in the mix as it would be on a straight instrumental date, but it's THERE!

TRACK FOUR - Gerry Mulligan - A Weed Grows In Disneyland - from The Age Of Steam - A&M, 1971: Gerry Mulligan - baritone saxophone, Tom Scott - soprano saxophone, Sweets Edison - trumpet, Roger Kellaway - electric piano, Howard Roberts - guitar, Chuck Domanico - electric bass, Joe Porcaro - drums; Emil Richards - percussion

Jaws may or may not be dropping that this is who (all) it is, but, yep, that's it. Howard Roberts plays so straight on the beat and with such totally symmetrical phrasing that he almost sounds like a Country player (and his comping after his solo gets groovier the longer the jam goes), Mulligan jumps in full of fire and vigor and then all of sudden BAM hits a wall and drops out (a true jazz LOL moment, imo), roger Kellaway is indeed insane (in a good way), and then we're done. And yeah, it grooved, big time.

All the while, check out the real Star Of The Show, Joe Porcaro, the dad of the Toto Porcaro brothers, and somebody whose work I am totally unfamiliar with outside of this album (and he's mostly on percussion for the rest of it, John Guerin playing drums on most cuts). This guy, he just WHOOOOSHES all the way through, egging everybody on, and they all take the bait, fortunately. Who IS this guy, anyway?

Late-60s/early '70s L.A. was a very fertile place in terms of jazz and pop (again) co-mingling, some of it on the outer edges, and some of it, like this album, edging towards what could have been a new "West Coast Jazz". Mulligan's approach on this album is very much "Mulligan" in terms of core materials, yet totally "contemporary" in terms of texture and rhythm. Very worthy music, imo, definitely worth a checkout.

Of course, much has been made over the years of Mulligan's near-"corniness", that streak of old-school ENTRAINMENT, and who would personify that better than Al Jolson? Which leads us to...

TRACK FIVE - National Lampoon Radio Hour - A Laugh From the Past from Gold Turkey - Epic, 1975: details given as Bob Perry & Sidney Davis, written by Sidney Davis

Bob Perry turns up only a little on the internet as a comedy writer, Sidney Davis even less, but Davis wrote this brilliantly dark look at old-school "show-biz", and Perry performed the hell out it. Pure comedy genius, imo. Maye a little dark and/or "insider"-y for some, but...truer than you might think.

There's a lesson here for all you kiddies...

TRACK SIX - Nat King Cole - Can't Help It from To Whom It May Concern - Capitol, 1959: Arranged by Nelson Riddle

The lesson is this - next time you see somebody all tux-ed out and smiling and singing all carefree and happy, just remember - the odds of there being a dead man backstage, one who just dropped dead a few seconds before downbeat, are much higher than you might think!

Aside from that, though, this is not a particularly good song, and an only slightly better than average arrangement of it by the sometimes-brilliant, sometimes-not Riddle, but Geez Louise, what a tempo, and what perfect phrasing and dynamics by the band and by Cole himself.

Not nearly the waht as much as it is the how, and that's another lesson of show-biz, and maybe having a dead guy in your dressing room does come into play.

Just sayin'...

TRACK SEVEN - Jazzanova feat. Bembe Segue - That Night from Various Artists - Neujazz - Sonar Kollectiv 2008: Obtained as an Amazon download, so other than Bembe Segue on vocal, I don't know who else is on this.

Some liked this more than others, but all i can say is that may or may not be a sampled loop on drums, but I don't care. If that's a sample, then hell yeah, more of thet, then. And if it's not a sample, then hell yeah, more of that then. That, and this - Bembe Segue does not appear to in any way be a "seasoned perfomer" based on what I've seen of her live clips on YouTube, but every time I hear her on a studio cut (she's often found on Mark De Clive-Lowe's stuff), I very much like what she does, so...good enough.

One more thing - the song itself has been released by Jazzanova in several different versions, some of then very un-"jazz"-like. That they have the ears to do it many different ways, all of them "fitting" for what they're going after, without any compromise or condescension, is, to me, an admirable quality, and a necessary one for musicians going forth. But that's just me.

TRACK EIGHT - Willie Bobo - Psychedelic Blues from A New Dimension - Verve, 1968: Willie Bobo - timbales; Felix Wilkins - flute; Kenny Rogers - tenor, Jimmy Owens - trumpet, Sonny Henry - guitar, arranger; Chuck Rainey - bass; John Rodriguez, Jr., Victor Pantoja, Osvaldo Martinez - percussion (yeah, it's more specific than that, and I know better, but I'm a lousy, slow typist, so...no disrespect intended); Freddie Waits - drums

Also available on some compilations, but honestly, this is a good enough album that I'd recommend getting it here, if you can handle Bobo's wobbly crooning on some very nicely arranged (by Don Sebesky) boleros. And that might be a big if...

No idea who Felix Wilkins is, at first I thought this was Artie Webb, but, no, it's Felix Wilkins. The big question for me is this - is this Kenny Rogers the same Kenny Rogers that recorded with Hank back in the 1950's? Because this Kenny Rogers plays a lot like Dippin' era Hank. Once you get past the honks/overblows, ome of those licks could be straight out of "The Break Through". Hmmmm...

TRACK NINE - Ray Charles & Aretha Franklin - Things Go Better With Coke #2 from Things Go Better With Coke - Sixties Coca-Cola Commercials 1965-'69 - Bootleg. A blogged bootleg at that.

Is it just me, or does Aretha sound like she's about to bust out laughing all through this thing?

TRACK TEN - Gene Ammons - You're Not The Kind from Early Visions - Cadet, 1975,: Gene Ammons w/unidentified band, 1951

I don't trust a man who doesn't like ice cream at least occasionally, and I don't trust anybody who can't get with at least a little Jug every once in a while.

TRACK ELEVEN - Stark Reality - Grandfather Clock from Stark Reality Discovers Hoagy Carmichael's Music Shop AJP, 1970: Monty Stark - vibes & vocals, John Abercrombie - guitar, Phil Morrison - bass, Vinnie Johnson - drums; Left off the CD issue of the Stone's Throw reissue NOW, but the full, original album is now available as an Amazon MP3 download: http://www.amazon.com/Now/dp/B000XXOHI0/ref=sr_shvl_album_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1356848824&sr=301-2

Yes, it is a children's song, originally recorded in a quite different version by Hoagy Carmichael for Golden Records in 1957 (check out this sample clip: http://www.amazon.com/Grandfather-Clock/dp/B0092PNRJ0).

And then, there was this PBS kids show on WGBH:

And then this album, released on Ahmad Jamal's short-lived ALP label. And then it all went away until the crate-diggers found it and now it's a cult classic, and not without good reason. Yeah, it's goofy as hell, but people don't play like this any more. People CAN'T play like this anymore, lost innocence and all that.

Think about it - Hoagy Carmichael, children's music, early jazz-rock with fuzzed vibes, children's TV, Ahmad Jamal, all of it right here in one time and one place. The mind boggles, if you let it.

Speaking of Hoagy Carmichael...

TRACK TWELVE - Kay Starr - Lazy Bones from Rockin' With Kay - RCA Victor, 1958: Kay Starr w/unidentifed backing

Kay Starr had skills, and some pretty decent jazz cred before she went pop. No idea who put all this together, or who played, sang on it. But it works.

The album itself is being credited as produced by one Harold/Hal Stanley

Hal Stanley also did some work with the Blackwood Brothers on RCA: http://www.discogs.com/artist/Harold+Stanley?anv=Hal+Stanley so that might be J.D. Sumner singing bass, but...who knows? And the trombone....your guess is as good as mine. But it just goes to show you - you never know who might do what. You just never know.

TRACK THIRTEEN - Stan Kenton - Artistry In Rhythm from Big Sounds From the Small Screen - Dynaflow, 2008: Stan Kenton Orch., KTTV-TV "Music Of The '60s, 3/20/1962

I've come to a new respect for the whole "Kenton thing", but I'm sorry -you say stuff like this, and, yeah, somebody's gonna put it back out there, and don't blame anybody for laughing, because it's some funny stuff. Not necessarily untrue, mind you, just funny. You ever been to a corporate party where the big boss wants to leave early but not too early, so they get up and give a big speech full of thanks and best wishes and happy-happys, and then they book out of there, leaving everybody kind of...stunned? Not MAD or anything, just...dulled a little. Well, this reminds me of that.

But the thing about those parties is that if you hang around late enough, the lights go down, the mood gets mellow, and what's left to close out the night are the people who are relaxed and fun, and they don't need any help, so you don't need to do anything for them except give it right back to 'em, which is how we get to...

TRACK FOURTEEN - Les McCann - Samia from Les Is More - Night Records, 1991 (also reissued on Hyena): Eddie Harris, Les McCann, Curtis Roberson, Jr. - bass, Tony St. James - drums; Recorded date/location not given, but probably early 1970s, in a club, somewhere in the world as it used to be.

Eddie Harris could play the saxophone. He didn't always make "great records", but you talk about having total command of the instrument, yeah, Eddie Harris was deep in that regard. His is one of the most truly vocal approaches to the instrument ever, and yet, his fingers could move damn near any way at any time. And Les McCann...I know, a little Les McCann goes a long way for a lot of people, including me, but I keep finding these little bits in a lot of different places. And this album in particular has a lot of them. It's a collection culled from McCann's own private collection of personally recorded gigs (his and others), and the whole thing is just...nice. It's probably the one to have if you're having only one. But...you're probably not, and you probably shouldn't. But if so, then.

Again, thanks to all who participated, and much appreciation to the overall reception. Really didn't know how a set like this was going to be received, what with all the intentional "lightness", but nobody asked for their money back, so I'm considering that a net positive.

Thanks, good night, drive carefully, and see y'all next time. We OUTTA here!

[jeffcrom]

Thanks for this most odd and interesting of BFTs, Mr. Sangrey. I learned a bit, although that probably wasn't your intention, and enjoyed it, which was your intention, I think. And what we all hate happened to me here - the track which puzzled me the most is sitting on my shelves.

[webbcity]

Very interesting, especially #4! Love that clip from the Hoagy Carmichael special too. Thanks again!

[Jim R]

Well, I was wrong when I said I'd never heard track 4. "Age Of Steam" passed through my hands (long enough to play it at least once..... yeah.... probably just once).

I'm a little surprised (and slightly disappointed) that the guy who did Jolson is an unfamiliar name. I was expecting to recognize it, as he sounded pretty familiar. I tried a google image search (in case I remembered the face), and so far have come up empty.

Thanks again for an enjoyable ride.

[Jim R]

Forgot to mention something. Regarding track 5, one of the guesses was... show #5, December 15, 1973 "The Show Must Go On". I still find it somewhat odd that this guess was apparently (?) wrong, in that "The Show Must Go On" seems like a better/more accurate title than "A Laugh From The Past". This page: http://www.marksverylarge.com/nlrh/nlrh731215_05.html even lists one specifically as "Al Jolson / The Show Must Go On". I guess I can't help but wonder if wires got crossed at some point between the radio broadcast and the Epic LP, and if we even have the right performer here.

[JSngry]

That's interesting...the cut has an intro that I edited out..a tack piano playing and a narrator saying something like "and now, National Lampoon presents a laugh from the past"...I edited that part off for obvious reasons. So that's where the piece got its name.

But looking at that site, that title appears to have been a segment that usually featured actual archival comedy, and I don't think this is that. The surface noise is obviously post-production, and the comedy itself is more Lampoon than anything else.

And truth be told, when I first heard this cut, I thought it was John Belushi, who was a key member of the Lampoon radio crew. The underlying voice sounds like Belushi to me. So when I got this other info, I was surprised to put it mildly. But in light of this...perhaps not.

I can now re-believe that this is John Belushi doing a brilliant Jolson bit. If you remember early Belushi, you know he could get into a zone like this with no difficulty.

[Hot Ptah]

2. I wondered if this was Monday, only because you have sung her praises over the years. When I did not know who it was, I thought this vocalist had a beautiful voice.

4. I have an LP of "Age of Steam" in my "play it someday" pile. I have never heard it. This motivates me to dig it out and play it. It is interesting to me that Kellaway's touch on electric piano seems so different from the way that he plays acoustic piano.

5. The more I listen to this put on of Al Jolson, the more I focus on his off hand remarks about his burnt cork blackface makeup and minstrel wig, as the really disturbing parts of this monologue. As this was presented in the 1970s, the idea that he would still be fully comfortable discussing his phony black man appearance on stage--that is as shocking as his disregard for the dead man in his arms.

6. This Nat Cole song has been going through my head for a few days now. I can't get rid of it. But I don't mind.

8. Now I know how to buy this Willie Bobo song! I want to hear more from this session.

11. So that is John Abercrombie on guitar? WIthin five years of this, he was making his classic early ECM albums. History seemed more compressed and eventful back then.

12. I really wish I knew who was playing trombone on this. I wonder if it is Quentin Jackson. It sounds very much to me like a Duke Ellington band soloist, who was adept with the plunger mute, making that Ellington "jungle band" sound. I wonder if there are any Duke Ellington experts out there who could identify this trombonist by sound.

This was a most enjoyable, and unusual, Blindfold Test. I enjoy your sense of humor and whimsy in putting some of it together.

[Dan Gould]

Interesting to finally hear Ms. Michiru. Enjoyed it but, as Jim says, "No such thing as a "typical" Monday Michiru song in terms of "style" or groove" I'm not at all sure I want to take any plunge.

An interesting and mostly enjoyable BFT, thanks again!

[Jim R]

5. The more I listen to this put on of Al Jolson, the more I focus on his off hand remarks about his burnt cork blackface makeup and minstrel wig, as the really disturbing parts of this monologue. As this was presented in the 1970s, the idea that he would still be fully comfortable discussing his phony black man appearance on stage--that is as shocking as his disregard for the dead man in his arms.

It's really interesting (borderline fascinating) to read everyone's reactions to this recording, which seem to vary even more than reactions to musical selections. I think some of the reactions take this a bit (or completely) too seriously and kind of (or completely) miss the intent, but as Jim pointed out in the discussion, comedy is a highly subjective thing (and dark comedy even moreso). Anyway, "disturbing" and "shocking" are not reactions that occurred to me at all during this bit (it was a historical reference to Jolson in blackface, not a 1970's attempt to revive minstrelsy), but I guess I can understand where that reaction comes from, if one is not inclined to accept the references to a different time in our history. As for the dead body element, if you're shocked by that, don't see "Weekend At Bernie's".

[Hot Ptah]

5. The more I listen to this put on of Al Jolson, the more I focus on his off hand remarks about his burnt cork blackface makeup and minstrel wig, as the really disturbing parts of this monologue. As this was presented in the 1970s, the idea that he would still be fully comfortable discussing his phony black man appearance on stage--that is as shocking as his disregard for the dead man in his arms.

It's really interesting (borderline fascinating) to read everyone's reactions to this recording, which seem to vary even more than reactions to musical selections. I think some of the reactions take this a bit (or completely) too seriously and kind of (or completely) miss the intent, but as Jim pointed out in the discussion, comedy is a highly subjective thing (and dark comedy even moreso). Anyway, "disturbing" and "shocking" are not reactions that occurred to me at all during this bit (it was a historical reference to Jolson in blackface, not a 1970's attempt to revive minstrelsy), but I guess I can understand where that reaction comes from, if one is not inclined to accept the references to a different time in our history. As for the dead body element, if you're shocked by that, don't see "Weekend At Bernie's".

I realize that it is a put-on and black humor. To me the minstrel references, which I understand are part of the humor, are disturbing because I would have thought that by the 1970s, an actual performer from the earlier era who used burnt cork would have commented on it by saying something like, "of course times are so different today, but back then we used to use it and no one was offended like they would be today", something like that. The fact that the comic just says it flat out as if it is nothing significant, is part of what makes the humor so effective here--and I find it disturbing humor, which I can appreciate.

[JSngry]

The most disturbing -and funny - part of it to me is how Jolson says "helllooo Looouuu", like he's got an eye out for this guy as soon as he walks in. And then how he offers up an unsolicited, "you know Lou, you don't LOOK good" and then Lou, apparently not sensing Jolson's predatory nature, innocently gives up you know Al, I don't FEEL good...and then one thing leads to another, Lou drops dead, Jolson was WANTED out there, etc etc etc. But that first exchange between Al & Lou, it reminds me of how when I had more old relatives living than I now do, and they'd talk about each other all the time, about how old and frail the others are getting. It's ghoulish, really the way they would be, like, sitting there waiting and watching for the other ones to die, because if they saw it, then it wasn't them that was the one going, ya' know? It's life-affirming on the one hand, but so very, very dark on the other...and that's why you gotta laugh, I think. Laugh, but with one eye open at all times...

If this is Belushi (and I'm more than happy to re-believe that it is now, seeing as how there was probably some mis-labeling of the record), then that's perfect. I can see him doing the facial expressions, the raised eyebrows, the mock-worried look, everything. It's easy to forget how flexible and really funny Belushi was before the drugs started getting to him. Belushi makes perfect sense to me on this one, much more so than Bob Perry, whoever that is.

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

Ah, no wonder the guitarist on #11 bored me...

Thanks Jim, for a ride on your roller-coaster

MG

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

TRACK FOUR - Gerry Mulligan - A Weed Grows In Disneyland - from The Age Of Steam - A&M, 1971: Gerry Mulligan - baritone saxophone, Tom Scott - soprano saxophone, Sweets Edison - trumpet, Roger Kellaway - electric piano, Howard Roberts - guitar, Chuck Domanico - electric bass, Joe Porcaro - drums; Emil Richards - percussion

Jaws may or may not be dropping that this is who (all) it is, but, yep, that's it. Howard Roberts plays so straight on the beat and with such totally symmetrical phrasing that he almost sounds like a Country player (and his comping after his solo gets groovier the longer the jam goes), Mulligan jumps in full of fire and vigor and then all of sudden BAM hits a wall and drops out (a true jazz LOL moment, imo), roger Kellaway is indeed insane (in a good way), and then we're done. And yeah, it grooved, big time.

All the while, check out the real Star Of The Show, Joe Porcaro, the dad of the Toto Porcaro brothers, and somebody whose work I am totally unfamiliar with outside of this album (and he's mostly on percussion for the rest of it, John Guerin playing drums on most cuts). This guy, he just WHOOOOSHES all the way through, egging everybody on, and they all take the bait, fortunately. Who IS this guy, anyway?

Late-60s/early '70s L.A. was a very fertile place in terms of jazz and pop (again) co-mingling, some of it on the outer edges, and some of it, like this album, edging towards what could have been a new "West Coast Jazz". Mulligan's approach on this album is very much "Mulligan" in terms of core materials, yet totally "contemporary" in terms of texture and rhythm. Very worthy music, imo, definitely worth a checkout.

Of course, much has been made over the years of Mulligan's near-"corniness", that streak of old-school ENTRAINMENT, and who would personify that better than Al Jolson? Which leads us to...

Bleedin' 'ell!!!!

Must keep an eye out for this one.

MG

[felser]

11. So that is John Abercrombie on guitar? WIthin five years of this, he was making his classic early ECM albums. History seemed more compressed and eventful back then.

Musically, history WAS more compressed and eventful back then. As far as jazz, look at 1945-1970, then look at 1985-2010. Pop/Rock/R&B/Soul, look at 1955-1984, and then at 1984-2013. I know I sound old, but still...

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

11. So that is John Abercrombie on guitar? WIthin five years of this, he was making his classic early ECM albums. History seemed more compressed and eventful back then.

Musically, history WAS more compressed and eventful back then. As far as jazz, look at 1945-1970, then look at 1985-2010. Pop/Rock/R&B/Soul, look at 1955-1984, and then at 1984-2013. I know I sound old, but still...

That's most interesting. I wonder if the same would be true for Jamaican music, comparing 1955-84 with 1985-2012? Quite possibly.

Now Gospel... I'm not sure. I think innovations came infrequently; the 1920s brought about recordings of the great singing preachers, but to think that hey hadn't been there since 1797 is surely wrong; there's a lot of stuff in sermons that is definitely from Africa. Gospel quartets had also been around a long time, probably from well before 1904. Dinwiddie Colored Quartet was pretty much barbershop stuff, while the harder jubilee groups came along in the twenties. Then Thomas Dorsey in the thirties, with a different kind of song; more blues-related and more focussed on the 'good news'; a liturgical as well as a musical difference. Also the early hard gospel quartets came along in the thirties, accompanied by solo singers like Brother Joe May singing in the same vein. 'Hard' choirs started up in the late fifties, through Rev James Cleveland's work. And the hip Hop influence began to be felt in the late 80s Through the work of Kirk Franklin. But not much has happened since then, I think; the Gospel chart seems still to be full of Hip Hop. Another difference is that older styles in Gospel aren't superceded in the way they seem to be in Jazz, R&B and general pop music.

Contrast all this with the general pace of change in society as a whole, where the pace of change is continually increasing, and one wonders. Perhaps it's not just grumpy old men who aren't happy with the speed of change now...

MG

[JSngry]

I'm having a rough, untempered thought that technology once made fundamentalchanges imperative and inevitable but now makes it unnecessary unless desired...not sure how I'd go with that, or even if I would, but...

[jeffcrom]

I'm having a rough, untempered thought that technology once made fundamentalchanges imperative and inevitable but now makes it unnecessary unless desired...not sure how I'd go with that, or even if I would, but...

That's an intriguing idea.

[Big Al]

Gonna definitely be on the lookout for that Mulligan record. AND the Bobo record. But this whole BFT was a rollicking good time! Thanks again, Jim!

[NIS]

Thank you very much for the BFT. The Jolson take-off alone was worth the price of admission. Please forgive my late thank you. I have been traveling and spent little or no time on the computer. I did however have my MP3 player and your BFT was one of the things I listened to.