BFT #136 Revealed

[tkeith]

Track 1 - She's Got It - Buddy Tate - (1968) Buddy Tate And His Celebrity Club Orchestra Vol. 2

Ben Richardson - alto & bari sax, clarinet, vocals; Buddy Tate - tenor sax, vocals; Dickie Wells - trombone, vocals; Dud Bascomb - trumpet, vocals, Skip Hall - keyboard; John Williams - bass; Billy Stewart - drums

My Dad actually saw Buddy perform this with Arnett Cobb, Eddie Cleanhead Vinson and others in the 80s.  I discovered this in my collection and had to include it.  What can I say, I'm a sucker for dirty old men singing about a bad girl.

 

Track 2 - 5/4 Thing - Art Matthews - (1978) It's Easy To Remember

Archie Shepp - alto sax; Bill Pierce - tenor sax; Dizzy Reece - trumpet; Art Matthews - piano; Charles Fambrough - bass; Alan Dawson - drums
I was very excited when I saw this record as a kid.  I loved Shepp, loved George Coleman (his tune), loved Dizzy Reece, and was very excited to hear the young Billy Pierce on tenor.  The album doesn't quite live up to what my expectations were, but it's interesting anyway.  I don't know of any other albums by Matthews as a leader.

 

Track 3 - The Chooch - The Fringe - (1981) Hey! Open Up!

George Garzone - tenor sax; Richard Appleman - bass; Bob Gullotti - drums
The original version of The Fringe.  Most people don't realize that John Lockwood was NOT the original bassist.  After I saw them perform this at the Portsmouth Jazz Festival (including vocals by Garzone), I had to have this.  This was back when The Fringe were self-producing everything (not sure if that's still the case) and it's a needle drop.  I'm torn on Garzone.  Sometimes I love him, most times I don't.  No denying he's a beast, though.  

 

Track 4 - Snake and Pygmy Pie - Bob Moses - (1979) 

David Liebman - tenor sax; Terumasa Hino - cornet, percussion; Steve Kuhn - piano; Steve Swallow - electric bass; Bob Moses - drums
Heard this tune on the radio one night called Autumn Liebs and totally dug it.  Encountered this album later and really liked the whole thing.  This track was a bit of a discovery.  Not sure when Liebman stopped being this guy, but I miss it.

 

Track 5 - Light on the Path - Edward Wilkerson, Jr. - (1992) Light on the Path

Edward Wilkerson, Jr. - clarinet; Rod McGaha - trumpet; Harrison Bankhead - bass; Reggie Nicholson - drums
Throwing people off with a cut featuring the dreaded clarinet.  This track is all about Rod McGaha on trumpet, for me.  I love the guy.  Love him on Jeff Coffin's Go 'Round, too.  I picked up one of his own releases and it was awful.  Heavy on the synth and "R & B" stylings.  Again, don't know what happened.

 

Track 6 - Queen of All Ears - The Lounge Lizards - (1998) Queen of All Ears

John Lurie - alto & tenor saxes; Michael Blake - tenor sax; Steven Bernstein - trumpet; Evan Lurie - keyboards; David Tronzo - slide guitar; Jane Scarpantoni - cello ; Erik Sanko - bass; Calvin Weston - drums
I had this folder of unknown tunes on my hard drive.  No idea where they came from, no idea what they were.  I finally was able to figure this one out, and had to include it here.

 

Track 7 - Chris Klaxton - Exospheric - (2014) Starcode

Chris Klaxton - tpt; Mark Small - saxophone; Taylor O'Donnell - vocals; Tim Jago - guitar; Kendall Moore - trombone; Mike Effenberger - keys; Josh Allen - bass; Michael Piolet - drums
This is an odd cut from trumpeter Chris Klaxton -- I love it.  He released two albums last fall and this is from one of them.  He lives in my area and is really an impressive musician.  He made a huge impression on me when he called an obscure Johnny Hodges tune on a gig at the now defunct Barley Pub.  The guy REALLY knows his stuff.  This is a little contemporary for my usual tastes, but he's really *doing* something, to my ear.

Track 8 - Afrisong - Muhal Richard Abrams - (1975) Afrisong

Abrams - piano
I was going to include a different song from this album -- a more consistent ballad -- but this song was just too damned beautiful.  I was slow to come to Muhal, but in the past couple of years, he's really making my ears happy.

 

Track 9 - Do It To It - Richard "Groove" Holmes - (1980) Good Vibrations

Groove Holmes - organ; Houston Person - tenor sax; Bob DeVos - guitar; Idris Muhammad - drums; Buddy Caldwell - congas
I've always loved this adaptation of Santana.  I used to gobble up these Muse albums as a kid, often for $3 a pop, on trips to Boston with my Dad. Not a lot of desert island classics, but some pretty consistent music from the period.

Track 10 - On Green Dolphin Street - Buddy Tate - (1981) The Great Buddy Tate

Buddy Tate - tenor sax; Warren Vaché - trumpet; Hank Jones - piano; Milt Hinton - bass; Mel Lewis - drums
My second favorite version of this tune (Miles' Jazztrack being the first).  Buddy Tate is just such a Jazz guy; straight to the point and always swings his ass off.  Warren Vaché is the perfect compliment on this album.  Good stuff.  Double shot of Tate, so I was shocked when this one when unidentified.

Track 11 - Brother Ed - Larry Willis - (2002) Sanctuary

Larry Willis - piano; Joe Ford - alto sax; Ray Codrington - trumpet; Steve Novosel - bass; Steve Berrios - drums
Larry Willis composed a song on my favorite Junior Cook album, Somethin's Cookin', called Illusions of Grandeur.  I've been interested in him ever since, and he never disappoints.  Most of this album is really unique and interesting.  Several other tracks include strings, but in a very original arrangement.  Larry Willis needs more appreciation.

Track 12 - Jakubu's Dance - Dick Griffin - (1974) The Eighth Wonder

Dick Griffin - trombone; Sam Rivers - tenor sax; Ron Burton - piano; Cecil McBee - bass; Freddie Waits - drums; Warren Smith, Leopoldo F. Fleming - percussion
I was thinking, "Gee, I really need to include a Dick Griffin cut on one of these."  I went back and checked and saw that I've done that two times, already (including the song I'd decided to include here, so I had to change that).  I also found that someone else had included a track from this album on a previous test.  Still, this is just such a great track, I had to include it.

Track 13 - Song for the New Man - David Fathead Newman - (2003) Song for the New Man

Fathead - flute; John Hicks - piano; John Menegon - bass; Jimmy Cobb - drums
I didn't figure on confusing anyone with this track, but it came on in the car and it's just so damned choice, I had to include it.  This is most of the band David had with him when I saw him (Yoron Israel as on drums), and this was pretty much what the night was like.  Such a soulful player, and I really like the way this track plays out.  Also, I really do need to include John Hicks more often -- my absolute favorite pianist.

Track 14 - A Dream For Rahsaan - Dick Griffin - (1985) A Dream For Rahsaan

Dick Griffin - trombone; Gary Bartz - alto sax; Stanley Cowell - piano; Cecil McBee - bass; Billy Hart - drums
Speaking of favorite pianists and composers, why not a little Stanley Cowell.  Another great Dick Griffin record (they're all quite good), this one just burns so hot.  These are my guys.

Track 15 - Debonair - John Handy - (1966) The 2nd John Handy Album

John Handy - alto sax; Michael White - violin; Jerry Hahn - guitar; Don Thompson - bass; Terry Clarke - drums
I'm a sucker for songs in three (in case you hadn't picked up on that), and this is a great cut from a remarkable album from a largely forgotten player.  John Handy ALWAYS had something going on.

 

Edited August 1, 2015 by tkeith

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

Bloomin' 'eck, Tucker, TWO Buddy Tate's and I missed 'em both.

I must have been in a bad mood that evening, or something.

MG

[felser]

Thanks so much.  Excited to check out the Moses, and surprised by how good the Willis is, as I have found Mapleshade sessions to usually sound sloppy/underrehearsed.

[page]

Thanks again, Thom. Your BFT has been great fun and brought some wonderful new music to my attention.
Kind regards, page

[NIS]

Thanks very much for the great listen.  In fact, I need to go back and listen to some of this again.

[Spontooneous]

Beautiful BFT, Thom, and now I have to listen again with the answers in hand.