Fnarf
LightNews LightNews
banner
fnarf.bsky.social
Fnarf
@fnarf.bsky.social
740 followers 2.3K following 2.4K posts
Steve Thornton says fight fascism and protect trans kids (and grownups).
Posts Replies Media Videos
fnarf.bsky.social
#jazzsky #vinylsky #musicsky #guitar Ted Dunbar, Opening Remarks, Xanadu, 1978. Dunbar, g; Tommy Flanagan, p; Sam Jones, b; Leroy Williams, d. Dubar was self-taught, and published an instructional book, A System of Tonal Convergence for Improvisors, Composers, and Arrangers, which is...above me.
LP cover - the Xanadu template, which is gold, or in this case silver, around a tinted black and white photo of the artist. This one has a photo of a Black man (Dunbar), and the tint is also silver. He's standing against a white painted wall, probably outdoors, which is peeling in several places. He's holding his gorgeous Gibson L-5 Florentine (I think). He has a neat Afro and a full beard, and large black-framed glasses. He's squared up to the camera but looking away to his left with a bemused smile. He's wearing a black pullover of some sort; details are hard to see.
December 14, 2025 at 2:33 AM
fnarf.bsky.social
#jazzsky #vinylsky #musicsky The Sonny Criss Orchestra, Sonny's Dream (Birth of the New Cool), Prestige, 1968 [2025 Craft/OJC reissue] Criss, ss, as; Teddy Edwards, ts; Conte Candoli, tp; Dick Nash, tb; Ray Draper, tuba; Tommy Flanagan, p; Al McKibbon, b; Everett Brown Jr., d; +2
LP cover - top fourth is a white band with a small black and white photo on the left of a Black man (Criss), wearing a turtleneck and holding a cigarette to his lips, against a black background; on the right, the title and artist. The bottom three fourths is an orange and purple psychedelic solarized photo of Criss playing his alto. Very groovy, very 1968.
December 13, 2025 at 2:23 AM
fnarf.bsky.social
#jazzsky #vinylsky #musicsky Yusuf Lateef, The Centaur and the Phoenix, Riverside, 1960. [1965 reissue]. Lateef, ts, ob, fl, argol; Clark Terry & Richard Williams, tp; Curtis Fuller, tb; Tate Houston, bs; Josea Taylor, bsn; Joe Zawinul, p; Ben Tucker or Lex Humphries, d.
Black and white photo of a Black man (Lateef) with his trademark shave head and goatee, wearing a tan cashmere coat (I think), white shirt and black tie, clutching a flute in his right hand, with a tenor and an oboe out of focus behind him, taken outdoors with much foliage behind that. Lateef is looking at the camera with a penetrating gaze, his head tilted. The top banner is white, with an illustration of a centaur on the left, white on red, and a phoenix on the right, red on white, with the title and artist in red on white in between. The photo looks sepia or yellow tinted in this picture, but it's plain white in real life.
December 12, 2025 at 11:27 PM
fnarf.bsky.social
#jazzsky #vinylsky #musicsky Grant Green, Sunday Mornin', Blue Note, 1962 [1966 reissue]. Green, g; Kenny Drew, p; Ben Tucker, b; Ben Dixon, d. Wish I could find out what store this was from originally, at 97 cents!
LP cover - against an off-white background, a black and white photo of a Black man (Green), shot from very low, wearing a tan raincoat, probably outdoors. Green has a nice toothy smile. He's facing left but looking to his right, in a three quarter pose. The shrink wrap is still on, and there is a big fluorescent orange sticker in the upper right, reading SPECIAL SALE KEY 79 97¢ PROMO RECORDS
December 12, 2025 at 10:37 PM
fnarf.bsky.social
#jazzsky #vinylsky #musicsky Harold Land Quintet, Grooveyard, Contemporary, 1963 [reissue of 1958 release, with a new title - originally Harold in the Land of Jazz. Land, ts; Rolf Ericson, tp; Carl Perkins, p; Leroy Vinnegar, b; Frank Butler, d.
LP cover - against a bright blue sky, a Black man (Land) plays his tenor in front of the Watts Towers. His horn oddly bears some resemblance to the towers, which are made up of rings of metal stacked up and tapering toward the tops, with strong steel vertical members to hold them up. Unlike the towers, his horn is not covered with elaborate mosaics of tile, glass, and found objects.
December 12, 2025 at 2:32 AM
fnarf.bsky.social
#jazzsky #souljazz #loungesky #musicsky Frank Hunter and the Huntsmen, Watermelon Man, Epic, 1963. Very peculiar album, definitely a jazz album, but with soul-jazz grooves and easy-listening schmooze. Title track has bird calls and weird girl chorus sounds. And organ. Oh, baby.
LP cover - all text, no illustration unless you count the O in MELON, which has been drawn as a cut watermelon complete with seeds. Cover is white, title is very large bold all caps in green, the song titles are black and mixed case; the artist is in green. A weird piece all around.
December 12, 2025 at 1:16 AM
fnarf.bsky.social
#jazzsky #vinylsky #musicsky Doug Watkins Quintet Featuring Yusuf Lateef, Soulnik, Prestige New Jazz, 1960 [1965 Status reissue]. Watkins, cello; Lateef, flute & oboe; Hugh Lawson, piano; Herman Wright, bass; Lex Humphries, drums.
LP cover - a white background for a blue tinted black and white photo of a Black man (Watkins), seated on a tall stool and holding his cello. He is wearing a wool coat with wide lapels, a grey or blue shirt, a neck scarf, black pants and black shoes. He appears to be outside, in the snow! There are a few barren branches showing in the foreground, and the ground is completely white. This is obviously a leftover cover from the Prestige New Jazz release, because there is a black sticker over the word Prestige, which reads STATUS in white.
December 11, 2025 at 2:07 AM
fnarf.bsky.social
#jazzsky #vinylsky #musicsky Duke Jordan, Flight to Jordan, Blue Note, 1961 [2025 Tone Poet reissue]. Jordan, p; Dizzy Reece, tp; Stanley Turrentine, ts; Reginald Workman, b; Art Taylor, d. Previously unknown to me, but it's terrific.
LP cover - another black cover, with the title in large blue mixed case lettering. The top third is a blue tinted black and white photo of a Black man (Jordan) wearing black framed glasses, mustache, and a white shirt. His eyes are cast down, as if looking at something in front of him. I assume he's being photographed across the top of a piano, but there is an out of focus implement in front of him that doesn't look like a piano part or a microphone. It appears in another photo inside the gatefold, but I can't identify it there either.
December 10, 2025 at 8:39 PM
fnarf.bsky.social
#jazzsky #vinylsky #musicsky The Prestige All Stars, All Day Long, Original Jazz Classics, 1990 [reissue of 1957 Prestige]. Frank Foster, ts; Donald Byrd, tp; Kenny Burrell, g; Tommy Flanagan, p; Doug Watkins, b; Arthur Taylor, d.
LP cover - a black and white photo of (I think) the George Washington Bridge, between far upper Manhattan and New Jersey, seen from the Hudson, in the daytime, with a nighttime shot above it and below it. The full length of the bridge is shown.
December 8, 2025 at 2:32 AM
fnarf.bsky.social
#jazzsky #vinylsky #musicsky Hal McKusick Quintet, Featuring Art Farmer, Coral, 1957 [1983 MCA Jazz Heritage Series reissue]. Hal McKusick, cl, bass cl, as; Art Farmer, tp; Eddie Costa, p; Milton Hinton, b; Gus Johnson, d.
LP cover - standard Jazz Heritage Series template, with a mauve patterned border this time; in the center is a black and white photo of a Black man (Farmer) and a white man ( McKusick) from the side, illuminated with stage lighting. Farmer is blowing, McKusick is waiting his turn on alto. Farmer is wearing a dark shirt that looks like flannel; McKusick is wearing a white dress shirt with vertical stripes, alternating thick and thin.
December 8, 2025 at 1:49 AM
fnarf.bsky.social
This bus lost air pressure halfway through the journey, so we had to switch to a 1979 Flyer, which was a lot of fun - padded seats!
1969 King County Metro bus in the dark. Why so blurry?
December 7, 2025 at 7:27 AM
fnarf.bsky.social
Riding a vintage Seattle bus tonight. It's a 1968 GM bus, with pre-Metro livery. Seattle Transit System on the front.
Vintage Seattle bus - 1968 GM, in red.
December 7, 2025 at 3:01 AM
fnarf.bsky.social
Benoit had a bit of an unfair advantage - he had two heads
Benoit with his giant afro pulled behind Benoit all combed out
December 7, 2025 at 1:16 AM
fnarf.bsky.social
#jazzsky #vinylcommunity Bobby Timmons Trio, Born to be Blue!, Riverside, 1963. Timmons, p; Sam Jones or Ron Carter, b; Connie Kay, d.
LP cover - a dramatic photo of a Black man (Timmons) standing in a blue light, on a patch of what looks autumn leaves or hot coals, but which is just ear on the cover; more flecks of orange are around the photo. He is wearing a dark blue three piece suit, with his right hand in his pants pocket and his left holding a cigarette in front of his face, having just exhaled a great quantity of smoke, which is caught in the light, obscuring his face. He appears to be wearing a knitted cap. Great chiarascuro!
December 6, 2025 at 11:35 PM
fnarf.bsky.social
#jazzsky #vinylcommunity Big John Patton, Blue John, Blue Note, 1986 [recorded 1963]. Patton, org; Tommy Turrentine, tp; George Braith, ss, stritch (straight as); Grant Green, g; Ben Dixon, d. Part of Michael Cuscuna's expeditions into the unreleased vault.
LP cover - pale blue background, mostly empty, except for a small black and white photo of a Black man (Patton) in the bottom center and the artist in white text and the title and sidemen in black text in the upper left. Patton's picture is solarized or perhaps photocopied numerous times to get that effect; he's either holding his chin in his hand or taking a drag on a ciggie, I can't tell which. This cover art was done in 1963 by Reid Miles and sat in the same vault as the tape for 23 years.
December 6, 2025 at 9:33 PM
fnarf.bsky.social
#jazzsky #vinylcommunity Kenny Burrell, In New York, Muse, 1981. Burrell, g; Larry Gales, b; Sherman Ferguson, d. Live recording at the Village Vanguard, a follow-up to the Muse record Live at the Village Vanguard. Both records were recorded in 1978.
LP cover - a painting (or pastels) of the famous awning at the Vanguard floating in midair over New York, sitting on a cloud. Where the door would normally be is a painting of Burrell against an orange background. The sky is blue, and below the cloud is the skyline (not too accurate) with a sunset behind it.
December 5, 2025 at 12:52 AM
fnarf.bsky.social
#jazzsky #vinylcommunity Red Norvo, Collections, Intro, 1957 [1983 Japanese issue]. Norvo, vib; Art Pepper, as & ts; Howard Roberts, g; Gerry Wiggins, p; Ben Tucker, b; Joe Morello, d.
LP cover - an odd one. "The cover photo was taken by Ray Avery, well known west coast jazz photographer, at the fine furniture showroom of MONTEVERDI-YOUNG, 970 La Cienega, Los Angeles". It's a collection of items on a glass-topped table - a lamp with a base shaped like a mare and foal and a nice wool and wicker shade; two books by Joachim Ernst Berendt, Jazz-optisch and Variationen über Jazz; a reel tape, partly unspooled; unidentifiable sheet music; some folios and other books; and an LP I can't make out the name of, though it could be something "of classic jazz". Everything in the photo is a very 1950s brown, including the wallpaper out of focus behind the table.
December 5, 2025 at 12:17 AM
fnarf.bsky.social
#jazzsky #vinylcommunity Leo Parker, Rollin' With Leo, Blue Note, 1986 [reissue of 1980 LT series original, recorded in 1961]. Parker, bs; Dave Burns, tp; Bill Swindell, ts; Johnny Acea, p; Stan Conover or Al Lucas, b; Purnell Rice or Wilbert Hogan, d. Parker died in 1962 and never saw this.
A large (top four fifths) red tinted black and white photo of a Black man (Parker), blowing hard into his baritone sax. His cheeks are puffed out with the effort. The triple curve of the horn's neck is prominent. A large microphone is on the right. The photo is quite dark except for the light reflected off of Parker's face and his horn. The bottom fifth is red with bold black type for the title and smaller white type for the artist.
December 4, 2025 at 11:16 PM
fnarf.bsky.social
Gerald Ford and Brezhnev in fur hats
December 4, 2025 at 8:28 PM
fnarf.bsky.social
Flat cap with ear flaps
December 4, 2025 at 8:24 PM
fnarf.bsky.social
Fedora with ear flaps
December 4, 2025 at 8:22 PM
fnarf.bsky.social
#jazzsky #vinylcommunity Curtis Fuller!, Soul Trombone and the Jazz Clan, Impulse!, 1962. Fuller, tb; Freddie Hubbard, tp; Jimmy Heath, ts; Cedar Walton, p; Jymie Merrit, b; Jimmy Cobb & G.T. Hogan, d.
LP cover - glossy black background with a large red tinted black and white photo of a Black man (Fuller) blowing into a trombone, with the bell very close to the camera. It's too dark to tell much more, except that he's wearing a houndstooth check jacket, possibly brown and black?
December 4, 2025 at 2:36 AM
fnarf.bsky.social
#jazzsky #vinylcommunity Hank Mobley, Al Cohn, John Coltrane, Zoot Sims, Tenor Conclave, Prestige, 1957 [1984 OJC reissue]. The aforementioned, ts; Red Garland, p; Paul Chambers, b; Art Taylor, d. Bless you, OJC; I'm not going to be buying any thousand-dollar originals!
LP cover - pale yellow background, three large red bars, and four small black and white photos of the four saxophonists, the top two are Black men, the bottom two white. Three of them are blowing their horns, while Sims is resting his chin on his hand. The names of the four are in the upper left, with a dashed line circling them, with an arrow on one end, pointing at the the title.
December 4, 2025 at 1:16 AM
fnarf.bsky.social
#jazzsky #vinylcommunity Baby Face Willette, Face to Face, Blue Note, 1961 [1990 Japanese reissue]. Willette, org; Fred Jackson, ts; Grant Green, g; Ben Dixon, d. Finally got a proper issue of one of my favorite Blue Notes to replace my grey-market Doxy one.
LP cover - A black and white photo of a Black man (Willette) looking over his left shoulder with his mouth parted. He's wearing an elaborately checked shirt with a white or grey tie.
December 4, 2025 at 12:06 AM
fnarf.bsky.social
#jazzsky #vinylcommunity The Lester Young Story, Volume 2: A Musical Romance, Columbia, 1977 [recorded 1937-8]. Billie Holiday and her Orchestra, Teddy Wilson and his Orchestra, Benny Goodman Carnegie Hall Jam Session; too many players to mention.
LP cover - a pastel drawing of a tenor saxophone's mouthpiece and curved neck or crook, close to life size, against a dark grey green background. The title is in large gold letters across the top. A garish orange hype sticker is stuck on the middle right, reading SPECIAL LOW PRICE / 2 RECORD VALU-PAK!
December 3, 2025 at 5:58 PM