Doug Raney Quartet - Never Say Yes

**Fred Archtop** · 10-26-2025, 02:49 AM

Dear Jazzers,

Just out. Incredibly good.
Doug Raney Quartet - Never Say Yes - New Releases - organissimo forums

He was one of my very best heroes, along with his father.

Enjoy the listening!

**djg** · 10-26-2025, 05:28 AM

Never Say Yes - 1986 | Doug Raney Quartet | Storyville Records

**AllanAllen** · 10-26-2025, 09:04 AM

Listened to it last night. The Raneys set a high bar and this meets it with ease.

Softly As A Morning Sunrise is the standout for me.

**Fred Archtop** · 10-26-2025, 10:09 AM

Originally Posted by AllanAllen

Listened to it last night. The Raneys set a high bar and this meets it with ease.

Softly As A Morning Sunrise is the standout for me.

Yes, nice 3/4 feeling on first theme. Giant Steps stands out to me. He is so fluid and effortless. I prefer this version to the one he recorded after.

Great playing throughout the playlist.

**Cunamara** · 10-26-2025, 01:30 PM

Doug Raney is almost criminally overlooked in the history of jazz guitar. A wonderful player, superb time and groove, fantastic tone- Doug had a great musical toolbox.

Living outside the US might have been part of it- if you're not gigging in New York, you're almost automatically relegated to being considered a minor player. It's the "whatever happened to Tal Farlow" syndrome- he was an hour by road from 52nd St., probably 30 miles as the crow flies, and gigging/teaching regularly but seemingly fell off the planet. Doug goes to Denmark, plays all the time with great musicians, and is all but invisible to the "jazz world." Thankfully he did record quite a few albums.

**ragman1** · 10-26-2025, 02:14 PM

Never Say Yes - 1986 - YouTube

**AllanAllen** · 10-26-2025, 02:46 PM

Originally Posted by Cunamara

Doug Raney is almost criminally overlooked in the history of jazz guitar. A wonderful player, superb time and groove, fantastic tone- Doug had a great musical toolbox.

Living outside the US might have been part of it- if you're not gigging in New York, you're almost automatically relegated to being considered a minor player. It's the "whatever happened to Tal Farlow" syndrome- he was an hour by road from 52nd St., probably 30 miles as the crow flies, and gigging/teaching regularly but seemingly fell off the planet. Doug goes to Denmark, plays all the time with great musicians, and is all but invisible to the "jazz world." Thankfully he did record quite a few albums.

The history of jazz was written in NYC by NYC critics and promoters.

**AllanAllen** · 10-26-2025, 04:49 PM

Originally Posted by Fred Archtop

Yes, nice 3/4 feeling on first theme. Giant Steps stands out to me. He is so fluid and effortless. I prefer this version to the one he recorded after.

Great playing throughout the playlist.

The thing about Giant Steps, if you just listen to the song, it’s just a jazz tune. We put all this effort into something that only we know is hard to do.

Just because something is difficult doesn’t mean it’s good. You know why I mean?

It’s true, the whole band rides over the tune effortlessly. But knowing it’s hard to do doesn’t make it sound better to me. If that makes sense.

**ragman1** · 10-26-2025, 05:21 PM

Originally Posted by AllanAllen

it’s just a jazz tune

Always sounded to me like an exercise. In fact, there were quite a few like that.

Re. the band sailing through it, the way I heard it Tommy Flanagan was just given it to play without preparation and didn't do so well, not surprisingly. Coltrane, on the other hand, had been hard at it for a year. Just throwing it in front of the band was, to me at least, an act of utter selfishness. Still, what do you expect from a junkie alcoholic who later became Saint Coltrane or some other nonsense?

However, once Tom had a chance with it he did rather well.

**AllanAllen** · 10-26-2025, 06:25 PM

I don’t think my point got across.

**JazzPadd** · 10-26-2025, 06:48 PM

Thank you for the heads up! The sample tracks sound wonderful!

**ragman1** · 10-26-2025, 07:14 PM

Originally Posted by AllanAllen

I don’t think my point got across.

You did. Yes, it's just a jazz tune, of course, it's another one to play, I've got it. It's not your fault, I just couldn't resist making the point about this and similar tunes that aren't really good melodies but are just exercises, or challenges if you like.

There's just something that niggles at me about putting exercise-type tunes on an album when so many musicians try hard to compose memorable melodies and harmonies.

**AllanAllen** · 10-26-2025, 08:16 PM

I like the melody, I wonder if it’s been denigrated as an exercise by people who can’t keep up.

My point is more, that’s hard to navigate and I’m lazy.

**ragman1** · 10-26-2025, 11:07 PM

Originally Posted by AllanAllen

I like the melody, I wonder if it’s been denigrated as an exercise by people who can’t keep up.

My point is more, that’s hard to navigate and I’m lazy.

Yup, me too :-)

No, I think it feels like an exercise. You can tell. Anyway, lots of people have said that, not just me.

**Cunamara** · 10-28-2025, 10:45 AM

All that being said, Giant Steps is de rigeur for people to be able to navigate to be considered a competent jazz musician. It just is.

**Sam Sherry** · 10-28-2025, 03:12 PM

Originally Posted by AllanAllen

The thing about Giant Steps, if you just listen to the song, it’s just a jazz tune. We put all this effort into something that only we know is hard to do.

Just because something is difficult doesn’t mean it’s good.

It's only as hard as you let it be . . .