/BLINDFOLD TEST/

Welcome to the weekly Sup Forums jazz Blindfold Test thread. Every Friday and Saturday.

If you're new, the point of these threads is to have fun and encourage critical listening, discussion, and general enjoyment of jazz. All critical music listeners are welcome. The more participation we have, the more fun and successful these threads will be. In the interest of keeping the thread alive and bumped, any general jazz discussion is welcomed here as well.

For more information about how the threads work and listening suggestions, please refer to the pastebin: pastebin.com/5cjEr3A6

THIS WEEK'S THEME: Steeplechase Label
COMPILED BY: JTG

NEXT WEEK: ???
COMPILED BY: ???

If you missed last week's thread, DON'T WORRY. It's not too late. Here are the links for the mystery tracklist. Download the tracks, record your thoughts/guesses/evaluations for each one, and then come back and post them in the thread. Remember, people will be posting guesses and thoughts in this thread so don't read the thread until you have listened to the music and collected your thoughts in order to avoid spoilers. Track info for this week's tracks will be posted on Saturday, so if you see the thread is close to dying before then, give it a bump.

www112.zippyshare.com/v/mqCTcRyi/file.html

Posting with names or tripcodes is encouraged as it makes discussion much easier.

Other urls found in this thread:

youtube.com/watch?v=HXJWHG_6KAI
youtube.com/watch?v=Q4zxsKPZfzY
vocaroo.com/i/s00jERPCn46l
twitter.com/SFWRedditImages

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1. This is an interesting start. The drummer is playing rock style and then a lot of different melodies happen all at once over that. The instruments are interesting too. I know I hear saxophone and organ and I think flute too. There are a lot of cool effects in here, especially the call and response that they do especially when it just trails off into improvisation. It sounds like there’s bass clarinet in there too. This was really cool and I want to know what this album is. 4.5 stars.

2. This reminds me of Ornette Coleman. Probably because of the instrumentation but Coleman’s quartet usually has kind of a darker sound but this sounds brighter or happier. I don’t know how to describe it exactly. The bass playing and drumming are different too than what you would hear from Coleman. Especially the drumming. I liked both of the horn solos though and they both sounded like they were imitating Ornette and Don Cherry. I’ll guess this is Jackie McLean because I know he recorded on Steeplechase. I’d be interested in hearing more from this group. 3.5 stars.

3. I kept waiting for them to take things up a few notches but they never really did so it was kind of weird. It felt like they were playing pretty free at times but never angry or loud. I liked the sax player how he played with a very gentle tone but still played some cool stuff and the piano player did some cool things in his solo too. But it was kind of a letdown since they never changed the energy level. 2.5 stars.

4. Something about the beginning of this reminds me of Andrew Hill. I think it’s the march sound with the dark piano chords. The melody also reminds me a little bit of John Zorn. I like the way the solos keep the march feel but also push things a little bit farther too. The sax solo was especially good and reminded me of Wayne Shorter. 3.5 stars.

5. There’s a weird instrument in this one. It also has a cool, funky feel and sounds older than some of the other ones. The trumpet player was awesome but whatever that other instrument is didn’t really sound that good. I appreciate the idea to use some unusual instruments but I think it would have been better with a regular saxophone. Especially since the main theme was pretty catchy. 2.5 stars.

6. This sounds much more modern and it reminds me of some of the criss cross things JTG has put on these playlists before. It could be Alex Sipiagin on the trumpet I guess. I don’t know if he records on Steeplechase or not. The solos were all pretty good but they could have been better. I liked the main theme of the song though. I’d check out more of these players. 3.5 stars.

7. It sounds like it’s vibraphone and piano duet. I like how the piano is responding to what the vibes player is doing but I think the vibes player was just playing way too many notes. I think it would have been better if he would have just played less or let the piano player play more. I bet the piano player is probably somebody familiar but it’s hard to tell because he didn’t actually play that much. 2 stars.

8. This has a criss cross sound to it too. I like this sax trio format and the drummer is really standing out to me here. I like all the accents and extra stuff he is adding in there to compliment the sax solo while the bass player mostly keeps to walking. Great interplay between the sax player and the drummer all the way through. I would listen to more of this. 4 stars.

9. I am loving this. It sounds like Ornette Coleman playing a punk song. The repetition is cool because usually jazz is so non-repetitive but it’s really nice how the guitar keeps going to weirder and weirder sounds while the sax and bass stay on their melodic parts. I don’t think I’ve ever heard anything else like this and I’d like to hear more. 4.5 stars.

10. This group has an unusual sound but I can’t place why exactly. There was some awesome interplay in the trumpet solo between him and the piano. Maybe they were both soloing at once but there were a lot of cool things going on. The rest of the track was never as good as that first part but the sax solo was pretty nice too. This seems like the kind of thing that would take a few listens to really get into but I’d listen to more from this group. 4 stars.

bump

I'll be posting thoughts tomorrow. bump for the moment.

bumping with the updated list of all the past themes.

Sep. 28- BLUE NOTE (JTG)
Oct. 5- ALTO SAX (BLINDFOLDTEST)
Oct. 12- LIVE (JTG)
Oct. 19- SOLO JAZZ (AMBASSADOR SATCH)
Oct. 26- TRUMPET (BLINDFOLDTEST)
Nov. 2- MEDIUM ENSEMBLES (JTG)
NOV. 9- WILDCARD (BLINDFOLDTEST)
Nov. 16- POPULAR SONGS (JAZZPOSSU)
Nov. 23- MONK TUNES (JTG)
Nov. 30- IMPULSE! (BLINDFOLDTEST)
Dec. 7- 2015 JAZZ (JTG)
Dec. 14- JAZZ DEDICATIONS (AMBASSADOR SATCH)
Dec. 21- CHRISTMAS JAZZ (JTG)
Dec. 28- PIANO TRIOS (TUESDAY user)
Jan. 4- WILDCARD (AMBASSADOR SATCH)
Jan. 11- CHORDLESS RECORDINGS (JTG)
Jan. 18- SOUNDTRACK JAZZ (JAZZPOSSU)
Jan. 25- PIANO TRIOS PT. 2 (TUESDAY user)
Feb. 1- LATIN JAZZ (JTG)
Feb. 8- BLUE NOTE (BLINDFOLDTEST)
Feb. 15- FLUTE JAZZ (JAZZPOSSU)
Feb. 22- VOCAL JAZZ (AMBASSADOR SATCH)
Mar. 4- WILDCARD (JTG)
Mar. 11- ORGAN JAZZ (JAZZPOSSU)
Mar. 18- SEXTETS (BLINDFOLDTEST)
Mar. 25- PIANO TRIOS (JTG)
Apr. 1- BOSSA NOVA (MEDITATION)
Apr. 8- WILDCARD (CLUELESS)
Apr. 15- DRUMLESS (JAZZPOSSU)
Apr. 22- CRISS CROSS (JTG)
Apr. 29- VIBES (BLINDFOLDTEST)
May 6- SONG PAIRS (AMBASSADOR SATCH)
May 13- 2016 EUROJAZZ (JAZZPOSSU)
May 20- STANDARDS (BEBOB)
MAY 27- DUOS (JAZZPOSSU)
June 3- CONNECTING LINKS (JTG)
June 10- MYSTERY THEME- SELECTIONS FROM MILES DAVIS' BF TEST (BLINDFOLDTEST)
June 17- PRESTIGE LABEL (CLUELESS)
June 24- IMPULSE! LABEL (JAZZPOSSU)
July 1- WILDCARD (BEBOB)
July 8- WAYNE SHORTER TUNES (JTG)
July 15- SPIRITUAL JAZZ (JAZZPOSSU)
July 22- STEEPLECHASE LABEL (JTG)

>2. I liked both of the horn solos though and they both sounded like they were imitating Ornette and Don Cherry.
Some pretty accurate guesses.

>4. reminds me of Andrew Hill
I can see that.

>4. reminds me a little bit of John Zorn.
Wouldn't have thought of that myself but I hear that.

>6. It could be Alex Sipiagin on the trumpet
No Sipiagin this week surprisingly but this composition style is similar to Sipiagin's.

>9. Ornette Coleman playing a punk song.
That's an interesting description

>No Sipiagin this week surprisingly but this composition style is similar to Sipiagin's.

Has he recorded on Steeplechase before?

He hasn't done any as a leader but he's been a sideman on a few.

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What's everybody listening to this week. I've been checking this out since hearing the track from it on last week's playlist and also listening to some Oliver Nelson albums.

I listened to a few of Toshiko Akiyoshi's earlier piano albums this week. They're all pretty solid.

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1. Divided into 'sections' in a pretty unusual way, neat. The melody feels Stravinskean/Schönbergish at times, the organ with the intejecting horns is cool. Organ is always neat. Quite creative drumming.

2. Bass tone fells off, to little bass perhaps. Didn't Don Cherry record for StepleChase at some point? It sounds a little bit like him, the instrumentation obviously gives off those vibes as well.

3. Having the bass take the first solo is always a dangerous move, it often sucks out all the energy of the tune. It works better on a kind of slow tune like this one. Drummer and bassist follow each other nicely. Really like drummer overall, just plays whatever stuff comes to mind it seems.

4. Spanish vibes. Drummer changing beat between trumpet and piano solos give them a feel of being different sections, neat. Saxophone probably has the best solo though. Bass player has a nice sense of melody in th ethankfully quite short solo which really feels more like an extended sort fo fill in.

5. Not feeling this at all. Everyone seems to be playing on top of each other, the percussion sounds awkward. It almost sounds like a cartoon soundtrack sometimes. I feel that the pianist overplays, no space in the comping at all. Overall, just not feeling it. Trumpet solo is alright.

6. This is much better. Sax is great. Piano solo builds a lot on that one motif he starts with, really nice use of the left hand too. The drumming reminds me of Eric Harland, similar breakbeatish ideas like he does sometimes. Abrupt ending in a sense.

7. Sounds like modern jazz quartet, had they been inspired by Boulez instead of Bach (well and been the modern jazz duo instead of quartet). Really sounds a bit like Boulez. It's not unlike something like youtube.com/watch?v=HXJWHG_6KAI at times. This was cool and I wanna know who these guys are.

8. Real nice. Everyone just listening to each other and doing the right thing. No particular player really stands out but the three of them really work well together as a unit. Sax player starts out working around a cool motif but kinda gets further and further away from it.

9. This is some cool guitar in the second half. The song doesn't really go anywhere though. Kinda odd track overall. Sounds like something that Roscoe Mitchell or Anthony Braxton or someone like that might come up with when they're in a quirky mood. I liked it a lot better on second listen, when I knew what to expect.

10. Oo, this is nice. Like how the trumpet doesn't solo, it duets with the piano. And then the same with vibes and sax. That's neat. It sort of like those Gerry Mulligan/Chet Baker records where they play under each others solos but more fleshed out. It works better with the piano and trumpet though I think.

Favourite track was probably number 7. After looking it up, it turns out that Don Cherry never recorded anything on steeplechase. I was probably fooled by the Old and New Dreams album which has a kind of similar font on the cover to the Steeplechase logo.

I don't usually post but I sometimes listen but I just wanted to say that track 1 and track 9 are great.

>Track 1
Not a fan of this intro. Organ is too overpowering too. Doesn't sound very coherent to me, like a mentally ill person scrawling their thoughts on a piece of paper. The second section is a lot better but I'm just not a fan of organ in jazz. 6/10

>Track 2
Not sure why but this sounds like it could be a jazz interpretation of a pop tune to me. Different rhythms from the typical swing pattern which is interesting. I don't know what I can say about this other than it sounds odd but pleasing. 7/10

>Track 3
I like the interaction between the horn player and pianist a lot. Feels stagnant for some reason though. 5.5/10

>Track 4
Already more interesting than the others. I like the comping by the pianist quite a lot. Interesting voicings. The bass (?) solo caught my attention. I really have no idea what anyone is doing in this tune and I like that. 8/10

>Track 5
What is that honky sound instrument? Bassoon? I swear on my life that's a bassoon it sounds just like one in the solo. Probably one of the oddest instruments I've seen in a jazz ensemble. I like it. Tune itself is very entertaining 7.5/10

>Track 6
Phrygian mode, nice drums and good horn players. Definitely my favourite so far. Really want to know the album. I'm a huge sucker for eastern sounding things so I'm gonna give this an 8.5/10

>Track 7
Lmao who is this vibe player? This is insane. I feel like the piano could have used less reverb and the solos could be a little more melodic. Sounds like a finger warm-up to me. Not a fan. 4/10

>Track 8
This is a fun tune to listen to. Bass is swinging, sax play is soloing and the drummer is doing his thing. They do a nice job of filling space too (no pianist). 8/10

>Track 9
This sounds like a jazz band put an ad up in a music store, a rock guitarist responded and the band members are trying to make his playing work with them. 4/10

>Track 10
Any more typing and my comment is too long. I'll just say I liked it. 8/10

Those were my favorites too.

I got some strong Coleman/Cherry vibes from track 2 also.

And it looks like our two favorites were your least favorite.

Seems like it isn't them when I do a quick check of their discographies, maybe it's McLean like you say though

since my thread isn't getting any bumps...

i'm going to play with some friends of mine later this week. it'll be me on keys, an EG, a drummer, and maybe a bassist. what are some good standards to start with? i play with these guys all the time but never in a jazz setting, and they're not quite as experienced in jazz as they are in other music. something not too difficult ideally, no Countdown. I was thinking Take Five or some of Brubeck's other simpler work. suggestions?

It could be. It looks like he recorded quite a few for Steeplechase but I think JTG probably would have said it was right when I guessed that earlier.

Unless you guys play a lot of more unusual time signatures, take five seems like you would just get stuck trying to get the 5/4 to work, so maybe start with something in a more normal time sig? St Thomas always seemed like a reasonable starting point, catchy tune with not so complicated changes, pretty much stick sto C major all the time.

Are any of you guys who are posting interested in putting together a playlist?

Maybe in a week or two, gotta have time to think of some nice tunes/a nice theme first. I knida feel like I know too little jazz to come up with some interesting picks.

The drummer is excellent, and experienced playing live. He would have no issue staying in 5/4, nor would I, and I'm confident the guitarist would be able to follow. I might worry about the bass but he should be able to follow our lead, plus he might not even be around. I'm confident playing in any key sig that isn't B (I fucking hate B) and guitar should be fine in most common sigs, but we can work that out when we're there and transposition is always an option, I'm good at it and can take lead.

When you say the more catchy tunes like St. Thomas, I don't know where to begin looking for music if similar difficulty. Can you give me some more suggestions? thank you

theme?

In that case, Take 5 might work well. Maybe something like Moanin' (the Blakey tune) for another catchy simple one.

In other news, I figured out track 8: It's from Scott Colleys album This Place with Chris Potter and Bill Stewart. It helps if you know what stuff jtg usually recommends I guess...

I'm in between lessons now but I'll comment on a few of these and maybe say some more stuff in a few hours.

Nice, I wanna know about whether Blindfold is ritght bout McLean on track 2

>3. Drummer and bassist follow each other nicely. Really like drummer overall, just plays whatever stuff comes to mind it seems.
Agreed. The drums are what gives this group an interesting sound.

>5. Trumpet solo is alright.
The trumpet player might be the best known on here though he's really pretty obscure too.

you teach jazz? whereabouts, I might know of you

>6. The drumming reminds me of Eric Harland,
This group definitely comes out of that style. Blindfold noticed that too.

>9. Roscoe Mitchell or Anthony Braxton
It's somebody who kind of comes out of that tradition but not as well known as either of those two.

>10. Like how the trumpet doesn't solo, it duets with the piano
That's what I love about this track.

>2 Not sure why but this sounds like it could be a jazz interpretation of a pop tune to me. Different rhythms from the typical swing
I think it might come from folk music actually.

>5 Bassoon?
It is a bassoon

>After looking it up, it turns out that Don Cherry never recorded anything on steeplechase
Where'd you get that info? It is Don Cherry. He's by far the best known on the track and it might be the only SteepleChase album he plays on so maybe you can figure it out from there.

Just scrolled through his discography quickly on Wikipedia, must've missed it.or they didn't list the label which they sometimes don't, gotta look again I guess

Take 5 seems like a difficult choice but if you guys can do it then cool.

Some I'd suggest:
Autumn Leaves
Blue Bossa
There Is No Greater Love
Four
All the Things You Are
Any blues head
So What
There Will Never Be Another You
Rhythm Changes

Wikipedia leaves out albums on their discography lists quite a lot. Especially when it comes to releases on foreign labels like SteepleChase.

Most of my students are kids so I don't have a lot who are interested in or at a high enough level to play jazz. I do have an 11 year old student who says he likes jazz and we just got done talking about rootless voicings so I'm hoping to get him playing some standards this year.

Turns out that it is listed there but they don't list the label for it which was why my ctrl+F for Steeple returned nothing. I also learned that he apparently at some point recorded with the swedish ska-rock band Dag Vag youtube.com/watch?v=Q4zxsKPZfzY

I can play the piano part well, so I could pull through but yeah it might be a little difficult for non-jazz musicians. I know Autumn Leaves as a solo ballad for me personally, could I play it in that fashion with a quartet?
thank you again

Bumpin

and again

>theme?
It can be any theme you want to do. The only limit is to try to keep it close to an hour. Or if you don't have any ideas for themes you can always just do a wildcard playlist too.

1: This is pretty nice, good mix of a little bit of excitement while still being relatively tightly played with some splashes of abstraction.

The abstract parts are making me think these are Europeans - it has that sort of a chamber-avant feel that you find in Central European jazz often enough.

Nice economic use of all of the instruments that give this one variety without feeling too heavy or bloated.

2: A little bit of a Ornette/Don Cherry dynamic going on between the sax and trumpet, but a more relaxed feel.

Maybe John Tchicai on sax?

The tune feels maybe a little too easy-going, but the sax and trumpet gave it character pretty nicely, so pretty good track I think.

3: Well this is very Wayne Shorter-y.

I was listening to some music with Billy Hart on drums that had a pretty similar feel in general and drum playing like this so I'm just going out on a limb and guessing it's him since I know he's appeared on many SteepleChase releases.

These people have definitely listened to their late 60's post-bop, even though I'd guess this is a much more recent recording.

The trumpeter feels like someone who is taking some of Miles' late 60's ideas but playing them in a somehow "cleaner" way.

Maybe a little too low-key for a track of this length, but nice post-bop in the late 60's style.

4: A little bit of a Spanish vibe here.

I'm not feeling this track. The rhythmic intensity kind of keeps it alive, but the soloing is not particularly capturing my attention.

The arco bass solo was probably my favorite, brief part of this.

5: Kind of interesting mix of things going on. In certain ways it's pretty abstract, but it's also kind of being played straight like nothing unusual is going on.

I sense the presence of the Ghost of Dolphy in this bass clarinet(?) solo.

This certainly was unusual. I think I would have liked if better if the bass, drums and percussion would have gone along more with the wild spirit of the other instruments.

I have a feeling that this was from the late 70's.

6: This has a very contemporary sound with that kind of drumming. This century, probably even this decade.

This is pretty nice - I think this kind of drumming really adds a lot to it. I have a feeling it would feel much more forgettable to me if the drumming was more traditional.

I wish the other musicians were offering some more intensity.

>I can play the piano part well, so I could pull through but yeah it might be a little difficult for non-jazz musicians.
The difficult part is keeping the form straight when the A section is just a two chord vamp. The bridge changes also aren't really that easy

>I know Autumn Leaves as a solo ballad for me personally, could I play it in that fashion with a quartet?
You can do it as a ballad but if you play it exactly the same way you would as a solo piano piece chances are you will be getting in someone's way (probably the bass player).

>1. The abstract parts are making me think these are Europeans
I'm pretty sure they're all American.

>2: A little bit of a Ornette/Don Cherry dynamic going on between the sax and trumpet, but a more relaxed feel.
Indeed

>Maybe John Tchicai on sax?
That's a good guess but not quite.

>3 I was listening to some music with Billy Hart on drums that had a pretty similar feel in general and drum playing like this
What album was that? There's a looseness to the drumming on this track that I could associate with Billy Hart, but think he almost always plays harder than that and I don't think I've ever heard him play that sparse. Maybe on some of the ECM albums he's been on?

>6 I have a feeling that this was from the late 70's.
accurate

>This century,
yes
>probably even this decade.
no

7: That's a somewhat unusual vibes sound. Is it somehow muted?

A pretty abstract little thing - not sure I would enjoy an album of this.

But given the short length, it was a pretty interesting morsel.

8: Sax player feels like a contemporary American post-bop kind of guy. I don't particularly care for this one.

The trading part between the sax and bass is pretty cool.

Not too much to say. One of those tracks for me that's not too strong on the melody or energy or notable features and ends up feeling pretty forgettable.

9: I was pretty surprised when guitar went from that strumming to those spaced out sounds, I have to say.

At the start the sax player sounded like someone who has Northern European folk influence to me like Jan Garbarek or someone, but that feeling kind of went away.

Odd little track.

10: I like how first the trumpet and piano and then the sax and vibes are paired. Makes this feel a lot more satisfying in terms of structure than a more traditional one-soloist-at-a-time thing.

This track reminds me of something from past /blindfolds/ somehow.

This is another track where I'd like some more intensity. There were many like that this week for me, maybe it's just me today or a SteepleChase thing.

>Billy Hart

I will decline to comment for near future potential /blindfold/ purposes for now. :P

It is certainly not a style that I would have traditionally connected to Hart because I've always known him primarily from the early 70's Miles stuff and Herbie's Mwandishi band that are totally different.

>8: Sax player feels like a contemporary American post-bop kind of guy.
You might even call him THE American post-bop saxophonist

I might be able to do something with foreign jazz if you're fine with the playlist having all kinds of styles (Fusion, Avant-Garde etc.)

hey, if I upload an attempt at a ballad, is anyone here to give me feedback? don't expect anything great, I'm not that good yet

sure

OK I'm doing something right now I'll try to get a non-shitty recording and put it up in a little bit here

I'll give you some feedback

Ok so last week Ambassador Satch mentioned that he associates SteepleChase and Criss Cross and they do have a lot of similarities but I thought I'd do a post where I highlight some of the similarities and differences that I've found between the two.


>Similarities
-Both labels are founded by Europeans who began by recording well-known American jazz musicians who were performing/living in Europe

-Both labels record their albums with minimal studio time (most albums are recorded in one day, one session) with little-to-no overdubbing

-Both labels feature simple, low-budget artwork and packaging including a picture of the artist or group, the names of all the musicians, and extensive liner notes, usually written by well-known jazz critics or writers

-Both labels tend to focus on lesser-known younger artists or on artists who were once fairly well-known but don’t record often anymore on the larger labels

>Differences
-Nils Winther founded SteepleChase in 1972 and so he had the chance to record many well-known American jazz artists during the 70’s who had been dropped from the Blue Note label, including Jackie McLean, Dexter Gordon, Thad Jones, Clifford Jordan, and Duke Jordan. Gerry Teekens started the Criss Cross label in 1982 and also recorded quite a few 60’s jazz legends but not to the same extent as Winther

-In the 70’s and 80’s SteepleChase recorded albums by artists who have a strong association with the avant-garde (Anthony Braxton, Andrew Hill, Paul Bley) whereas Criss Cross hasn’t recorded much music with avant-garde influences until pretty recently

-SteepleChase regularly releases solo and duet albums, whereas Criss Cross only records groups of three or more

-SteepleChase often releases “blowing-session” albums, where the players run through standards in a jam session fashion. On Criss Cross albums the artist will usually present a new arrangement or interpretation of the standard and typically original material is the focal point of the albums.

-SteepleChase is based in Denmark, while Criss Cross is based in the Netherlands

Yeah, it's always more fun when there's a good mix of styles

sorry i can't figure out how to fucking record on ableton

This is kind of interesting. Have you heard most of the SteepleChase albums?

alright, here's a recording. I didn't play it my best but I didn't feel like re-recording again.
vocaroo.com/i/s00jERPCn46l

Oh it's Autumn Leaves?

Well your voicings sound good and you've got a nice touch and dynamic range. One thing you might work on is to do less "rolling" of the chords. Or to do the rolling in different ways. I used to do a lot of that in my playing and you don't really realize you're doing it but when you're always rolling the chords up in the same way it starts to get repetitive. That wasn't really too bad though, that's a minor thing.

The biggest thing I would say is just to make melody your number one focus. Try playing through the changes with no chords at all, just single-note melody. It can be really simple as long as you play it clearly and with conviction. If you're unsure, just play the written melody and embellish it a little bit at a time.

Thanks for the input. yeah, I have a rough time sticking with melody, I get swept up in trying to do lush two hand chords

No, I think there are somewhere around 800 SteepleChase albums. I'm not sure how many I've heard but I've sampled most of the artists I think.

Not sure if this is entirely relevant to the thread but I think it might fit.

So I was just listening to Chick Corea and Return to Forever and their first EP (didn't have a title on youtube). She said that she'd discovered him in the '90s. I thought the whole album was pretty good.

Then on a whim she asked me to Google if he was still alive. Not only is he still alive, but we found out he's a Scientologist, which is appalling for my mother since she's a psychiatrist.

On the one hand, the music was still great. But on the other, somehow this sours things.

Has anyone had something like this happen to them?

Sometimes it's disappointing to find out things about the personal lives of artists but I think it's good to separate the art and the artist.

Miles was a wife beater, King Cole said himself he was in it for the cash. Doesn't make their music any less great, you don't need to be a good person to be a great musician

bump

>tfw I avoided chick corea because he has a dumb name and is a scientologist
What are his best albums?

Depends if you like fusion or not.

Bump

>Track 1
This is different. Interesting structure to the piece, and nice collective improvisation. I'm trying to work out the time signatures (in the solo section) and it sounds like 2/4 in the bass and 5/4 in the chords. I might be way off though... As well as having some clever approaches, I think this tune pulled it off really well without just sounding cold and intellectual. 4 and a half stars.

>Track 2
This sounds a lot like an Ornette Coleman piece. Did he ever record for Steeple Chase? 3.5 stars.

>Track 3
And this one sounds like Wayne Shorter wrote it. The bass solo is just rambling pointlessly, I don't like it. Sax solo (and the rest of the piece) seems to be keeping that same feel but with a bit more direction. Pianist must've been taking comping lessons from Herbie Hancock. Not so fond of the trumpet taking it back into aimless territory. There's some good and some less good in this, but I have no idea why I'd ever listen to this over classic Herbie/Wayne/Freddie/etc. 3 stars.

>Track 4
Is this a tango? Drummer jumps out at first as being really interesting, even during other people's solos. I really like the way the trumpet player works around the rhythm of the piece, and also the rhythm section - especially that drummer. Everyone brings something new to this though. I think my favourites are either trumpet or sax - sax player was weaving in and out like a snake. That first note in the bass solo was pretty rad too. 4 and a half stars again.

>Track 5
This sounds like some old dancehall ska musicians took a bunch of acid and then swapped instruments, but in a good way. Swings really well under the weirdness too, especially thanks to another great drummer. I liked the timbre and pitch contrast between the two horns, the trumpet solo seemed to ground it when it needed grounding.

I don't know how I'd cope with a whole album at this strange plodding pace, but I'm intrigued about this one. 3.5 stars.

>Track 6
Obviously a more modern one. The drums and the eastern sounding scales they're using give that away. Sax solo is really well enunciated, and full of bold and interesting melody statements. It's really nice in that way, but I'd like him to let rip a bit too. Piano player does a better job in that regard, his solo sounds more organic and expressive. I really like this one. 4 stars.

>Track 7
Is this an unplugged vibraphone? This piece isn't doing anything for me. They're playing notes but I don't know why. 2 stars.

Haven't listened to the rest yet... Maybe later today.

I've heard Blues & Abstract Truth, Screamin' the Blues, and Afro-American Sketches - what next?


I've been listening to Contrasts (Sam Rivers' only ECM album), Chick Corea's debut, and currently listening an album called Prayer for Peace by a British band called Amalgam which has some awesome Ornette-style compositions and playing.

1. The intro was pretty nice. I didn't expect the change into more atmospheric(?) playing but it turned out pretty nice. I don't dig much organ jazz but this is enjoyable.
2. Oh, this is the title track from song for Biko, by Johnny Dyani. Don Cherry's here too. I don't remember who the drummer is, but his input is one of my favorite things on this record.
3. At the beginning I think it sounds kinda similar to Miles second quintet. There's lots of spaces and it drags a bit sometimes but I enjoy it anyway.
4. It opens with a nice groove, but I don't particularly enjoy what the sax does after. The piano part is somewhat better. The bowed bass was neat, I wish it had been longer.
5. There's some unusual horn that I can't identify. I don't really like its sound. Overall this has a unique sound I don't particularly dig.
6. I think this has wonderful playing all around. It's very consistent as well, since the drummer is always doing interesting stuff in addition to whatever is going on.
7. Don't think I've heard vibraphone playing in this style before. It's interesting, although I am not sure what to think of it.
8. This feels too standard I guess. Maybe it would benefit for having a few more players because the sax gets old fast and not much stands out.
9. Has a groovy start, but they just keep playing over and over instead of doing something with it. Second half has some pretty interesting guitar sounds, not something I'd expect to hear on a jazz record. Very nice.
10. My favorite part of this was probably the trumpet player, especially the duo with the pianist, I'd love to hear more stuff like that.

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bumping

Nocturne and Sound Pieces are both pretty good. Jazzpossu put a track from Sound Pieces on one of the playlists a while back.

Cool, I'll try Sound Pieces. I actually remember Nocturnes (the title track) being on one of the first Blindfold tests I did, and liking it, so I'll check that out too.

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>track one
If Sun Ra had made post-bop in the late 80s, it’d sound like this head. He liked having instruments double up on melodies, organs and the little free interjections every 4 bars around 55 secs (and a few other times in the piece) are so something he’d do. The big thing that differs is the drumming. In his saner stuff like Jazz in Silhouette where he generally liked a straightforward swing in the rhythm section. The straight crotchet beats on the snare are pretty foreign sounding in this sort of jazzy context and introduce a fair amount of tension. I like it, makes the swung section with the simpler melody feel more like a repose.
Though the head feels a little unrelated to the body of the piece, I do love how it leads into it. When they went into that last free bit, I thought it was going to be another of those one bar length interjections and it caught me off guard a little when they kept running with it into the bit with the two chord vamp. They managed to make a pretty dramatic pace change flow really well and even if I didn’t like the sax/flute solo, I’d have been impressed by the ingenuity.
Some real cool counterpoint going on between those two. They were very entertaining considering how boring the organ accompaniment was. My patience was kind of wearing thin by the second half of this section though and the break at the end was just tacky in comparison to the way they originally lead into that section. I feel like they were well capable of writing a connecting piece of music to get back into the head and this feels like a cop out.

>track two
I’m not sure I like how the sax is dragging just a little bit…it’s kind of disorientating. At first I felt similarly about the drumming. It’s so off kilter but the bass player is just walking over it like the guy is just swinging normally. It winds up sounding like a bit of a cluster fuck to my ears. The drummer isn’t really interacting with the soloists, he’s just making the time feel messy. I’d have preferred it if the bass was also playing with more fluidity but, as it is, there are enough elements that are rigid that I can still perceive the beat really easily and all the other stuff the drummer is doing sounds out of place.

>track three
If I had more time to do these, I might have tried to figure out what the fuck is going on with the harmony here. It sounds weird and not really in a good way. It’s like the chords being played just don’t go very well together and I just can’t seem to wrap my head around where the piece is going. I’m not really explaining myself very well. It’s like I can’t feel very much tension in release from where the chords and melody are.
Most of it’s coming from how the players are coming at the rhythm and dynamics. Like around 2:30 or so onward, the sax starts gradually getting louder and plays more note dense runs and the drummer responds in kind and that’s kind of how they play through the rest of the solo. The bit around 3:20 is my favourite in the piece, I like how the drummer is playing all those rolls and ups the syncopation.
It’s an oddly written tune and there are some other moments I like but there’s this pervading feeling of being lost in this harmonic language my brain isn’t computing.

>Track 1
This is a groovy track. Has a lot of cool instrumentation. I'm digging a lot of what the drummer is doing. The saxophone and flute playing those repeating notes against each other in the second part had a cool effect. I'm gonna guess this is Brian Charette because I've been looking through the Steeplechase catalog, though I haven't really heard his stuff and I could very easily be wrong. 2.5 stars
>Track 2
This sounds like if played rock and just sprinkled in Ayler influence. It's sort of interesting, it swings in that way a TV show soundtrack would swing (not the best description, but I can't think of anything else), but it sort of pushes towards a more flexible beat. It comes back on the return to the head. I liked the middle bit the best, but I do like their loose approach to playing, most notably the drums and bass, but also the trumpet and sax. 3 stars
>Track 3
I like the piano during the head. Very thick, but still light. The bass solo is solid, and the subtle stuff the drums and piano are doing behind is really nice. This is a really great group. The rhythm section just interacts with each other and the soloist so well, as is immediately evident in the sax solo. It just feels very open, and the subtlety of their interaction is excellent. The drummer has that fantastic ability to play around the beat and use that accent the soloist's rhythms. This reminds me a ton of the second Miles Davis Quintet at their best. There are obviously different things going on stylistically (like starting off with a bass solo), but the high level of interaction is similar. The phrasing of this piano solo is really good as well. It just floats, and that allows him to alternate between bringing in two interacting lines to just block chord hits really smoothly. I would certainly listen to more of this, especially that piano player. 4.5 stars

Still listening.

>track four
Do they distribute free cocaine to all the steeplechase drummers or something? The fuck is even going on at the start of this piece? I felt like things were gonna cool down a bit around a minute in and I was liking the steady pattern the piano and bass were playing but the drummer just can’t sit still.
For my tastes, the sax, trumpet and piano solos are a bit too mechanical at times. They’re very technical players and though they do slow down a bit to make their expression more coherent at times, the only one of the three of them who I was getting any strong emotion off was the sax. For most of his solo I was enjoying where he was going but there were a few times where I felt like he was playing fast runs for the sake of it and I didn't like how he ended the solo. In contrast to the opening where he had that phrasing idea he was developing and playing around with, it felt meandering.
Did they get a second bass player to do the solo? I’m almost certain I can hear another bass comping quietly in the back. Maybe they overdubbed him? Though that doesn’t seem likely for this sort of track.

>track five
Is that a bassoon? It doesn’t sound like a sax but I've never heard of a bassoon in a small jazz group.
The rhythmic feel of this track is just bizarre. There’s a funk track in here trying to get out but I’m not sure that really does justice to….whatever the fuck is going on here. The drums are alternating bars of four and bars of six but it feels like the…bassoon and trumpet aren’t listening to the drummer. The melody is vaguely lining up with the bars but the phrasing is almost completely unrelated.
Around 55 secs in, is the drummer …speeding up half the bar? I have absolutely no clue what the fuck is going on with this piece. It’s really interesting and I think I’m enjoying it but it’s so confusing.
The bassoon solo is pretty kicking. I thought I would be more certain of the instrument when I heard it soloing but bassoon is still more a guess. In any case, it’s funky and I like it. The timbre is unlike anything I’ve heard in a funk context and it works surprisingly well.

>Track 4
This reminds me a bit of Dizzy Gillespie, though the sound quality is probably too good for it to be him. Is that a violin? Actually it's far too low for that, it must've just been arco bass. I really thought that solo was the highlight with its use of tone. It ended abruptly but it felt surprisingly honest. I feel as if someone else playing it would've made it sound cheesy. 3 stars
>Track 5
This track is sort of strange. The piano playing is very boring and straightforward, it actually feels pop-esque. I would guess this is Ronnie Cuber because he's the only bari player I know of on Steeplechase, but if so I didn't know he made anything like this. I like the sudden ending. 2 stars.
>Track 6
I already like how the drummer is driving this ahead. Feels sort of like a breakbeat, but a loose kind. Definitely modern I would say. The sax solo has been more straightforward than I expected it to be. I quite like this track so far. The rhythmic interaction in the rhythm section is well done, and having the solo over that rhythmic break is good as well. I'm liking this piano solo, the use of dynamics is quite good. I think one of the biggest highlights about it is what the bass is doing during. This is actually along the lines what I had hoped badbadnotgood would evolve into when I first heard their more acoustic stuff. I do wish the track had more development as a whole, and been more lengthy to accommodate that. 3.5 stars
>Track 7
This is some crazy vibe playing. This track is also very short. The only other people I've heard do a vibe piano duet are Chick Corea and Gary Burton. This is a nice little track, but I would've liked for it to be longer and more developed. 3 stars

>track six
A lot of the tracks this week have been very adventurous and I’m glad to have a bit more of a “straightforward post-bop track”(if that’s not too paradoxical) where I'm more clear where I stand. With this sort of track, the playing can be very intense but it’s formatted in a way I’m more familiar with.
I like this head. The melody is catchy, the progression is grandiose and the sax and trumpet sound great together. Their tones blend nicely and I liked the small call and response thing they were doing right when they came in.

The sax player’s solo was my favourite of the week so far. It was consistently engaging, emotional and creative. He was developing cool sounding melodic ideas the whole way through the piece and I never felt like he was losing the run of himself trying to play technically. Some of the stuff he’s doing sounds almost oriental? I feel out of my depth saying stuff like that because of how unfamiliar I am with non-western music but I could feel that sort of a vibe to it.

>Track 2
>This sounds a lot like an Ornette Coleman piece. Did he ever record for Steeple Chase?
Nope but one of the players here is well-known for playing with Ornette. Somebody guessed it up above and it looks like s! recognized the record and tune later in the thread.

>Track 3
A lot of people are commenting on the Miles/Shorter vibe of this group. I can see that in some ways but I think this is a lot more restrained than most anything they ever did.

>2. Oh, this is the title track from song for Biko, by Johnny Dyani. Don Cherry's here too. I don't remember who the drummer is, but his input is one of my favorite things on this record.
Good catch. I hesitated to put this one on there because I've recommended this album but I thought it'd be especially fun to see if people recognized Don Cherry.

>10. My favorite part of this was probably the trumpet player, especially the duo with the pianist
Agreed

>Track 8
The trades between the sax and the drums feel sort of awkward, as if they both don't know when they're going to stop. Nice to hear the sax/bass/drums configuration, it really doesn't get used enough. Overall, this track didn't really do much for me. 2 stars
>Track 9
Use of strings is interesting. That's a really distorted guitar. I hadn't realized those chords at the beginning weren't a bowed instrument until the guitar started messing around more. Interesting instrumentation. 3 stars
>Track 10
I like the use of the vibes. A lot of the rhythmic stuff going on is cool, and the drummer varies the beat well. Good, but nothing in particular stands out about it for me. 3 stars

>If Sun Ra had made post-bop in the late 80s, it’d sound like this head.
Interesting observation. I wouldn't have thought of Sun Ra for this track.

>track three
>It sounds weird and not really in a good way. It’s like the chords being played just don’t go very well together and I just can’t seem to wrap my head around where the piece is going.
That's interesting. I would say that the piece is pretty harmonically ambiguous but that's the thing I like most about it. The rhythm is also fairly ambiguous too I'd say.

>track four
>Do they distribute free cocaine to all the steeplechase drummers or something?
Not to my knowledge but that could be an interesting gimmick for a record label. I've heard this drummer live and he plays on some records that I really like and I'd say the way he plays here is pretty out of character. I'll have to listen again to see if I can hear another bass behind the bass solo.