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/UiCCG28N
THIS WEEK'S THEME: Live at the Village Vanguard 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.
1. This is probably Bill Evans but it’s obviously not the famous recording of him at the village vanguard. This bass player is pretty good. And Bill Evans sounds good too. The bass solo is nice, one of the best I’ve heard for a while probably. 3.5 stars.
2. This is kind of cool with the guitar and sax doing two different things. It sounds like it could be Chris Potter. He has some stuff that reminds me of this kind of playing. The guitar player didn’t really get to solo but this was still pretty good anyway. 3 stars.
3. I think I recognize this song. It’s a nice ballad but it moves a little slowly maybe. It kind of reminds me of Bill Evans style. There were some nice parts in the middle that almost seemed more classical and I liked that mix in there. But the bass and drums could have had a bigger role. 3 stars.
4. Sounds like some classic post bop. I’ll guess it’s Woody Shaw. There’s some nice interplay from the pianist behind the solos so that’s good. The trading between them is pretty cool but it goes on almost too long. The piano solo was awesome. 3.5 stars.
5. Another piano trio. It sounds like they have practiced this arrangement a lot. I like the drumming but the piano solo isn’t really doing that much for me. 2.5 stars for this one.
Aiden Ramirez
Hey thread, greetings from Tampere Jazz Happening - seeing Finnish Jazz Federation's 50th anniversary all-star band, Steve Lehman's octet and Marius Neset tonight, but I'll try to get some listening done and be in the thread later
Hunter Miller
6. A more Latin one. The piano player is pretty awesome. I like it when he suddenly gets loud and does all the banging in between things. The super fast run that he did was nice too. This was pretty cool all around but maybe a little bit long. 3.5 stars.
7. It sounds like a much older recording than most of these. I think I recognize the song. It could be Coltrane maybe. Pretty nice piano solo. I like the thing he did with keeping repeating that same note. Great drumming too. The saxophone solo is nice but I like what the rhythm section is doing best. The bass solo was nice but kind of long. 4 stars.
8. This one sounds kind of familiar to me too. I like the sound of the bass clarinet with the electric piano. This one was pleasant overall but nothing about it really made it stand out or anything. 3 stars.
9. These synthesizers sound very 80’s. I didn’t really understand what was going on in this one and I don’t think I really liked it very much. The synths sounded bad but it also just sounded like a mish mash. 2 stars.
10. I’m pretty sure this one is Coltrane. I know the song is Impressions. Everything about this one is great. The drumming and piano playing and then the sax solos too are awesome. 4.5 stars.
Jackson Rivera
bump. I'll be in the thread more in a little bit.
Christian Murphy
>Tampere Jazz Happening
funny name
Robert Moore
>1. probably Bill Evans nice
>2. could be Chris Potter Not him but Chris played with this leader
>3. I think I recognize this song It's not a jazz tune originally
>4. I'll guess it's Woody Shaw. Nice guess.
Matthew Gray
Hooray, I was just on the same elevator with Charles Lloyd and his wife.
I have time for a few tracks now, more later.
>Track 1 I guess this is the obligatory Bill Evans -track. Very pleasant as Evans often is. A little bit wistful, but not too sappy. Very nice.
>Track 2 Something more contemporary - nice loose feel to it. I like how loose both the guitarist and sax are playing.
Also a nice contrast with at places very even free jazzy screechy sax with the more restrained backing.
No particular guesses for who these were.
John Stewart
One more >Track 3
Well, the composition is The Beatles' For No One. I've always liked the original for how it has a waltzy feel even though it's in 4/4.
This version looses that cool bit and was maybe a bit too nostalgic for me.
I'd have to guess Brad Mehldau or Fred Hersch for the pianist.
