Welcome to the weekly Sup Forums jazz Blindfold Test thread. Every Friday and Saturday.
Couldn't get hold of BlindfoldTest, so I'll host this week.
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
Mega is being weird for me but I wish you luck on your quest.
Ryan Cooper
>Track 1 Sounds like probably Leon Thomas singing. In fact I’m almost sure it’s him. I suppose nobody else sounds like he does, but it’s never really been my thing. The rhythm section is pretty killing though. And great alto solo. Sounds like a killer post-bop band. I guess I get the number theme sort of now.
>Track 2 I wish the rhythm section was recorded a little better. I can’t hear anything they’re doing. Booker Ervin maybe? He sounds definitely Coltrane influenced and has a lot of technique in his playing in kind of a modern way but it obviously isn’t Shorter or Henderson. Possibly Sam Rivers or Archie Shepp? I’d say the playing is too poppy to be either of them though. The tempo is a little too fast for the pianist. I’d guess it’s Jaki Byard since I’m thinking of Booker Ervin but I’d think he’d be able to handle the tempo. This was pretty good, I just wish it were mixed better. Also the tenor player could definitely use more space in his playing. The fours at the end are really nice though.
>Track 3 I’m liking this quite a bit. it’s very well-written. The trumpet solo is great, I like the way it stays fairly quiet overall but builds up. The piano solo is even better. Very spacious and lots of interplay with the bass. This seems like something probably released within the last few years that I probably missed- kinda sounds like stuff from the Pi label, or maybe ACT. Anyway I’d listen to more of it.
James Rivera
>Track 4 Miles Davis “Four” of course. Maybe somebody like Pepper Adams. No actually I’d say it’s somebody more modern. Maybe Cuber or Smulyan. Fine solo, but whenever I listen to this type of bari solo I can’t help but think that it would be much more enjoyable to hear a tenor or alto playing. Pretty nice piano solo that gets better as it goes. Reminds me of Kevin Hays. The drumming is also very good throughout and the bass solo is pretty good too. Overall not bad for basically just blowing over a standard, but bari is kind of low on the list of instruments I want to hear blowing.
>Track 5 Cool version of Take Five. I’d have liked to hear them play on it a little bit more with it and build it up into something cool. But it’s a cool idea.
Matthew Evans
excellent guesses as expected, on the right track with 3 as well - I'm sure you'll find your hunch on this weeks loose "mystery" theme confirmed with the next track
Christian Ortiz
>4 funny thing, I was choosing between multiple versions of this and ended up preferring this due to the baritone
Landon Rodriguez
>I’d say the playing is too poppy This was supposed to say boppy
Colton Collins
thematic bump with the title track of the source material for this week's starter image
>Track One The band here is pretty fire. This could be the Coltrane quartet with a few extras...The pianist is quite like Tyner with all those heavy chords in the right hand, the drummer is about as hard hitting as Jones was and really feeds off that smoking Coltrane-esque solo. That climax towards the end of the solo with the drummer beating the shit out of the cymbals, the pianist slamming down dissonant bluesy chords over the bassist’s sharp percussive pizzicato is just breath taking. Not quite sure when this would be if it was the quartet…did Sanders play with Coltrane during his modal phase? This sounds a little like the quartet circa the Eric Dolphy days but I don’t feel like Coltrane would have been hanging with the vocalist (who I’m assuming is the yodelling singer from Karma). It’s quite a high quality recording too… if it is Coltrane, I’m surprised I haven’t heard it yet. Karma guy sounds like he’s been listening to Diz scat vocals. He scats a lot like how free sax players solo but I’ve never heard anyone use their voice to do something like this. It’s almost like if those weird vocalisation poems John Cage did were actually done somewhat musically. I preferred the sax solo but it’s still incredible how pliable his voice is.
Jordan Allen
>Track 6 David Liebman possibly? I liked this one. The whole band sounded pretty good. Kind of like the bari sax though, I’d almost always prefer to hear tenor or alto on this kind of post-bop. Still, as far as soprano goes, this was pretty nice. That’s why it makes me think of Liebman probably.
>Track 7 Don Ellis. I think this one is pretty good, I don’t think the time signature is really a gimmick on something like this and it works pretty well. Also Ellis’s solo is pretty awesome. Piano solo is kind of lackluster but the sax solo is nice. Percussion solo is just ok. There it sounds like they’re concentrating pretty hard on the 7.
>Track 8 I was hoping for a cool version of Dolphy’s “Number Eight.” But this sounds like two basses plus strings? The tune is Impressions? I’m not sure how that fits in with the number theme. I’m not really sure what they were going for with this one. The piano solo was by far the best part, and even that was very “polite.” Probably my least favorite so far.
Blake Moore
indeed the unmistakable Leon Thomas of The Creator Has A Master Plan fame on vocals here - this track is probably my favorite vocal performance from him, I wish he'd done more tighter scatting style vocals like here.
Sebastian Wright
>Track 9 No bass? I mostly like what the saxophonist and pianist are doing, but I think they could be playing “together” a little more. I don’t really like what the drummer is doing. Based on all that I’d guess it’s probably something by Cecil Taylor, Jimmy Lyons, and maybe Sunny Murray on drums. Yeah too bad about the drumming, which I think pretty much ruins the entire piece.
>Track 10 Got to be Paul Desmond. Isn’t there something called Take Ten? I’m guessing that’s what this must be… Real weird mixing, is that guitar or some kind of electric piano? Or maybe he’s playing all the parts via overdub or something. I guess it’s kind of an interesting reworking of Take 5. Not really all that memorable though.
Brayden Clark
>6 not Liebman, but it is an old acquaintance of him on sax here
>8 this is a bit of a red herring because the track does totally turn into Coltrane's Impressions for the solos, but track is not called Impressions and Coltrane doesn't get writing credit, so there you go
fun fact: I did have Dolphy's Number Eight here initially for a long time, but was worried I had too many 10+ minute tracks, so went with this one I had been listening to recently due to reasons that I hope other people may find interesting. I'm not aware of any non-Dolphy recordings of that one, actually.
Lucas Hall
>9 it is indeed Taylor on piano - this is a line-up that's intriguing on paper, but the results on this album are a little so-so. Personally I kind of like the contrast between the swinging drums and percussive piano as odd as it is.
>10 But of course it is
Thomas Cox
on the topic of things sounding like Coltrane's Impressions, I'm going to see these fine young gentlemen play tomorrow at the local jazz club right after I post the reveals
>because the track does totally turn into Coltrane's Impressions for the solos Not only that, but the string backgrounds were definitely hinting at the Impressions melody.
>I'm not aware of any non-Dolphy recordings of that one, actually. There's a really good version by Billy Hart that I put on my SteepleChase playlist.
John Gonzalez
I haven't seen any good live jazz for a few months sadly, but in a month I'm moving back to the East Coast and I'all hopefully be able to take trips to NY at least every other month.
Michael Martin
dang, I even participated in that one, I think, but couldn't think of it this week.
it's always pretty quite around here for about a month starting from Christmas, but some nice live gigs coming up. Several new albums released locally, Tim Hagans, Kurt Rosenwinkel and Richard Bona showing up as international guests within the next three weeks
I saw Makaya McCraven's quintet last Sunday - a lot more mainstream-y than I expected based on In The Moment, but still very nice overall. Two sets with the first one being a fairly traditional take on Blue in Green and some melodic McCraven originals, second one being a more freeform contemporary fusion jam like I expected the gig to be with a couple of different stylistic variations of Ornette's Lonely Woman thrown in.
Zachary Parker
bumping with a local pianists version of Coltrane's Countdown recorded at a gig I was at because countdowns consist of numbers
This theme got me thinking maybe I should do an unusual time signatures theme. Or maybe even narrow it down and do something like standards in unusual time sigs.
Kevin Morgan
standards with changed time signatures could be cool, although I think it might be cooler for new participants to make it pairs of "normal" and "time altered" (of course in reality it's usually the same people participating, but still)
I was considering Misha Tsiganov's take on Wes Montgomery's Four on Six ( open.spotify.com/track/77KHlkAZ9TI2X2Z1m6k9HF ) for this list for a long time, but then I felt like it's a track that would feel like a bit of a mess for anyone not familiar with Four on Six played straight
Anyway, I figured track four should be Four and track six is a relatively obscure recording that I thought might be a more interesting discussion starter, so went with those
Colton Miller
Yeah, for standards in odd times I'd probably have to include something from that Tsiganov record. That chart for four on six is really cool but I think the stuff he does with Shorter tunes is even cooler. I can't remember if I put any of those on my Shorter compositions playlists or not.
Mason Jones
oh, I think "difficult to count" might be a cool, if gimmicky topic. Trying to figure out complex signatures is fun.
here's one that I've never exactly figured out as an example of a hard-to-count rhythm (I guess this is just irregular meter, but a fun track to try to count and make sense of, I think): youtube.com/watch?v=5mdGCqZTres
That said, I also never quite figured out how this weeks track 5 goes rhythm-wise aside from the obvious casting aside of the signature 3+2 vamp feel of Take Five - parts of it appear to still be 5/4, but parts of it feel different and not trivial to count
Lucas Flores
actually in terms of demonstrating the artistry and coolness in jazz some kind of "evolved standards" list with five pairs with an easy head-solo-heads interpretation and something next level might be really cool - like on that album (that I just put on due to this conversation) I couldn't even imagine what I would think of the first track if I wasn't very familiar with Fall from Miles' Nefertiti - I'd say the artistry is strongly dependent on the listener knowing the "canonical version"
I've certainly noticed in general that having to piece up the story of how different versions build on previous ones and how new ideas are introduced to understand contemporary post-bop as a non-musician jazz fan is a long and winding road and hearing a good example of this kind of evolution always makes it easier to understand
Blake Russell
also I'd like to make it clear to any novices or new comers: don't be intimidated by regulars talking about shit - we love to hear how you perceive this music, whatever your background or level of knowledge in jazz!
at least I definitely enjoy hearing how listeners new to jazz experience different styles and place tracks in whatever context, so just join in, we're all more-or-less user here
Aaron Davis
>mfw this is how it feels to be beaten in elitism How many years have you been listening to jazz for you to be able to recognise details like that? Do you play jazz yourself?
Ian Nguyen
jtg is a qualified jazz pianist - I just listen to this shit
the way I see it is that there's nothing special about recognizing nuances in jazz, just that it's a genre outside of the mainstream with less media coverage, so you have to put in effort one way or the other
I have a lot of non-musician friends who have a similar level of interest in other genres like I have in jazz and I'm pretty sure they can tell apart similar differences in shit like britpop, prog or electronic music.
I'd say that the kind of identification skills that jtg showed this thread is not much more difficult than recognizing guitar riffs played by Pete Townshend, Jimi Hendrix, Jimmy Page, Tony Iommi and Ritchie Blackmore etc for the average /mutant/ who listens to blues-based rock, so it's really just about being familiar with the music
I think Clueless started listening to jazz with the /blindfold/ threads and she definitely already had a good grasp on notable musicians and common styles with under a year of active jazz listening, so you can get on board pretty quickly. It's really so easy to get comfortable with the golden era of jazz these days with streaming services giving easy access to pretty much the whole canon of classic jazz until the late 60's.
a little twist at the end with the amusing double "shave and a haircut"-stuff
Isaiah Turner
heading to bed, keep this bumped for the next 8 hours or so or I will just repost in my morning
there is no escape
Michael Lee
downloading now might post later.
Don Ellis is amazing
Nolan Wood
>Track Two The sax solo here was pretty cool. It maybe could have done with some more thematically developed material but it was interesting how much it sounded like the bassist and he were keeping to some sort of loose chord progression that the piano seemed to have no interest in following. I’m not sure what was happening with the piano solo…there were plenty of cool sounding ideas but it’s like he was trying very purposefully to subvert any expected direction he could go in and would drop an idea in the middle of it’s development, lay out for a measure before starting another fragment. I thought his solo had ended when he laid out that time….not sure what he was going for there. I kept waiting for the bassist or the drummer to start soloing but they didn’t flinch and I was surprised when he actually came back in. The drums trading eights was probably my favourite part. He was to my ears the power house of the track before that as well with the relentless swing in the accompanying and when given some freedom, he did a fantastic job creating tension and release while still keeping the pace of the track.
Luke Johnson
>Track Three This one was quite slow to develop, but in fairness the material they were working with was really beautiful and I was pretty satisfied by the end of the pre composed material. It built up really smoothly and by the end of it, the melody and vamp sounded really spectacular with all the added instrumentation backing it up. The baritone should have doubled up on the vamp though. It sounded really nice when he did it that one time and I think it would have been a nice touch in the climax of the head. The solos on the other hand were a little lacklustre in comparison. The most exciting parts of either were when the rest of the ensemble came in with the main theme. I especially didn’t appreciate the valve trombonist (almost definitely not the instrument but guessing things wrong is kind of my thing. Probs just a trumpet player who doesn’t like going too high.) staying on after his solo so he could suckle his instrument in the back during the piano solo. The effect didn’t improve my enjoyment of the piece.
Juan Cruz
remember when Larry Young and Dave Holland did a jam with Jimi Hendrix?
Evan Collins
Yeah, that's probably the direction I would go if I did an odd time playlist. There are some Dave Holland Quintet tunes that I've never quite been able to figure out, timewise.
That's probably a good point for the odd time versions of standards playlist.
I always think it's interesting when I find out some version of a standard is influenced by another version, but when I find out but not in chronological order. Like I listen to something from 2011 and then later I hear some version of the same tune from 1974 and realize that the later version was obviously influenced by it.
Thomas Thompson
Wow I disagree strongly about the solos on Track 3
Liam Jackson
bump
Benjamin Perez
...
Nathan Ross
Bump
Camden Morris
i've listened to them and hope (I'm motivated enough) to write a response when i get home.
1. Wasn't sure this was Leon thomas til the yodeling. He's a really interesting expressive singer but seems more of a novelty to me. He keeps saying "one" so I guess that's the theme? The band is great, I'd love to know who's on alto. Did Pharoah Sanders ever record on alto? I always found it weird that most sax players usually just stuck to alto/bari or soprano/tenor.
2. So that was one, and this must be two. The sax quoted something but I can't remember what it was. He needs to calm down, he's too busy. The piano plays some pretty cool things, nice contrast to the sax, but he sounds like he doesn't know where he's going. The bass solo also has some interesting ideas, a good build up. This one went on 2-3 minutes too long, especially at that tempo, there's just too much going on, despite it all being good.
3. I love this arrangement. Slow builds aren't always easy to execute in jazz. Thought it could be Chris Potter w/ the quality composition and bass clarinet, but I've listened to most of his work and don't recognize this. Also the ethnic, middle eastern(?) vibe works well too. The drums and bass really complement the whole piece, molding around each "movement." This didn't at all feel its length unlike the previous track.
4. I recognize the tune. Four? Cool jazz bari would probably be Gerry Mulligan, but the tone or phrasing or something sound different. If i was in a different mood I'd probably love this but right now it's just doesn't interest me. The trading at the end is good though. Again too long.
Jace Parker
5. Take five. The sax's phrasing or something and the guitar's tone make me think of smooth jazz. The song just doesn't work for this sort of arrangement. Especially with that kind of drumming. When the alto picks up at the end it gets more tolerable though. Kind of annoyed you chose this and not three to get ready, but then again that third track was awesome.
6. This tune is nice too. I like trills(?) played on saxes. I don't like the sax's tone much. Tone on soprano is a very picky thing though. The recording sounds kind of spacey, the bass is too quiet. some nice interplay here.
7. This is Don Ellis orchestra, from Live at Monterey. I've always impressed by Ellis' big band arranging and time signature stuff. 7/8 isn't even very out there for Ellis. Ellis and the sax solo are a bit better than the other two.
Anthony Davis
thanks for contributing!
>1 I don't think Pharoah ever played alto - it *is* kinda weird how often sax players play alto&bari or soprano&tenor.
The alto player here has a fairly impressive sideman career, but I don't think that many recognize his name due to not really recording notable albums as a leader.
>3 I'd guess that the ethnic vibe has it's origins in Miles' Sketches of Spain which is a album that's known to have influenced the trumpeter/composer.
>7 Indeed it is.
Charles Green
Alto and Bari are both Eb instruments Soprano and tenor are both Bb instruments
Connor Hernandez
Three to Get Ready would certainly have been a good option for 3.
Here's Anthony Braxton's version (talk about too long, though, this 23 Standards album is a pretty tough listen with almost all tracks being over 10 minutes - I like Braxton's soloing, but I usually get worn out after a few tracks): youtube.com/watch?v=DYZIrDDvots
Brandon Lee
well that certainly makes sense then
Chase Hall
>Track 1 Sounds like Leon Thomas singing. And the piano feels like McCoy but I don't think he's ever been on a record with Leon so I think Lonnie Lison instead, besides he's been on a blindfold before where I thought he was Tyner. Doesn't sound much like Pharoah on sax so I'm thinking it's one of Leon's own records. I like how he adds some scat singing into his usual style here. And the band is wonderful in this. >Track 2 Fast paced bop, it's alright, pretty consistent and some really great drums in the last segment of the track. Other than that I think this could have benefited from taking it slower at times, because it can get tiring. >Track 3 This is a nice piece. It has a nice development and some pretty good solos, I particularly liked the piano part, but above all when the whole band plays together. Looking forward to the reveal of this one. >Track 4 More nicely executed bop stuff. Enjoyable as well but I feel it needs something else to stand out. >Track 5 Take five? I guess that's numbers in this theme means. An interesting soft version, but I can't say it left much of an impression.
Julian Murphy
I'll do reveals in about 2.5 hours, so there's still time to participate
Elijah Wilson
8. This is pretty weird. Bass led trio with an string ensemble backing. The strings just start play impressions behind the solo. It sounds a bit awkward but it sort of works. The playing is straight ahead though, and competent enough. Kind of curious to see what the rest of the album of this is like.
9. I kept thinking this would become more normal, but it's sort of just tonal free jazz. Kind of funny the piano got a solo, when they didn't give the sax any room. The drummer seems like he doesn't know what he wants to do, keeping or setting a rhythm. Also not in a mood for this sort of thing either. There's a cut or something in there near the end lol.
10. This is Paul Desmond Take ten. Glad there's something this relaxing after that track. a reworking of his famous composition. I don't remember there being no piano on this, but I do remember Jim Hall playing. Desmond did a lot of this mellow uninteresting stuff post-quartet, pleasant background music but not much more.
Adam Long
I would think that switching keys would be no problem, especially for a master improviser. I did it myself when I played and I was awful. There's been quite a few, who have played both tenor/soprano and alto, like Ornette, Chris Potter, Albert Ayler, and others. Just wondering why so many are averse to something as simple as a key change. And a little annoyed that the baritone sax hasn't been explored enough outside of the swing/cool idioms. I feel like there's been more tenor/bass clarinet players and sax/flute/clarinet players than even alto/bari players
Jordan Morales
Well then there's the fact that each one requires a different embouchure and lung support to play with good tone. I think most jazz musicians would rather concentrate on playing one or two really well, rather than trying to spread themselves too thin, and probably wisely so.
Leo Hughes
>Track 6 This is great, pretty intensive and excellent playing here from the saxophone and the piano. I'd like to check out both of them. >Track 7 Big band with uncommon time signatures, I'm not very familiar with him but I think it's probably Don Ellis. It also sounds pretty much like him, very energic music with crazy swings and all. Mostly good, but that drum solo was underwhelming. >Track 8 This is Impressions. I'm not a fan of this bass-centric version or the strings in it, it manages to sound kinda silly. The piano part is better but this is still not my thing despite really liking Coltrane's versions of the tune. >Track 9 Free jazz stuff. Can't really tell what goes on or what they try to do, so 10 minutes of this is a bit excessive on me. >Track 10 Quite the opposite to the previous track, background music stuff. Not thrilled by it either.
Brandon Butler
just about last chance to participate this week if you haven't started - reveals start in approximately an hour
Connor Bennett
Definitely intended to take part today, but just haven't had time - sorry!
Aaron Hill
Track 1: Leon Thomas - One from Spirits Known and Unknown (Flying Dutchman 1969) Leon Thomas - vocals James Spaulding - alto saxophone Lonnie Liston Smith - piano Cecil McBee - bass Richard Davis - bass Roy Haynes - drums Richard Landrum - bongos
Starting of with the unique vocal stylings of Leon Thomas. This is from his debut album as a leader recorded over two days following the sessions that produced Pharoah Sanders' Jewels of Thought with essentially the same band, but adding James Spaulding on alto. Sanders also plays on this album credited as "Little Rock" but I don't think we hear him on this track.
Thomas recorded several albums as a leader, I think this is the best one of them all.
Levi Morris
Track 2: Booker Ervin - Number Two from The Space Book (Prestige, 1965) Booker Ervin - tenor saxophone Jaki Byard - piano Richard Davis - bass Alan Dawson - drums
jtg's intuition was correct - it is Booker Ervin with Jaki Byard on piano. I hadn't really listened to Ervin much, but recently someone here recd The Freedom Book that I found quite good, so I listened to more of his "Book" albums from the early 60's.
The Space Book is the most adventurous one of the Book-series, but I'd say The Freedom Book is my favorite. The beginning of this track makes me think of Sun Ra.
Brayden Parker
Track 3: Verneri Pohjola - For Three from Aurora (Texicalli Records, 2009) Verneri Pohjola - trumpet Juhani Aaltonen - flute Pepa Päivinen - bass clarinet Ilmari Pohjola - trombone Aki Rissanen - piano Antti Lötjönen - bass Joonas Riippa - drums Meta4 String Quartet: Antti Tikkanen, Minna Pensola, Atte Kilpeläinen, Tomas Djupsjöbacka
From Verneri Pohjola's debut album as a leader, Aurora, released originally in Finland by Texicalli Records in 2009 then later internationally by ACT in 2011. I think Pohjola's greatest strength is probably his knack for writing beautiful and memorable melodies that this track also demonstrates.
It's a rather ambitious album with a core quartet supplemented by up to three other wind instruments on some tracks, additional bass players and drummers and a string quartet on some tracks. Could be a mess, but somehow it works out - I do think his later more focused quartet albums are better for their consistency, though.
Landon Hernandez
Track 4: Ronnie Cuber - Four from Ronnie (SteepleChase, 2009) Ronnie Cuber - baritone saxophone Helen Sung - piano Boris Kozlov - bass Johnathan Blake - drums
Need to of course feature Four, probably the best known jazz tune with a number for a name, originally released on Miles Davis' Workin' , credited to be a Miles' composition, but apparently composed by sax player Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson.
Bari player Ronnie Cuber has a long career playing in many different contexts since the 60's. This track is from a relatively safe, but enjoyable standards album Ronnie from 2009.
Austin Scott
Track 5: Kannaste-Viinikainen-Riippa - Take Five from Kannaste-Viinikainen-Riippa (Jaskaa/Helsinki Jazz Underground, 2013) Jussi Kannaste - tenor saxophone Teemu Viinikainen - guitar Joonas Riippa - drums
Take Five is one of the most widely recognized jazz standards due to it's distinctive 5/4 vamp. I thought it would be fun to include a take on this "number jazz" classic that leaves out that famous rhythm optioning for a low heat simmer instead.
This is another Finnish group like you usually see on my /blindfold/s lead by head of Sibelius Academy's jazz department Jussi Kannaste on sax. versatile guitarist Teemu Viinikainen and Joonas Riippa, who was also featured on track 3, on drums.
Daniel Clark
Track 6: Miroslav Vitous Group - Number Six from Miroslav Vitous Group (ECM, 1981) John Surman - soprano saxophone Kenny Kirkland - piano Miroslav Vitous - bass Jon Christensen - drums
On Number Six, we hear bass players Miroslav Vitous' band from the early 80's. Vitous, British sax player John Surman and drummer Jon Christensen all have a very long history with the ECM label stretching from 70's to these days - Christensen in particular has been thought of as ECM's "house drummer" recording with many of the great leaders in ECM's roster. I think all three of them are still active playing.
John Surman is kind of an interesting character because he started out as a very adventurous avant-garde/free jazz player, but practically all his own ECM label releases are more somber affairs with multiple solo-with-overdubs albums and third-streamy stuff. Here you can hear some of that early fire in his playing.
On piano we have Kenny Kirkland in one of his first notable bands before starting his long engagement with Marsalis brothers playing in groups of both Wynton and Branford.
Can't have numbers jazz without trumpeter/band leader/composer Don Ellis, best known for his love of unusual time signatures. Our "seven" comes from the CD bonus tracks of his famous Monterey Jazz Festival concert that was his big breakthrough performance.
The story behind the funky name of the track is that there's a swing era tune called "Beat Me Daddy, Eight To The Bar" recorded by the likes of Andrews Sisters and Glenn Miller. That one is dedicated to Tommy Dorsey's pianist Freddie "Daddy" Slack who lead singer Ray McKinley would ask to play a boogie beat with eight beats to a bar with these words.
This connection is heard in the short honky-tonk 7/8 piano part starting at 3:40.
Noah Gutierrez
Track 8: The Ron Carter Nonet - Eight from Eight Plus (Victor, 1990) Ron Carter - piccolo bass Carol Buck, Chase Morrison, Kermit Moore, Rachael Steuermann - cellos Stephen Scott - piano Leon Maleson - bass Lewis Nash - drums Steve Kroon - percussion
Bass player Ron Carter is one of the most recorded musicians in the history of jazz appearing on some 2200 albums. He was asked by Detroit Free Press last year to pick 10 personal favorite recordings.
One of his picks was this relatively obscure nonet recording featuring Carter playing piccolo bass from 1990 that was only released in South Korea, Japan and Russia.
Carter says of the album: I did all the arrangements. I did all the hiring. I did everything on the record other than print the cover and go out and sell it on the corner. I think the sound of the piccolo bass here is really very good, and the rhythm section is just on fire.. When people ask me: How do you define jazz? I tell them to go buy this record. It's got everything — fast, slow, blues, soul, funk, gospel, classical. It's a wonderful view of how nine people can play this music that we call jazz.
As some of you noted, this track definitely changes into Coltrane's Impressions for the solos, but no credit for Coltrane for this track "Eight".
Track 9: Dewey Redman / Cecil Taylor / Elvin Jones - Nine from Momentum Space (Verve, 1999) Dewey Redman - tenor saxophone Cecil Taylor - piano Elvin Jones - drums
Here's a rare and intriguing meeting of three musicians who were all involved at the forefront of 60's and 70's avant-garde and free jazz in different camps - Dewey Redman with Ornette Coleman, Cecil Taylor with his own groundbreaking piano playing and Elvin Jones with John Coltrane. These three hadn't played together before this late 90's album.
The chemistry doesn't quite work out - most of the albums tracks are duets and here Redman just kind of disappears, but nevertheless it's an interesting collaboration.
Camden Mitchell
Track 10: Paul Desmond - Take Ten from Take Ten (RCA Victor, 1963) Paul Desmond - alto saxophone Gene Wright - bass Jim Hall - guitar Connie Kay - drums
One more nod towards Brubeck's Time Out as a classic source of "numbers"-jazz to wrap things up.
Paul Desmond's Take Ten feels like an album trying to ride multiple coat-tails with this reworking of the smash hit Take Five that Desmond had written for Dave Brubeck's quartet, two versions of songs from the soundtrack of Black Orpheus that Vince Guaraldi had made popular in jazz circles in 1962 and a then-trendy bossa nova tune, too.
A decent album of mellow background west coast cool jazz in any case.
Ian Peterson
and that wraps it up for another /blindfold/ - thanks for everyone who posted or just listened to the tracks!
feel free to keep the discussion going
also ideas on what to do next week are welcome
Jack Baker
I've been listening to a lot of Booker Ervin lately and I think I'm to the point where I can recognize his playing pretty well. He definitely has a unique tone among the 60's tenor players and something about his playing strikes me as much more "modern" than any of those other guys.
I've enjoyed quite a bit of the Finnish stuff you've put on these playlists and this was one of my favorites I think so I'm downloading this one now.
Charles Martinez
Crisis remains one of jazz's most overlooked compositions, both on this album and Ready for Freddie
Anyone have any underrated tracks that they prefer to big name standards?
Carson Bell
On the subject of Jazz Messengers repertoire, how about Wayne Shorter's "Lester Left Town"?
