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
