Jimmy Smith Blindfold Test (db 1/31/74)

[JSngry]

[Larry Kart]

Never heard his records -- there were two, I think, for Fantasy where I assume he got to do things his way (or if I did hear them, I don't recall them) -- but the Chicago-based Strand certainly had a good reputation. Actually, I do vaguely and unreliably recall that Strand might have been a bit like Joe Mooney -- very sophisticated harmonically, with a light touch and a setup on the instrument that was easy on the vibrato.

[Larry Kart]

On those Fantasy LPs, Strand played the Baldwin organ FWIW. I assume that the Baldwin and the Hammond B-3 are two very different animals.

[JSngry]

That reputation is certainly confirmed here: http://www.afana.org/jazzorgan.htm

C'mon you Organ-istos/istas, anybody know sumphin' about Les Strand?

[Jim Alfredson]

I can't say I do. I'll have to check him out. Thanks for posting!

[montg]

4 stars for the Rabbit-Wild Bill album. "It had that feeling". That says it all...means a lot coming from someone like JOS. I wish Verve (or more likely Mosaic) would release some of those collaborations between Hodges and Wild Bill.

Thanks for posting

[CJ Shearn]

great blindfold test, JOS was more forgiving than I've heard him be.

[Free For All]

Thanks for posting

.....and (in case I haven't mentioned it)- thank YOU for your Teagarden avatar!

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

Well, he got three out of seven, which is a lot better than I usually do!

MG

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

By the way, Charles Kynard did a blindfold test in the early seventies sometime, which my mate told me was very interesting. Another that concentrated on organ recordings.

Hint, hint...

MG

[JSngry]

I'll see if I have it.

In the meantime, what do you know about Les Strand?

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

Here are a few quotes relating to Strand, from Geoff Alexander's "The jazz organ: a brief history".

Here's a photo of Les

Because the Hammond's AC signal

created a noticeable "pop" for each keystroke, specially designed speakers

using the roll-off technique were designed by Leslie to smooth out the

sharp attack coming from the Hammond's keyboard. Leslie speakers revolved

within the cabinet, adding a tremolo effect which, particularly in a small

room, added to the unique Hammond sound. The Hammond was the last organ

made using AC, and subsequent DC organs no longer MUST use Leslies.

Another unique feature of the Hammond was its method of tone production.

Sound in the Hammond was produced by means of some 91 tone wheels, each of

which revolved over a magnetic coil, and contained varying numbers of

small metal "bumps" which corresponded to the given number of

cycles-per-second of the particular note. This made the Hammond an

electrical, rather than an "electronic" organ, which produces tones by

means of a sine wave formed by an oscillator. To fully appreciate the

difference in these technologies, the reader is directed toward selection

number ten on the accompanying cassette, in which organist Les Strand

plays the Baldwin electronic organ. The baleful quality of the sine wave

is apparent, even through the frequency dividers which produce the

harmonics in this instrument.

Before discussing these organists, it is worthwhile to note that Smith

himself, while indicating that he has not been directly influenced by any

other organ players, does admit to enjoy listening to only one other, an

obscure organist named Les Strand, who he refers to as the "Art Tatum of

the organ."

Strand, whose father spent most of his career as a musician playing in

shows on the theatre circuit in Chicago, taught himself to play the

Hammond at the age of fourteen. He began playing in a funeral home before

hitting the lounge circuit, and was probably the purest bebop organist who

ever played the instrument. His obscurity results from a combination of

factors: an inappropriate record label (Fantasy, which had nothing in

their catalogue remotely like Strand's jazz organ, and which refused to

give much promotion to him), a non-traditional organ (he recorded mostly

on the Baldwin, which is not a "bluesy" instrument), and technique, which

was so complex that the basic jazz-blues oriented organ trio setting would

simply not have worked well with his Tatum-Tristano influenced style.

Strand rarely traveled out of the Chicago area, and never appeared in a

large East Coast city. He is rare among jazz organists in that his first

instrument was the organ itself (he started with the Hammond at age 14),

and his total recorded output consists of three albums on Fantasy, two of

which feature the Baldwin organ, and a promotional album for Yamaha.

Interestingly, neither Leonard Feather, who produced his Yamaha record,

nor Chicago jazz radio programmer Dick Buckley, who wrote the liner notes

for one of his records, knew Strand's whereabouts, and small wonder: he

retired from active playing at the young age of 40 to pursue a teaching

career in 1964, has since retired from teaching, and now lives in Kansas

City.

Strand's version of "If I Had You" (example number 10 on the cassette) is

a tour-de-force of dynamics, comping, and just plain magnificent keyboard

technique. The "cool" sound of the trio is a result of the fact that the

guitarist 'and the drummer were currently then working with accordionist

Art Van Damme's group, and were accustomed to playing in a relatively

quiet setting (the drummer, in fact, uses brushes throughout the album.)

Although he preferred the Hammond, Strand's father worked in the Chicago

Baldwin store and was able to introduce him to the wider dynamic range of

that organ. The Baldwin, however, did not record as well as was expected,

and therefore he returned to the Hammond for his final recording on

Fantasy, "Les Strand Plays Ellington".) The Baldwin does emphasize

Strand's horn-like quality, and in using the "vibes" setting, actually

evokes the sound of a guitar more than anything else.

Geoff Alexander's history is here

http://www.afana.org/jazzorgan.htm

MG

PS - Oh, I see you referenced this site already Jim.

[king ubu]

So McDuff wasn't that hip, huh?

Thanks for posting that, very interesting read!

[marcello]

So McDuff wasn't that hip, huh?

Thanks for posting that, very interesting read!

I don't think that's what he's saying.

He's saying the the organist on the record isn't as hip as McDuff.

More please, Jim.

[Dan Gould]

great blindfold test, JOS was more forgiving than I've heard him be.

Yes, and that makes me curious about the earlier, 1961 Blindfold Test that is mentioned at the end of the intro.

Too bad at that point Jim was running around in a coonskin cap instead of collecting DBs.

[flat5]

Thank you for these BT's JSngry.

I wonder what JS thought of Baby Face Willette.

[bertrand]

'Another one of my students'.

Bertrand.

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

Cynic.

Plenty of organists acknowledged the help Jimmy Smith gave them. I know JOS was a bighead, but I don't think he'd ever claim to have given lessons to someone he hadn't. And he surely didn't give lessons to Baby Face, who had developed his style before JOS recorded.

MG

[Hardbopjazz]

Does anyone remember the Monk Blindfold Test that was posted here a few years back. I tried to track down that thread.

[Soul Stream]

Thanks Jim, awesome blindfold test. I was surprised at how often he guessed Leon Spencer Jr., that was very interesting from my perspective.