tkeith

Felser is correct and this is my Favorite Frank Lacy release. Much to love on this record.

Frank Lacy is correct.

Older than that group... or at least, in a different loft. Yes, yes you do. It is available and I can provide you with the link in the reveal. Sorry about the dent. Not Roswell, and probably considered more mainstream than that, but actually covers a broader spectrum. One might (and this player DOES) argue that this trombonist is "the most widely idiomatically recorded musician of [their] generation".

Nailed it.

Man, you are so sniffing around the fire! Azar Lawrence DOES appear on this album, but this is not him. I'll be surprised if anyone gets this one. Your assessment that they are not Caribbean is correct. They seem to cover a fairly wide stylistic swath. Nothing about your reaction to this is a surprise, and yes, the bassist is INDEED a heavy musician. I would say the pianist qualifies, as well. This guy was a discovery to me about 20 years back. Haven't heard all that much from him recently, which could be as much my fault as his. I like where your ears took you, but this test does the impossible -- a BFT from me absent a John Hicks appearance.

Ding! Ding!

He is in there, and it is his composition, but the band operates under multiple names.

Not KB. I figured you'd dig this one and figured you for a lock to get it. Hint: Trumpet player identifies as something else and THEN a guy who plays trumpet. I'd be surprised if you're not correct about most of those.

Glad you could stop by! I think you called this one pretty well, though I think the perceived failure to pull it off is intentional. They call it something else, but parentheticaly "Yesterday". Pretty well assessed. Really don't expect this one to get ID'd. Certainly a period that influenced this band. That assessment comes as no surprise. I'm surprised this one hasn't been pegged, yet. Exactly. Seems to have been an occasional mark of the label that produced this music. In my mind, it was frequently the recording (there were some great drummers in the stable), but some of the recordings seemed to feature the "b" team. Appreciate that. This one, IMHO, gets better upon repeated listening. Another tenor who leaves it all on the field. I mostly agree on the composition, but the rhythmic pattern and the movement in the piano's left hand (freeing up the bass for ad-libs) make this one special to my ear. Composed by a GREAT musician and an underrated composer. Thanks, again!

Invisible Funk-A-Roonie-Peacock can be challenging, and the title track always seemed a bit short of the rest of the album to my ear, particular the A side.

Correct! My father picked this record out for me at Looney Tunes in Boston. At first, I didn't care for it. Upon repeated listenings, it became a favorite. There's a couple of filler tracks, but most of the album is excellent.

Spot on on track 9. LM was introduced to my via the BFT, and boy am I glad. LOVE this tune. And, I agree about how we are wired. Of course, I knew that the first time I saw your avatar! A few years back this happened:

Wow! Some definite surprises. Never would have gotten Alan Dawson, but feel pretty good about my assessment of James Williams. A lot of people saw him in a lower tier, but I've always felt he was under-respected within the genre.

Shoulda had your skates on!

To access July’s BFT, please use the following link. http://thomkeith.net/index.php/blindfold-tests/ at the risk of stepping on KEN’s toenails, I’m going to start this today (not sure I am available tomorrow). Apologies in advance — this is a long BFT. I am usually better about that. Mostly long tracks, more of a listener than a fooler. Enjoy!

A transcription of it is available on Scribd. Jim, What tunes have you transcribed, out of curiosity. Equal curious as to what your axe is (spend most of my time on the BFT thread and was not aware of this). Also, to the OP, you might have luck contacting him. For awhile he was offering to sell his arrangements on his website (I have a BH fetish and tried to purchase a slew of stuff, but it never materialized). I've lobbied him a couple of times about putting out a book of his material, but to no avail. He seems a pretty private guy.

Finally got a listen in. No mining (well, a little where it will be obvious), just first impressions. Track 01 - Old Devil Moon by a vibist I’m not familiar with. Modern recording, in that it’s too clean. The drums seem to lose something in the modern recordings, IMHO, as a result of the sound being *too* clean. Drummer seems like he comes out of Billy Higgins. Piano speaks to me most, here. Not quite John Hicks, but definitely out of that school. Track 02 - Not feeling this one. Keep waiting for it to go somewhere, but it never seems to get there. Muhal Richard Abrams has some stuff like this and it’s the stuff that least reaches me. Track 03 - Sounds like Gilmore’s tenor in the mix. This has PRECISELY what the last track lacked. That IT factor… or maybe it’s just that it swings. That’s NOT Gilmore. Very distinct tenor sound, almost like he’s holding it back. Ballsy… sort of like a ballsy Oliver Nelson. Particularly dig the drums on this cut. That’s Paul Gonsalves right there. Man, that right hand on the drummer is THICK! I like this a lot! This is must have material. Track 04 - Overall, this seems too abstract for the sake of being that. Sounds like Dolphy playing a clarinet, which I’ve only heard once or twice. Doesn’t really click for me. Seems absent the blues. Track 05 - If You Could See Me Now (did Tadd Dameron write any songs that WEREN’T great?!). No idea who the flugelhorn player is. Didn’t really grab, but was perfectly pleasant. Not a criticism, just an observation (hell, Art Farmer does that to me all the time!). Track 06 - Expressive, warm soprano sound. Inability to get that body in the tone is precisely why my soprano sits fallow most of the time. Can’t come up with the name of the tune, which frustrates… Short, sweet, to the point. Quite enjoyed this one. Track 07 - Surrey With The Fringe On Top. Cooking trio, but can’t say I know the players. Track 08 - Unclear on the tune, don’t know the players. Not a clarinet guy, but oddly, I like this. Track 09 - It’s a unique composition, but not in a way that makes me care. I do like the blending of the instruments within the arrangement. Liked it more as it went on, though the arrangement remains clunky. Soloists all seemed to work well against the backdrop of the band, particularly the alto, Bari, and trombone. Track 10 - “Warming up in the bullpen for Cincinnati…” No idea. Track 11 - I believe this one was on a previous test (118). I believe it’s track 9 from this. Love the song, love the movie, love the version. Track 12 - Interesting instrumentation. Not sure where I am on the composition, but love the blend of the three voices. Not feeling the organ, at all. Track 13 - Just friends. Dual vibes? Triple vibes? Or two vibes and a marimba, anyway. Three it is. Seemingly older recording (I’d guess late 50s/early 60s from the sound of the rhythm section; either that or it’s Mapleshade doing their thing even better than usual). Don’t know who. Of there three, I prefer the third; first two are a bit bouncy in their style for my taste. Rhythm section is right there, though, making this a good listen. Track 14 - Georgia a la Big Ben (who fools NOBODY). I know this is on multiple compilations. I’m familiar with it from The Complete Recordings of Ben Webster on Enlightenment. That seems to be Art Tatum on piano. Track 15 - I like the piano, crisp yet swinging. Not enamored of the guitar sound. Track 16 - I do NOT like harmonica. And yet, you’ve done it again: this, I like. Strange instrumentation, but I’m all in.

I didn't see the pinkish shade until the response. I took my notes in an app called Sticky Notes on my Chromebook at work. It copies the color of the note when you copy and paste and I can't figure out how to get it to NOT do that.

A bit delayed and getting ears on this one. Once I had the chance, I was mostly confounded. Weak pocket of the genre for me, so always an education. Track 01 - No idea Track 02 - No idea Track 03 - Honeysuckle Rose. No idea Track 04 - Honeysuckle Rose, again. No idea Track 05 - That sure sounds like Edward Kennedy Ellington on piano, and Honeysuckle Rose. Track 06 - This BFT is in full bloom. No idea. Track 07 - And the Sunny Side of the Street is leading to all those flowers. Sounds like Rabbit to me, but almost too clean. Track 08 - More sun! Could there be more flowers to follow!? Track is this, though I know not from which source. Track 09 - More sun. Not sure. I was thinking Jerome Richardson on flute/bari, but more due to context than any sure feeling. Trumpet sounds familiar (like, should have had him). Track 10 - Hmmm... theme is in full force. Obvious guess would be Fatha Hines, but I think it's more likely someone playing like EFH. Track 11 - No idea. Track 12 - Sounds like Django to me, but no further guesses. Track 13 - No idea. Track 14 - No idea. Track 15 - No idea.

Zorn can be enjoyable... and he can be un-enjoyable. This one was enjoyable, even where I differed with choices. Track 01 - West coastiness. Something very... proper(?) about the arpeggios in the alto player's solo. It's not stiff... but it's close. Track 02 - This sounds familiar rather quickly. I knew there was something quirky in that mix. Is that a banjo? No... brass guitar? Something odd in that bass, too. Acoustic bass guitar, maybe? Pizzacato cello? This is intriguing. It's odd, but remains musical. There's something almost Kenny Wheeler-ish about the trumpet, in a very good way. Like Kenny and Freddie Hubbard produced an offspring. Aha! Well, that's Oliver Lake. So maybe that could be someone along the lines of Hugh Ragin on trumpet. That strange-ish bass sound could be Abdul Wadad on cello. And the more I'm hearing the drummer, the more I'm getting a Cyrille vibe. Track 03 - Solo piano, older. Unsure. Track 04 - I like the vibe of this from the git go. Tenor has that vibrato quality that Byard Lancaster had on alto. Players struck me as avant garde players, but that's not the vibe, at all. Track 05 - Early on with the dogs was just weird enough to get me thinking Bill Dixon, but then it got all groovy. Hell, I like dogs -- I'm in. I was almost leaning Eddie Harris, then it hit me, that sure sounds like Rahsaan. And then, it sounds a little more controlled than Rahsaan. Definitely not Eddie. Okay, definitely Rahsaan, but not sure of the recording. Dig the groove, though. Is that a bassoon in my left ear? Intriguing. Can only name two guys who play that in the genre and I don't think it's either. Track 06 - That IS a different direction. Pretty straight forward swing, after the head. Maybe Budd Freeman on tenor? Not sure the band. Track 07 - Ooooo.. tasty. Man, this feels very LA to me. It's not Tapscott, but I think it's a disciple. It's not Adele Sebastian, so that leaves me wondering which of the doublers it might be (though, in truth, this sure sounds like a flute player to me). More polish on the piano than the Tapscott crowd, but I'm realling thinking Roberto Miquel Miranda on bass and Sonship Theus on drums. Very snappy drums, digging them a lot. That McCoy-ish lefthand is a big selling point for me, as well. Yeah, I'm going to commit and say flute is the main axe for this player. Some groaning in there, but not quite to the level of Harold Alexander. Perhaps James Newton? This is an absolute keeper for me. Track 08 - Odd. Heavily brass ensemble, heavily arranged, busy drums, but it works. Not sure how often I'd go to this well, but it's a refreshing drink at the moment. Get's a bit more common when it breaks into the Jazz waltz feel, but still works. The opening section had me thinking of Charles Tolliver's Brass Company. I'm almost wondering if this might be from Charles' current big band, as that sounds like Donald Harrison on alto. Arrangement has a bit of an edge to it, as well. Track 09 - HANK JONES! The Great Jazz Trio. This is SUCH a great track! Track B1 from this. One day, I WILL cover this tune. Hank is a forgotten hero of this music. Should be mentioned as frequently as Barry Harris or Tommy Flanagan. Stellar! Track 10 - Niceness. Very tasteful ballad. Not sure who the 'bone player is, only who it isn't. It's pleasant, but not overly memorable. Certainly a nod is due to Freddie Hubbard. At first I was thinking a controlled Hannibal, but that's not the case. Maybe Jeremy Pelt? Again, seems a bit more controlled. I like this, but prefer the trumpet player to the trombone (though that's purely preference -- both are fine efforts). So refreshing to hear a ballad that REMAINS a ballad. Track 11 - Has a very Vijay Iyer feel to it (and I mean that in a good way). It's complicated rhythmically, but remains musical. Vijay manages that where so many fail. Piano solo gets VERY busy, but that bugs me less than the putrid electric bass. Again, just a preferential thing, but I truly loathe that instrument 99% of the time. About 4:58, I turned into Montgomery Burns - "Alright... it's beginning to grate a little..." Almost wondering if this might be Martina Almgren's band. Seems like they may be a couple of steps ahead of that from a technical standpoint. Clearly, these are good players, but... I hate to be the curmudgeon, but... "sing me a song, baby." Gets a little too into the world of Chris Potter towards the end. I think I would have been wowed if the whole thing were about 5-1/2 minutes. This is just too busy for too long to suit my tastes. Sorry about the color background, it's a Chromebook thing, and I got paid to take this test. Ah... I see I'm not as isolated in my appreciation of Hank Jones as I thought. Got to see him towards the end, and glad I did. A true master.

I am surprised by this. Mostly because a friend recently sent me a Kamasi video that I found completely uninspiring. He was knocked out by it and I was completely turned off by it. Just listened again, and I still like it. Hey, there's a recording of Joe Lovano with The Jazz Orchestra that knocks me out, though Joe usually causes me to break out in a rash. It happens.

Okay, not sure what's going on with the link, but it's working for me in all browsers (Safari, included), even on different machines. Try this link: http://thomkeith.net/index.php/blindfold-tests/ Granted, I got an advanced listen, but here are my responses on that first listen: Track 1 - First thought was that it was electronic keyboard, but given the style, I'm now uncertain. Ah! There's John Gilmore, so I have to assume it's Sun Ra's band, but maybe after he passed? Track 2 - Off the bat, sounds like Cyrille's drumming. Organ sounds like Sun Ra. I know there is the Ra small band record on Horo (which I haven't heard in quite awhile), but this sounds cleaner than that, in terms of the recording. Definitely Ra, definitely Gilmore. I may be wrong about Cyrille, but I'm sure getting that vibe. Track 3 - I'm thinking of that John Handy record on MPS with similar instrumentation. Not convinced it's John, though. This stuff is always hit or miss with me, but this is a full-on hit. Man, that control. It's almost gotta be John. Track 4 - No clue. Very pleasant, though. Track 5 - Dat Dere. Initially, I was thinking it might Randy Weston, but once it gets going, I don't get that vibe at all. Track 6 - Recognize the song as Ellingtonia, but not that I can put a title to. I will guess Sir Roland Hanna. Track 7 - My first thought was Ricky Ford, my second was Harold Ashby. Neither are correct. Nope. I'm going with Ricky Ford. Track 8 - This has a distinctly Ibrahim vibe, but I don't recognize it. It's beautiful, though, particularly the left-hand of the piano. And then what seems to be Ricky Ford again would certainly support this being one of the Ekaya projects. It's not HoJo... sounds more like Charles Davis. I have Mindif and African River, but not The Mountain. I'll assume this is from the latter. Track 9 - This is cool in that Gil Evans 70s way. Even though those are synth strings, it works in this setting (odd since I had such an adverse reaction to them on last months BFT). I mean, I'd still prefer the real deal, but this works. Sure sounds like Hannibal. Is this Gil? Man, this is killin'! I need to acquire this. Don't suppose it's something off the wall like Mike Westbrook? Track 10 - No idea. Obvious guess would be Tito, but I have nothing to back it up. I know Jerry Gonzalez band can get this feel, but this seems like a bigger unit. Track 11 - Back to straight ahead, and it fits perfectly. Seems like something almost on the commercial end of the spectrum. My wife had a disc with Red Prysock playing a lot like this. A lot of stuff I'm hearing could be a lot of guys, but when he goes to Cuckooville (which I love), it leads me to believe it might be Red. Track 12 - Big sound. So big, I was thinking it was a tenor, at first. I've Louis Jordan (later) play like this, but don't think it's him. There's a lot to like in this. It's the understanding and respect paid to this stuff that makes me appreciate James Carter (when he stays focused). Track 13 - Man, this test took a turn, but I'm cool with it. A little more rock-and-roll than my listening takes me, but I"m totally diggin' it. No guesses. Guitar sounds like a cross between Albert Collins and Buddy Guy. Track 14 - That's another direction. I want to like it, but the distorted guitar is working against the process. It's unique, I'll give it that. Initially, it reminded me a lot of Peter Apfelbaum's Luminous Charms, but it seems a little more "in" than that. Lost me with the synth solo. Track 15 - Intro was more interesting to me than when it got going. I still like it, but it went in a different direction. First instincts had me thinking DeJohnette's Special Edition, and I'm coninced it's Jack. That's not any of the tenors I expect, so maybe the band with Gary Thomas?

Updated. General FYI, I've put it into my iCal to update the page the last day of every month, so it WILL happen, now.

BFT 167 Track 1 - Listening on crappy phones, but the sound seems a bit thin, but also like an early 90s (or later) recording. Drummer likes him/her some Tony (could it be Cindy?). Alto player seems to have listened to a lot of later Art Pepper (in a good way). Nothing jumping out about the piano player, but seems out of that John Hicks/Joe Bonner grouping, though I don't believe it is either of them. A touch of Harold Mabern in there, as well. Good, straight ahead Jazz, but not a lot of lasting impressions. Maybe Craig Handy? Track 2 - Newk! Not sure what the recording is, very 70s feel to it. My guess is pre-1975. Song is familiar, but I can't put a name to it. Man, this guy is so f***ing musical. Feeling more certain about the era -- the other players are just not to his level (few are, but after the Cherry band, that was never more apparent). Sonny is a baaaaaad man! Filthy! Track 3 - Sounds like Charlie, from Kansas City, though from what, I cannot hazard a guess. Can't really make out the melody. Track 4 - A Nightingale Sang In Berkeley Square, my late uncle's favorite song. Track 5 - I kid you not, this makes me hostiley suicidal. I recognize that is an overreaction, but it IS the reaction. Track 6 - Off the bat, I was thinking Buddy Tate, but that's wrong. No idea who the band is, but the player is a survivor. Band seems a bit more common than the lead voice. Brass voices don't seem to be all that interesting as an arrangement; meanwhile, the saxophone voices are knocking me out... that's weird. This tenor voice is familiar, but in an unfamiliar way. My guess is that it's more of a blues player who I am less familiar with. What I can't decide is whether it's his band or he's just being featured. Track 7 - I like the singer's voice, and the use of the bass, mirroring it. The synth strings, on the other hand... well, they're bringing me back to #5. Very upbeat lyrics. Omit the synth strings and this is a winner, but that one item kind of kills it for me. Track 8 - Late 70s/Early 80s feel. Sort of out of that Woody Shaw school. Most certainly not Woody, though. Drums seem kind of detached, not sure if it's the mix or just not clicking. Seems busier than it needs to be, but nobody else seems to be paying attention to what's happening. Busy, without being tuned in. If it's not Wayne Shorter, it's somebody that owes him a house. Seems like a band trying to be Miles' band (no faulting that), but not quite there. Track 9 - Tenor almost sounds like a young Eddie Harris. Track 10 - Not sure who these guys are, but seems inspired by EH, to my ear. Track 11 - Not sure of the trumpet, but that sure sounds like George Coleman to me. There was a trumpet player from Memphis that had an album with Big George... I forget his name right now. This could be that. Definitely Big George on tenor. Sure sounds like Harold Mabern, too. Can't think of the trumpet player... Louis something. Track 12 - My favorite Bird tune! Scrapple From The Apple. That's Dex on tenor -- unmistakable. And there's Booker Ervin. Wow! Two unmistakable BOSS tenors!!!! Wow! WHAT!!? Sure sounds like Newk to me, on the right! Wow! Finally googled this and arrived at YouTube. Holy SMOKES! Track 13 - Man, the bass player is lost. Seems like a modern pianist, because they seem so out of sync, I'm going to make an odd guess: James Williams? Definitely that vintage. Bassist is just out-to-lunch at times. Some pleasing oddities in here!