Hot Ptah

Yes it is an incredible set.

I will take the Johnny Griffin 1978, the three Ray Brown's, and the Don Byas-Clifford Jordan. Thanks for this idea, Dan! Very generous and thoughtful of you!

Whether Aretha is the first, twenty fifth, or three hundred and twenty second best post War singer, I love her Atlantic albums from 1967--1972, and some of her Columbia recordings before that. I think that her achievements speak for themselves, and that hair splitting over whether she is better than someone else or not, is not a very fruitful exercise. There are far less talented singers who have achieved acclaim, who are more worthy of negative comment.

I am finding what I am almost sure is your Track 2 on "Pure Be-Bop" (Laserlight 17162) and on "The Best of the Jazz Trumpets" (LRC Ltd./Groove Merchant Records). Earlier today I found another CD compiliation which has it, but it is frustrating that I cannot find it again online now. It will be truly interesting to learn what Track 2 really is Dan, when you post your Reveal at the end of the month.

Isn't it this session, from the discography that Jim Sangry has provided: Thad Jones - Howard McGhee - Kenny Dorham Sextet Kenny Dorham, Thad Jones, Howard McGhee (trumpet) Billy Taylor (piano) Percy Heath (bass) Albert Heath (drums) NYC, July 4, 1966 The Theme Europa Jazz (It) EJ 1039 Blues - * Europa Jazz (It) EJ 1039 Thad Jones - Howard McGhee - Kenny Dorham I have found three different compilation CDs online, all with a song credited to Dorham/Thad Jones/McGhee which is "Bags Groove" but which is titled "The Theme" on all of them. The short samples which I can listen to online for all of these CDs all sound a whole lot like your Track 2. I do not mean to be argumentative, Dan. It is more that this is very mysterious, that you have an album with different credits, for what I am finding as the track in the discography entry above.

Track 2: Doing some internet sleuthing and researching, and listening to short samples available online, I think that this recording is Kenny Dorham, Howard McGhee, and Thad Jones. It is wrongly titled "The Theme" in the albums I have found online. It appears on compilation albums of bop and trumpet collections, from what I can find online so far. Could any of that be so, Dan?

That is OK! You do a lot for the BFT. I would have enjoyed your impressions.

To me, it does show what we have gained in the CD era. This track was left off the original LP, presumably for reasons of the length of the side of an LP. That entire album, including its bonus tracks, is excellent. There is also a very nice solo piano version of "Lush Life" included on the CD, a previously unreleased bonus track.

Allen Toussaint—You Didn’t Know, Did You (Toussaint) Recorded December, 1959, in sessions for Seville label, at Cosimo’s Studios, New Orleans, Louisiana, but not released. First released 1992, on The Complete ‘Tousan’ Sessions (Bear Family) Melvin Lastie—cornet, Nat Perrilliat—tenor saxophone (solo), Alvin “Red” Tyler—baritone saxophone, Justin Adams—guitar, Allen Toussaint—piano, Frank Fields—bass, Charles “Hungry” Williams-drums. 2. McCoy Tyner—13th House (Jimmy Heath) Arranged and composed by Jimmy Heath. From 13th House (Milestone, 1982) Oscar Brashear, Charles Sullivan—trumpets and flugelhorns; Slide Hampton-trombone; Greg Williams-French horn; Bob Stewart—tuba; Frank Foster—clarinet; Joe Ford—flute; Ricky Ford—tenor saxophone; McCoy Tyner-piano; Ron Carter-bass; Jack DeJohnette-drums; Airto—percussion, congas. Solos—Tyner, Slide Hampton, Ron Carter. 3. Johnny Griffin—A Monk’s Dream (Johnny Griffin) From Return of the Griffin (Galaxy, 1978) Johnny Griffin—tenor saxophone, Ronnie Mathews—piano, Ray Drummond—bass, Keith Copeland—drums. This is an excellent album. I had some difficulty choosing which track to select from it. 4. Larry Coryell and Philip Catherine---Nuages (Django Reinhardt) From Twin House (Elektra, 1977) Coryell and Catherine—guitars. 5. Oscar Peterson—Au Privave (Charlie Parker) From Oscar Peterson Big 6 at Montreux 1975 (Pablo, 1975) Oscar Peterson-piano, Toots Thielemans—harmonica, Milt Jackson-vibes, Joe Pass-guitar, Niels-Henning Orsted Pedersen-bass, Louis Bellson-drums 6. Mel Powell—You’re Lucky To Me (Eubie Blake/Andy Razaf) From Mel Powell Septet (Vanguard, 1953), reissued on CD on It’s Been So Long (Vanguard) Buck Clayton—trumpet, Edmund Hall-clarinet, Henderson Chambers-trombone, Mel Powell-piano, Steve Jordan-guitar, Walter Page-bass, Jimmy Crawford-drums 7. Phineas Newborn, Jr.—Cecila (Bud Powell) From The Great Jazz Piano of Phineas Newborn, Jr. (Contemporary, 1962) Phineas Newborn, Jr.—piano, Leroy Vinnegar-bass, Milt Turner-drums. 8. Phil Woods—Willow Weep For Me (Ronnell) From Musique Du Bois (Muse, 1974) Phil Woods—alto saxophone, Jaki Byard-piano, Richard Davis-bass, Alan Dawson-drums. I believe that this is the last time that the Jaki Byard/Richard Davis/Alan Dawson rhythm section recorded together, following their great work together on several 1960s albums. 9. Sun Ra—Cosmos (Sun Ra) From Cosmos (Cobra, 1977, also on Inner City, 1977) Sun Ra—Rocksichord; John Gilmore—Tenor Saxophone (solo); Marshall Allen—alto saxophone, flute; Danny Davis—alto saxophone, flute; Danny Thompson-baritone saxophone, flute; Elo Omoe—bass clarinet, flute; James Jacson—bassoon, flute; Ahmed Abdullah—trumpet; Craig Harris- trombone; Vincent Chancey-French horn; R. Anthony Bunn-electric bass; Larry Bright—drums. This is one of the first Sun Ra albums I ever purchased, and is still one of my favorite Sun Ra albums. 10. Tete Montoliu—Scandia Skies (Kenny Dorham) From Tete a Tete (Steeple Chase, 1976) This track was unreleased until 1992, when the CD was released. Tete Monteliu-piano 11. Paul Bley—Tango Palace (Paul Bley) From Tango Palace (Soul Note, 1985) Paul Bley—piano 12. Weather Report—Joe and Wayne Duet (includes “Come Sunday” by Duke Ellington) From The Legendary Live Tapes: 1978-1981 (Columbia Legacy, 2015) This performance was recorded June, 1978, in Tokyo, Japan. It is the opening section of a longer track. Joe Zawinul—piano This is the first half of “Joe and Wayne Duet”, the opening track on CD 2 of this four CD set of live performances, which was released in 2015. On the rest of “Joe and Wayne Duet”, Zawinul switches to synthesizers, and his sound, and Wayne Shorter’s playing, would have been instantly recognized by everyone. In the March 10, 1977, issue of Down Beat magazine, there was an article titled “Piano Panorama: Insights Into the Ivories.” It was “compiled by Len Lyons.” The article starts with the questions “Do you feel that jazz acoustic and electric piano is in a stagnant period now? What possibilities and approaches remain to be developed in the future?” What follows are the answers by Bill Evans, Patrice Rushen, Paul Bley, McCoy Tyner, Joe Zawinul, Chick Corea, Herbie Hancock, George Shearing, Billy Taylor, John Lewis and Hampton Hawes. Joe Zawinul starts his answer by saying that he thinks that acoustic piano is in a“more stagnant period than any other instrument.” He says “ As far as I am concerned, the last complete knockout solo piano player with a completely new approach to jazz playing was Art Tatum….For me, Cecil is the only one who completely kills me. He’s a composer of the first rank.” Joe Zawinul then says the following, which excited me and my friends very much at the time. We were all huge Weather Report fans and saw Weather Report live every chance we had. After reading the following quote, we eagerly waited to hear Joe playing this: “I sincerely feel that I am doing something different on acoustic piano. I’m working on a new way of playing solo jazz piano. The whole secret is in the left hand. It’s not stride but a different way of playing rhythm with the left hand that’s maybe stronger and more modern. I have some tapes done, but I’m still working on it and it will take some time. When it comes out, you’ll know about it.” We just could not wait to hear this “new way of playing solo jazz piano” by Joe Zawinul. In 1977 and for some years after that, we would excitedly talk about how maybe this would be the time soon, that Joe would release this great new solo piano recording, with his new original approach. Over the decades, one of my friends and I have often commented on that quote, and how Joe never released any solo piano recordings. We saw Weather Report live several times in 1977—82, and Joe did not unveil his “new way of playing solo jazz piano” at those concerts. Over the decades, my friend and I have used this as a comparison to other things. For example, “The promised sequel to that film never materialized—it’s like Joe Zawinul and his new way of playing solo piano.” Well, maybe, just maybe, this beginning half of “Joe and Wayne Duet” is an example of what Joe Zawinul meant by his “new way of playing solo jazz piano.” If so, to my knowledge, it is the first recorded example ever to be released. It only took 38 years. 13. Kamasi Washington—Change of the Guard (Kamasi Washington) From The Epic (Brainfeeder, 2015) Kamasi Washington—tenor saxophone, Ryan Porter—trombone, Igmar Thomas-trumpet, Cameron Graves-piano; Brandon Coleman-keyboards, Miles Mosley-acoustic bass, Stephen Bruner-electric bass, Tony Austin-drums. Violins-Neel Hammond, Tylana Renga Enomoto, Paul Cartwright, Jennifer Simone, Lucia Micarelli. Violas-Molly Rodgers, Andrea Whitt. Cellos-Artyom Manukyan, Ginger Murphy Choir Vocals-Dawn Norfleet, Thalma de Freitas, Maiya Sykes, Gina Maanziello, Patrice Quinn, Natasha F. Agrama, Dwight Trible, Steven Wayne, Taylor Graves, Charles Jones, Jason Morales, Dexter Story, Cameron Graves,Tracy Carter.

I will post the Reveal on March 31. In the meantime, here are some thoughts I have on some of the tracks on this Blindfold Test. 4. There has not been much love for this Larry Coryell/Philip Catherine duet. I like their duet album "Twin House", quite a lot. I bought the album when it was first released. I saw Coryell live several times from 1975-79 and he was quite good live. I saw him in an electric jazz fusion setting with the Eleventh House, and in two solo guitar performances, which were excellent. In 1979, Coryell sat in and played a really good mainstream solo on "Take the A Train" with this group: John Handy, Joe Farrell, Randy Brecker,,Jimmy Knepper, Don Pullen, Charlie Haden and Dannie Richmond. I believe that this was the first edition of the Mingus Dynasty band. Sue Mingus accompanied the band and introduced it. So I have positive feelings about Larry Coryell in this period, and "Twin House" is part of that. 6. Mel Powell's piano solo strikes me as extraordinary on this cut. I love his playing on his 1950s Vanguard releases. 7. Phineas could be such a great player on recordings. On this cut, his blues feeling combined with his chops are very special, I think. 8. To my knowledge, this is the last time that the Jaki Byard/Richard Davis/Alan Dawson rhythm section recorded together, after their successes on albums in the 1960s. I find both Richard Davis' bass solo and Jaki Byard's piano solo to be extraordinary. Both of them add more imagination and originality to their solos than one might expect on such an oft-recorded standard.

I am in and will go through Thom's site.

I have previously stated on this thread, in a response to a question from The Magnificent Goldberg, that Track 12 is part of a longer piece. If I had included the rest of the piece, everyone would have known immediately who the pianist is. It is not Earl Hines or Dave Brubeck. I would love to know what cut you were thinking it might be. That would be truly interesting.

It is not Chick Corea or Bill Evans. This pianist has never attained the level of stardom of either of those pianists. He is more of a pianist known and well liked by those deep into jazz.

4. Yes, you have identified the artists, album and song. Both Coryell and Catherine played on Charles Mingus' "Three or Four Shades of Blues" album. 10. Not Hank. The pianist on #10 has recorded with artists much more avant grade than Hank ever recorded with. 12. Not Jarrett or Oscar Peterson.

I will provide some clues for the tracks which have not been identified at all yet. 4. Both guitarists on this track recorded with the same jazz giant close to the end of his career. 10. This composition is by a much respected jazz musician who did not achieve great commercial success in his lifetime. The pianist has recorded mostly as a leader, but has also made sideman appearances on recordings by everyone from swing era masters to avant garde giants. 12. The pianist is very well known, although not for playing in a style like this. I would say that virtually every member, if not every member, of the Organissimo board knows his name and his music.

Yes, the song is from that album.

You are correct about Edmund Hall on clarinet, and correct that it is a Vanguard 1950s date. Spontooneous has just identified Buck Clayton on this track. So now we know two of the musicians.

It is a funny remark.

Well, put that Ben E. King with Sweets Edison in this time. I am going to remember that you said that, and then I will get at least one guess correct!

I am glad that you liked it, Allan!

Thank Bear Family for releasing it over thirty years later! That Bear Family Allen Toussaint release is a single CD, and not difficult to buy at a reasonable price. It contains the original recording of "Java", among other highlights. "Java" was covered six years later by Al Hirt, who had a big hit single with it in 1964. But every track on this Toussaint collection ranges from very strong, to at least very interesting.

We are keeping it to one BFT per year, per presenter. I try to keep it to 12 months apart for each presenter, but have relaxed that a few times to get enough presenters. I try to present a BFT every year, and it is surprising how quickly the next one comes around. It can be good to have some songs saved from the last time you worked on it.

That is a great record! I love Charles' own "What Can I Do", on which he sings and plays drums, on the Chess New Orleans CD collection. "What Can I Do" was unreleased until this CD set came out:

We now have complete identifications of Tracks 1 and 13, thanks to JSngry.