Hot Ptah

I will do the same thing, comment on only some tracks on a Blindfold Test, because I realize that I have nothing valuable to say about some of the other tracks. But I do listen to all of the Blindfold Test, and decide whether or not I have any comments to make. What you are saying, Jim R, is similar to what was said back when Jeffcrom proposed the length limit years ago. I think that some people find a two CD length BFT just too intimidating to get to, too onerous to fit into their schedule for the month. It may seem like being given a 700 page book to read every month. Sure, you can skip around and browse in it, but just opening the cover to the first page may seem overwhelming if it is too long a tome. I do wonder though--if you don't want to listen to 80 minutes of jazz in a month, what do we have here? Aren't we supposed to be the world's biggest jazz fans? Don't we want to listen to music any more? If not, then the Blindfold Test should probably be relegated to the dustbin of history. I hope not. It would be interesting to hear from those who have stopped participating in the BFT, as to whether the length of the tests matter to them. If there is another reason why they have stopped participating, that would be good to know about, too.

My thought is that when a regular feature goes to a sporadic status, such as Album of the Month, it tends to disappear completely. If members are interested in seeing the Blindfold Test continue, they need to volunteer to present one. Otherwise we will have months with no Blindfold Test this year, without any formal decision having been made, simply because there is no presenter. I really believe in limiting the length of the Blindfold Test to 80 minutes or less, the length of a CD. I know that when I have prepared a BFT, I am very proud of every single one of my song choices, and think that each one is a stroke of genius on my part. But then I am surprised that the listeners don't seem to really like some of the songs, or to care much about them. I think that some editing would do us all good, as we put together a Blindfold Test. Also, you can always save some of the songs for the next BFT that you put together. The next BFT seems to come upon you more quickly than you might imagine. So in summary, I think that if we kept the Blindfold Tests to 80 minutes or less, it might make other members more likely to participate.

It is! Now can we identify the composition, and the album?

In the past, Jeffcrom was the administrator and suggested that all Blindfold Tests should be a maximum length of one CD. This was met with disagreement and several presenters since then have submitted longer Blindfold Tests, of a two CD length.

I thought that while my own Blindfold Test was in process, I would raise the question of whether we want to continue having a monthly Blindfold Test or not. At this point, we have presenters for 2016 Blindfold Tests for only three more months--April (Dan Gould), July (Thom Keith) and December (falser). That leaves us with no 2016 presenters in May, June, August, September, October and November. Personally, I enjoy the Blindfold Test as much as ever. But if it has run its course, and is no longer of interest, then we should discontinue it. Please post your vote--Continue the Blindfold Test, or Discontinue the Blindfold Test.

You said that the performer had some of Phineas' touches, but that it sounded too modern a recording to be him. I guess I could have said, be more positive with your discussion, take a definite stand as you may find that you are correct.

It is "Celia".

How am I going to fool Johnny Griffin's pianist for over ten years? That is the composition. But on which album, and who are the other musicians?

Here is the link, so graciously provided by Thom Keith, for Blindfold Test 144: http://thomkeith.net/index.php?cID=136 If the link does not work for you, let me know and I will have Thom look at it. You should click on the link for BFT 144.

This is a really intriguing Blindfold Test. I am not familiar with several of the artists, and I like their work very much. This Blindfold Test combines enjoyable, interesting listening with some real surprises, which is not easy to do!

Oh, Erik Friedlander on Track 2! I have heard him play beautifully on several John Zorn albums. I am surprised that I could not identify him. I really like Track 2. It's beautiful.

We went there last May to see the ICP, and that is where I bought the album that Track 9 is on, from a table set up outside the auditorium.

Oh I have the CD that Track 9 is on, but I could not place it! Time to pull that album out again!

While the discussion of the excellent BFT 143 continues, I wanted to let you know that in the absence of any volunteer for March, I am coming off the bench to pinch hit. I will present BFT 144. I have sent the music to Thom Keith for his technical wizardry. He is traveling but will be back right before March 1. So the music will be available at the beginning of March. The theme of this Blindfold Test is Sheer Enjoyment. This is a tuneful, pleasant set of tracks.

I like it!

Oddly enough, the sad news about the closing of Jazz Record Mart in Chicago has allowed me to be able to identify Track 1. It is "Vipers Drag", the title cut from the 2015 album by Henry Butler and Steven Bernstein. That is Henry Butler on piano. When I read that Jazz Record Mart was closing, I went to its website for a last look, and the employee recommendations were posted. One of the employees recommended "Vipers Drag", so I bought it and listened to it in the past few days. It is an excellent album overall.

I saw Sun Ra live many times. He was very much more creative, unusual and wild in concert. He was out and out strange at times, in a good way. I don't really see the parallels with Kamasi Washington. It would be like saying that some young guy with long hair who plays electric guitar is reminiscent of Frank Zappa live. It is like another universe apart.

Every city is different. I REALLY REALLY did NOT mean to turn this thread into a discussion of the merits of Barnes and Noble when I mentioned that I could not buy Kamasi Washington's "The Epic" there. I used Barnes and Noble as an example ONLY, of how there is no huge 1970s style promotional campaign behind the album which is catapulting Kamasi Washington into undeserved fame and riches, while more artistically deserving artists continue to struggle. That is not happening if my city is typical. i should have not mentioned the name of the store where I could not buy "The Epic." I mentioned Barnes and Noble ONLY because it is literally the only brick and mortar store in Kansas City now where you can pop in and buy a current new release on CD. The other brick and mortar stores in Kansas City are used music stores or unique specialty shops reflecting the personality of the owner, who is usually sitting at the cash register. I did not mean to even discuss the pros and cons of current Barnes and Noble stores nationwide.

The entire basement was music when it opened. The selection in the basement shifted to mostly DVDs and Blu Rays at one point. Now the music section has taken over more of the basement again.

Some Barnes and Noble stores have added significantly to their inventory in the past two years. The Kansas City store on the Plaza had little music selection a few years ago but it has bounced back and now has a decent selection again. I am pleasantly surprised.

I think that Barnes and Noble has more national impact than less than 25 people discussing "The Epic" on online jazz discussion boards.

I think it all shows that "The Epic" has had little national impact. So any thoughts that Kamasi Washington is being unjustly rewarded for subpar work omit the fact that the rewards may be largely nonexistent.

There is a section for gangsta rap CDs at this Barnes and Noble.. I very seriously doubt that "The Epic" is not being carried because of any racial issues. I think it is just considered too obscure a release to warrant any shelf space. I mentioned this because the album had been attacked earlier in this thread for having a marketing campaign behind it and I wanted to point out that it does not seem to be riding the crest of any marketing wave.

What does that mean? Seriously, I don't understand what you mean by that.

The Barnes and Noble store on the Plaza in Kansas City has a pretty large and deep CD selection. It also has an area of CDs for $3.99, $5.99 and $7.99. Other than Barnes and Noble there is no other brick and mortar store in Kansas City with a selection of new releases on CD. So if "The Epic" was being promoted nationwide in a big marketing blitz, that is where it should have been available in my city. But as I said above, it was not available and could not be ordered by the store.