Hot Ptah

We have two new volunteers--Thom Keith for September, and Noj for November. So we have a full schedule until the end of 2014. If anyone wants to present a Blindfold Test in 2015, please let me know.

I'm in. I will send you a PM.

Oh my. I have the CD of Track 7 but did not recognize it.

A friend of mine saw B.B. King live last summer and said that while he talked a little bit too much, when he played and sang it was quite memorable. So maybe he can still do it some nights. I saw Bobby Blue Bland toward the end of his life. He didn't talk between songs, but his voice was a shadow of what it had been on his big records. Am I glad I saw him live? Overall, I am. I knew before I went to see him that it was not going to be like seeing him in the mid-1960s. I like B.B.'s "One Kind Favor" album quite a lot. I have heard most of B.B. King's recorded output from the beginning. I think he had a recording resurgence in the late 1980s, which continued at least through the two studio albums released in 2000, "Riding With The King" (which I think has some genuinely exciting music on it), and "Makin' Love Is Good For You." I have not heard 2003's studio album "Reflections". I think that "One Kind Favor" is a sort of look back at rootsier blues, some of the blues which pre-dated B.B.'s career, and is quite interesting in that way. "One Kind Favor" was released when he was 82. I can't think of any other major blues star who had recorded such a good album of new studio material at age 82. And then look at the Rolling Stones--they are just turning 70. If they could record a new studio album as good as "One Kind Favor" today, it would be thought of as a miracle.

Having made my introductory remarks about the Black and Blue theme, I will now make my (lack of) guesses. 1. A nice solo piano version of "(What Did I Do To Be So) Black and Blue". This pianist has some chops in addition to blues feeling. I have no idea who it is. 2. This is Louis Jordan's "Choo Choo Ch' Boogie". To me, few artists who have covered Jordan's hits have captured his exuberance and compelling personality. I actually think that Asleep at the Wheel did a better cover version of this song. I saw Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown live, so I recognize him here. 3. Take The A Train. The sax soloist is very bluesy, very soulful. I don't know who it is, but I like his solo a lot. Last month I wrote this in my comments to the previous Blindfold Test: "I wish more contemporary jazz ensembles would dive right into an overtly bluesy sound like this. Some of the better jazz groups of today play a sort of post-modern commentary on the blues, in which they tiptoe around the blues, abstracting it until there is no blues feeling left at all. Why do they do that? It almost seems like they are allergic to soulfulness." That problem is not found on this Blindfold Test, for sure! This Blindfold Test is dripping with grease off the barbecue! (From a Kansas City guy like me, that is high praise). 4. Don't Be That Way. I really like the blues feeling of the organ and saxophone. The guitarist is quite good too. I have no idea who they are. 5. Do Nothing 'Til You Hear From Me. The muted trombone player knows his Duke's "jungle band" style. The tenor sax player reminds me of Harold Ashby. Another really compelling, blues-drenched performance, which I really like. 6. Mean to Me. A really good trumpet player, must be one of the masters. I am embarrassed that I can't name him. The pianist mixes in too much virtuoso wizardry in with the stride, for my taste--a more straight stride style would have served the performance better, in my opinion. But the pianist is undoubtedly excellent. 7. Another version of "(What Did I Do To Be So) Black and Blue." Here is another superior trumpet player, again--he must be one of the giants, and it is embarrassing that I cannot name him. What a strong personal voice on trumpet, what a compelling solo. 8. Billie's Bounce. I like all of the players and this performance. Again, I have no idea who it is. 9. Body and Soul, with a really breathy, deep in the soul, tenor sax player, who really likes Ben Webster. I wonder if this could be Harold Ashby, who I liked a lot. I saw Ashby's last live performance ever and saw him collapse onstage right after the concert. 10. There Will Never Be Another You. This is a perky, sprightly performance. The pianist is positively bubbling with good cheer. I find the bass solo rather mediocre by post-1950 bass soloing standards. Now watch, it will be a bassist who I generally really like. I have no idea who the organist or saxophonist are, but I like this performance very much. 11. Sugar. A very soulful version, really good. I don';t know who the organist or saxophonist are. I would like to get this version, if I don't already own it. 12, A very bluesy, soulful sax player. I love it. The pianist also has a lot of blues feeling, and technique beyond the blues. 13. Until the Real Thing Comes Along. A very bluesy, soulful sax player, just growling--great! 14. This is one of the few tracks on this Blindfold Test which I do not think is entirely successful. I think that the tempo is rushed, and the big band sounds a little corny. The sax soloist is fine though--big toned, gritty, soulful. I love the sound of the sax soloist. 15. Louis Armstrong, from his 1955 album 'Satch Plays Fats", singing "(What Did I Do To Be So) Black and Blue". The other musicians are Barney Bigard, Trummy Young, Billy Kyle, Arvell Shaw, Barrett Deems. I have always loved this version. 16. Helen Humes on vocal, I think. A very robust, soulful sax soloist. The guitar player could be a blues guitarist, not a jazz player. I think it is a compelling performance. I really like it. 17. Red Top. I don't know who the saxophonists are. I find the second sax soloist to be more compelling, with a stronger personal voice, than the first sax soloist. I am not entirely sold on the piano solo--I think he is all over the place, showing his chops, instead of fitting into the groove. I may be embarrassed when I find out who it is. 18. Coming Home Baby. Once again it has hit me how much the Spencer Davis Group hit, "I'm a Man", sung by Steve Winwood, owes to this composition. When I first heard this track, I thought to myself, "oh, that standard that sounds like 'I'm a Man' but isn't." I really like the gritty soul of the sax soloist--I could listen to his playing all day. 19. Lou Rawls singing "(What Did I Do To Be So) Black and Blue". It's fine, not my favorite of all time but very good. Dan, you gave me a great deal of enjoyment, and I can't wait to find out who all of these very soulful saxophone players are!

I was generally aware of the Fats Waller song, "(What Did I Do To Be So) Black and Blue". Then I heard it sung in 1980 during a touring production of the Broadway show "Ain't Misbehavin'", and it really stuck with me. Shortly after that I picked up a Columbia LP, "Louis Armstrong's Greatest Hits", which had Louis singing it. I believe that this is the version which appears as Track #15 on this Blindfold Test. It was originally on the 1955 "Satch Plays Fats" album. So when I heard more than one version of "(What Did I Do To Be So) Black and Blue" on this Blindfold Test, I knew that it had to be the theme. Dan told us that there was a theme. Having said that, I am not very familiar with the Black and Blue label. This is a learning experience for me, which is a great thing about Blindfold Tests. Dan, a weird thing you could have done is to have included "Melody" by the Rolling Stones, from their Black and Blue album. It is pretty jazzy.

I think making mix tapes can be fun. I had the experience, that virtually no one would listen to the tapes that I so lovingly and painstakingly compiled. I find making mix discs by burning CD-Rs to be infinitely easier, less frustrating and a whole lot more fun, than making the old mix tapes on cassettes.

I find the idea that one in ten young people buy cassette tapes to be highly unlikely, if the entire U.S. is considered. Many young people buy no music, for one thing. I imagine that it is possible that fewer than one in ten young people buy music in any physical format, if the entire U.S. is considered.

I am not sure why this is so surprising. The Walkman was introduced in the early 1980s and by some time in the 1990s, it was not the portable music player of choice. So it is nearly 35 year old technology. When I was 10, if I had been given items from the early 1930s, I would probably have been similarly clueless about them.

I saw him with Santana in 1976, and his playing was a highlight of the concert. He was very memorable.

My local computer store (Microcenter) sells boxes of empty jewel cases. There is a market for them. You might donate them to a local thrift store. Folks who are still burning CDs and placing them in jewel cases would snatch them up with a smile.

His first album was really good.

I have not witnessed what you have experienced, Allen. Of course, I do not get to actually meet and get to know musicians the way that you do. Recently Dave Douglas was the resident artist and spent a weekend in Lawrence, Kansas, at a high school and college student festival with many workshops. He then performed as bandleader and soloist with the University of Kansas big band ensemble in concert. Obviously I was not present during his private work with the students, but several people spoke from the stage about how gracious, generous and nice he had been to everyone during his stay. He was humorous in his remarks between songs, in an understated way.The students seemed to be happy with him, and visibly, positively responsive to him during the performances. He also appeared at the very small Blue Room in Kansas City, connected to the jazz museum, where the musicians are literally elbow to elbow with the customers between sets, and are a few feet from the audience during the sets. I saw and heard no negative behavior from him in several hours that evening. I have witnessed him play some genuinely interesting and exciting trumpet solos in concert, and his compositions have often been memorable and appealing in concert. For example, he appeared with the San Francisco Jazz Collective, the all-star group, and his trumpet solos were the highlight of the evening for me, on a level of excitement higher than the efforts by the other big names. To me, he blew the roof off the place during his solos. So if he is self-important, as you say Allen, he must put on a different persona when he is around the public. That is certainly possible.

I have always liked Dark to Themselves, which I think is one of his more accessible ensemble albums.

This list is now contained in the pinned thread, Blindfold Test Master List, Volume 4.

You certainly accomplished that goal. You expanded my musical universe!

http://www.organissimo.org/forum/index.php?/topic/80178-bft-154-reveal/is the BFT Master List, with links, beginning with BFT #121 from April, 2014. Please send any questions or corrections to me by PM. To sign up to present a Blindfold Test, please send me a PM. For more information about the Organissimo Blindfold Test, see the For links to BFT #1 through 73, see the For links to BFT #74 through 120, see the #121 - Dan Gould - April, 2014 . #122 - The Magnificent Goldberg - May, 2014 #123 - Tom in RI - June, 2014 #124 - fent99 - July, 2014 #125 - awesome_welles - August, 2014 #126 - Thom Keith - September, 2014 #127 - Homefromtheforest - October, 2014 #128 - Noj - November, 2014 #129 - felser - December, 2014 #130 - alex - January, 2015 #131 - colinmce- February, 2015 #132 - Tom in RI- March, 2015 #133 - Dan Gould - April, 2015 #134 - Hot Ptah - May, 2015 #135 - Hardbopjazz- June, 2015 Discussion Reveal #136 - Thom Keith - July, 2015 Discussion Reveal #137 - Spontooneous - August, 2015 Discussion Reveal #138 - The Magnificent Goldberg - September, 2015 Discussion Reveal #139 - Homefromtheforest - October, 2015 Discussion Reveal #140 - jeffcrom - November, 2015 Discussion The Freedom Principle Discussion Moldy Fig Stomp Discussion Rara Avis Discussion Straight No Chaser Reveal The Freedom Principle Reveal Moldy Fig Stomp Reveal Rara Avis Reveal Straight No Chaser #141 - felser- December, 2015 Discussion Reveal #142 - Daniel A - January, 2016 Discussion Reveal #143 - NIS - February, 2016 Discussion Reveal #144 - Hot Ptah - March, 2016 Discussion Reveal #145 Dan Gould--April, 2016 Discussion Reveal #146 - homefromtheforest - May, 2016 Discussion Reveal #147 - mjzee - June, 2016 Discussion Reveal #148 - Thom Keith - July, 2016 Discussion Reveal #149- Joe - August, 2016 Discussion Reveal #150 - The Magnificent Goldberg - September, 2016 Discussion Reveal #151 - Jsngry - October, 2016 Discussion Reveal #152 - clifford_thornton - November, 2016 Discussion Reveal #153 felser--December, 2016 Discussion Reveal #154 January Jo Keith Discussion Reveal #155 February Dan Gould Discussion Reveal #156 March Hot Ptah Discussion Reveal #157 April Mary6170 Discussion Reveal May Hardbopjazz June mjzee July Thom Keith August randyhersom September medjuck October JSngry November The Magnificent Goldberg December Felser

What else will you live to see--how about a Janis Joplin stamp, which is coming out later this year.

I know several people age 15-40 who certainly do not know who Jimi Hendrix is. Since he was not a hip hop or post-2000 pop country artist, they would not understand why anyone would know who he is. So the young postal employee's reaction does not surprise me.

How about the Art Tatum stamp? When will that happen? It is rather amazing that Jimi Hendrix is on a stamp though. In 1970 it did not seem likely at all. He was a symbol of all that many adults found so wrong about that crazy younger generation.

This is an amazing set of music. I have almost none of it. I thought I knew something about jazz, but you have shown me in dramatic fashion that there is a lot of great stuff out there that I have never heard of. That is fascinating that it is Ahmed Abdullah on Disc 3, Track 1. I saw him perform with Sun Ra live in 1978. That explains why his trumpet tone fits the Sun Ra composition so well.

We have had several volunteers and here is the current schedule for Blindfold Test presenters for the rest of 2014: May The Magnificent Goldberg June Tom in RI July fent99 August awesome_welles September Thom Keith October Homefromtheforest November Noj December felser We have some new presenters, which should be very interesting and which I am glad about.

I have heard this, yes.

I like how he did not mention any current pop drummers, which sometimes happens in an online list of this sort. Richard Davis, my jazz history professor at the University of Wisconsin in the late 1970s and early 1980s (you could take the class multiple times as different subject matter was covered each semester, and I did take it multiple times) told our class that Billy Cobham is known for his jazz-fusion drumming, but that "he can play anything....ANYTHING!" Davis chose him as the drummer on his mainstream 1977 Fancy Free album, in a group with Eddie Henderson, Joe Henderson and Stanley Cowell. So it does not surprise me that Cobham knows the jazz tradition as well as he shows here.

It is much smaller than I pictured it. They have such a good website, a great deal better than the websites of stores of comparable size in other cities.