Hot Ptah

Well I think so.

I have listened to “Africa Speaks”in its entirety about twenty times and I think it is excellent. It is uncompromising, strong and inspiring. It is one of the best things Santana has ever done. Reading this thread, I wonder, did anyone who made negative comments hear the album in its entirety?

I must get that Jesse Stacken and Kirk Knuffke album. That is one of the best tracks I have heard in some time!

Track 7 is the great "Sunset and the Mockingbird", the opening section of "The Queen's Suite" by Duke Ellington. The pianist here captures the style of Duke's piano playing on that track. I have no idea who these musicians are, but this is also a great recording of the piece. The original had a memorable entrance by Johnny Hodges. No one is going to be able to top that. But these musicians really do this song justice. Oh I see now that Thom Keith already discussed this track and identified it.

A good friend with great taste in music (and an ever increasing album collection of 25,000+) saw Santana at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival this spring. My friend is difficult to impress. He said that Santana's performance was excellent, even inspiring. He said that it was one of the highlights of the entire festival.

Thanks for a very enjoyable Blindfold Test. I am surprised that it is Phineas Newborn on Track 8. It does not sound like his characteristic sound, very interesting!

Dmitry, could you please post your answers on a new thread titled BFT 182 Answers? It is time to do so now.

You do better than almost all of us! Some months better than all of us. Blindfold Tests are hard to guess! But to me the fun is hearing new music.

Here are some instructions from my side of the Blindfold Test administration. Two weeks before your Blindfold Test is set to start, please send a private message to Thom Keith (tkeith) about how you are going to get your music to him. On the first day of the month in which you are presenting your Blindfold Test, post a thread called Blindfold Test __(with your BFT number there) Access and Discussion. Then post the link that Thom gives you in the first post on the thread. On the last day of the month post a new thread titled Blindfold Test __(your number) Reveal. Then provide the answers. Please do not do this until the last day of the month. Many members post their comments in the last few days of the month, so do not get impatient. it is better to have a Blindfold Test of 80 minutes or less, the length of one CD-R. The members seem to get somewhat overwhelmed by more music. Save the rest of your ideas past 80 minutes for next year’s Blindfold Test. Your musical content is up to you. I have noticed that some variety in styles of music seems to be appreciated. if you ever have other questions about your Blindfold Test presentation, Thom Keith and I are happy to answer them in private messages.

I see that the fund is now at $168,000. Dickey Betts, long time guitarist with the Allman Brothers Band (who has had very serious health issues recently) just donated $500.00.

I bought this CD set myself within the last year and it was easy to find copies for sale online.

It is a matter of personal taste. Dexter Gordon’s “Stable Mable” on the list is one of my all time favorite albums by him.

Chris reviewed rock albums for Stereo Review for several years. In high school I would read his reviews to help decide which rock albums to buy with money from my after school jobs. It was before I could “hear” jazz. I always really liked the way that he wrote and his ideas about rock. I told him about that in private messages on one of the three online jazz boards we shared.

Chris was very nice to me in private discussions here. I wonder if he would chuckle if he knew that so many messages about him on Facebook and other places are of the “he was crusty but I still liked his comments” variety.

In my experience, most people don't notice the background music, whether it is live or recorded. I went to a large diversity awards event last year. An excellent jazz guitarist was playing live during the cocktail hour before the awards were given out. I was the only person in the room who took any note of his playing. I went over and talked to him, and he was very appreciative. He said that it is difficult to play events these days, when you know that literally no one is noticing or paying any attention to the music. At other events and venues in which recorded music was piped in, I have occasionally commented on the background music to others in my group. The reaction is always the same. The other people are not aware that there was music playing, and they are a little annoyed to have to talk about it.

This is a really fun BFT to listen to. I don’t know the song or album on Track 3, but it sounds like Gene Ammons and Wynton Kelly to me.

This is a thoroughly enjoyable BFT. Thanks for putting it together for us, Jeff.

The BFT presenter for May, who is presenting his first BFT, is not quite ready to post the link to his musical selections. To avoid having too long of a gap with no BFT, and to give members more time to comment on Jeff's test, I asked him to delay the Reveal.

Track 3 is by far my favorite track on this BFT. I love it. It reminds me of the great Arista Freedom LPs of the 1970s. I thought it might be on something I own, but it seems not. This is very intriguing, inspiring music. It is right in my wheelhouse where I love to listen.

Track 2. I have this album. It is from the "Indian Summer" album by Dave Brubeck. It is the opening track on the album, "You'll Never Know." I saw Dave Brubeck live four times in the last decade of his life. I was struck by how good he was, and how evocative his playing was. The cliches about him pounding clumsily on the piano did not fit. So I bought several of his later albums, including this one. Track 6. I heard Anthony Braxton play two different solo alto saxophone concerts very much in the style of this recording. One was at Milwaukee's Jazz Gallery in the summer of 1980. At times during that concert, he sounded more like Johnny Hodges than anyone else I have heard. In September, 1980, I heard him again, in a solo alto saxophone performance much like this track. It was a Saturday afternoon set at the 1980 Ann Arbor Jazz Festival. (The rest of the 1980 Ann Arbor Jazz Festival: Stephane Grappelli and Oregon on Friday night, Chico Freeman and Stanley Turrentine on Saturday night, Arthur Blythe (with John Hicks, Fred Hopkins and Steve McCall) and Sarah Vaughan on Sunday night. .

Which albums are these songs from? Are some not on albums? i like to know the album identifications so that I can buy the albums of the songs that I like. Also if some of these are not on albums, how did you have copies of such great recordings?

The last three, piano dominated tracks, are so good. I have listened to them many times but cannot come up with any identifications. I am really looking forward to reading the Reveal of this Blindfold Test. It is enjoyable and difficult to identify.

Well, that shoots down a theory I had about the band on that track. Oops, I had the track numbers confused anyway.

Is Don Byron the baritone sax soloist on Track 4?

I have sent you a Private Message.