Milestones

My point with the questions marks was simply that I have no idea who these players are. I am more knowledgeable about jazz than anyone that I know (in person, that is), yet I draw blanks here. Many jazz players (though they may be worth listening to) must be totally under the radar.

jcam: ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? (aka as 0-for-9)

I'll confess my ignorance and say I've never heard, or heard of, Ingrid Laubock.

Well, Joshua Redman raised made noise (or at least got some serious attention) at a very young age. A couple of decades of experience have turned him (I think), into somebody really worth hearing. I guess we take David Murray for granted. He's been around for ages, but he can be deep in the tradition and be very fiery and distinctive.

Age is a good thing in jazz. Speaking for myself, there's hardly anyone under 50 that I listen to. But a lot of jazz artists remain healthy and active at advanced ages--the late Randy Weston, Roy Haynes, Jimmy Heath, Wayne Shorter, Ron Carter, etc.

So who's young and rather impressive?

The last thing I heard from Billy Harper was on the duet album with Randy Weston, which I felt was sterling work from both men. Ravi has intrigued me a bit, and I have enjoyed the fairly recent DeJohnette record: In Movement.

It seems like ever since Hawk and Lester Young emerged, the tenor sax has held the triumphant position. Certainly we've had oodles of tenor sax players since Trane and Sonny. Sometimes I give up for a while on the tenor. There are just so many players out there. But I would like to know which of today's players are most admired. Bear in mind, I'm not much of an avant garde guy, but if that's what you want to pitch, then do it. At the top for me these days would be Joe Lovano and Chris Potter. But there are others that intrigue me--guys like Mark Turner, Ted Nash, and George Garzone. I'm even starting a renewed interest in Joshua Redman, whom I set aside a long time ago, believing that it was all hoopla. In any case, recommendations please.

A great musician for sure...RIP. I have my share of WSQ albums, and it as always great to hear him there. I've never picked up any of his solo records. He made some great contributions to the late Randy Weston's Volcano Blues.

Thanks, it was very fun to do, and I'm glad that you will be exploring more stuff due to this test. It's also interesting that several of these are in your collection, but you could not ID them. Well, we all own plenty, plenty records--even when they are often not records as we used to think of them. I had pasted in the album covers, yet when I pasted in the whole file they would not appear.

Blindfold 174: Reveal It has been fun, but here is the “reveal.” Four of the thirteen tracks were not identified in any way—those by Styrker/Slagle, Duke Pearson, Jane Ira Bloom, and Tom Harrell. 1. (“Hartland” from Latest Outlook—2007): No one identified this track by Dave Stryker/Steve Slagle. It’s a fine collaboration between the two, who have worked together quite a bit—and sometimes are joined by Joe Lovano. Their stuff is fairly mainstream, but sometimes with an edge—maybe a notch below artists like Lovano and Dave Douglas. 2. (“Cold Irons Bound” from Ships with Tattooed Sails—2007): The trio is Michael Moore, Lindsay Horner, and Michael Vatcher (with Bill Frisell on some cuts, but not this one). Dylan may not seem like a natural for jazz artists, but these guys do his music really well from first track to last. 3. (“Speak Easy” from Open Land—1999): In my opinion, this is one of Abercrombie’s finest albums. He was transitioning from the organ group to the violin group—and this particular track features Kenny Wheeler, who always had a magical connection with John. I find Abercrombie way up there as a guitarist and musician in general—and a good composer too. He’s very distinctive, he put together interesting groups, and none of us should ever forget the fabulous work of Gateway. 4. (“Lifeline” from With These Hands—1956): Randy Weston with Cecil Payne, playing an original on an album of mostly standards. The late Randy Weston is one of my all-time favorite jazz figures, and this shows his superb work even at this early point in time. Payne and Weston had a special connection, and Cecil was on several of the early albums; it’s too bad he didn’t reappear on the records from Weston’s renaissance in the 1990’s. 5.(“After the Rain” from Sweet Honey Bee—1966): I’m surprised no one got this piece by Duke Pearson: pianist, composer, arranger, producer, Blue Note stalwart. I find this to be one of his greatest compositions, and it curiously has the same title as one of Coltrane’s greatest pieces. James Spaulding provides the sterling flute work. 6. (“Sidewalk Meeting”: title track—2001): A rather interesting piece (and album) by multi-reedist Ted Nash, who plays all kinds of saxes and clarinets. The great trombone work is by Wycliffe Gordon. 7. (“Opus 1.5”from Ron Carter's Great Big Band—2011): The legendary Ron Carter, who has done just about everything; and here he is in late career leading his own big band. 8. (“Monk’s Rec Room” from The Red Quartets—1999): One of the few players who performs only on soprano, Jane Ira Bloom, to my mind, is the greatest living soprano saxophonist. She has a great feeling for Monk, whether his tunes or a tribute like this track. 9. (“Baroque Steps” from Paradise—2001): I’m surprised no one got this, but it took me quite a while to catch on to Tom Harrell. He is a very skilled and creative player. As jazz with strings albums go, this one is way up there. 10. (“War Orphans” from Tribute—1974): The highly inventive Paul Motian, with the great Charlie Haden on bass and Sam Brown on guitar. The track comes from one of his earliest dates as a leader. 11. (“Sound Off” from Time is of the Essence—1999): Michael Brecker was identified very quickly—no surprise. Perhaps he devoted too much of his life to being a session player, but he offered up quite a few leader dates playing bona fide jazz with giants of the field. This is my favorite of his records; it includes Pat Metheny on guitar and Larry Goldings on organ. 12. (“Aqua Blue” from Aquarius—2013): This track by Nicole Mitchell was identified, but some pointed out that it sounds a lot like James Newton and Jay Hoggard. Since we never hear from those guys anymore, this is the next best thing. I don’t have a lot of Mitchell’s work, but she seems like a pretty amazing player and composer. 13. (“Simple Things” from Dialogues—1995): Quite interesting date by Jim Hall, although the tracks are generally not duets in the usual sense. Hall has influenced so many guitarists, including Bill Frisell. This may be my favorite track from a great record. I tried including images of the album covers, but it would not work for me.

Last day for the Blindfold test.

Yes, exactly right!

And there is a big band version of "Moon Rays" by Chuck Israels on his all-Silver collection. It's pretty nice.

Yes, it certainly is Jim Hall, though not from the 2-disc set they did together.

Back to "Moon Rays," I heard Pharoah Sanders do this with a quartet. It just didn't sound nearly as enticing with a single horn.

Benny Golson is also good at getting a big sound out of three horns. See the Jazztet.

Track #5 is from the 1960s. The leader is the pianist, though of course the flute is very prominent on this piece. He was/is also an alto sax player, but played flute a great deal. He was known for his sideman work.

I agree that the piece is perfect in quintet format. Why mess with perfection?

I love "Moon Rays"...it may be my favorite Horace Silver tune of all time. As for getting a big sound out of a small group, I find that no one was better than Mingus. I guess it's some combination of the Ellington influence and his own genius, but he could make a quintet or sextet sound huge.

Thanks for the pitch!

Nice work--that's 3 tracks fully identified. I am surprised no one has gotten #5 and, perhaps, #9.

We only have about a week left! I'm hoping more people will take a crack at my Blindfold Test.

I agree on #1. This is a co-led CD (sax and guitar), and both are serious veterans now (I think the saxophonist is past 60). I would say it would help to regard these players as of the generation and the approach of Joe Lovano, though not nearly as well-known as Joe. Yes, track #3 is John Abercrombie. The album is from the late 1990's. Yes, #4 is the late, great Randy Weston from early in his career. And, yes, #7 is Ron Carter. It is his composition. Think of the size of the band.

Hot Ptah, Good work here. On #2, you are correct that it is the Dylan song "Cold Irons Bound." I won't say more except that the group did at least one album (and maybe two) of Dylan's music exclusively. Number 4 is a major figure, especially in my eyes. I'll say it is among his early work, back in the 1950's. On #5 I understand the response. This is from a famous jazz label we all know. It's an important figure, though not necessarily as a musician. His bands (on record) typically feature big names. Number 8 is a Monk tribute, with "Monk" in the title--not this will narrow it down much. Number 13 indeed features Frisell and another guitarist who is just as renowned (if not more). In fact, it is the latter's date. Felser, You have completely identified #10.