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randyhersom

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Posts posted by randyhersom

  1. BLINDFOLD TEST #4 - DISCUSSION

    in Blindfold Test

    Posted

    2-9: Not Rollins. I doubt that anybody will get this unless they have or have heard the record, which is pretty darn obscure. But it is a group of players that

    I'm going to solicit commentary about from those who heard them first-hand once the answers are revealed, because it's a fascinating group made up of fascinating individuals, the kind of group (and music, and history) that boards like this were made to hip people to. Never heard of them? You will soon enough! And some of you HAVE heard (or heard of) of the drummer in other contexts years after this recording...

    Even more obscure than, say, The Fringe, George Garzone's longtime group?

  2. Blindfold Compilations

    in Blindfold Test

    Posted

    Should several people decide that the Blindfold Test as is is not for them, they could set up a special interest Blindfold Test. Meanwhile I am of the opinion that less rules is better in the absence of such a schism.

    I personally will stay within the jazz and vocals record bins, and any vocalists would be commonly considered jazz vocalists, for all of my first CD. If I do any genre-bending, it will be on CD2, and I'm not sure I will. But I am sure that it can be done well and open the ears of at least a few people with preconceptions in the way.

    The track that is presumed to be JB is jazz. It's soul too, but its jazz.

    Likewise, I'll be including a good mix of the rather familiar and the obscure, but the BT was started by a fellow with something to say that precluded using a lot of familiar material. I ain't giving back my BF #1 disc. Thanks Tony.

  3. What do You Get Out of the Blindfold Test?

    in Blindfold Test

    Posted

    The challenge is the biggest part of the fun. Second comes discovering music, including music you own but haven't checked out in a while. Really cool segues are, well, really cool segues and enhance #2.

    For some reason this has captured my interest in a way that Album of the Week just couldn't quite do. I'm looking forward to my turn at the wheel.

  5. BLINDFOLD TEST #4 - DISCUSSION

    in Blindfold Test

    Posted

    I make a point of not looking at the discussion thread until I have written my first response to the disc(s) in WordPad. Now having read through the responses, I have a few more reactions. I too initially heard 1-5 as a female voice, was getting ready to type Ann Peebles when the JBisms started to connect for me. On 1-6 I'm feeling considerably less confident of my Dinah Washington guess in the face of all the Rosemary Clooney guesses. I have fond memories of the Braxton Creative Orchestra Music 1976 album and that seems a better guess than my Gil Evans.

    I often mistake Getz-style tenor for alto and I think that happened a couple times here.

    Very enjoyable set, only Puttin up Dog failed to connect for me.

    I'll be impressed and amused if I turn out to have momentarily confused Baby Dodds and Milford Graves!

  7. BLINDFOLD TEST #4 - DISCUSSION

    in Blindfold Test

    Posted

    Disc 1

    1. Long piano intro, later becoming similar in feel to Maiden Voyage. I'd be mildly surprised if this isn't on Blue Note. The tenor is too cutting to be Wayne, so I'll rule out the VSOP band. Chick Corea with Joe Henderson is a possibility, but I don't remember a trumpet on that date (I haven't heard it enough to be sure I would). I have a Billy Harper Steeplechase that I haven't listened to enough, with Francesca Tanksley and Eddie Henderson, and I'm wondering if this might be it. OK, as good as any guess. Billy Harper.

    2. The pianist feels like a modern player that is very skilled in older styles. That would make me think Jaki Byard, but the vocal interjections lead me away from that thought. The words that are being said would seem out of place coming from the piano player, leading me to conjecture that the date is led by a bassist or drummer of great experience, urging on a younger piano player. None of the vocalizing along with the bass one associates with Major Holley. I think of Ray Brown as too polished and cosmopolitan in style to be the utterer, so my guess is Milt Hinton.

    3. The composition feels like Milestone era McCoy Tyner, but his piano sound just isn't there. I really need to listen to some more Thad Jones- Mel Lewis stuff. I can't remember if they sounded this modern. Every time I hear a largish ensemble I wonder if it's them. I'll go with Jones-Lewis.

    4. I'm thinking Don Ellis. Big band with some rockish underpinning and tricky charts.

    5. James Brown. Not uncomfortable at all with the style, and singing his ass off.

    6. I'm thinking Dinah Washington.

    7. Andrew Hill, duetting with an alto sax, perhaps James Vass.

    8. Shirley Scott and Eddie Lockjaw Davis. I think the tone is a little harder than I would expect from Stanley Turrentine.

    9. No real clue. I know Jim's fond of the Baby Dodds session, but this isn't really what I expected that to sound like. Maybe this is part

    of the John Carter ongoing series.

    10. For a while I believed the featured soloist here was on tap shoes, but I changed my mind to believing it was two percussionists duetting. Would Andrew Cyrille and Milford Graves be this groove oriented, or do I need to look for somebody a little less cutting edge, maybe Bob Moses and Billy Martin. I'll go with Bob Moses and Billy Martin.

    11. Older sound with vocalist. Lyrics seem to indicate a wartime release. Reminds me of some of the vocalists on the Duke Ellington pre-1947 box, but the band doesn't sound like Duke at all. Totally off the wall guess, just on the odd chance I might luck out: Bob Crosby.

    12. I initially heard this as two separate tracks. I considered Mingus for the first one and the Art Ensemble of Chicago for the second. When I realized it was all the same track I was pretty sure it was the Art Ensemble of Chicago.

    13. Tight and swinging, larger ensemble. Basie or Woody Herman come to mind. Woody incorporated a lot more rock elements over the years that I don't hear here. Later Count Basie.

    14. Strongly reminiscent of Paul Desmond. The piano plays with more delicacy than one associates with Dave Brubeck. Now wait a minute where's this guitar coming from. That almost surely rules out Brubeck and Desmond. I guess I'll roll out a backup guess. Art Pepper.

    15. Milt Jackson. The shuffling beat could point to Lionel Hampton, but the piano seems of a later generation.

    Disc 2 :

    1. There was an unusual Mainstream date that Jim has spoken of on a couple occasions, and I'm wondering if this is it. Too bad I can't remember the artist. Ah, well, Plan B. The horn is reminiscent enough of Bennie Maupin for me to guess Mwandishi-era Herbie Hancock.

    2. The "Ornette Coleman" chants at the end led me to abandon a pretty tenuous guess of Gary Bartz. Conga, sax and trombone. Lets try Arthur Blythe.

    3. Marvin Gaye.

    4. This is somewhat reminiscent of Issac Hayes soundtrack instrumentals. If that's not it then the bass guitar seems to be featured prominently. Having little knowledge of smoothish bass guitar players (Wayman Tisdale???), I'll stick with Isaac Hayes as my guess.

    5. This was already feeling like a later band playing some New Orleans style before the piano came in, so I'm ruling out bands whose whole output is in the New Orleans style. It could well be Wynton or Ellis Marsalis. I'll go with Wynton.

    6. Tight, big band jazz with style that seems to indicate late 60s at the earliest, probably later. Having used up my quota of Jones-Lewis guesses, I'm tempted to try Gil Evans, but I don't think that's it. For lack of anything better to do, I'll guess Oliver Nelson.

    7. Glad I saved my Gil Evans guess. It's still a guess but feels a little more appropriate here than on the last track.

    8. This has the looseness and creativity I associate with Duke Ellington.

    9. I'm liking Sonny Rollins for this one.

    10. This is coming from the blues side. It seems like all the blues singers I am familiar with have lower voices, so the best I can do is guess someone I am pretty unfamiliar with. Grittier than Jon Hendricks, less whimsical and white than Mose Allison. O. V. Wright?

    11. Tuba groove. Something in the voicings reminded me of Abdullah Ibrahim.

  8. Archie Shepp

    in Artists

    Posted · Edited by randyhersom

    For later Shepp...

    d90722axe78.jpg aaah yes!

    I recently got a copy of the album Hi Fly he did with Karin Krog. I am ashamed to admit I haven't even listened to it yet. Is it any good? (easy to answer by listening I know, but maybe someone has something to add)

    Hell Yeah. Krog positively smoulders on this. It's a late 70s date. I like the transition period Shepp when he was moving inside.

  13. all things emusic

    in Miscellaneous Music

    Posted

    Geez. They backed up the ESP-Disk truck at E-Music. They were at maybe 15%-20% of the catalog before the policy change, and I'd have to guess they're close to %100 now. My next batch of download credits arrives November 23, and I'm sure I'll go through them all within a day or two. Ayler at Slugs, Henry Grimes Trio, more Sonny Simmons, Marion Brown, Revolutionary Ensemble, Charles Tyler and Michael Gregory Jackson.

  14. all things emusic

    in Miscellaneous Music

    Posted

    I stayed it for the time being too. I was worried I'd relinquish my re-download rights if I let it lapse. I've re-downloaded the Monk and Wes boxes since the download limits went into effect, and downloads are much better than before the limits. The number of tracks was well over 40, so they seem to mean what they say about redownloading still being unlimited.

    About five screens of new releases went up after the limits. The Frank Kimbrough is definitely on my list, and the Mark Whitcage is a maybe. Hoping to see Organissimo soon!

  15. Fourth Blindfold Test?

    in Blindfold Test

    Posted

    It might be a good idea to set up a separate topic for each disk, identified clearly by the same name that is on the disk. Then the busiest of us could comment on disk one now, and disk two a couple days later without being inundated with clues about disk two.

    I like it because compilers don't have to omit that absolutely awesome eighteen minute track due to time constraints.

  17. Classical music recommendations

    in Classical Discussion

    Posted

    I think I'll hijack this thread back on topic. Nielsen's 4th and 5th Symphony are great, I like the Naxos pairing as well as some others. More than any other recording, this obeys Nielsen's annotation in the 5th that the drummer plays "as if at all costs to stop the forward motion of the orchestra". Schubert's C Major Quintet d. 960 is very great, much more heart-on-sleeve than the elegant Trout quintet. The Melos Ensemble does nicely by that one.

  19. Blindfold Test #3 - Discussion

    in Blindfold Test

    Posted

    1. A nice, Brazilian groove, played with polish and subtlety. The melody calls to mind a Target commercial with the sung words "sweet happy life", but I can't quite place the souce. It feels familiar. It would be kind of clever and flashy to begin two straight tests with Jack Wilson. That's a possibility, and without a better guess at hand, I'll go with that.

    2. A vibes and piano led quartet, swinging easy. The unobtrusive drums could well be Connie Kay, and nothing else rules out the possibility of the Modern Jazz Quartet in its less chamber-jazz oriented moments.

    3. This has a west coast feel, but not conclusively. I can't rule out Lee and Wayne either. Not dark enough to guess Miles, I'll go with Lee Morgan.

    4. Sounds like the guitarists date. Somebody just a shade more modern than Wes Montgomery. Pat Martino perhaps?

    5. Nice chops, but the tenor is also quite willing to luxuriate in his tone, Clifford Jordan is a possibility.

    6. Absence of drums suggests a couple of possibilities. I'm going with Ray Brown trio instead of the earlier Oscar Perterson trios.

    I'll guess Gene Harris and Barney Kessel.

    7. My guess is Joe Pass and Oscar Peterson. Not as showy as I'd expect from Oscar. Not sure who else Joe duetted with.

    8. I already had Stan Getz in mind before the voice came in, and knowing he made albums with Jobim, Bonfa and Gilberto, I'm inclined to stick with that guess.

    9. Unusual line-up, Alto, Tenor and Baritone over rhythm. Not much clue. Duke Pearson?

    10. Kenny Burrell? Nice rhythmic feel.

    11. I'm thinking Hampton Hawes, although I can't put my finger on exactly why. Quite lovely.

    12. Stanley Turrentine is a possibility. Perhaps Horace Parlan on piano.

    13. A Bird tune for sure, I'm pretty sure it's Yardbird Suite. I'll guess Jimmy Bruno, but it could easily be somebody earlier and more famous.

    14. Sarah Vaughan singing Double Rainbow. There are little production touches that may suggest a later recording, but I'm thinking this is Pablo era Sassy.

    15. I can't quite peg this as Soprano or Alto sax for sure. I'm leaning toward Soprano. Reminds me some of Clifford Jordan's playing on Art Farmer's Blame it On My Youth. With the soprano featured so much more than the other horns, I'll guess that this is Clifford's own date.

    16. I'm enjoying this lush, heart on sleeve ballad approach. Kenny Barron could pull this off. I'm not sure who else could or would, but I'm looking forward to finding out.

  22. Blindfold Test Announcements

    in Blindfold Test

    Posted

    Yes, I'll be playing. The tournament will be in English using a combination of the US word source and one of British origin based on The Chambers Dictionary.

    Having been beaten by Malaysia's Mr. Ganesh Asirvatham in '99 in Melbourne, Australia, I can assure you that they play a wicked game of Scrabble in English in Malaysia. The Southeast Asia players I have met have generally been able to converse well in English also. It's generally accepted that the world's largest Scrabble tournament is held in Thailand each year, using English word sources, with lots of schoolchildren in the field.

    We just had a North American All-Stars tournament which is supposed to be televised on ESPN November 2.

  24. Blindfold Test # 2 Answers

    in Blindfold Test

    Posted

    An old quote that I don't know the source of:

    Good artists copy. Great artists steal.

    This would express the opinion that with sufficient internalization (understanding?) of the source material, greatness can occur in derivative work, and also seems to imply that all artists borrow materials to lesser or greater degree.

    Jim, do you feel the same way about Charles McPherson that you do about Eric Alexander? He's somebody from the previous generation that fought a copyist label for much of his career. For that matter the same could be said of Sonny Stitt and Joe Henderson.

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