randyhersom

My google says it's What A Wonderful World that Spaulding plays on. Thats a very powerful fact in this game. Much of the Blue Note roster also in three or four steps. Max Roach is the link for mikeweil's quiz. I think its OK to post interesting quizzes even if you don't have a solution for an unsolved one. Keeps the thread going. Satchmo to Charles Gayle in five.

Is the rest of the album of this character and mood? Cuz I sure liked this track enough to wanna get the album! Some darker moments, some more aggressive moments, some moments where the addition of a string trio gives the music an icy beauty. In my opinion this track is representative of its high quality, but is more polished and immediately accessible than much of the album. The Penguin Guide mentioned a couple of other tracks as favorites and did not mention this one. Maybe you should check out some 30 second samples if Amazon or CDUniverse has any available. You might also conside Rarum - Selected Recordings which includes this track.

Thanks mikeweil, I'll fix the flub on the credits.

The way you play is name an artist who recorded with Satchmo, then an artist who recorded with the previous artist, until you reach your target name. You can post just names, but if challenged, be prepared to name the recording. I can do Satchmo to Sun Ra in six steps two different ways, and Satchmo to Cecil Taylor in four. In both cases I'm counting both beginning and ending steps. After you solve, post a new challenge for the rest of us.

The only overriding theme was “things I love”. A couple recurring themes were emphasizing similarities between different stylistic eras and the fact that I had greater familiarity with recordings of the seventies than most other periods. My favorites tend to be those with a hypnotic groove, and highly dramatic music. I value exuberance and emotion over polish and craftsmanship, and I’m not picky about recording quality. It’s been very enjoyable to quietly watch the discussion thread. The level of knowledge here is indeed highly impressive. DISC ONE: 1) James Moody and His Modernists: Moody's All Frantic from James Moody 1948-1949 (Classics, originally on Blue Note), Oct 25, 1948 Dave Burns, Elmon Wright – trumpets Ernie Henry – alto James Moody – tenor Cecil Payne – bari James Forman – piano Nelson Boyd – bass Art Blakey - drums Chano Pozo – bongos I wish the sound was a hair better, but I always loved the raw energy of this track. It’s a little “out there” in its way. When I did a radio show, I would often use it as a bridge between bop or hard bop and freer pieces. 2) Woody Shaw: Obsequious from Love Dance (Muse) November 1975 Steve Turre – trombone Rene McLean – soprano and alto Billy Harper – tenor Joe Bonner – piano Cecil McBee – bass Victor Lewis – drums Guilherme Franco – percussion Tony Water – congas To me the ultimate in uptempo hard bop excitement. The theme just drives so hard. Composed by Larry Young and available in a few different versions, this is the one I first got to know and love. 3) Bobby Hutcherson: Ghetto Lights from Dialogue (Blue Note) April 3, 1965 Freddie Hubbard – trumpet Sam Rivers – soprano sax Bobby Hutcherson – vibes Andrew Hill – piano Richard Davis – bass Joe Chambers – drums This Andrew Hill composition is very expressive, with an optimistic sound and Monk in its soul. Freddie Hubbard absolutely kills. It’s just so delightfully off-kilter in some undefinable way. The leader has been hopelessly upstaged before he even begins his solo, but still finds some nice things to say. 4) Jackie McLean & Michael Carvin – De I A Comahlee Ah from Antiquity (Steeplechase) August 16, 1974 Jackie McLean – Alto, voice, other instruments Michael Carvin – drums, voice, other instruments The seventies were a time of increased awareness of the African roots of jazz. This catchy chant tune is the highlight of Jackie McLean’s most direct exploration of those roots. Play it twice and you’ll be singing along. 5) Mal Waldron and Gary Peacock: Heart of the Matter from First Encounter (Catalyst) LP copyrighted in 1976, AMG says recorded March 8, 1971. Never on CD Mal Waldron – piano Gary Peacock - bass Hiroshi Murakami - drums This is very much Mal’s style taken to an extreme. The first side of this album has two great tunes and I agonized over which one to include. This is the one I love more, even though the other, She Walks In Beauty, may be more accessible and melodic. I first got into jazz through Keith Jarrett’s solo concerts and am a sucker for hypnotic, percussive ostinatos. The Japanese drummer contributes plenty of energy to the proceedings. 6) Jane Bunnett: The Water is Wide from The Water is Wide (Evidence) August 18-19, 1993 Jane Bunnett – soprano Don Pullen – piano Kieran Overs – bass Billy Hart - drums Sheila Jordan, Jeanne Lee – vocals Upon reading that a recording existed of Sheila Jordan and Jeanne Lee singing together, I knew I had to own it. Throw in Don Pullen and the opportunity to hear a soprano saxist that I had read good things about and never heard and you’ve got a very soulful listening experience. 7) Johnny Griffin: Soft and Furry from Change of Pace (Riverside) February 1961 Johnny Griffin – tenor Julius Watkins – french horn Larry Gales or Bill Lee – bass Ben Riley – drums The theme statement is so good. I first heard this in a longer live version and I just wanted them to keep playing the theme, the heck with solos. 8) John Carter-Bobby Bradford Quartet: Abstractions for Three Lovers from Flight for Four (Flying Dutchman/Novus) April 3, 1969 John Carter – alto Bobby Bradford – trumpet Tom Williamson – bass Bruz Freeman – drums Once again the hypnotic beginning and ending draws you in. I still tend to find some Eric Dolphy and Ornette Coleman harsh at times, but the lovely sounds here benefit from the trails they blazed. I definitely intended to frame this with non “avant-garde” tracks to lure in some cautious listeners. 9) Duke Ellington: The Star Crossed Lovers from The Great Paris Concert (Atlantic) February 1963 Duke Ellington – piano Johnny Hodges - alto Russell Procope – clarinet, alto Jimmy Hamilton – clarinet, tenor Paul Gonsalves – tenor Harry Carney – baritone, clarinets Cootie Williams, Cat Anderson, Roy Burrowes – trumpet Ray Nance - cornet, violin Lawrence Brown, Buster Cooper, Chuck Connors – trombone Ernie Shepard – bass Sam Woodyard - drums The way Johnny Hodges wails on the climactic notes has always had a grip on me. 10) John Coltrane: Body and Soul from Coltrane’s Sound (Atlantic) Oct 24, 1960 John Coltrane – tenor McCoy Tyner – piano Steve Davis – bass Elvin Jones - drums McCoy Tyner’s hypnotic piano chords at the beginning were the first thing I fell for here. This is just behind Africa as my favorite ‘Trane, with Living Space right up there too. 7 11) Joe Lee Wilson: Crucificado from What Would It Be Without You (Survival/Knit Classics) August 31, 1975 Joe Lee Wilson – vocals Monty Waters – alto, soprano Ryo Kawasaki – guitar Ronnie Boykins – bass George Avaloz – drums Rashied Ali – congas I was familiar with and enjoyed Archie Shepp’s version of this with composer Dave Burrell on piano, before I heard Joe Lee Wilson’s version. Both are great, but the all-out singing makes this the one I return to more often. By happy accident, the last three tracks on Disc One form a kind of “passing it down” chain. Coltrane played in Johnny Hodges band, and Rashied Ali played in Coltrane’s. Anybody for a good game of “Six Degrees of Satchmo?” DISC TWO: 1) Gil Evans: Las Vegas Tango from The Individualism of Gil Evans (Verve) April 6, 1964 Gil Evans - piano Johnny Coles, Bernie Glow – trumpet Jimmy Cleveland, Tony Studd – trombone Ray Alonge – french horn Bill Barber – tuba Garvin Bushell, Eric Dolphy, Bob Tricario, Steve Lacy – reeds and woodwinds Kenny Burrell – guitar Ron Carter, Paul Chambers – Bass Elvin Jones – drums Late night romanticism from a master. Jimmy Cleveland’s the main soloist here. Not much Dolphy and Lacy on display, but this track might be a killer jazz trivia question. Is this indeed the only time the two played together? 2) Betty Carter: Deep Night from The Audience with Betty Carter (Bet?Car/Verve) December 6-8 1979 Betty Carter – vocals John Hicks – piano Curtis Lundy – bass Kenneth Washington - drums Betty is one of five artists, along with Sun Ra, Santana, Max Roach and a local NC band called Tornado, that I saw play at least three times. One of them was in the tour, but not the concert, that produced this exquisite live album. She asked a lot of her players, as evidenced by the tightness of the tricky tempo changes here. She was a consummate entertainer and knew just what the effect of singing “deep, deep, deep … deep night” in that voice was. 3) Andy Bey and the Bey Sisters: Night Song from Andy Bey and the Bey Sisters (Prestige/OJC) August 20, 1964 Andy Bey piano, vocals Salome Bey, Geraldine Bey – vocals Jerome Richardson – flute, tenor Kenny Burrell – guitar Richard Davis – bass Osie Johnson – drums Continuing the mood with a recent acquisition. Now! Hear! is the name of the original LP which is coupled with the subsequent Round Midnight LP on the above CD. 4) Walt Dickerson: Warm Up from Peace (Steeplechase) November 14, 1976 Walt Dickerson – vibes Lisle Atkinson – bass Andrew Cyrille – drums Walt likes to get a deep, soulful, vocal quality out of his bass players that contrasts with the clear crisp sound of his instrument but is absolutely appropriate to what he’s doing on the vibes. This short bonus track didn’t make it on to the two track original album, but if gives a short taste of what the longer Chant of Peace and Universal Peace have to offer. This is the album that started my Walt Dickerson collection. I now have all of his albums, including two that haven’t made it to CD to my knowledge, Unity and Jazz Impressions of Lawrence of Arabia. He never recorded as a sideman and hasn’t had a commercial release since 1982. 5) Terje Rypdal: Return of Per Ulv from If Mountains Could Sing (ECM) January or June 1994 Terje Rypdal – guitar Bjorn Kjellemyr – bass Audun Kleive – drums I did want to include a European artist in my compilation. I became a big Terje Rypdal fan back in the mid 70’s with side one of Whenever I Seem To Be Far Away, which was as much progressive rock as it was jazz. Upon hearing this album, this opening track grabbed me right away. P. S. So many people mistook this for “smooth jazz” during the discussion, that I felt like I needed some extra listens and words. As the opening track of an album that is certainly not a smooth jazz album, I think the artist wanted something that would lure people in. He has crafted an attractive melody with which to do this. He plays the melody straight, the bass comes in to state it’s part of the melody, then he repeats the melody statement, perhaps a little less straight this time. The bass takes a short solo, then Terje starts his solo in fourths (about 2:13), the same interval that provided the crushing climax to his early and great “Silver Bird is Heading for the Sun”. About 30 seconds later, there’s what can only be described as an anguished cry from the guitar. The whole solo is pretty damn subversive for “smooth jazz” if you ask me. The man doesn’t just bend notes, he tortures them. It’s not the blues, any blues in it has been filtered through several layers of rock. Now it’s back to the melody to conclude one of the artist’s gentler performances, but one that still has the patented flash of case hardened steel. 6) Michael Howell: The Call from In The Silence (Milestone) April 1974 Michael Howell – guitar Bennie Maupin – bass clarinet Henry Franklin – bass Ndugu (Leon Chancler) – drums Kenneth Nash – congas, percussion Organic, acoustic funk. Maybe even greaze. Bass clarinet rarely sounds this good or fits this well for me. Michael made three very good albums that haven’t been issued on CD as far as I know. In addition to this and one other Milestone, there’s a Catalyst solo acoustic guitar set where he covers McCoy Tyner’s Sama Layuca and Stevie Wonder’s Creepin’ very nicely. I think he went mainly into production/engineering after that. Unless it’s someone else by the same name, he popped up again in 1996 on a David “Bubba” Brooks CD. P. S. Unlike many who commented, I quite like the bass playing. It reminds me of Charlie Haden’s playing on De Drums, De Drums and some of the Jarrett American quartet’s other funkier moments. 7) Randy Weston: Mystery of Love from Carnival (Freedom) July 5, 1974 Randy Weston – piano Billy Harper – flute William Allen – bass Don Moye – drums, percussion Steve Berrios – congas, percussion One of my earliest jazz albums, the exotic, swaying groove here is still one of my favorites. Randy Weston recorded this many times, but this is the one I keep coming back to. Recorded live at the Montreux Jazz Festival 1974. 8) Keith Jarrett: Great Bird from Death and the Flower or 73/74 (Impulse) Oct 9-10 1974 Keith Jarrett – piano, soprano Dewey Redman – tenor Charlie Haden – bass Paul Motian – drums Guilherme Franco – percussion Another early discovery, one of my most played LP sides where this track followed the exquisite Prayer, a duet between Keith Jarrett and Charlie Haden. People have criticized Jarrett for playing soprano sax on recordings, but for me it’s impossible to imagine this music without the soprano sax overdubs. Here we get the Jarrett and the American Quartet’s lyricism and propulsiveness all in the same track. 9) Max Roach: It’s Time from Max Roach Quartet Live in Tokyo Volume 1 (Denon) January 21, 1977 Max Roach – drums Billy Harper – tenor Cecil Bridgewater - trumpet Reggie Workman - bass Even though Odean Pope played very well with Max over a longer period, I still think that Max’s quartet with Billy Harper was the best band he had after the fifties. The two Live in Tokyo LPs have been my most hotly pursued collectors items until my recent good fortune in finding them at a great price on eBay. I remember watching this live quartet for the second time in the 70s and feeling that Cecil Bridgewater had made a big breakthrough in expressiveness, and I hear that here too. He reached a point pretty close to where the other three players already were. For a while I believed that this was briefly released on CD, but these days I’m not so sure. 10) Stan Getz: Another World from Another World (Columbia) 1978 or 1977 Stan Getz – tenor with digital delay He never did it before, and he never did it again. Stan Getz’s improvisation using a digital delay processor is an entrancing piece of music with a real sense of excitement and discovery. From Stan’s own liner notes: “Something unexpectedly exciting happened almost immediately, as I discovered that the delay enabled me to build chords, put note upon note and build harmony on top of harmony simultaneously and spontaneously.” 11) Sun Ra Quartet: Exactly Like You from New Steps (Horo) January 1978 Sun Ra – keyboards John Gilmore – tenor, percussion Michael Ray – trumpet, percussion Luqman Ali - drums Once I stumbled on the delicious irony of taking it outside with Stan Getz and bringing it back inside with Sun Ra, I knew that’s how Blindfold Test #6 had to end. I met Michael Ray at WRTI in Philadelphia in the seventies and got to hear some amazing live tapes he did with a local band called Up from the Cellar, Down from the Attic. His playing on this two record set is wonderful, as is that of the rest of the quartet. Not released on CD as far as I know. P.S. added after viewing the discussion: Yeah, would have been nice if Sunny called up Ronnie Boykins instead of playing keyboard bass one handed, (or pedals two footed, not sure). But the amateurism translates into the humongous innocence of the man that pestered Columbia records with his steadfast belief that Nuclear War (lyrics: If they push that button, your ass gotta go, and what you gonna do without your ass) was a top ten hit. Without that innocence, no Space Is The Place, no walking out into the crowd and hugging concertgoers, no Ra, Sun listing in the Philly phonebook, no Pharoah’s Den convenience store, hand colored Saturn LP covers, etc. If it’s not your thing, that’s fine, but it was never Sun Ra’s intention to make the follow up to Sidewinder or So What.

I downloaded 3 Westbrook Music Theater albums from emusic before they imposed the download limits. Only remember listening to one of them so far. What's the word on Westbrook Music Theater?

Walt Dickerson is so underrated that I really didn't try very hard to limit my consideration to only his 60's albums. To My Queen is a major triumph, and I wouldn't want to be without any of them. Bobby Hutcherson certainly put out a very large body of fine work during the decade, but Walt's originality and lyricism tip the scales for me.

Twenty-two participants and one moderator have participated in the discussion thread of Blindfold Test #6 so far.

It's official. 100% of the artists have been successfully identified. I'm inclined to move the answers thread up to Monday morning. I still want to allow the weekend for those who haven't posted yet.

1-5 is the one I'm referring to. See if you can identify either of the other two musicians. The more famous one is co-leader.

No that clearly says John Carter & Bobby Bradford Quartet on the album cover.

No, Jsngry linked that album cover. There must be some other track where the proper album cover wasn't linked, and the second of the two co-billed leaders wasn't mentioned.

Hey, mikeweil, I thought Michael Howell recorded on guitar with both Diz and the Messengers. I do know there is one Diz album where he's listed on bass, but that's not the only one, and I never really was sure that was correct anyway.

mikeweil, thanks for keeping it interesting while I was on an overnight business trip. A shutout has been recorded. Very well done all. There is one tiny detail - one of the albums actually had two leaders, and only one has been mentioned. I certainly would file it under the name many of you mentioned, but to be fair to ...

A good guess, consistent with the clue, but not the right answer.

Cool. Awaiting your post. If you know who it is, and nobody else did, that must be the one!

This one is growing on me quite a bit. At first I found it a bit too polite for my tastes, although I enjoyed the first two tracks on their own terms. The second and third times through converted me, and I know I'll be returning to it again. Track one is not much jazzier than Norah Jones, but is really quite nice. The guitar quintet on track two is very enjoyable in an ECM sort of way. The somewhat more adventurous sounds fo Trio AAB and Swisher make for nice contrast, and the folk elements of Celtic Feet are winning me over. Kellock has a nice way with Bird on the ivories. Many thanks for the enjoyable new sounds. Randy Hersom

Shirley Scott has recorded on piano. I was playing an album of hers at work, and a co-worker heard the piano track, liked it and had to know who was playing.

OK, I'm cutting loose with a couple mild clues here. The track which was identified correctly in a PM: The leader has spent time in two well known combos whose leaders have won at least 10 DownBeat polls between them. The track which no one has mentioned the correct artist for: The leader has something beside the instrument they play in common with one or more of the incorrect guesses.

I was looking forward to getting the reaction of a more groove-oriented listener to track 2-6. Glad you enjoyed it.

So to answer the unasked question, I'm 44 and my years at Temple University's WRTI were 1976-1979. To answer the asked question, yes there was an attempt to make segues flow by removing some trailing silences and burning Disc at Once. Some clues did exist in stage announcements, and I edited them out, leaving only the clues in the music. couw's BFT did a wonderful job of mining a groove, introducing gradual change. Mine included some very disparate styles, and when you like one tune and not the next, or when you dislike both, it's hard to like the segue. Much thought went into sequencing and perhaps some of the segues will grow on the people who choose to listen some more. There are a few sequences I'm particularly pleased with. You have all done well. I've been amusing myself with making a mental baseball team of the participants. JSngry or course shouldn't be allowed to hit Little League pitching . mikeweil had a grand slam, a double and several singles, but a couple errors. Fine production overall. tooter was a fine leadoff batter, very selective of his pitches, but with a killer on-base percentage. There are two tracks where the artist has not been mentioned or linked yet on the discussion thread, and one of them was identified in a PM. I'm holding back a couple clues on the other one for a few days. Definitely not as obscure as Xero Slingsby or Joe Daley.

No worries about that, deus62. I know many of the participants will welcome a less adventurous selection than mine. I'm very much enjoying the lurking, and continue to be impressed with the level of knowledge of the participants in the Blindfold Tests. Keep it up B)

Due to the lively debate, as well as convenience, I allowed about three days after the answer thread appeared before mailing international disks. It appears that my six day delay before sending domestics has led to a head start for the international participants. So feel free to start the signup thread anytime now, and the mailout anytime after the answers thread appears. I'm thinking I might post answers Wednesday February 11, but welcome input on that choice.

I'd say Wednesday, Feb 5 would be a good time to accept the offer of the earliest member of the list who has posted an offer to move up. Would that be soon enough if that person is you, Jim Dye?

I sent an e-mail to Man With The Golden Arm, in case he checks his e-mail before visiting here. He would have the first option of moving ahead. I would think because of the surprise factor, that if he can't fill in for number 7, he would still be entitled to do #8 after a replacement is found for #7.