Joe

I will definitely have more to say about 3!

Thank you! Glad you enjoyed it. Of course, you nailed a handful of these. (And you are correct about the instrument in the mix on 11.) I think you might kick yourself (figuratively) upon the reveal for 9. 2 might surprise you as well... we'll see. In retrospect, I hear how much of this BFT is about the drummers. 2, 3 , 5, 6, 7, even 10 and 13 all hinge majorly on what the drummer's doing, or holding back from doing, or not doing. But I didn't really plan it that way. On only one of these tracks is the dummer is the bandleader.

Different coast.

It's funny. Some June Christy (then, Chris Connor) came up on the mix I was playing in the car last week, and I thought to myself, "Well, here's a vocal style — an American vernacular, even — that's basically become a fossil." I guess I was wrong [?]. Eager to explore what this artist is all about.

I couldn't agree more. Thanks for these observations!

Push to shove, I'll take 1961 at the Village Vanguard. But my favorite Trane record might be COLTRANE'S SOUND, for largely sentimental reasons.

Thanks! Not Dennis Coffey, but I too hear a distinct Szabo thing happening, alongside the expected Wes-ims. I think I'll have fun revealing this one! 6 has 70's connections and connotations, but it dates from late in the leader's career. Who is the leader? You have a one in four chance of nailing that! I kind of agree about 10... its the saxophonist's show for sure. A name in their day, but not a player I hear much about anymore (still active as far as I know, though). "This is like if Bobo Stenson wanted to swing" 😀 ECM vibes, I feel them some, but this is an all-American band. The band on 12 is a bit of a surprising amalgamation. Agree about the bari player... and they're probably the most obscure member of the group.

I first heard him — without realizing I was hearing him — on ASTRAL WEEKS, which changed my world. When I heard OUT TO LUNCH years later and made that connection, it changed my world all over again. RIP, and thank you for the music.

Something I learned today.

Yes, but no. In all honesty, this guitarist was not on my radar until I discovered this record recently.

Think: closer to Motown than uptown.

Thanks all! The lead on #11 is not a Western instrument, FWIW. Carlos Ward does figure in this BFT... just not on #10. The guitarist #1 is not a household name (as far as I know, anyway). But they've appeared on many classic LPs (session work). The cats are out of the bag on #8. If I am reading the credit correctly, there are two bassists on #9. #5 features a player who has posted in these forums before. Keep on enjoying!

#7 is a prominent figure; no obscurities in that combo, in fact.

Confirmation (not to give away the title or source of the tune).

https://thomkeith.net/index.php/blindfold-tests/ Enjoy! I don't really have a preamble for these 13 tracks. Let's call it a miscellany.

1 episode in. Impressed so far inasmuch as it's mostly Wayne telling Wayne's story. I am waiting for more discussion of Alan. Pleasantly surprised to see board member Jason Bivins as a featured commentator.

I can really hear the Woody Shaw influence here. Speaking of which...

The Funky Chicken Disco Duck The Bluebird of Happiness

With Jon Eardley and Bob Mover.

I hear you w/r/t Robertson the guitarist. I had a similar experience. It's probably the best part of the latter LPs, where the songwriting starts to calcify a bit. I mostly think of The Band these days as a collection of cautionary tales: about the music industry, about fame and ambition, about what it means to be part of a collective, about mythologizing... the beginnings of those stories are relatively happy, the endings almost uniformly sad.

The first 2 albums are special, IMO. But mostly because they are true group efforts. TBH, I could listen to Richard Manuel sing just about anything. (What's the expression... "the telephone book?"). But they kind of fall of a cliff after that, mostly because it became the Robbie Robertson Show, whether out of necessity, bad blood, or some mix of all that plus, you know, human nature. I find THE LAST WALTZ almost unwatchable now, but maybe I should never have read Levon's memoir.

Complicated man, complicated legacy. At his best, though, he was responsible for some pretty timeless music.

Gene Clark for sure. Also, don't sleep on that run of Mike Nesmith & The First National Band LPs on RCA.