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Blindfold Test 186 - link and discussion


Pim

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Dear fellow board members. It is my honor to present you my self picked blindfoldtest. Now I think most of the real jazz veterans here will definitely recognize a few of the chosen tunes. But I hope to surprise some contenders. And what I hope most is that some of the songs will make people interested in the music of course as all of it is among my favorite music.

Genre-wise is goes from swing to freejazz, from fusion to crossovers with world music. I hope people are able to make some time to contend :)

You can find the link here:

 http://thomkeith.net/index.php/blindfold-tests/

bft nr 186!

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Got an early ear on this while I had time.  Life is not affording much of that these days, so I’ll drop my comments early on this one.

Track 01 - My Friend Louis!  Nice!  Tune is South of the Border Serenade by Adegoke Steve Colson from this fantastic album.

Track 02 - Not 100% sure what this is, but has that India Navigation sound.  Doesn’t quite seem to have Chico Freeman’s balls, but somebody in that general realm — not fully outside, not fully inside.  Not sure who any of these folks are, but this is a really thoughtful track.

Track 03 - I’ve amassed a reasonable amount of this sort of thing in my collection, but don’t listen with the same ear as with “Jazz,” so I’m quite inept at identification.  I do like this, though.  Reminds me of Roswell’s Malicool album.

Track 04 - At first, I was hearing this as more modern than what it is.  It’s that classic, burly tenor sound out of which David Murray, James Carter, (who were my first two thoughts) have come.  I’m not certain who this is, but I could listen to a whole lot of this.  Don’t recognize the sidemen.

Track 05 - This is a change.  Early impressions had me listening for the 2-string bass of Morphine’s trademark.  Seems more likely that this is one of those Adam Rudolph/KVM projects.  Not my first choice, but I love the energy and attitude.  In the right frame of mind, this would be killin’.  Loses me a bit during the “noise” section, but the first half works for me.

Track 06 - Bizarre and I can’t believe I’m going to suggest this, but sounds like Mal Waldron on electric piano, which is something I am not aware of existing.  If not Mal, somebody owes him some mad royalties.  It’s trippy, but I dig it.

Track 07 - Not sure who/what this is, but I’m not really hearing it.  Could be Joe McPhee.  If I’m in the head for it, I can do a lot of this stuff, but this one is missing the mark for me, today.

Track 08.- Another trippy cut.  I like this but want to like it more than I do.  I think I like the concept more than the execution.  Sort of William Parker meets a Butch Morris conduction.  

Track 09 - First impressions had me leaning Frank Wright, but that’s Hannibal on trumpet.  By association, that has to be Diedre Murray on cello.  Ah, okay — it’s the closer from this.  I forgot Reverend Frank made an appearance on this.  

Track 10 - Weird recording.  I’m hearing the tune (but can’t name it), but then it gets all squirrelly.  Is that Stella?  Not sure who the pianist is, not sure I like them, but they sure as hell had me listening.   It occurs to me that this is a super long BFT.

Track 11 - Fretless bass.  Otherwise a little too Windham Hill for my tastes.

Track 12 - No idea, but it reminds me a great deal of one of the bands I included on my last BFT, The Jazz Aethetic. Nope, the lyrics change that.  I like this, but have no guess what it is.

Track 13 - Ah, no you don’t.  That’s my guy.  Title track from this.  Took me YEARS to find a copy of this album (CD).  The solo track doesn’t really work, but the two quintet tracks are epic.

Track 14 - This one misses for me.  Self-serving musicians’ music that seems to lack purpose.  When the trumpet solo starts, I appreciate the music more, but frankly, I”ve lost interest at that point — if it weren’t a BFT, I would not have made it this far.  Not sure of the trumpeter nor the piano.  I’m not buying the tenor at all.  This suffers from what all the Braxton stuff suffers from, IMO, there’s just no story.  It’s all head and no heart.  I know I’m ripping here, but I just don’t hear this at all, and I have a soft spot for free jazz.  

Some pleasant surprises that I recognized, as well as some stuff new to me that I look forward to learning about.  A couple of dogs for me, but on a long test, that’s bound to happen.  Thanks for the listen!

 

 

 

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43 minutes ago, tkeith said:


Got an early ear on this while I had time.  Life is not affording much of that these days, so I’ll drop my comments early on this one.

Track 01 - My Friend Louis!  Nice!  Tune is South of the Border Serenade by Adegoke Steve Colson from this fantastic album.

That is correct sir! That album just simply rocks. I love Hannibal on this record.

Track 02 - Not 100% sure what this is, but has that India Navigation sound.  Doesn’t quite seem to have Chico Freeman’s balls, but somebody in that general realm — not fully outside, not fully inside.  Not sure who any of these folks are, but this is a really thoughtful track.

Quite close, it is from that '70's decade. Japanese label which brought out some spiritual jazz stuff in those years.

Track 03 - I’ve amassed a reasonable amount of this sort of thing in my collection, but don’t listen with the same ear as with “Jazz,” so I’m quite inept at identification.  I do like this, though.  Reminds me of Roswell’s Malicool album.

Country of origin is quite near Mali 

Track 04 - At first, I was hearing this as more modern than what it is.  It’s that classic, burly tenor sound out of which David Murray, James Carter, (who were my first two thoughts) have come.  I’m not certain who this is, but I could listen to a whole lot of this.  Don’t recognize the sidemen.

Track 05 - This is a change.  Early impressions had me listening for the 2-string bass of Morphine’s trademark.  Seems more likely that this is one of those Adam Rudolph/KVM projects.  Not my first choice, but I love the energy and attitude.  In the right frame of mind, this would be killin’.  Loses me a bit during the “noise” section, but the first half works for me.

Also quite close, it's from that same European free jazz scene. 

Track 06 - Bizarre and I can’t believe I’m going to suggest this, but sounds like Mal Waldron on electric piano, which is something I am not aware of existing.  If not Mal, somebody owes him some mad royalties.  It’s trippy, but I dig it.

You're totally right! That is indeed Mal you are hearing. Should I reveal the album? It is one of those very underrecognised Japanese albums by Mal.

Track 07 - Not sure who/what this is, but I’m not really hearing it.  Could be Joe McPhee.  If I’m in the head for it, I can do a lot of this stuff, but this one is missing the mark for me, today.

It is indeed Joe McPhee! Now who's the drummer? ;) 

Track 08.- Another trippy cut.  I like this but want to like it more than I do.  I think I like the concept more than the execution.  Sort of William Parker meets a Butch Morris conduction.  

Track 09 - First impressions had me leaning Frank Wright, but that’s Hannibal on trumpet.  By association, that has to be Diedre Murray on cello.  Ah, okay — it’s the closer from this.  I forgot Reverend Frank made an appearance on this.  

Yes that is totally correct. It's the title song from Hannibal's 'The Light' album with the very great Frank Wright on a screaming tenor saxophone.

Track 10 - Weird recording.  I’m hearing the tune (but can’t name it), but then it gets all squirrelly.  Is that Stella?  Not sure who the pianist is, not sure I like them, but they sure as hell had me listening.   It occurs to me that this is a super long BFT.

My songs of choice are indeed a bit long, hope not too many cut off because of it... It's Stella By Starlight, that is correct.

Track 11 - Fretless bass.  Otherwise a little too Windham Hill for my tastes.

Track 12 - No idea, but it reminds me a great deal of one of the bands I included on my last BFT, The Jazz Aethetic. Nope, the lyrics change that.  I like this, but have no guess what it is.

Track 13 - Ah, no you don’t.  That’s my guy.  Title track from this.  Took me YEARS to find a copy of this album (CD).  The solo track doesn’t really work, but the two quintet tracks are epic.

You're third fully correct answer! This is Billy Harper's Soran Bushi, B.H from the same titled album. One of my very favorite albums by one of my very favorite saxophonists.

Track 14 - This one misses for me.  Self-serving musicians’ music that seems to lack purpose.  When the trumpet solo starts, I appreciate the music more, but frankly, I”ve lost interest at that point — if it weren’t a BFT, I would not have made it this far.  Not sure of the trumpeter nor the piano.  I’m not buying the tenor at all.  This suffers from what all the Braxton stuff suffers from, IMO, there’s just no story.  It’s all head and no heart.  I know I’m ripping here, but I just don’t hear this at all, and I have a soft spot for free jazz.  

Some pleasant surprises that I recognized, as well as some stuff new to me that I look forward to learning about.  A couple of dogs for me, but on a long test, that’s bound to happen.  Thanks for the listen!

 

 

 

 

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Gotta love any BFT that features both Hannibal Peterson and Billy Harper!  I have those two plus the Cyrille "My Friend Louis" album and the Waldron.   

Some thoughts on other selections:

2 - Really like this, look forward to the reveal.  Wonder if I have it, and if I don't , how much it's gonna cost me :huh:.   Kosuke Mine?

6 - Title track from Mal Waldron's "The Call".  Fascinating stuff if you're into it.  I am.  Originally a German release on JAPO.

14 - I'm usually totally in step with my friend Thom, but I actually like this one quite a bit.  Wonder if I don't have it sitting on the shelves already.  Look forward to the reveal, or to someone ID'ing it.

Great BFT, though it probably does run long.  FWIW, I used to keep mine to one 80-minute disc.  Really looking forward to those reveals, especially on #'s 2 and 14.

 

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Count me among those enjoying #14.  I like the groove and the soloists.  It doesn't seem that far "out," and I would even say it is a bit in the vein of the Dave Holland groups--though if it were that, it would most likely be vibes in place of the pounding piano.

Getting deeper in now,and the tenor is going pretty wild--more into David Murray territory.

I'm not proposing any names for identification.  

 

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14 hours ago, felser said:

Gotta love any BFT that features both Hannibal Peterson and Billy Harper!  I have those two plus the Cyrille "My Friend Louis" album and the Waldron.   

Some thoughts on other selections:

2 - Really like this, look forward to the reveal.  Wonder if I have it, and if I don't , how much it's gonna cost me :huh:.   Kosuke Mine?

Fortunately, this is availble these days at a reasonable price. I think it will definitely be your cup of tea Felser :)

6 - Title track from Mal Waldron's "The Call".  Fascinating stuff if you're into it.  I am.  Originally a German release on JAPO.

Yes it is. I love this record too. It is different but still immediatly recognizable as a Waldron record.

14 - I'm usually totally in step with my friend Thom, but I actually like this one quite a bit.  Wonder if I don't have it sitting on the shelves already.  Look forward to the reveal, or to someone ID'ing it.

Same for me. I have the same problem as THom with Anthony Braxton. I can see his greatness, but it is way to abstract for me. To much brains, not enough soul. But this music is really something else to me. I can really feel what they are doing. It wouldnt surprise me if you indeed already own this music Felser!

Great BFT, though it probably does run long.  FWIW, I used to keep mine to one 80-minute disc.  Really looking forward to those reveals, especially on #'s 2 and 14.

 

 

Okay, quite a few good guesses already. Revealed are:

1. Andrew Cyrille - South of the Border (My Good Friend Louis)

6. Mal Waldron - The Call (The Call)

9. Hannibal & The Sunrise Orchestra - The Light (The Light)

13 Billy Harper - Soran Bushi B.H. (Soran Bushi B.H.)

 

Still a lot left to be revealed. Hope others will give it a try too, despite I broke all the rules with the length of the compositions :)

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Great fun BFT, Pim!

Our men Waldron and Harper are present !
I almost thought it was a cut from Candy Girl, but it's the Call!

Cora Jazz Trio for the third track. I know the tune, and it's not on Part II, so it has to be on Part I ! I still have to listen to Part III and IV.

Wardell Gray on  the fifth track ! It's on a great Fontana record with early Dex!

Not much  clues about the rest.
Pianist on Tr10 sounds like Barron.
Tr12 sounds like E.S.T. featuring A.M.Z on vocals, it might me Aziza all the way.
I like Tr14, and it sounds quite familiar. Bojan Z on piano?

 

 

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1 hour ago, aparxa said:

Great fun BFT, Pim!

Our men Waldron and Harper are present !
I almost thought it was a cut from Candy Girl, but it's the Call!

Cora Jazz Trio for the third track. I know the tune, and it's not on Part II, so it has to be on Part I ! I still have to listen to Part III and IV.

Wardell Gray on  the fifth track ! It's on a great Fontana record with early Dex!

Not much  clues about the rest.
Pianist on Tr10 sounds like Barron.
Tr12 sounds like E.S.T. featuring A.M.Z on vocals, it might me Aziza all the way.
I like Tr14, and it sounds quite familiar. Bojan Z on piano?

 

 

Yes Aparxa, two more good guesses!!! Kora Jazz Trio is correct. Great jazz from the Senegal. Such a nice blend of traditional African music, the blues and jazz without going to much ‘Putamayo’. And indeed not Don Byas, not Georgie Auld but the very great Wardell Gray. One of my favorite tenors from the ‘40’s. The other guesses were incorrect ;) 

So that makes:

1. Andrew Cyrille - South of the Border (My Good Friend Louis)

3. Kora Jazz Trio - N’Dyabe (Kora Jazz Trio)

4. Wardell Gray - The Man I Love (One For Prez)

6. Mal Waldron - The Call (The Call)

9. Hannibal & The Sunrise Orchestra - The Light (The Light)

13 Billy Harper - Soran Bushi B.H. (Soran Bushi B.H.)

6 out of 14, that is not bad :)

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On 9/3/2019 at 2:01 PM, felser said:

14 - I'm usually totally in step with my friend Thom, but I actually like this one quite a bit.  Wonder if I don't have it sitting on the shelves already.  Look forward to the reveal, or to someone ID'ing it.

 

Means I should probably give it a second chance -- I would not challenge your ears.  ;)

Ouch!  Missing Wardell!  *SHAME* on me.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Finally had some time to spend with this, and I'm SO glad I did!! Here are my notes as I listened...

Track 1 - The tune seems vaguely familiar to me but maybe it's just one of those that have that "familiar" sound. I can't decide whether I like the trumpet player or not, sound-wise, but he/she sure is GOING for it. And speaking of going for it, wow... I DO love this alto player. This solo is a total blast! Adventurous. I really like this track overall.

Track 2 - Hell yes, killer bass intro! [Several minutes later, after becoming entranced...] OK, this is phenomenally good. Everything about this is right on...I totally dig the feel, every one of the soloists tells a story and they play together like they are brothers (or sisters). I should definitely know who this is. In fact, Thom Keith will publicly shame me for not knowing it. This is totally up my alley and yet I don't know that I can ID any of the players. The tenor player does this thing that reminds me of Ari Brown a bit. There's a distinctly Chicagoan feel to this and the bass player reminds me of some guys I've heard out there too.

Track 3 - And now for something completely different. Hard initially to reorient myself to this piece after being taken to another planet by the previous track... but this is really good. I do enjoy this type of music a lot but couldn't begin to guess who it is. Fantastic groove!

Track 4 - Going back in time now. Beautiful, beautiful tenor playing! The changes are very familiar. I'm dancing in my chair. Outstanding tenor solo! The piano player is pure class, elegant. I have no guesses on this but I'm sure these will be familiar names.

Track 5 - Whoa! We are all over the map here. And I like that! This is not something I'm familiar with but I dig the energy and of course that bari! Gotta be some European guys, I think. Hmm... I like the way it starts but don't love the middle section with all the electronics. I'd normally love something like this but in this particular case it doesn't speak to me.

Track 6 - This is super cool. I already love the sparse groove that they're setting up. This is another one that's right up my alley. The sounds, the sounds! I love this. Killer groove, nice slow build...they are really in the zone here. I like the bass player's sound too. I'm going to take a completely wild guess and say this could be Wolfgang Dauner with Eberhard Weber and Fred Braceful? Whatever it is, I need it!

Track 7 - Damn!! I like your taste in music. This is fantastic. Again, something I should know, and I'll probably kick myself when I find out the players. These guys are communicating on another level. I LOVE the way it all comes together after the drum solo, around the 11 minute mark...whooooooooo!! I may have hurt myself listening to this. In the best possible way. I think a name or two is given away at the end of this, but I can't make out what he's saying. :)

Track 8 - There is some heavy bassness going on here. Is this all effects or more than one bass player? Maybe some overdubbing? The production on this is amazing, it's like this exists in a completely different space. I'm listening on headphones and it's really blowing my mind. This is obviously a fairly recent recording. I like what this person or persons are doing, this is a great concept and a very cool listening experience. Couldn't begin to guess who it is.

Track 9 - I am seriously digging all the great bass playing so far! Is this Cecil McBee. Whoa... this is venturing into Alice Coltrane territory. Which is just fine by me. Hold everything! Is that Jean Carn? No, it couldn't be. This is absolutely fantastic! Is that cello player? Sure sounds a lot like Diedre Murray, but that can't be either. Wow this is confusing me... but happily so! Damn, that trumpet player... is this Hannibal?? WOW! You are killing me here.

I have to get back to work but this has been a blast so far. Will post responses to the last bunch of tracks as soon as I can get to them. Thanks for all this great music!

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Ha mr. Webbcity thank you so much for all your enthusiasm! That really makes it worth all the work that was in it for me and of course also for Tom! Glad I made you happy with some of the tracks and I am very curious for the rest of your experiences! 

And also: very nice you went into the test blind without reading the rest of the topic as some of the stuff was revealed already. You were very right about Hannibal and Dierdre Murray!

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Once again, thanks for this... a total blast overall and lots of stuff here that I need to investigate further! :cool::tup

Track 10 - Huh, this is really interesting...I like the pianist's style a lot...and the whole trio seems to be very in tune with this approach, and a bit "rickety" in the best possible way. This comes off like a much more soulful version of Keith Jarrett. I'm probably going to regret that comment. What I mean is that it's cerebral but it's got a great feeling to it. I like this. It's very elastic, very exploratory, and it swings in its own way. Great sound from the bass player too.

Track 11 - Multiple fretless basses on this cut? I'm not super familiar with Richard Bona but he's the first person that came to mind here. This is very nicely done but it doesn't really speak to me. Oh wow, he really goes up into a high register there, which has me questioning whether that's a bass, but I guess it could be a 6 string? I could be into this if I was in a different mood maybe. This has echoes of 80s Pat Metheny Group which is unfortunately not some of my favorite Metheny.

Track 12 - This is another one that's just not my thing. Technically it's flawless and the I appreciate the space they're in here. The singer has an incredible voice but the material isn't doing it for me.

Track 13 - Already this sounds familiar. Oh wait a minute, Billy Harper? I've heard this before but I don't think I have this album. Hang on, I think I've actually played this tune. Am I right, Thom Keith? Oh man, are there two drummers on this? This feels so good. Harper's solo... this is masterful. The bass solo is good. But BH and the drummers? Just killer. Love this! Is that Harper himself singing?

Track 14 - Boom! Lots of energy here...I like it but it might be a bit much for me after the deep journey of that last cut. I appreciate what they're doing here but it's not totally reaching me. The band is firing on all cylinders and it's amazing they can keep up with the pace and energy of this! Damn! The trumpet player is on fire. Great solo. I only wish there were more dynamics in this... they do manage to get the energy level even HIGHER at certain moments, which is amazing...but there are times where the whole thing feels unnecessarily relentless. OK... I spoke too soon. The tenor solo just started and it's a welcome change. Nice! Overall I have mixed feelings about this track.

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