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Blindfold Test 187 - link and discussion


mjzee

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Occam's razor (or Ockham's razor) is a principle from philosophy. Suppose there exists two explanations for an occurrence. In this case the one that requires the least amount of assumptions is usually correct. Another way of saying it is that the more assumptions you have to make, the more unlikely an explanation.

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Really digging this so far. Have gotten through the first 7 tunes. Life being as busy as it is right now, I have to grab moments and listen as much as I can until I get interrupted! So here's the first chunk...

Track 1 - Ha! Nice. It's the Carpenters' Close to You, although for a minute I was ready for Killer Joe. What a groove! Nice guitar solo. This is some classic, great sounding organ trio + horn stuff... I suspect it's a more recent recording than I think though? Hmm. I could be way off but it sounds like younger/more contemporary players who are playing in an "older" style. And that might come off sounding negative but I don't mean it that way. This track is a blast...good stuff. I dig the solos but it's the groove that gets me more than anything else. This is locked down!

Track 2 - Oh wow... Gene McDaniels' Feel Like Making Love. Gene is my man and I do love this tune. I like this arrangement. It's always hard at first when it's a tune you love, and they mess around with the melody especially. That can be like messing with something that shouldn't be messed with. But I always appreciate very different arrangements of tunes-- if you're gonna cover something, you've GOTTA do it differently. Yeah... I do like this a lot. No guesses as to who it is, but it's well done.

Track 3 - My Funny Valentine, of course. I have to admit this has never been one of my favorite tunes. When someone calls it on a gig I probably groan a little bit to myself. But anyway... this is a perfectly nice rendition. The piano player is excellent but it's not grabbing me. It feels like a very "polite" rendition, and again... don't love the tune, but that's just me. "It's not you, it's me..."  ;)

Track 4 - A Night in Tunisia, and it's nice to hear it done rubato like this! Great piano playing. This is a hell of a performance. Just the right amount of everything, and it tells a story. I probably know this piano player but I can't make a good guess at the moment.

Track 5 - Oh yeeeaaaaah... I love the way the alto player gets all dirty. More of that please. I'm drawn into this one immediately. I feel like I should know the tune but I'm not getting it. The changes sound familiar. Wow... downright nasty around the 2:40 mark! This is pretty cool. I like the range of techniques and dynamics from the alto. Whoever this is is really pushing it.

Track 6 - I'm gonna guess right off the bat that this is Sam Jones on bass? Maybe? Hmmm. No, that's not right. Almost does sound like a cello or piccolo bass in the upper register there though. Nice feel on this...the drummer has a great drive and a crispyness that I like. The piano solo simmers along nicely and drops a bunch of quotes. So this is definitely a more recent recording than what I was initially thinking. The bass player is pretty facile, nice solo. Great track overall, and it's bugging me that I can't remember the name of this tune.

Track 7 - Oh hell yes... that BASS sound... the low, growly thing. Love it. This is Sergio Mihanovich's Sometime Ago, great tune! The guitar solo is excellent... love the tone and approach. I'm reminded what a fun tune this is to play on. The pianist is having a great time. Oh damn, I love this tenor player too. Wait... is that a bari? This just gets better and better. I would really love to know what recording this is. Again...I will fail if I try to guess any of these players but I surely must know them. Oh yeah, the trumpet player too, jeezus. What a great band, whoever this is! Really beautiful.

Haven't looked at any other responses yet and will try not to until I've gotten through the rest! 
 

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On 10/8/2019 at 3:22 PM, webbcity said:

Really digging this so far. Have gotten through the first 7 tunes. Life being as busy as it is right now, I have to grab moments and listen as much as I can until I get interrupted! So here's the first chunk...

Track 1 - Ha! Nice. It's the Carpenters' Close to You, although for a minute I was ready for Killer Joe. What a groove! Nice guitar solo. This is some classic, great sounding organ trio + horn stuff... I suspect it's a more recent recording than I think though? Hmm. I could be way off but it sounds like younger/more contemporary players who are playing in an "older" style. And that might come off sounding negative but I don't mean it that way. This track is a blast...good stuff. I dig the solos but it's the groove that gets me more than anything else. This is locked down!

Track 2 - Oh wow... Gene McDaniels' Feel Like Making Love. Gene is my man and I do love this tune. I like this arrangement. It's always hard at first when it's a tune you love, and they mess around with the melody especially. That can be like messing with something that shouldn't be messed with. But I always appreciate very different arrangements of tunes-- if you're gonna cover something, you've GOTTA do it differently. Yeah... I do like this a lot. No guesses as to who it is, but it's well done.

Track 3 - My Funny Valentine, of course. I have to admit this has never been one of my favorite tunes. When someone calls it on a gig I probably groan a little bit to myself. But anyway... this is a perfectly nice rendition. The piano player is excellent but it's not grabbing me. It feels like a very "polite" rendition, and again... don't love the tune, but that's just me. "It's not you, it's me..."  ;)

Track 4 - A Night in Tunisia, and it's nice to hear it done rubato like this! Great piano playing. This is a hell of a performance. Just the right amount of everything, and it tells a story. I probably know this piano player but I can't make a good guess at the moment.

Track 5 - Oh yeeeaaaaah... I love the way the alto player gets all dirty. More of that please. I'm drawn into this one immediately. I feel like I should know the tune but I'm not getting it. The changes sound familiar. Wow... downright nasty around the 2:40 mark! This is pretty cool. I like the range of techniques and dynamics from the alto. Whoever this is is really pushing it.

Track 6 - I'm gonna guess right off the bat that this is Sam Jones on bass? Maybe? Hmmm. No, that's not right. Almost does sound like a cello or piccolo bass in the upper register there though. Nice feel on this...the drummer has a great drive and a crispyness that I like. The piano solo simmers along nicely and drops a bunch of quotes. So this is definitely a more recent recording than what I was initially thinking. The bass player is pretty facile, nice solo. Great track overall, and it's bugging me that I can't remember the name of this tune.

Track 7 - Oh hell yes... that BASS sound... the low, growly thing. Love it. This is Sergio Mihanovich's Sometime Ago, great tune! The guitar solo is excellent... love the tone and approach. I'm reminded what a fun tune this is to play on. The pianist is having a great time. Oh damn, I love this tenor player too. Wait... is that a bari? This just gets better and better. I would really love to know what recording this is. Again...I will fail if I try to guess any of these players but I surely must know them. Oh yeah, the trumpet player too, jeezus. What a great band, whoever this is! Really beautiful.

Haven't looked at any other responses yet and will try not to until I've gotten through the rest! 
 

Thanks for the responses.  I'm gratified that you're enjoying it.

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And here's the rest... there were a few clinkers for me in this second half but still a lot of great stuff. Thanks so much for your efforts! I'll be really interested to know who some of these are. And will finally dig in to some of the other posts now that I've put this out there...

Track 8 - Impressions, taken at quite a clip! Love me some vibes but I can't tell who this is right off the bat. Actually the phrasing in the vibes solo feels a little square to me. This really is a bitch of a tempo though. The rhythm section damn sure is holding it together well. The piano player sure has chops, and a sense of humor. The "So What" tag is a nice touch.

Track 9 - Now this is cookin! What a sound on that tenor player...wooo! Love the energy here, this is infectious stuff. How can you NOT tap your foot to this? Short but oh so sweet. No guesses again... I am batting zero. ;)

Track 10 - Boy this sounds familiar. Really digging the groove and the tune...I am all in on this. One hell of a guitar solo, precise, bluesy, AND soulful. At first I was going to date this from the 70s but now I'm wondering if it's actually a more modern recording? Hmm. I like the soprano solo too. This is one tight band.

Track 11 - Well, it's gotta be Rufus Harley, right? Is there anyone else? Oh man... Eight Miles High!! Wow, this is a riot. Okay... the groove on this is SICK. I actually really love this. And Harley is a monster. I don't even really know what else to say, this is fantastic. I mean, just think of the balls it must have to taken to say, yeah, I'm gonna do Eight Miles High on the bagpipes and it's gonna be killin. Holy shit.

Track 12 - OK, bagpipes redux! Oh wow, what is this? This is a fun listen but I have no idea who it is. Mamas & The Papas?

Track 13 - Interesting sounds here... some odd vocalizing and maybe digeridoo? And definitely some 80s keyboard sounds. This sounds kind of like it's a theme from some show or movie.

Track 14 - Holy shmaltz! I mean that in a good way. This sounds like a slightly more modern take on Esquivel or something. Not sure how I feel about this. It's fun but I don't think I'd listen to it again. It would actually come off better I think if some of the sounds weren't so processed-- I think some of the sax sounds and other instrument sounds are actually synthesized, right? Couldn't begin to guess who or what this is.

Track 15 - Nice alto solo but overall this isn't really my bag. I'm sure the alto player is someone of note.

Track 16 - Damn that's a lot of echo on that guitar. Again this one isn't really my thing.

Track 17 - Oh man, I definitely know this one... Horace Silver? I think that's Freddie Hubbard on trumpet? And Wayne? That's gotta be Elvin on drums. Boy, this is one I really SHOULD be nailing. Killer track! I probably have this in my collection somewhere but can't remember what it is. 

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Again, glad you liked it.  I don't know if I'd like everything here, especially being hit with it blind.  It's a kick being a BFT presenter, reading listeners' reactions; it's what makes the experience great.  I recommend that everyone try presenting, at least once.

I must say that, so far, the big surprise for me is that no one's identified #8.  I never would have guessed that would happen.  Still, the month's only half over.

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I may have to go back and try track 8 again. Anxious to see the reveal on a bunch of these! There was a different track on another BFT recently from that same Elvin album that #17 comes from. I've heard this album before but don't own it. I didn't love the other track (from the other BFT) but I DO love this one. Fantastic! :tup

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3 hours ago, felser said:

That was "Lycra Too?" on my December BFT.

Yes! And I remember being shocked that I didn't love it after seeing who it was. I need to go back and re-listen to that whole album soon. Maybe in the context of the whole album I'll have a different reaction to that track.

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28 minutes ago, webbcity said:

Yes! And I remember being shocked that I didn't love it after seeing who it was. I need to go back and re-listen to that whole album soon. Maybe in the context of the whole album I'll have a different reaction to that track.

If you don't already have it, here's a Collectables 2-Fer with Midnight Walk + And Then Again that works really well. I had the former on LP (what a happy day that was, finding that one and A Caddy For Daddy AND Action - mint copies all - all in the same place on the same day and being able to talk the guy down from $25 each to $50 cash for all 3 because that was all I had and I was standing there right now ready to spend it in Longview, Texas, and his record show in Austin was more than a month off. It was all true, and it worked!), but I had been completely unaware of the other one until finding this CD years later.

 It's a great listen, and it's cheap!

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