best track: cosmic hero

bumping so that the thread is here when i get home from work

I miss my dad

these jazzs are making me thirsty

honestly i thought jazz was just that background music for cartoons

who knew people go to concerts for it

Okay so I put this playlist together for this week, but I didn't actually choose the tracks for it myself.

So I wrote down some quick thoughts about the tracks without revealing any of the info about the artists.

1. The trumpet solo is the highlight on this one. Other than that it’s not really too remarkable. 2.5 stars.

2. I like all the different layers and textures from the band here. It’s cool how it starts out very gentle and easy but then by the time the trumpet solos are going on it gets pretty energetic. 3.5 stars.

3. There is some amazing trumpet playing on this one. That’s about all I can think to say without going into who the trumpet players are. 4 stars.

4. I love this one. The sax playing is very abstract while the trumpet playing is a little more traditional. Then the piano playing is on the abstract side of things too. I’m betting a lot of people will guess who this is. 4.5 stars.

5. I think on this one the arrangement of the band is better than the actual solos. The solos aren’t bad but the arrangement is just very good. 3.5 stars.

>>65561256
6. I like how this swings and I really like the playing of the sax player. I’ve heard the piano player do a lot better things before but he still has some good things that he plays in his solo. 3 stars.

7. This one is really cool. I like the classical feel to it with unusual instrument combinations and the way all the different things happen over that repeating bass line. I also like the way it builds up in intensity then settles back down. 4 stars.

8. This one has a classical feel to it at the beginning but then turns into a regular swing tune. It feels very much like west coast cool jazz with the classical influence and the easy swing for the solos. 3.5 stars

9. This kind of free jazz doesn’t really do much for me. I thin it sounds best when just the piano and drums are playing. To me it sounds like they are playing together while the saxophonist is mostly ignoring them and just doing his own thing. 2 stars.

10. I love this one. The song is one of my favorites and the players are three of the best ever. 5 stars.

>>65561256
Hello guys im newt and today i'll give you my genuine reaction to this BlindfoldTest !jM7LiDIYEY post


>Okay so I put this playlist together for this week, but I didn't actually choose the tracks for it myself.
Alright nice start
>So I wrote down some quick thoughts about the tracks without revealing any of the info about the artists.
Okay easy now
>1. The trumpet solo is the highlight on this one. Other than that it’s not really too remarkable. 2.5 stars.
Alright keep it coming
>2. I like all the different layers and textures from the band here. It’s cool how it starts out very gentle and easy but then by the time the trumpet solos are going on it gets pretty energetic. 3.5 stars.
woah now
>3. There is some amazing trumpet playing on this one. That’s about all I can think to say without going into who the trumpet players are. 4 stars.
jeez a bit rocky here
>4. I love this one. The sax playing is very abstract while the trumpet playing is a little more traditional. Then the piano playing is on the abstract side of things too. I’m betting a lot of people will guess who this is. 4.5 stars.
now we're talking
>5. I think on this one the arrangement of the band is better than the actual solos. The solos aren’t bad but the arrangement is just very good. 3.5 stars.

Good clean finish

>>65561277
BUT WAIT THERES MORE

>6. I like how this swings and I really like the playing of the sax player. I’ve heard the piano player do a lot better things before but he still has some good things that he plays in his solo. 3 stars.
Nice just nice
>7. This one is really cool. I like the classical feel to it with unusual instrument combinations and the way all the different things happen over that repeating bass line. I also like the way it builds up in intensity then settles back down. 4 stars.
Bit unexpected there but damn
>8. This one has a classical feel to it at the beginning but then turns into a regular swing tune. It feels very much like west coast cool jazz with the classical influence and the easy swing for the solos. 3.5 stars
Now this is peak quality
>9. This kind of free jazz doesn’t really do much for me. I thin it sounds best when just the piano and drums are playing. To me it sounds like they are playing together while the saxophonist is mostly ignoring them and just doing his own thing. 2 stars.
Hot damn just wow
>10. I love this one. The song is one of my favorites and the players are three of the best ever. 5 stars.

Another good clean finish I gonna give this post 8/10

Comeback next week where I review the next BlindfoldTest !jM7LiDIYEY post

Back in action this week - posting my notes when I get home from the local jazz club in a couple of hours...

>>65561550
>local jazz club

Be honest right now

What's the pussy game like in your "local jazz club "

>Track 1
Well I think we all know who this is. I’m thinking this is maybe a 40’s recording based on the sound quality. Is Armstrong quoting Makin’ Whoopie at the beginning of his solo? This is really on the pop side of jazz. Even Armstrong’s solo wasn’t really anything special.

>Track 2
I think this has got to be a Duke Ellington thing. Nobody else did arrangements that good. Sounds like Ben Webster at the beginning. That wah wah trumpet solo was pretty nice and the arrangement is great. Whenever the background starts to get stagnant something new happens in to grab your interest. There are a few points where the piano plays just little things that immediately grab your attention. I wonder who the trumpet players are. Ray Nance maybe is one of them? Great arrangement.

>Track 3
Two trumpets is kind of an odd combination. That swing is nice though, it feels so good going into that first trumpet solo. Sounds like Dizzy. He’s a little harder to identify with a mute in but I think it’s him based on those lines he’s playing. This second trumpet player doesn’t have the same fire as Diz but he plays some nice stuff anyway. Dizzy did an album with Roy Eldridge, I’m thinking that’s what this might be but I don’t know if he did other albums with another trumpet player. I like what the piano player is doing here in his solo. Some bebop lines but also just some nice simple melodic ideas. There was one idea that he started around 3:16 and sequenced it a few times that was nice. Woah, Dizzy’s second phrase of the trading portion that they do is insane. Mostly I’m wondering who the pianist is here… maybe Tommy Flanagan or Richie Powell, and if I’m right about the second trumpet player being Roy Eldridge.

>>65562596
>Track 4
Hey it’s Dolphy. This is from Far Cry with Booker Little on trumpet. I don’t know the name of the tune though. It reminds me of a Charlie Parker style “tune” in that it sounds like Dolphy just played a solo over the changes and then wrote that down as the “melody”. I say this a lot but I really love this kind of stuff that Dolphy did that still swings because it’s so easy to hear how much he was influenced by Bird. If I didn’t know this was Booker Little I might have guessed it was Kenny Dorham, their tones sound similar I think. I think this album has come up on blindfold tests before and I never know who plays piano on it. Well now I’m completely mystified who that piano player is. He did some cool stuff. Mal Waldron maybe? I always enjoy hearing Dolphy playing on swing.

>Track 5
Interesting. I’m trying to figure out how many horns are in this group. The arrangement is very nice. It makes me think right away of the Birth of the Cool with the way the horns are voiced playing that melody. The tenor player reminded me quite a bit of Stan Getz. The trumpet player reminds me of Donald Byrd I think, but also at times of Chet Baker. The piano comping is unusually good here, he’s reacting in clever ways to the soloists which I always like to hear. Towards the end the trumpet player starts sounding a lot more like Dizzy. It could be Clifford Brown maybe? A very interesting piano solo, it’s mostly simple melodic ideas but then at around 4:18 he does a Lennie Tristano type thing with continuing his melodic idea into a crossrhythm that goes outside the harmony. Pretty cool. This was an interesting track. I’ll be eager to find out more about what this was.

>>65562620
>Track 6
Sonny Rollins? This gets a little bit tiring to listen to for the rhythm section just chugging along. Rollins solo is good not his best, it sounds like he’s just swinging through the changes. The piano player is Monk? It’s actually kind of hard to tell on this one. I know Sonny and Monk did a record together though. Well for a while I was thinking this might be some kind of trumpet theme since most of the tracks had prominent trumpet solos but this one didn’t have any trumpet so…

>Track 7
Hey I just recommended this album to somebody earlier this week who was looking for recs for similar arrangers to Gil Evans. I guess it was a good rec because even though I know this record, for the first :30 I was thinking it was Gil Evans. Anyway, this is a great arrangement, I’ve always thought this was an underrated album.

>Track 8
This makes me think of early Chico Hamilton stuff because of the “chamber” classical feel to that intro and the guitar and bowed bass. I guess if it were Chico it would probably be cello though and no piano. The tenor player reminds me of Dexer Gordon. This has a nice swing to it. Based on the intro I was thinking maybe Jim Hall on guitar but during the solo it actually sounds a lot like Grant Green. I like the nice minimal style of the pianist. I’m glad they went back to the more classical feel for the end of the track. This was nice but I have no idea about any of these players.

>>65562650
>Track 9
Gotta love that out of tune piano. Cecil Taylor probably, since it sounds like it’s just sax, piano, and drums. Taylor isn’t always my favorite but this is pretty cool how they’re playing together but making sure that it never settles into anything too definite. You can hear the drummer start to go along with some of the patterns in the piano but then he’ll switch and start playing more with what the saxophonist is doing for a bit. A bit further on it becomes pretty obvious that it’s Cecil Taylor. At the beginning I wasn’t quite sure. I don’t like all of his music but this is pretty good.

>Track 10
Classic /blindfold/ meme. Hasn’t somebody put this one on a blindfold playlist before this? Duke does some pretty cool stuff on this one but overall it’s kind of a confusing track. Why do they do it as a swing?

Still not sure what the theme could be on these.

>>65561550
Did you get a chance to listen to last week's tracks at all?

>>65562702
Some good guesses as usual on a lot of these. I might go into more details and give some hints a little bit later once some others have posted.

>>65562790
Yeah, wrote down some notes too before figuring out that while you can actually read 4chan from China surprisingly enough, you can't post...

Good selection with nice variety, had good guesses for the early stuff - I did notice I got a little too preoccupied with the theme to pay attention to the music...

I have my own list on that theme ready, but I'll give it some time.

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On the theme of last week's playlist:

By interesting coincidence in this month's Downbeat's Blindfold Test they used one of the same tracks that I used in last week's playlist. The David Binney track. I think a few people noticed the classical influence and Sherman Irby picked up on that as well.

>>65563297
I remember liking another track with David Binney that you put in another test a while ago so I might check out one or two of his albums, but I see that he has a lot, both on criss cross and on other labels, so I wondered which ones would you recommend?

>>65563581
It depends on what you're looking for really. He's a really good composer with a unique style but he's done his style a few different ways.

Most of his Criss Cross records are more acoustic and minimalist. My favorites are Cities and Desire, Oceanos, Lifted Land, and Barefooted Town. Bastion of Sanity is also really good but kind of different.

If you want more large-scale studio compositions then I'd recommend Graylen Epicenter, Out of Airplanes, or Third Occasion.

His Criss Cross album called Anacapa is somewhere in the middle of these two styles.

>>65564403
>His Criss Cross album called Anacapa is somewhere in the middle of these two styles.

Maybe I will check out that one then.

>Track 1
Well this one's easy, even I recognise that voice. Always nice to hear Louis in small groups. I suppose I've not stopped to consider how good a vocalist he is before - he's one of those who superficially seems a bit limited but it's so full of fun and expression. I don't think I understand enough about trumpet playing or his historical context to understand hw revolutionary people say Armstrong is, but I do always really like his solos so there's that. I should probably listen to the Hot 5's and 7's some more...

>Track 2
I think this is Stormy Weather? This is a nice arrangement. Sounds like it could be Ellington's Orchestra? I'm a sucker for muted trumpet solos with those wah effects, and this one was dirty as anything. Again, this is an awesome arrangement - the band and soloists interacted perfectly. It was mostly just trumpet actually wasn't it? Maybe Cootie Williams if it was the Ellington band?

>>65565031
>Track 3
This is Woody'n'You but it threw me at first because I'm used to hearing it bebop style. It actually kinda suits this pace. I'm a bit stumped by the soloists - they must be first generation beboppers so I'm thinking one (the one who gets the first solo) is Miles, but even that I'm not sure of - especially after the trading section. Second solo has a really heavy swing feel and vibrato, so maybe it's someone older. The piano sounds really familiar too...

The trading section was really cool - showed off two distinct styles that both had their moments, and the piano threw in with them too in parts.

>Track 4
This is Miss Ann, from Far Cry by Eric Dolphy and Booker Little. Recognising Dolphy couldn't be easier, but the rest I got because I was listening to this album walking home from work today. Booker Little is becoming my favourite trumpet player. His tone has that really bold brassy feel like it should be playing a Spanish motif in a Spaghetti Western, and he can compose and solo such a wide emotional range. That range is a little restricted on this album - on this track he sounds more like an extension of Dolphy on trumpet. The trading in particular - it's like one continuous stream of thought jumping instruments.

Jaki Byard is pretty cool on this track too, but if I didn't know it was him I'd never guess. He also does a pretty good job of aping Dolphy's melodic lines here, though around the three minute mark he seamlessly goes in and out of that chaotic bit.

I wasn't really paying attention to this track when I listened earlier - should have been.
That's as much as I've gotten round to listening to so far. Might manage to fit some more in tonight but probably wont be until tomorrow.

>>65561256
>Okay so I put this playlist together for this week, but I didn't actually choose the tracks for it myself.
Right, so I read this and it my first thought that you must've got the tracks for this from a classic Down Beat blindfold test. So based on the trumpet focus it must be for a trumpeter.

Then I remembered last week I read one of Miles Davis's blindfold tests and - amongst other things - I specifically remember him slagging off Eric Dolphy and Money Jungle (I've already skimmed through the rest of the tracks).

So I think I've accidentally stumbled on the mystery theme there, sorry. All my other answers are going to be written in with that knowledge in mind.

>>65565255
Wow I really didn't think anybody would figure it out. Nice job.

>>65565840
Well your hint gave it away, and otherwise it's just blind luck that I only read it last week.

Even with that, I can only remember one or two tracks from it.

Also I sent the tracks for next week, did you get them?

>>65566117
I thought if anybody got it they would figure it out from me saying that I didn't actually pick the tracks. I got your list for next week, thanks. Do you think you'll be around next Saturday to post the reveal info?

>>65565042
>Jaki Byard is pretty cool on this track too
Ah Jaki Byard. I thought of him but it didn't really sound like him to me.

>>65565255
Yeah that Dolphy track should have tipped me off. I think Miles' comments in the blindfold test about Dolphy are pretty well known.

>>65565840
Cool stuff, I was torn between some intricate track-by-track and something trumpet related.

Still at the club, but you'll get my first impressions when I get home to my notes...

>>65565042
>Track 5
I wouldn't have guessed who this was - the first time I listened I was leaning towards maybe Chet Baker - but I do remember there being a Clark Terry track in that Miles Davis Blindfold Test and this could definitely be it. This track doesn't really do much for me though. Both players have a really nice sound together, but neither they nor the rhythm section do anything that interests me or grabs my attention at all really. It sounds like the sort of straight hard bop you could probably pick musicians up off the street in New York to play without having to give it much thought.

>Track 6
And then likewise with this track, though I do like the tenor's Monk-like embelishments of the melody. Could this perhaps be Sonny Rollins? It has some of his rhythmic-ness, but the tone isn't quite as harsh so I'm not sure. So I was thinking the piano could actually be Monk during the intro, and his solo convinced me. His comping is nowhere near as distinctive as usual here. Yeah, I'm reasonably confident in saying this is Monk and Rollins.

>Track 7
This arrangement reminds me a little of a tune off Gil Evans' Out of the Cool. But I don't listen to an awful lot of that sort of jazz so I wouldn't be confident saying it's one of his arrangements. Thinking about it, it also sounds a bit like some of the stuff on Sketches of Spain. More nice muted trombone, though this one gets slightly into novelty vocalisation sounds. This track is a little disappointingly short - it seems to take so long to get going then it's over almost as soon as it has. Was a pretty nice arrangement, but could have done with building the intensity further so that long intro had some pay off.

>>65567672
>Track 8
First the piano, and then the bowed bass, sounds very classical here. My go to classical-influences guy is John Lewis? That intro made a nice change to just blazing through the melody. Sax solo was cool - guitar solo less so. I think other than Charlie Christian and Django, it took a while before guitars were used well in jazz, this guy just seems quite unsure and unable to string ideas together. Other than the cleverly arranged head, I think this is another one of those blowing session tracks that doesn't do anything particularly exciting.

>Track 9
I seem to remember Leonard Feather taunting Miles with some Cecil Taylor stuff, so this must be it. Not sure I'd have guessed it was him as it sounds more fluid and more harmonious than the stuff I'm familiar with. I like that slightly muddy chord vamp he keeps playing for the first couple of minutes. I like this because they keep a groove sort of going through the whole thing, and because they all seem pretty single-minded in terms of what they're trying to do.

>Track 10
This is the version of Caravan from Money Jungle. One of the only tracks from that album that I found memorable, and that's probably partly on familiarity. Duke gets to try out some stuff I bet he had always wanted to do here, like those big thundering chords on the intro, but like the rest of the album, this is a slight disappointment considering who is involved. Mingus is a great arranger/composer and a pretty good soloist, but I don't think he's any more than average as an accompanist - he could have used this opportunity to do so much more.

Alrighty, my first listen impressions, recorded earlier...

Track 1:
So this is obviously Louis Armstrong.

Ain't Misbehavin.

This is old enough to feel very strongly as period music, something that makes me more think of the time it was made than really enjoy the music - you know, like Woody Allen soundtrack music.

It's nice, but I have to be in a really specific mood to want to listen to this on purpose.

Track 2:
More pleasant old timey'ness.

I like the solos here with that sweet vibrato going on.

Maybe Count Basie's orchestra?

Similar to track 1 in that I don't listen to jazz like this too much.

Track 3:
So is the prominent theme nice trumpet playing or something? The mood is quite similar to the previous two here.

This one keeps chuggin' along nicely. Good swinging, gets my toes tappin'.

For the mystery theme, it feels like we're moving chronologically forward here, but not sure where this is going if it isn't about trumpets...

Track 4:
Well, things got a lot more modern.

This is Eric Dolphy, isn't it. Wonderful alto solo.

I really like Dolphy's playing here, not that out there, but still nice hints of wild creativity.

Track 5:
No idea on who these people are. Feels like a pretty unremarkable track following that previous one.

There's fairly strong trumpet playing again.

I don't have much to say about this,

Track 6:
This feels like a familiar tune somehow, but can't recognize it...

Some of the sax licks feel familiar too. I'm sure I'm familiar with the sax player.

The mystery theme remains a mystery. Is it traditionally swinging jazz?

Track 7:
A very Spanish vibe. I'm sure these people have heard Sketches of Spain.

Really sounds like it's trying to cash in on the success of that project. :)
The pastiche flavor on this one is a little too strong for me. It was still a pretty nice listen.

Track 8:
The opening chords evoke a similar Spanish feel a little bit, maybe the theme is something that links a track to the next, there's a feeling of continuation from one track to next in multiple spots this week, although 4 to 5 was a pretty big jump.

Not too much to say about this one either.

Track 9:
A little bit of Monkish modernism on the piano.

This week's list makes it pretty clear that a little bit of adventurous playing resonates with me, like track 4, this one really captures my interest.

This is pretty exciting. Piano going into Cecil Taylor territory.

Have to guess that this is Taylor on piano.

The drums are crashing down like a torrent of rain. Love it, a little longer than optimal, but I love this kind of self expression in general, so a great track for my tastes.

Good track.

I have no idea what the mystery theme could be.

Track 10:
This is the Money Jungle version of Caravan. Duke, Mingus and Max Roach.

Pretty percussive piano from Duke here.

This has a pretty rough and unpolished feel to it - not something one would expect from a Duke Ellington track, but this is one of the few Ellington albums I listen to with any regularity.

I like this track for how strong all three feel here. Lots of energy in the air.

>>65565255
Nice catch! <3

Makes perfect sense with the early heavy trumpet stuff and later wider palette of sounds, too.

>>65568770
What do you guys think about this idea for a theme? I think I'll probably do more with it in the future.

>>65570253
A little too tough with no clues, but now that we've all seen it once, knock yourself out.

I am really looking forward to Miles' reactions to this list for sure.

>>65570253
Have ya'll done any threads built around common live performances like how everyone has a Village Vanguard album or Monterey Jazz Festival footage?

>>65570510
We've done a theme of just "live" jazz before but I don't think anybody has done one of recordings all from the same venue before.

>>65570510
haven't had one like that, but potentially a nice theme - pretty challenging to get 10 from one spot, though

>>65570551
>"live"
Heh. Hello /jazz/!

>>65570553
Cool. Just a thread theme idea i thought i'd share. Not sure if it'll be worth the effort yeah.

>>65567694
>they all seem pretty single-minded in terms of what they're trying to do.
I actually didn't really hear that with this one. I thought Taylor and the drummer seemed pretty synced up but the saxophonist sounded like he was doing his own thing a lot of the time.

You're right on track with a lot of these guesses though.

>>65570696
We're always looking for new people to put together playlists... Preferably people who have participated in the thread a few times before though.

while we're on the subject though does anybody want to volunteer a playlist for the next week after we do Clueless's Prestige theme next week? I know Jazzpossu has a connecting links theme ready but it'd be nice to do something else first since we just did jtg's links one last week.

>>65570859
I have some alternatives brewing, too.

I guess I could do a repeat of Impulse! label list next - there's plenty of material to cover

>>65570976
That would be cool.

>>65571300
deeper Impulse! with a small chance of Coltrane it is for next week...

I'll send you the list the weekend or early next week.

What's good my peeps? Sorry I missed out on last week I got kinda busy. Anyway, here are my thoughts on tracks 1-5. I'll get through track 6-10 after/while running some errands.

>Track 1
Not much to say about this one. Sounds like pop music from its time to me honestly. For what it's worth I guess I'll say that the piano solo was kinda cool in that it had a nice flow to it so it didn't feel rigid at all like solos otherwise can often feel. Also the trumpet part in the end, while mostly playing catchy melodic stuff that's not too outstanding, had a couple moments near the end in the delivery of the notes in a style that I can see might have helped guys like Davis and Coltrane get the more “emotional” feel in their stuff. Both cool moments felt very bluesy and I guess that's kinda that place where blues and jazz often meet up in doing a style of delivery whether on vocals or instruments that gives that sort of almost human feel to the music that's made as a result.

>>65571659
>Track 2
Cool piano intro thing with a nice variety of rhythms. With that out of the way, now I am wondering: is the week's theme based around slower but more “emotive” playing? Emotive since I don't have the musical library of words to really describe that feel. Anyway, I do love the arrangement on this; having all this brass (yeah a sax is technically woodwind but still it's brassy) just play the way it does on this track with how there will be one brass instrument that kinda gets in the forefront then another brass one does all in this smooth way through having multitudes of brass stuff come in together works very well. It's almost like a jazz version of a wall of sound. This track, like the last one, also excels in the delivery of the notes being played in terms of the brass instruments whether it's just making a part sound wavy, or more abrasive, or doing some sort of dynamics based work. My beef with this one are that the piano rolls were getting kinda gimmicky and only the first one didn't feel out of place because it was setting up for the other instruments essentially climaxing. Not to mention that like the first piece it's kinda poppy in that I didn't personally hear much in terms of veering off in different directions and just messed with one group of chords/notes.


(sorry I can't fit more than 1 track per post so far wtf)

>>65571672
>Track 3
Now this is what's up. The drums while they seem to be mostly just there, had some cool parts like the smaller fills and rolls that it would occasionally do to make it interesting. While it wasn't at the forefront, the bass did a fine job here, too it covers a wide range of notes. It's most noticeable during the piano solo part, but even throughout the whole track it ultimately does a good job of in a way keeping track of all the changes happening throughout. As for the brassy sounding stuff...well, I got nothing bad for them either they were fantastic. I loved how there was a little bit of the thing happening in the previous track, too, where both instruments are playing the same notes for a bit before venturing off into different spots with one playing the main melody and the other the secondary part. Their solos were pretty good; every bit works well perfectly and there are changes just in time so nothing feels like it overstayed its welcome. It was like some Davis/Coltrane style stuff, too where one of them would be like GOTTA GO FAST like Son-uhh I mean Coltrane and the other would do the slower stuff like Davis. The only bad thing I can say here is that maybe when the piano was playing rhythm it didn't do much, but even then I think the bassist played in a way where I didn't feel that it was wrong or anything. Good stuff overall though.

>>65571699
>Track 4
Holy shit this is fantastic, hold up I needa figure out how to describe this. One thing I'll say about this is that everyone's control over their parts is great. So like the piano knew when to do something that sounds more similar to the first track vs like maybe some more sustained chords. When soloing, the way it would do sudden hits of the left hand stuff during the crazier right hand parts help make the track maintain its dense feel that was there when the sax/trumpet were there, too. The sax and trumpet parts knew when to play certain things in a certain style so there was a lot of difference between more standard playing, staccato, and legato stuff here despite keeping a mostly fast/lots of notes pace. Even the drums here were erratic as hell. Okay, now if you put all those things together, you get this almost otherworldly feel where it feels like someone's always playing something new for every single miniscule moment. Taking into consideration how there's a slightly percussive feel of a piano when one presses a key down to hit a note, or how one tongues when playing a saxophone, there's almost this surreal pseudo-percussive heaven feel. To help ensure that it doesn't sound like a mess, we have the bass keeping it together, and even then it's quite an adventurous bass that helps guide the whole thing. This is some good fucking shit. Can't wait to figure out who this is. I am getting the entire album.

>>65571718
>Track 5
This track has a pretty nice arrangement since the instruments cover a good amount of range/frequency here. Too bad that only somewhat gets taken advantage of for about maybe two minutes of the five minute track. Even if one of the instruments is soloing, what's the point of just removing so many of them while that happens? Such a waste. As for the soloing itself, I guess there was a good amount of rhythms represented through the soloing of each instrument. But not much happened in terms of dynamics, going in cool directions, doing interesting delivery of notes, etc. Also I think it doesn't help that like the first track this one felt kinda poppy, too with very little nifty chord progression stuff happening if any at all. I just feel extra bad here because if the arrangement would've been taken more advantage of, it would've been a far better track.

Okay I'll be back in a bit with the rest.

>>65570859
I wanna do one eventually. Maybe I can do one of jazz guitarists or something but I think I might end up having too many fusiony sounding guys.

Hi! My name's tomoko. I've only heard a few jazz albums in my life. I dug pretty much all of them, but I'm not going to pretend that I know anything about jazz music. I don't know jack shit about the instruments used, even. I figured this would be an interesting way to learn more about it. I'm also going to refrain from rating tracks until I feel more knowledgable about the genre.

1. I'm really digging this! Is this Louie Armstrong? Gives me the same vibe as When I'm Sixty-Four by The Beatles, or some of the tracks in the Mafia/Fallout games. I've always loved shit like this. Definitely gotta check out some more stuff in this vein. Not what I expected to hear at all. Really beautiful voice.

2. This is really nice and mellow. Not as amazing to me as the first track, but I'm definitely having a good time listening to this. This track has a real sense of place to it. I picture a dimly lit bar, lots of smoke and friends laughing and excitedly talking to each other. So damn cozy. By the end, it really built itself into something that I liked a lot.

3. Hmm. Not really my kind of track. The brass is tinny to a point of driving me a bit mad. Besides the brass, though, the piano and bass work in this is great, and the drums keep it moving along at a pretty nice pace. I just wish that the brass didn't have that tinny sound to it, because it's kind of killing my vibe. There did seem to be quite a bit of soul to the end of it that improved my feelings towards the song somewhat, but overall, I still felt a bit mixed on it by the end.

4. Fuck, dude. This sax is insane. I was worried at the beginning, but nah, this is incredible. I am loving the piano and drums as well, and the bass. The whole track is so playful! I love the faster pace and the jamming going on with pretty much all of the instruments. Those little stops and starts are incredible, and really add an emotional element to the track. I can feel the players putting themselves into each small piece of each solo. Favorite thus far.

5. The bassline in this has me grooving too! As does the playful piano and the percussion. I feel like I'm repeating myself on all of these tracks, but that seems to be what I really enjoy about jazz, I guess. Over time, I'm warming up to this trumpet work too. This saxophone is also beautiful.

Just got back from my lessons.

>>65570510
Going to add this idea to my to-do list.

>>65570553
>haven't had one like that, but potentially a nice theme - pretty challenging to get 10 from one spot, though
Depends on the spot. As soon as I saw this idea I started thinking about options for a Village Vanguard theme. Festivals like Newport or Montreux could probably work too.

>>65570859
I still have a few playlists ready to go:
Big Band
Wayne Shorter tunes
SteepleChase label

but I just went last week so we can wait a few weeks on those.

Here are some ideas for themes I want to do:
Ellington tunes
Village Vanguard
2016 releases (first half of the year)
and a few other ones that I can't think of at the moment

Anybody like any of those ideas?

6. Lively and classy. Don't have much to say other than that I had a good time listening to it.

7. Ooh. Now this is fucking awesome, and more my kind of thing. It's so cinematic and intense! I really wanna hear more stuff in this vein. I think this can be considered My Shit.

8. I'm loving this too! The use of silence in the piece is seriously fucking superb. I'm also loving how isolated most of the instruments are in this introduction. Once it starts moving, it takes you on a ride, and not one you'll soon forget either. This track is fucking awesome. I LOVE this guitar work too. And the piano. This jam between the piano and the bass is tight as fuck.

>>65571424
What kind of an impulse! theme would it be without any Coltrane though? You should try to find something that won't be easily identifiable as Coltrane. I guess most everything he recorded on impulse would be fairly obvious though.

>>65571659
Glad you made it back this week!

>>65571792
Thanks for joining in. I'm sure this will be a great way to learn more about jazz and discover a lot of new stuff.

>>65571926
I think I vote for the Wayne Shorter theme next. Maybe we can do that in 3 weeks.

>>65571970
9. YES! I love how destructive this is. The way it bangs and clatters into the anxiety groove that defines the rest of the track is seriously incredible. Genuinely got chills around the two minute mark. Once that piano started going off too. This might be my favorite of the group, which is funny because the first few seconds had me a bit worried that I was in for a track that I wouldn't enjoy. This drumming is starting to remind me a bit of a more gentle Zach Hill, in particular the track "Necromancer". The applause at the end was well-deserved.

10. YES!!!! This beat and opening instrumentation in general immediately caught my interest. Loving this piano, this percussion, and this bassline (so, the usual, I guess. lol). I was head boppin' for the entire song.

So... yeah. Really good shit, and I plan to keep an eye out for these threads from now on.

>>65572098
Definitely, thanks for making this happen!

>>65571743
>Track 6
This one's mainly centered around the sax so I guess it's sorta all about the sax. But even then, the piano, drum, and bass parts were lacking here since there's so little variation in what they are doing. It's almost like the backing section decided to play it safe here since they didn't want to intrude on what the sax was up to here. Which I guess is fine since nothing technically went wrong, but still nothing happened which made me go “woah” with those parts. At first I thought the sax part was kinda cool, but then I realized that it relied way too much on a similar set of rhythms where it plays some notes then plays some more fast then slows down and does that burst style way too much with little variation particularly in how the delivery is done. Decent, sounds like something I would hear in the usual jazz club/restaurant, but that's it.

Fucking Connection Error

>>65572206
>So... yeah. Really good shit, and I plan to keep an eye out for these threads from now on.
The threads happen every week. It starts on Friday and then the track info gets revealed on Saturday.

>>65572490
>Track 7
Damn, with an intro like that, one would think that this is promising to deliver something epic. Does it truly deliver though? The intro part's great, the following part with those sorta solos is great, and the actual climax of the piece where everything starts playing together's great, too. But honestly, it just feels like they are different parts that would work better in different pieces put together. With its intro it would seem like the next part of the piece will build from that, but it doesn't. Maybe it's because I am used to listening to classical on this aspect, but with an intro like that, further build-up would go great rather than just a full stop which then segues into the next part. Even with the full stop, it would've been nice to see more bits of the intro somewhere. Then the next part is alright with its sorta solos. A bit too straight forward for my taste, but the solo had a feel to it. Compared to like Track 2 where it has the part where the piano keeps rolling until it climaxes to the big part, here it just feels off because that second part didn't build up to it at all. Though at least the climax till the end part flowed well. I think I might have liked it better if the second part wasn't there at all.

Are you guys actually wearing blindfolds while listening to this?

How can you type?

>>65572514
>Track 8
Gotta love the progression on this one having all the instruments come in and out playing their parts but each part feels connected to the last. Whether it's evident in how the main hook is played in the beginning and end, or in the actual order of the solos coming in and out, it's there. The sax does a good job here doing just enough to get out of the trap of relying on similar phrases similar to track 6, and just when you think it's gonna get old...in comes the guitar. Despite being a guitar player, this was my least favorite of the three big solos. Too much of it was just sliding around for me, and that's no different from someone who relies on too much wank or too much bending or whatever. My favorite solo was the piano one though it does some stuff rhythmically similar to the sax, and then does some legato as fuck stuff that the guitar did, but then also does other things, too like the type of stuff you would hear more classical guys do that sorta sounds like pedal point type stuff but I am not sure is actually that. That part where the bass starts playing with a bow was a nice surprise, too. Underrated drums here yet again, mainly because the drummer knew how to hit that snare whether it's a more definitive snare hit or it's a more non-committal roll-like hit which added a nice bit of flair to the rhythm section.

4chan back online now?

>>65571817
>Fuck, dude. This sax is insane.
I feel like that's a pretty accurate way to sum up Dolphy's playing.

>>65571970
>8. I'm loving this too! The use of silence in the piece is seriously fucking superb. I'm also loving how isolated most of the instruments are in this introduction. Once it starts moving, it takes you on a ride, and not one you'll soon forget either. This track is fucking awesome. I LOVE this guitar work too. And the piano. This jam between the piano and the bass is tight as fuck.
If you like this you should check out some early Chico Hamilton recordings. Pic related is one of my favorites and has Eric Dolphy on woodwinds who you seem enthusiastic about on the track he plays on this week.

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>>65572985
forgot pic related

>>65573035
Didn't you put a track from this on a playlist not that long ago? I remember it being good I think.

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So let's keep the thread bumped.

Post whatever you've been listening to and enjoying in the past week. Preferably jazz but anything goes.

Pic related. One of the best things I've discovered recently.

test post

>Track 9
What would Bach sound like if he made jazz? Nobody fucking knows but this comes damn close in my opinion! Who cares about traditional rhythm sections? In this track maybe there was one for a little bit...but it wasn't even the drums it was probably the piano playing the “main melody”. Like a lot of Bach pieces, it felt like EVERYTHING was doing a separate melody at the same time including even the drums. I love how despite being so chaotic, it's still so well put together. There's a progression in what the drums are playing throughout and though I don't think it is, it sounds like a more chaotic approach towards minimalism with how the drums progressively keep adding more parts that are being hit and then ending off on just cymbals having that “not much, building to a lot, a lot, building to not much, ending at not much” flow minimalist stuff is so good at doing. The piano is also really good here because it keeps building on what it originally does so much particularly with the stuff the right hand is doing. It sounds like a more unhinged Monk here with the dissonance, the weirdly timed stuff, the piano runs similar to that track from two weeks ago. The sax didn't even have to be there, I just think of it as a bonus.

>>65573874
>Track 10
Now that was a bomb ass intro part. Anyway...so is this supposed to be a /blindfold/ meme at this point, having variations of Caravan being the last track? But you know what? Even if it is a meme, gotta hate to admit it but this was fucking amazing and in contention with Tracks 4 and 9 for being the best track of the week. That drummer is god tier it's more conventional drumming compared to track 9 but it's fantastic conventional drumming the drummer ALWAYS found something to do to make it interesting without ever getting wanky with fills. Although not as easy to hear, the bassist would do some very interesting moves notes wise like not all his ways of moving from one note to the next would be the same. Of course this piano player was great, loud and percussive as fuck but shit he knew how to play a wide variety of things so there was a very nice progression of the piano throughout the track with so many variations of rhythms and chords being hit. The only wrong thing with this is….Caravan? Track 10? Again?

Well sorry this took so long. Between 4chan going down/connection errors and me apparently not being able to reply to myself with my trip on has stopped me from posting Track 6-10 much more quickly.

>>65573901
>The only wrong thing with this is….Caravan? Track 10? Again?
It wouldn't be 4chan without memes right?

>>65561277
Is you picking Caravan as your favorite track every week part of the meme?

>>65562702
Is the piano actually out of tune or is he just playing atonal stuff?

>>65565255
>>65565840
So...wait is blindfold tests a pretty common thing in jazz then?

Nicely done on figuring it out though Clueless.

>>65568718
Spot on about Track 10 about how it feels rough but is actually kinda nice when you listen to it carefully. Damn, those are some hella big names for that though.


>>65571926
I would say definitely try doing 2016 first half, but wait till June is over so June's releases can be included, too.

>>65574191
>Is you picking Caravan as your favorite track every week part of the meme?
I'm not the only one who does it, but it's become just kind of our inside joke. There are so many different versions of it and by now most of us have come to expect Caravan on that last track.

>>65574191
>So...wait is blindfold tests a pretty common thing in jazz then?
It's a traditional feature in Downbeat magazine that's been going on for a long time. JTG has posted some interesting excerpts from old downbeat blindfold tests in the past and that's what gave me the idea for the threads.

>>65574331
Word. I just found the one where most of the tracks for this week's blindfold come from. Holy shit Miles tears every one of them apart.

>>65574481
Yeah I thought it would be a fun thread because I can post Miles's thoughts when I post the track info tomorrow.

>>65573318
Yeah. Lost in the Night. My favorite track from that.

>>65574191
>Is the piano actually out of tune or is he just playing atonal stuff?
The piano is definitely out of tune. An out of tune piano is always a unique sound since every note is created by a mallet hitting 3 strings so when those three strings aren't quite in tune with each other it creates an interesting effect.

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>>65573398
>Post whatever you've been listening to and enjoying in the past week.

>Jazz
pic related. They have four albums but this one from 2014 is probably my favorite. I've been listening to it on repeat in my car for the past few days.

>not jazz
Beethoven's late string quartets. I was pretty familiar with 12 and 14 but I've been listening to 13 and 15 more. I like 15 a lot.

What jazz is best for trying to get a girl into jazz?

I'm a little bit late this week but I made it.

>1
Nothing interesting about this one really. I know it's Louis Armstrong and everything he did is supposed to be amazing but this sounds like he's just hamming it up. I don't see much artistry in this.

>2
This is a little bit better. I can tell that someone put a lot of time into this to compose it and write it out for this band and it's a little bit interesting to listen to. Still I don't think I would choose to listen to it myself.

>3
This doesn't do much for me really. It mostly just sounds like two trumpets trying to outdo each other in bebop style.

>4
This is much better. I know it's Dolphy but what I like about it is how it's unmistakeable who it is. It sounds like more traditional bebop in some ways but he does it completely his own way. The trumpet player isn't as good as Dolphy but the piano solo is pretty good.

>5
I feel pretty much the same about this as I do track 3.

>6
Very boring. It sounded uninspired and sounded like they were just going through the motions.

>7
I like it. It has a unique sound that I haven't heard in very many other jazz albums. It sounds very dramatic and doesn't get old as it goes along.

>8
This was pretty good at the beginning but then it got kind of bland when the saxophone comes in. My favorite part was definitely the beginning and end.

>9
This stayed pretty interesting all the way through. The piano player reminded me a little bit of Thelonious Monk but more crazy. I like what the drummer is doing. I don't really know what it would be called or how to describe it, but I like the unique way he's playing the piano the best.

>10
This was ok. The piano player was doing some cool things with banging out chords but making it make sense with the song. It was interesting to listen to at least.

>>65576029
Check back tomorrow and you can see which of your thoughts Miles Davis agrees with.

>>65575711
Some girls like Chet Baker. Good luck if you're trying to listen to jazz with a girl though. Most likely she will try to talk through most of it.

bumpin

>>65579803
Are you going to post some thoughts this week?

>>65566174
Should be, but if it starts looking like I wont I'll email the reveal info to you.

>Track 1
Sounds like Satch, and the song is Ain't Misbehavin'. It's sort of sad with these old recordings how thin they sound, how the bass is practically inaudible. The charm is immense of course. I liked the piano solo, it sounded harmonically unique. Satch's solo is good as always. His tone is always so captivating. 4 stars
>Track 2
Is this Dizzy Gillespie? I haven't heard many trumpeters hit notes that high, especially from a recording this old. I might be an idiot, but I'm not sure about the tune. Some of the harmonies seem Ellingtonian. I'm not really that versed on big band stuff, I guess. 3 stars
>Track 3
I think this is Woody 'n You. If it's not, the tune is on the tip of my tongue. I would guess this is Dizzy Gillespie based on that but my last guess makes me hesitant. I don't really know who either of the trumpeters are, I suppose. Piano sort of sounds like John Lewis, but I feel as if I'm sorta shooting in the dark. I really would think this is Dizzy Gillespie and maybe Miles (given that they both have harmon mutes)? I really don't know though. 3 stars
>Track 4
Nice change of pace. Reminds me of Lee Konitz, but I'm not sure if that's right. I can't really remember any trumpeters he might've recorded with. I suppose this could be Dolphy and Booker Little, but it doesn't really sound out enough to me. These guys are just sort of pushing out, that's why I thought of Konitz. There a lot of likeable elements to this, most notably the way the tones of the horns blend in the melody. 4 stars
>Track 5
Lots of brush work so far. I would think it could be the theme if not for track 4. The tenor reminds me a bit of Coleman Hawkins. There is some solo trading, which reminds me of track 3. Maybe it's Basie's band? I'm really reaching here though, I don't know there catalog, and that would mean Thad Jones and Lester Young. 3 stars
More to come, still listening.

>>65584210
>Track 6
I feel like I know this tune, but I just can't remember what it is. Tenor reminds me of Dexter Gordon a bunch. I really like the harmonic stuff he's doing in his solo, and the transition to the piano is cool. Lots of quotes going around. Did he just quote Tenor Madness? Maybe this could be Sonny. They both have that real thick tone, but I'm used to Rollins doing more rhythmic stuff. 3.5 stars
>Track 7
What is that crazy sound? Really muted trombone? It's so quiet. Brush work again. Once again I feel like I know this tune. There's some really cool stuff going on here with dynamics and just the arrangement in general. I wanted that to go on way longer. 4 stars
>Track 8
The tune is Dear Old Stockholm. I really can't pick who this is, though the tenor player sounds familiar. I would believe it if someone told me this was Dexter or Sonny, maybe even Stan Getz. I don't really know who the guitar player is. He reminds me of Jim Hall a bit, but I haven't heard Hall do something like this. The arco bass is pretty great. 3.5 stars
>Track 9
That intro was really nice. I like how chaotic this feels. The comping is fantastic. This just works so well, and you wouldn't expect it to. That piano player is killing it. Someone's singing in the background. This reminds me a bit of Cecil Taylor, which is a very good thing. I also don't hear a bass, which actually makes Taylor pretty likely. I could also believe this sax player is Jimmy Lyons. Great stuff. 4.5 stars
>Track 10
This reminds me of the recording from Money Jungle. This is Caravan, and I think it is from that album. Which makes this trio Duke Ellington, Max Roach, and Charles Mingus. This is such a unique recording, and it's great. Has this been chronologically progressing? Like from the 1930s through to the early 60s? That's my guess for the theme, though I could very easily be wrong, since I'm unsure about the time period for track 4. If I'm right and it's Konitz though, my theory checks out. 4 stars

>>65562596
I was thinking he was quoting Makin' Whoopie as well. Those two tunes have pretty similar structures to my ear. I actually just couldn't get Makin Whoopie out of my head while I was listening to this one.

>>65584585
Glad you could join in this week. You've got some pretty good guesses on these.

Clueless actually guessed the theme correctly earlier in the thread if you're curious about what it was.

Anybody else planning on posting thoughts for this week?

If not I'll probably start posting the track info in an hour or so.

>>65584669
Cool choice of a theme. Had to go look up Miles's thoughts once I read that.

Ok. Track info incoming.

As Clueless guessed, this week's tracks were all pulled from three Miles Davis Blindfold Tests with tracks chosen by Leonard Feather.
The three blindfold tests took place in 1955, 1958, and 1964 and can be found here:

http://www.forghieri.net/jazz/blind/Davis_1.html
http://www.forghieri.net/jazz/blind/Davis_2.html
http://www.forghieri.net/jazz/blind/Davis_3.html

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1. Louis Armstrong- Ain’t Misbehavin’
From Great New York Town Hall Concert (1947)

Louis Armstrong- Trumpet, Vocals
Bobby Hackett- Cornett
Jack Teagarden- Trombone
Peanuts Hucko- Clarinet
Dick Cary- Piano
Bob Haggart- Bass
George Wettling- Drums

Miles says:
“I like Louis! Anything he does is all right. I don't know about his statements, though. . . . I could do without them. That's Bobby Hackett, too; I always did like Bobby Hackett - anything by him. Jack Teagarden's on trombone. I'd give it five stars.” (1955)

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2. Duke Ellington- Stormy Weather
From The Complete Capitol Recordings (1953-1955)

Willie Cook- Trumpet
Ray Nance- Trumpet
Cat Anderson- Trumpet
Harry Carney- Baritone Sax
Billy Strayhorn- Arranger
(This is all the info I can find about the band)

Miles says:
Oh, God! You can give that twenty-five stars! I love Duke. That sounded like Billy Strayhorn's arrangement; it's warmer than Duke usually writes. Must be Billy Strayhorn.

That band kills me. I think the musicians should get together one certain day and get down on their knees and thank Duke. Especially Mingus, who always idolized Duke and wanted to play with him; and why he didn't mention it in his blindfold test, I don't know. Yes, everybody should bow to Duke and Strayhorn - and Charlie Parker and Diz. . . . Cat Anderson sounds good on that; Ray ALWAYS sounds good.

The beginning soloist wasn't in Duke's band, the band wouldn't be Duke. . . . They take in all schools of jazz. . . . Give this all the stars you can.” (1955)

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3. Dizzy Gillespie and Roy Eldridge- Algo Bueno (Woody ‘n You)
From Roy and Diz (1954)

Dizzy Gillespie- Trumpet
Roy Eldridge- Trumpet
Oscar Peterson- Piano
Herb Ellis- Guitar
Ray Brown- Bass
Louis Bellson- Drums

Miles says:
“That was Diz and Roy. Sounded like Oscar Peterson on piano. Guitar messed it all up - and the brushes. And one of the four bars that Dizzy played wasn't too good. One of the fours that Roy played wasn't too good. They're two of my favorite trumpet players; I love Roy, and you know I love Diz.

I don't know why they recorded together . . . sounded like something of Norman Granz's . . . one of his get-togethers. It's nice to listen to for a while, but Oscar messes it up with that Nat Cole style; and that kind of rhythm section, with brushes.

It's not that kind of song. You can't play that kind of song like that, with those chords. There's another way to swing on that. It could have been much better. I'd give it three stars on account of Diz's and Roy's horns.” (1955)

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4. Eric Dolphy- Mary Ann
From Far Cry (1962)

Eric Dolphy- Alto Sax
Booker Little- Trumpet
Jaki Byard- Piano
Ron Carter- Bass
Roy Haynes- Drums

Miles says:
“That's got to be Eric Dolphy - nobody else could sound that bad! The next time I see him I'm going to step on his foot. You print that. I think he's ridiculous. He's a sad motherfucker.

L.F.: Down Beat won't print those words. [But I do!]

M.D.: Just put he's a sad shhhhhhhhh, that's all! The composition is sad. The piano player fucks it up, getting in the way so that you can't hear how things are supposed to be accented.

It's a sad record, and it's the record company's fault again. I didn't like the trumpet player's tone, and he don't do nothing. The running is all right if you're going to play that way, like Freddie Hubbard or Lee Morgan; but you've got to inject something, and you've got to have the rhythm section along; you just can't keep on playing all eighth notes.

The piano player's sad. You have to think when you play; you have to help each other - you just can't play for yourself. You've got to play with whomever you're playing. If I'm playing with Basie, I'm going to try to help what he's doing - that particular feeling.” (1964)

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5. Clifford Brown and Art Farmer- Falling in Love with Love
From Memorial (1956)

Clifford Brown- Trumpet
Art Farmer- Trumpet
Arne Domnerus- Alto Sax
Ake Persson- Trombone
Lars Gullin- Baritone Sax
Bengt Hallberg- Piano
Gunnar Johnson- Bass
Jack Noren- Drums

Miles says:
“That was Arthur Farmer and Brownie blowing trumpet. The arrangement was pretty good; I think they played it too fast, though. They missed the content of the tune.

The piano player gasses me - I don't know his name. I've been trying to find out his name. He's from Sweden. . . . I think he made those records with Stan, like "Dear Old Stockholm." I never heard anybody play in a high register like that. So clean, and he swings and plays his own things; but they had the piano up too loud in the ensembles. If there's anything that drags me, it's when they put the piano up too loud in the control room.

Aside from the trumpets, I didn't care for the other soloists at all . . . also I think that Arthur should improve his tone and that Clifford should swing more. Four stars, though.” (1955)

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6. Sonny Rollins and Thelonious Monk- The Way You Look Tonight
From Thelonious Monk and Sonny Rollins (1954)

Sonny Rollins- Tenor Sax
Thelonious Monk- Piano
Tommy Potter- Bass
Art Taylor- Drums

Miles says:
“I know that's Sonny Rollins, but I don't see how a record company can record something like that. You know the way Monk plays - he never gives any support to a rhythm section. When I had him on my date, I had him lay out until the ensemble. I like to hear him play, but I can't stand him in a rhythm section unless it's one of his own songs.

I can't understand a record like this. I don't know who the drummer and bass player are. Is that "The Way You Look Tonight"? That's what I used to play behind Bird, only we used to play it twice as fast, I'll give this 2 on account of Sonny.” (1958)

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7. Rod Levitt- Ah! Spain
From Dynamic Sound Patterns (1963)

Rolf Ericson- Trumpet
Buzz Renn- Soprano Sax, Clarinet
George Marge- Tenor Sax, Clarinet, Piccolo
Rod Levitt- Trombone, Arranger
Gene Allen- Bari Sax, Clarinet
Sy Johnson- Piano
John Beal- Bass
Ronnie Bedford- Drums

Miles says:
“There was a nice idea, but they didn't do nothing with it. The bass player was a motherfucker, though.

What are they trying to do, copy Gil? It doesn't have the Spanish feeling - doesn't move. They move up in triads, but there's all those chords missing - and I never heard any Spanish thing where they had a figure that went

That's some old shit, man. Sounds like Steve Allen's TV band. Give it some stars just for the bass player.” (1964)

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8. John Lewis and Sacha Distel- Dear Old Stockholm
From Afternoon in Paris (1957)

Barney Wilen- Tenor Sax
John Lewis- Piano
Sacha Distel- Guitar
Pierre Michelot- Bass
Connie Kay- Drums

Miles says:
“I like the tune. I'll give it four stars, especially for the rhythm section. I think it was John Lewis and Kenny Clarke, but I'm not sure. Whoever they were they were very sympathetic and very swinging.

I know the two other fellows - I like them very much. I think I can speak better about the guitar than the saxophonist - Sacha Distel is the guitarist, and I believe if he continues to develop, he will be very good. . . . I don't think he has too individual a voice yet. I'll give this four stars for the swinging rhythm section.” (1958)

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9. Cecil Taylor- Lena
From Live at the Café Montmartre (1962)

Jimmy Lyons- Alto Sax
Cecil Taylor- Piano
Sunny Murray- Drums

Miles says:
“Take it off! That's some sad shit, man. In the first place, I hear some Charlie Parker cliches. . . . They don't even fit. Is that what the critics are digging? Them critics better stop having coffee. If there ain't nothing to listen to, they might as well admit it. Just to take something like that and say it's great, because there ain't nothing to listen to, that's like going out and getting a prostitute.

L.F.: This man said he was influenced by Duke Ellington.

M.D.: I don't give a shit! It must be Cecil Taylor. Right? I don't care who he's inspired by. That shit ain't nothing. In the first place he don't have the - you know, the way you touch a piano. He doesn't have the touch that would make the sound of whatever he thinks of come off.

I can tell he's influenced by Duke, but to put the loud pedal on the piano and make a run is very old-fashioned to me. And when the alto player sits up there and plays without no tone. . . . That's the reason I don't buy any records.” (1964)

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10. Duke Ellington- Caravan
From Money Jungle (1963)

Duke Ellington- Piano
Charles Mingus- Bass
Max Roach- Drums

Miles says:
“What am I supposed to say to that? That's ridiculous. You see the way they can fuck up music? It's a mismatch. They don't complement each other. Max and Mingus can play together, by themselves. Mingus is a hell of a bass player, and Max is a hell of a drummer. But Duke can't play with them, and they can't play with Duke.

Now, how are you going to give a thing like that some stars? Record companies should be kicked in the ass. Somebody should take a picket sign and picket the record company.” (1964)

Thanks to everybody who participated this week. It was a good turnout and everybody had interesting things to say. Hope everybody can make it back next week.

>>65584665
I guess the melodies are just very similar and the changes look pretty similar too.

>>65586162
Interesting... I'm not sure if I've ever heard this Swedish recording session before. I agree with Miles that the pianist's playing is interesting.

>>65586292
This one was interesting also. I suppose I should have thought of John Lewis, he seems like an obvious choice now. I don't know much about Barney Wilen or Sacha Distel though.

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>>65586246
Also I think it's too bad that this album isn't better known. Sure it's pretty influenced by Gil Evans but there's some pretty unique stuff on the record too and it's cool how the arrangements get such a big sound from just an octet. If you didn't know better you'd think the group was much bigger.

I remembered finding a 5 star review of this in an old Downbeat and I wondered if it was maybe Leonard Feather who reviewed it. I thought it would be kin of interesting to hear his thoughts so I looked for a while this morning and I finally found it but it's actually John S. Wilson who reviewed it. Still thought I'd share anyway.

>>65585970
>>65586000
Fascinating how these two were probably the easiest to digest with the most easily recognizable big names that Miles gave them a lot of love compared to the rest.

>>65586101
>>65586312
Miles really went back on his word hard with these ones considering what he ends up doing in the late 60s/70s. I like the whole "I need a good saxophonist and none of these guys can into swing" then picks a saxophonist just like them anyway.

>>65586337
This shit is punk as fuck. Screw Davis this is badass.

>>65586366
Link for next week's test when?

>>65573398
Well, from two weeks ago's blindfold, I ended up really falling in love with:

>Wadada Leo Smith - Ten Freedom Summers
That Wadada/Vijay track from this year's release made me finally check this beast out. Took forever to get through, but it's extremely consistent. I would hate to give AOTD so far honors to something that isn't Autechre or Swans, but damn this was fantastic.

>Electric Masada - At The Mountains Of Madness
The only Zorn related thing I had listened to ever was Naked City. I love that. I loved that Zorn track from two weeks ago. And I love this.

>Iiro Rantala - My History Of Jazz
These are just jazz standards for the most of it, but I love Iiro and crew's semi-classical influenced approach to it.


After this week's blindfold, I am interested in going further into free jazz. All I have ever listened to is Ornette Coleman's Free Jazz and Coltrane's Ascension. What else should I check out? I am already tryna cop:

Albert Ayler - Spiritual Unity
Eric Dolphy - Out To Lunch!
Eric Dolphy - Far Cry
Cecil Taylor - Unit Structures

I might have to revisit Brotzmann's Machine Gun since I was on way too many drugs to remember anything from when I heard it.