/BLINDFOLD TEST/
Images are sometimes not shown due to bandwidth/network limitations. Refreshing the page usually helps.
You are currently reading a thread in /mu/ - Music
You are currently reading a thread in /mu/ - Music
Welcome to the weekly /mu/ jazz Blindfold Test thread. Every Friday and Saturday.
If you're new, the point of these threads is to have fun and encourage critical listening, discussion, and general enjoyment of jazz. All critical music listeners are welcome. The more participation we have, the more fun and successful these threads will be. In the interest of keeping the thread alive and bumped, any general jazz discussion is welcomed here as well.
For more information about how the threads work and listening suggestions, please refer to the pastebin: http://pastebin.com/5cjEr3A6
THIS WEEK'S THEME: Impulse! Label
COMPILED BY: Jazzpossu
NEXT WEEK: Wayne Shorter Tunes
COMPILED BY: JTG
If you missed last week's thread, DON'T WORRY. It's not too late. Here are the links for the mystery tracklist. Download the tracks, record your thoughts/guesses/evaluations for each one, and then come back and post them in the thread. Remember, people will be posting guesses and thoughts in this thread so don't read the thread until you have listened to the music and collected your thoughts in order to avoid spoilers. Track info for this week's tracks will be posted on Saturday, so if you see the thread is close to dying before then, give it a bump.
http://www37.zippyshare.com/v/UPoG7Igp/file.html
Posting with names or tripcodes is encouraged as it makes discussion much easier.
Hello. Gonna post my thoughts I guess. I got some of the tracks, and other stuff, I think which is nice.
1. This has a warm feeling to it. I particularly like the piano and what it does about 4 minutes in, but this style doesn't grab me too much.
2. The groove on this is great, although the track itself could use some more varitation.
3. Thought it was gonna be a fusion record, but it gets progressively freer as it goes. I'm not sure who would do something like this, though the track gives me some Coltrane vibes.
4. I don't like how the drums keep the same rhythm throughout the track, it was a bit irritating. Don't really the horn on this either, I'm not sure what to say about this.
5. This is definitely ghosts by Albert Ayler, from love cry. I prefer this version to the one on spiritual unity, shorter and more to the point, also I like having a trumpet to accompany him. On this particular record it's his brother if I recall correctly.
6. Opens up with a sitar, which is something rare. And there's also a harp so it's definitely Alice Coltrane. Haven't heard this particular record though. The sitar is mostly there doing background drones which don't really blend with the music. This sounds a bit too much like new age.
7. The drums/piano duo at the beginning was quite nice. It disappears as the sax is about to join. I enjoy what they do too, but not as much.
8. Lush life from John Coltrane with Johnny Hartman. Great pick, Johnny's voice is amazing and McCoy on the piano accompanies him very well. Incredibly beautiful.
9. It's by Mingus, the piece. The intro made me think it was group dancers but after a few minutes I'm pretty convinced it's adagio ma non troppo. I am not sure if it's himself playing, I know he made a solo piano record for Implulse! but I have not heard it.
10. The trumpet on here has a loud and distinctive sound that I cannot place. Sometimes what he does reminds me of Dizzy, but it's not him. I don't like the sound of the electic piano (I don't like them overall). Bass and drums don't stand out too much, like they're only there too keep the sense of rhythm.
I was expecting some Pharoah but I'm not sure it's here. Maybe I missed him. I think it's also likely for Archie Shepp to be here, and for me to miss him since I'm not familiar with his music.
>>65905706
>>65905737
good job on some solid identifications there
I personally find track 5 is pretty interesting in how it contrasts to the other recordings and variations of the tune by the artist
>>65905817
Yeah, I haven't heard many interpretations of it by him but from the ones I've heard tend to be longer and harder to digest by me.
Also again, really liked the Hartman pick, out of all the stuff Coltrane has on impulse! it's a pretty unique thing to choose, and a great interpretation of the tune.
>>65905971
I'm personally a big fan of the Coltrane & Hartman album and thought this would be a little bit non-obvious way to include Coltrane this week
1. This sounds like Coltrane meets Dave Brubeck. The soprano sax and the way he’s playing it kind of sound like Coltrane and something about this song reminds me of Dave Brubeck’s stuff, especially from Take Five. The piano player sounds more very Monkish during his solo though. Maybe more like Cecil Taylor at times. This one is pretty good and I want to find out if it’s Coltrane. 4 stars.
2. It’s a cool piano trio. I’m pretty sure this is McCoy Tyner. He has a distinctive style that I think I’m getting pretty good at recognizing. This was pretty good for a piano trio. I like the way he just does the pounding rhythms out while also switching and playing melodically too. Whoever this drummer is is pretty good too. It could be Elvin Jones. 3.5 stars.
3. This is awesome. I didn’t really know there was any stuff like this on Impulse. It feels like what I always wanted Weather Report to be. I like the sax playing how he can play pretty normal but also go crazy at times. In that way it reminds me of Coltrane but I’m pretty sure Coltrane never did anything like this. I also love the fusionish vibe from the electric piano but it never really goes into a rock beat. It’s long but there’s just so much energy and so much going on that it’s great. 4 stars.
>>65906056
4. This makes me think of Mingus for some reason but I doubt he ever recorded anything with guitar like this. I liked pretty much everything except the guitarist. It seemed pretty cheesy to me and it sounded like a rock guitarist trying to play jazz. The sax player was good though. It might be Cannonball Adderley. I think this would have been better with a different guitar player 2.5 stars.
5. This is Ghosts by Albert Ayler but I haven’t heard this version before. I think I prefer the original but a lot of times I prefer what I hear first so I will have to listen to this one more. The drumming is pretty crazy and hard to follow. 3.5 stars.
6. I know this one too. It’s Journey in Satchidananda by Alice Coltrane. I think this track is great. Sometimes the use of unusual instruments in jazz can sound gimmicky but this song just builds up this dreamy hypnotic atmosphere that’s kind of unusual in jazz. I wish more people would use the harp in jazz for this kind of thing. It adds a really cool texture to the music. 4 stars.
7. This is like two duets in one. First a piano and drums duet, then a piano and sax duet. The piano player played some weird stuff that I kind of liked. I don’t know who that would be. Then the sax player came off sounding like Stan Getz with a very mellow, gentle tone. I guess the drummer might be the leader here. Max Roach? 2.5 stars.
>>65906080
8. Here’s Coltrane’s version of Lush Life with Johnny Hartman. To be honest this is the only Johnny Hartman I’ve heard but I love his voice here. Anybody want to recommend me some more albums by him? Coltrane’s group all sounds great here too of course. 4.5 stars.
9. A long solo piano piece. This isn’t usually my kind of thing but it was pretty enjoyable all the way through. There was a part that he came back to a few times that sounded more classical in a way that I liked. Actually through most of it it sounded like a pretty good mix of jazz and classical. 4 stars.
10. Some soul jazz with organ and I think a muted trumpet. It’s pretty nice but this makes me think more of Blue Note or Prestige with all the organ players who recorded for them. I don’t really know who the major organ players on Impulse were. It seems pretty standard for the 60’s soul jazz. 3.5 stars.
It was fun to recognize a few of these this week. Nice selections Jazzpossu.
>>65905737
It looks like we recognized a lot of the same ones.
>>65906180
Hartman was also my favorite I guess, though it's the one I've heard the most. I also liked track 9 quite a lot and I'm looking forward to knowing from where it is.
I though of McCoy a few times with this playlist but overall wasn't sure where to place him. Doesn't help that I'm not too familiar with other pianists of Impulse! But it wouldn't surprise me if he was in various tracks of this.
>>65906056
some solid ID's here too.
track 3: there really aren't many albums with any fusion flavor at all in the Impulse! catalogue.
I personally think this artist's Impulse! recordings would deserve a little more recognition than they do.
track 7: yes, it is two duets in one, but in a certain sense isn't.
It is indeed the drummer's date, not Max though.
track 8: not really familiar with his albums outside of his Impulse! recordings, but both The Voice That Is! and I Just Dropped by to Say Hello are worth checking out if you like the Coltrane/Hartman album
>>65906283
>The Voice That Is! and I Just Dropped by to Say Hello are worth checking out
Thanks. Going to check these out probably.
>>65906283
>yes, it is two duets in one, but in a certain sense isn't.
I thought about the pianist and the saxophonist being the same person, hence why they never sound at once, but I can't think of anyone who plays both of those. I know McCoy plays the flute too but that's something else.
What have you guys been checking out this week? Jazz or non-jazz. I always think it's interesting to see what non-jazz jazz fans are into.
I've been listening to more of Lee Konitz after liking his track on last week's playlist.
I haven't listened to any jazz before, believe it or not. Would this be too much to begin with?
>>65906477
No. It's a pretty good mix of different stuff.
You should definitely give the tracks a listen and write down whatever you think about them. It'd be pretty interesting to get the perspective of someone who's never heard ANY jazz before.
>>65906462
I was sorting my vinyl collection today, so I was spinning some albums I had forgotten I owned or hadn't listened to in a long time.
Like this local instrumental prog gem for example.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i25RR2vCWIA
I got a chance to listen to these early this week so I wrote a lot about some of them.
>Track 1
This is an Oliver Nelson piece from his album called Sound Pieces. I’ve heard it before and it’s very good. I thought of it right away when I heard the soprano sax. There weren’t really very many people playing soprano then. I really like the structure of this piece, the way the chords hold out for 4 or 8 bars or whatever and this group knows how to play in that style very well. I like the start of the piano solo. I don’t remember who plays piano this album. It sounds a little bit like Bley but I think I would remember if it was him. There’s even some Cecil Taylor vibes happening toward the end there. I really like this piece. It’s very “modern” sounding, it wouldn’t sound out of place on a more straight-ahead record today and I’d like to hear somebody do it.
>Track 2
I think it’s McCoy. It’s a little bit slow to get started but then it develops nicely. It’s nice how he alternates between those really fast runs and then just doing simple block chord rhythms and he keeps coming back to those. It really gives you something to latch onto as a listener and makes a nice dynamic contrast. Listening to all that space the pianist is leaving though I keep thinking about Ahmad Jamal. Tyler doesn’t repeat himself like this, It has to be Ahmad Jamal. I know his album The Awakening was on Impulse, I don’t know if he recorded any others. The bass and drums are very nice too. They’re walking the really fine line between playing too little and too much. I like this one.
>>65906629
>Track 3
Yeahhhh. That 70’s rhodes sound always gives me a boner. This sax player reminds me of Joe Henderson a little bit with the way he does his overblowing. I’ve never heard him do anything this free though. And I’m not sure he really recorded anything on Impulse anyway. And the bass player reminds me of Dave Holland with the kind of stuff he was doing in the early 70’s. The keys player sounds like he’s maybe out of his element. I was thinking it was maybe Chick Corea (did he ever record on Impulse?) but on second thought it sounds like somebody who listened to a little of what Chick or Herbie were doing at the time and thought “Yeah I can do that” but missed the subtlety that makes their playing enjoyable to listen to. Well this was cool for a little bit but it went on way too long without any real change from the ensemble. Not really a lot of noteworthy interplay either. With this kind of free jazz, taste is very important. It makes a strong statement but sometimes too strong. Two minutes of this would have been cool, but 9 minutes of it with no real shape just isn’t worth listening to.
I don’t really have any idea of who these players are. Some guesses for sax: somebody pretty influenced by Coltrane. Joe Farell, Sam Rivers?? Not Archie Sheep surely… Piano: Kenny Barron, Larry Willis?
>>65906641
>Track 4
This is sounding familiar to me. Especially that sax tone. It’s kind of funny how this tune is almost like one of those soul jazz gospel hard bop tunes but made a little bit off-sounding with the guitar doubling the melody and with the bass holding on that pedal. I’ll betcha this is Gabor Szabo on guitar. I really haven’t listened to him much but I’d associate him with Impulse and this kind of playing. I’ve read quite a bit about him though in mid-60’s Downbeats. It seems he was kind of a controversial character. There are even some Chuck Berry licks in there. Some of the records Chico Hamilton did with Szabo sound a bit like this but I’m don’t know if I’ve heard any of Szabo’s impulse recordings. Yeah and there’s the saxophonist starting off with a real bluesy lick like a soul jazz tune but then he’s also got some good bebop licks and then some more out there stuff. Who was playing sax with Chico then? Charles Lloyd is who I think of but I don’t know if I’ve heard him play alto… Well that bass solo started out terribly and I was ready to rip it to shreds but actually by the end it won me over with some cool rhythmic stuff. Haha and maybe at one point he’s trying to copy one of the “Chuck Berry licks” that the guitar player was doing. Well this one was pretty enjoyable overall. It’s like a parody of 60’s soul jazz.
>Track 5
Archie Shepp? No it’s Albert Ayler. I think this is Ghosts. Now this kind of “free jazz” I don’t really care too much for either. To me this would be very much improved by just leaving out the rhythm section altogether and just making it a horn duet. That would be a fine recording, but as it is right now I can hear almost no relation between what the rhythm section is doing and what the horns are doing, and if there’s no relation there then what’s the point of having them play at all?
>>65906670
>Track 6
I don’t think I’ve ever heard a single track where a group playing a “western style” (rock, jazz, pop, etc.) that uses sitar that I’ve really liked. Maybe “Paint It Black” by the Rolling Stones. But for the most part sitar in these styles just never seems to serve a purpose other than just to let everybody know that the music is “Eastern influenced.” The harp makes it pretty obvious that it’s Alice Coltrane. Journey in Satchidawhatever I think. It’s been a while since I listened to that one. To me this piece is a real shame. The groove they set up is pretty cool and actually I take back what I said earlier about sitar, the drone really works here, with that groovy baseline and then the atmosphere of the harp and the jingle bells is all pretty nice but the sax solo was just a lot of nothing and then it’s kind of more nothing when the harp takes over as the “lead” instrument. I think this could be really great to establish that groove and atmosphere and then to have a really great saxophonist take a solo and let the musicians follow wherever he goes, while still mostly maintaining that groove. I think the harp would work really well for that but it just doesn’t work as a lead instrument in this way. It’s wasted potential. On the plus side, I think this would make a great sample. Who’s sampled it? FlyLo?
>Track 7
Well I guess I would expect this to be a drummer’s album since he’s accompanying the soloists. Maybe I’m wrong about track 4 and this one is Chico Hamilton. The heavy use of toms makes me think of him. It could be Elvin or Max maybe? The tenor player sounds pretty old school, I’m not sure who it is. I’m not really sure what to make of this track. It was kind of strange all around.
>>65906694
>Track 8
Lush Life. What a beautiful tune. Unbelievable that Billy Strayhorn was only 16 when he wrote this. What stands out the most to me about this track is McCoy Tyner’s playing I think. It’s really really great accompaniment. I like the way the mood and feel changes for Coltrane’s solo. It’s such a strange combination to think of for Hartman to record with Coltrane’s group and I always think it’s odd how well it works.
>Track 9
Well I have no idea who this is but it’s very nice. I might have to listen to this more in order to try to figure out what bits of it were improvised and if any of it was composed. At times it sounded a bit like Keith Jarrett but to my knowledge he never recorded on impulse other than with his American quartet. So who else would record a solo piano piece like that for Impulse? At some points it sounds a bit like Sun Ra but there are other points that make me sure it’s not him. Haha and that ending… it kind of ends with a question mark. Anyway, it’s a brilliant solo piano piece. Especially nice if it was all improvised. It never stayed in one place too long but felt thematic it all sort of tied together nicely. This is the way I aspire to improvise on piano.
>Track 10
Probably Shirley Scott? Well there’s nothing really that notable about this except this trumpet player. Clark Terry maybe? The organist played one nice rhythmic lick that caught my attention but then a bit later she(?) played almost the exact same lick again…Goddamn they swing hard during that trumpet solo though. I could have used a lot more of his playing and a lot less of everything else. He’s playing nothing but tired blues licks but it just goes to show that if you play those licks with the right feeling it makes for music that people will enjoy listening to.
>>65906629
Nicely done on both!
I really like track 1 myself. I was only familiar with Nelson's large ensemble work when I first heard this track and it kind of blew me away.
>>65906670
Track 4: I'm glad at least someone fell into the trap - it's not Szabo on guitar, but boy does it sound like it is.
>>65906629
>There weren’t really very many people playing soprano then.
I guess that's why I assumed it was Coltrane.
>It has to be Ahmad Jamal.
And I was all proud to think I recognized McCoy Tyner... At least you thought it was Tyner at first too.
>>65906404
>I thought about the pianist and the saxophonist being the same person
Ah that's an interesting thought...
I know Keith Jarrett plays both but neither the piano nor the sax sound like him there. There's a polish jazz guy Włodzimierz Nahorny who does both but I can't imagine this is him. Plus I think he plays alto.
>>65906706
Track 9: I think one of the most intriguing things about this track is indeed trying to figure out what was improvised and what was composed
>>65905737
>It's by Mingus, the piece.
Ohhh fuck. It's the Mingus piano album. I should have known. I guess I never realized that was on Impulse.
>>65906762
>>65906820
>And I was all proud to think I recognized McCoy Tyner... At least you thought it was Tyner at first too.
Oh well I guess it is Ahmad Jamal then.
Then what's really interesting about this track is the way Jamal managed to take really obvious influence from 60's pianists, most notably Tyner, and adopt a lot of the things they were doing, while still keeping the things that make his playing unique and recognizable- the space and the repetition of ideas.
Although something else I've never thought about before... I wonder to what extent Tyner was influenced by Jamal. Tyner typically does a lot of very fast pentatonic runs and flourishes but Ahmad Jamal was doing that kind of thing with his right hand way back into the early 50's.
>>65906462
Relistened to the with the Miles Davis quintet records myself, since last week's playlist. Other than that, I get the feeling I should dig more into live recordings.
>>65906863
Are there any records with him on the sax? I'm curious what he sounds like.
>>65906462
>jazz
pic related. I've only heard a few of Pat Martino's records so I've been checking them out more. This one is a really good duet record with Gil Goldstein who is an underrated pianist and an amazing arranger.
>non-jazz
I've been cycling through the King Crimson Great Deceiver live box set in my car lately
>>65907042
>Are there any records with him on the sax?
I know there are a couple records he did where he plays every instrument and plays soprano sax. One is called Restoration Ruin, I think there were others but I don't remember what they're called. They're not really jazz though... I was thinking I had heard him playing sax in more of a jazz context but I don't know what that was.
>>65907042
here's some live soprano sax from Jarrett in a trio context with Haden and Motian.
https://youtu.be/rRV3HkXGsVo?t=1h3m45s
>>65907225
Yeah that's more what I was thinking of.
>>65907225
I had no idea he played sax.
So on that track the piano and sax are actually two different players or are they the same?
>>65907337
since I already hinted at it, I might as well confirm that it's the same person playing piano and sax on track 7
>>65907186
Might check out restoration ruin, it got me interested, although what I've read about it doesn't seem too nice.
>>65907225
Pretty cool too.
So it turns out I'm going to be traveling next week (first time in LA!) and I don't think I'll be able to be around much to comment on people's thoughts or post track info if we do my theme next week so I'd prefer it if we do my Shorter theme in two weeks.
>>65906800
>it's not Szabo on guitar, but boy does it sound like it is.
It must be Larry Coryell then? Somebody else I've read a lot about in Downbeat but not really listened to that much.
>>65907434
Ok we'll figure something else out for next week.
>>65907390
Do you have any interest in putting together a playlist sometime? It doesn't have to be next week.
>>65907523
it is indeed Coryell in his first noteworthy recording appearance
I was going to see him live next month at a festival, but he canceled due to health reasons and is replaced by Marc Ribot & The Young Philadelphians (Jamaaladen Tacuma, Calvin Weston, Mary Halvorson) which suits me just fine
>>65907656
I ended up creating a spiritual jazz list this week originally inspired by all the Impulse! listening, so we can run that if no one else has anything
>>65907656
Yeah, it'd be cool. I'll have to think of a theme and all, but I'll tell you when I have something.
>>65907758
Sounds very good, I'm down for it.
>>65907758
Yeah we can do that if nobody else has anything.
>>65907793
You can also do a Wildcard theme if you want which is no theme, just whatever you want. The themed playlists are more fun but it's been a while since we did a wildcard one.
>>65907384
So it's an album led by a drummer where he does a duet with a saxophone player who also plays piano? Man I just scrolled through the impulse catalog on wikipedia and I'm completely stumped on that one.
Bump.
Favorite Impulse! release?
>>65909139
Probably either that or A Love Supreme
>>65909139
yup. we have the obvious ones covered
>>65909139
so has anyone here ever heard the couple of actual folk albums that Impulse! put out that Mingus co-opted the "The new wave of folk is on Impulse!" tagline from for TBSATSL?
Michael Brown's Alarums and Excursions and Oscar Brand's Morality
I don't suppose they are noteworthy albums, but it's kind of interesting that Impulse! put out some folk too - aside from Mingus' "ethnic folk-dance music".
>>65909139
>>65909361
yeah these two are pretty hard to beat but for a less obvious one Archie Shepp's Four for Trane is a personal favorite. It's been on some blindfold playlists before.
>>65909609
Never heard any of them. I was pretty surprised to see that one of Genesis's albums was released through Impulse though when I was browsing through their discography today.
what are some good benny carter compilations please?
>>65909139
artistry of freddie hubbard.
>>65909815
I don't have it but the Quadromania one looks pretty good
>>65909640
Posting some other less obvious pick.
>>65909815
I don't know any. Though I like this album by him (also on impulse), I haven't heard anything else. Do you recommend anything?
>>65909864
I'll look into it! Didn't know he recorded for them.
bump with Gabor Szabo's blindfold test since there was some discussion of him earlier
maybe later I'll see if I can find any of the articles about him or Larry Coryell I've read
>1
Not bad but not really that great either. It sounds like they can't really make up their minds how free they want the piece to be. It would have been better if they had just gone more crazy with it.
>2
Pretty boring. It sounds like those modern piano trios that cover pop songs. Pretty basic really.
>3
This isn't really too good either. It sounds like they expect people to be impressed just because they're playing free style fusion and didn't put any thought or effort into it other than that.
>4
This one was better because it kept surprising me. I kept expecting it to get boring but then it kept changing. Still not something I would choose to listen to a lot of but its the most memorable so far.
>5
This one was pretty good too but I think they could have done more with it. But it was short so it was pretty much ok that they only really went in one direction.
>6
This is the stuff. It's Alice Coltrane's group and its automatically better than anything else so far this week just because the different kinds of instruments make for more interesting textures. Then there's the fact that they don't feel the need to do normal solos just because it's jazz.
>7
Pretty boring. I had hopes that they would go crazy somewhere in there but they just left it boring really.
>8
I don't really like this kind of singing. It sounds so commercial and poppy.
>9
This wasn't bad considering the limitations of playing solo piano. Some of the parts were actually pretty exciting even though he never went crazy.
>10
Pretty good for organ jazz. I like the effect of whatever the brass instrument is doing. I know I've heard things like that before but it's still more memorable to me than trying to play a fast bebop solo or something.
>Track 1
Smooth soprano sound. Piano reminds me of McCoy Tyner because of the fourth voicings and block chords, so I'd say it's him. I feel like I recognize the tune, and even want to say it's a Tyner tune, but I can't name it. Drummer could be Elvin Jones I guess, but he's rushing a little at some points here. That polyrhythmic stuff with the ride and the snare always reminds me of Jones, especially in 3/4. I can't really hear the bass player, but overall this is very reminiscent of Coltrane's quartet, though I don't think that's Coltrane on soprano. The sort of jittery nature in the piano solo doesn't really call Tyner to mind typically, if it is him it seems a bit unusual to me aside from the inclusion of the voicings. Some nice dissonance in this piano solo. 3.5 stars
>Track 2
This sort of groove quality typically brings to mind Horace Silver, though I don't know of any of his stuff being on Impulse. Bass player's tone reminds me of Eddie Gomez, though I don't think this is him. I would guess this is from the 70s based on the production. Could this maybe be an Ahmad Jamal recording I don't know of? Before I get to the point of just throwing out random names, I'll talk about the track itself more. The drummer is very consistent which allows the piano player to keep that groove going. I like the rhythmic stuff happening with the block chord, and the rhythm doesn't feel overly repetitive. The ending is also good. 3.5 stars
>>65915155
>Track 3
Not really a fan of that thin electric bass tone. I guess I associate it with a sort of cheesiness. I think I would like this more if it was just double bass and acoustic piano. The use of electric instruments in a typical jazz setting just doesn't click with me; it sounds somehow dishonest. I like a lot of what the drummer is doing. He has interesting variation in use of tone and is able to do a lot while keeping the groove going against the electric piano. The trills in the head are nice but I'm not entirely interested in what the sax player is doing. It doesn't really fit in sonically with the rest of the textures in the track, though a lot of the note choices are fine. I'm guessing this is Pharoah Sanders on sax. Don't know about the other players. The piano solo transitioned sort of awkwardly into block chords and awkwardly back out during that rhythmic bit. Would've preferred a lengthier piano solo with more development and less sax, which in his solo didn't really change dynamically or rhythmically or even really texturally. Great drumming though. 2.5 stars
>Track 4
I really don't like it when guitars and saxes double melodies. They don't blend well and it just sounds bad. This sounds like surf rock mixed with a gypsy beat, which is certainly interesting. I'm digging the guitar's descending lines. The bass player's doing some cool stuff in terms of rhymthic interaction; his playing actually reminds me of Indian classical music with some of the repeating figures. I was thinking this could be Archie Shepp on sax, but I'm not sure. I've heard him do some rock-esque stuff, but not this far into it. Also I don't recall him playing with a guitar player. 2.5 stars
>>65915176
>Track 5
This is Albert Ayler, the song is Ghosts. I think this must be a live date, because I don't recall a studio date with a trumpet. I've only really listened to My Name is Albert Ayler, Spiritual Unity, and Spirits Rejoice. I would believe that was Gary Peacock on bass, but I don't know. That could also be Donald Ayler on trumpet. The interaction doesn't feel as strong here as on the version on Spiritual Unity. 3.5 stars
>Track 6
I assume this is Alice Coltrane, because harp and Impulse. I would guess based on that that the sax is Pharoah Sanders. Drums would be Rashied Ali I think. Don't know about bass players, because I don't think Jimmy Garrison recorded with her, at least that I know of. It somewhat obviously reminds me of Indian music. I've heard Journey in Satchinada, but it was a while ago and I couldn't tell you if this is from it. I thought the sax solo was fine, but I really like the harp solo. 4 stars
Still listening
>>65915292
>Track 7
Drums and piano duet? Oh nevermind there's a sax. Doesn't seem to be a bass though, which is unique. I've only ever heard Cecil Taylor do it. The piano also sits out for the sax solo. Strange how this transitions to a more traditional beat. I couldn't tell you who this sax is, though they seem sort of nondescript. 2 stars
>Track 8
Don't know the singer, though I feel I should. His phrasing sort of reminds me of Mr. Rogers, oddly enough. Sounds a bit like Tony Bennett, though that could be terribly erroneous. Piano player does remind me of Bill Evans in a lot of ways. I'm also stupid for not recognizing the tune until he said "Lush Life". Oh this is from that Johnny Hartman and Coltrane record, isn't it? I don't think I've ever listened to the whole thing. Never got around to it. But that means it's Hartman on vocals, Coltrane on tenor, McCoy Tyner on piano, Jimmy Garrison on bass, and Elvin Jones on drums. 3 stars
>>65915401
>Track 9
I like that repeated note in the piano. They always sound cool to me. This reminds me of that Mingus tune with the rhythm in the chords. Meditations on Integration I think. He's also just called it Meditations or Meditations on a Pair of Wire Cutters. I'm used to hearing the sextet play it. I would guess this is from that Mingus Plays Piano record then, but I'm not sure if that is on Impulse. Another I heard a long time ago. If it is, damn Mingus was a proficient piano player, or at least more than I'd normally give him credit for. Several parts actually remind me of Monk's playing, with the augmented intervals he's using. Did it just switch to a different tune at the end there? Maybe my entire guess was off and it wasn't even that tune. Anyway, I really enjoyed this. 4.5 stars
>Track 10
Hmm trombone players... Curtis Fuller? J.J. Johnson? Actually that's probably a trumpet. Or a flugel? I don't know. This guy's tone is really confusing me, but I've never heard a trombone hit notes that high. Not a huge fan of the organ sound. There seems to be some distortion at the edge of the organ sound, especially in the high range. Now I think it's a trombone again. Goddammit it must be one good trombone player if so, because that range is ridiculous. The organ comping behind that second trombone bit was good. I'm beginning to question whether there were two horns. Anyway, what I think was a trombone was a highlight, but the rest didn't really stand out to me. 2.5 stars
>>65909683
Yeah I saw the same thing. Pretty interesting stuff, huh? I also found out Impulse released some Tom Scott records, which would make for good Blindfold material I think.
>>65915652
>Actually that's probably a trumpet. Or a flugel? I don't know.
I was hearing it as trumpet but I agree that the tone was kind of weird so maybe flugelhorn is right.
>>65915155
>This sort of groove quality typically brings to mind Horace Silver
I wouldn't have associated Silver with a track like this but I haven't heard any of his stuff into the late 60's or 70's is some of it like this?
>>65916225
I don't know, I guess I'm not that knowledgeable on his stuff. This sort of off-Latin groove reminds of stuff like Song for My Father.
>>65916543
Would you be interested in putting together another playlist sometime?
>>65917074
Yeah sure. I guess I should start thinking about themes
>>65917211
Cool. You can always do a wildcard theme too
>>65915176
>I really don't like it when guitars and saxes double melodies
Really? I think there are some modern groups that do it really well. Probably my favorite is the combination of Will Vinson and Jonathan Kreisberg.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FjJf07SAdzE
hello
anybody have favorite piano trio albums they want to share?
>>65922326
Bill Evans, Sonny Clark, McCoy Tyner
>>65922326
Oscar Peterson
>>65922326
sure, my favourite are Thelonious Monk Trio
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=itWale01TQI
and The Amazing Bud Powell Vol. 1
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PVNtHCnPUZw
morning bump
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M9C20Bz8wEk
>>65922326
Ahmad Jamal- But Not For Me
Clare Fischer- Surging Ahead
Don Friedman- Circle Waltz
Bill Evans- California Here I Come
Chick Corea- Now He Sings, Now He Sobs
Andy Laverne- Another World
Geri Allen, Charlie Haden, Paul Motian- Etudes
Fred Hersch- Alive at the Vanguard
Dave Kikoski- Consequences
There are some you might not have heard of before
bump
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XDQyWlzDZu4
bump
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=blmrfwPzy_g
hourly bump
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MUJ8P-aeZhE
1. No long intros - straight to business. This group is a machine - they know what they're trying to do. I love these guys. The pianist and bassist and drummer are killing it, and the sax player's got a great tone. The song just floats - I love it.
2. I like it - who's the pianist? I think I've heard it before, but I feel like the track goes on a tad too long though.
3. Not sure I like this one. There's a bit too much repetition of fairly harsh passages.
4. Ignoring the background percussion rhythm (which is nice - sounds like a tambourine left on a washing machine), I get the sense that the main sax melody could've been transposed to a TV show intro - really not adventurous. He busts loose a bit later though, and I like that part. The guitar player is doing some interesting bends - so is the bassist. Kinda pop, all said
5. This is Ghosts - the Albert Ayler composition. This has to be him, right? Probably his brother Donald on the other sax, Peacock and Murray and bass/drums. (May be blanking on the trumpet player - Don Cherry?) This is the least challenging version of the piece I've heard yet. It's great to have around, for sure - I love Spiritual Unity, but it's not something I can play every week even. This I heartily enjoyed.
6. A sitar player? That narrows it down. Ravi Shankar? Nikhil Banerjee? Harp comes in and I know it's gotta be Alice Coltrane. Is that Pharaoh Sanders on sax? I'm struck by how much the harp can replace the piano, but then compare the designs of the two instruments and it's like "of course!"
7. I thought the intro was way too long on this one. Drummer's playing tympani, right? Not usually a step forward (it sounds almost inherently goofy to me), but the sax playing is nice. I'm not sure the piece went anywhere, though.
8. He's not Sinatra, so I have no idea.
9. Solo pianist, nice subdued piece. No idea, but I enjoyed this.
10. It's usually hard to tell who's playing organ, so I'll just guess Jimmy Smith. No clue on the trumpet player.
bumpin' with the tidbit that the drone-y instrument in Track 6 is not a sitar, but a tambura or tanpura that unlike a sitar doesn't have frets so it can't be used to play melodies
1. very melodic but it gets boring as there's no personality. Sounds like Brubeck/Desmond at times.
2. The groove is excellent but I don't like the piano. I like the drummer more.
3. The saxophone seems influenced by Coltrane. How would you call this anyway? I feel like it's between fusion and prog
4. This sounds from the 70's or even way before. I like it.
5. I don't have a clue about this tune but I like the joyous feel
6. This seems like a Coltrane rip off, it clearly lacks of depth for me
7. Now this has personality. Great dialogue
8. The singer doesn't say much to me. Not bad nor good. Nice solo
9. I like this. It always keep the tension - and the music keeps changing till the end.
10. This is a blues right? 70s, right? I liked the keyboard player the most
>>65927553
Thanks for participating
6 is certainly closely related to John Coltrane - I think it's kind of interesting how in the late 60's and 70's there was a lot of this kind of movement towards more repetitive, hypnotic structures and a certain meditative simplicity in music whether it was modal/spiritual jazz like here or the emergence of kraut rock or the early minimalism of composers like Steve Reich or Terry Riley
10 is certainly in a blues form - the horn playing is the highlight here for me personally, but I love listening to nice swingin' soul-jazz hammond, too
a couple more bumps before reveals begin
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I777BcgQL9o
>>65929198
Hey jtg, post some more blindfold tests.
last bump before the reveal - still time to enter if you start right now
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FUK-EMXgC-w <- great Dolphy-solo here
>>65929745
what kind of stuff are you most interested in?
>>65929898
do you have any from the mid-70's?
I'd be interested to see what kind of stuff they played in the tests in that time period
>>65929967
Nope, most of my collection comes from the 50's and 60's. I've got the whole year of 1970 and one random issue from '83 but no other ones from the 70's.
>>65927553
Thanks for joining in this week. Hope you enjoyed it.
Anybody have any playlists put together or theme ideas they think they could finish up in the next few days?
Otherwise we'll go with Jazzpossu's Spiritual jazz theme for next week.
>>65918524
I mean I enjoyed that, but I would've preferred it with the guitar comping or doing a harmony rather than playing with the sax. That was a really solid track though, I'll have to check that record out.
>>65926585
>He's not Sinatra, so I have no idea.
I always feel that way with the male singers.
>>65930359
I can probably put a wildcard together fairly quickly if need be.
>>65930418
Let's go with that then. I'd prefer to do that rather than do Jazzpossu's themes two weeks in a row.
You can email it to me any time in the next few days.
>>65930418
>>65930462
I also prefer to get to do some listening next week
>>65930088
Post some 60s ones.
unless there are objections, I'll start the reveals for this week in 15 minutes
>>65930635
>>65930752
>>65930805
some of these get harder to read but... best I could do
>>65930817
>>65930835
I've got more I can post in a little bit if you want but I'll give it a rest for now so Jazzpossu can post the reveals
Reveal time:
Track 1:
Oliver Nelson - Patterns
from Sound Pieces (1966)
Oliver Nelson - soprano saxophone
Steve Kuhn - piano
Ron Carter – bass
Grady Tate – drums
In the context of Impulse! Records, Oliver Nelson was the main medium-to-large ensemble composer/conductor/arranger with the B-side of the Sound Pieces album being his only quartet recordings for the label.
I think this is a really wonderful composition, very spacious and modern sounding in a very timeless way.
Track 2:
Ahmad Jamal Trio - Patterns
from The Awakening (1970)
Ahmad Jamal - piano
Jamil Nasser - bass
Frank Gant - drums
Ahmad Jamal did some albums for Impulse! in the 70's after Ed Michel replaced Bob Thiele as the house producer. This fairly traditional trio album The Awakening from 1970 is probably the best known of these - this is one of two Jamal originals on the album that I mostly chose since it's named Patterns like Track 1.
This track has a very nice groove to it - I like how the bass and drums keep things rolling along.
Track 3:
John Klemmer - Rapture of the Deep
from Intensity (1973)
John Klemmer - tenor saxophone
Tom Canning - electric piano
Dave Parlato - bass
Bart Hall - drums
Victor Feldman - percussion
From tunes titled Patterns to one with a very memorable pattern in the bridge.
John Coltrane was the most influential musician for Impulse! and after him many strong sax players were featured on the label. One of the later, more neglected names was John Klemmer who did a fair amount of flirting with electric sounds using echoplex with his sax and playing with an electric piano sounding pretty different from the rest of Impulse!s sax crew.
In the liner notes he writes about this track: "Rapture of the Deep is a very high energy piece of music. As the piece builds, you can feel the intensity and the pressure of being thousands of feet below the ocean. Dark, exotic, curious and frightening. As we performed this piece, it seemed that the music we were creating overpowered us. The music seemed to take on its own existence. A short time after we began the piece, we all suddenly seemed to be soaring on top of the electricity and energy force we were creating. The composition is basically modal in approach, except for the bridge section. The bridge section is comprised of 8 bars of chord changes. 4 changes to a bar. 32 different chord changes in all. They are set up in patterns of whole steps, half-steps and major and minor thirds. It is a challenge to improvise over these 32 different chord changes at a fast tempo. As the chords are being sounded at such a fast pace, they lose their individual identities and become one cluster of sound. This cluster of sound allows a vast choice of notes to play."
Klemmer is not really a great sax player and his work outside of Impulse! is pretty mediocre schlock from all I've heard but for anyone looking for interesting lesser known Impulse! albums or fusion-y stuff, I think they are worth checking out.
Track 4:
Chico Hamilton - The Dealer
from The Dealer (1966)
Chico Hamilton - drums, percussion
Arnie Lawrence - alto saxophone
Larry Coryell - guitar
Richard Davis - bass
Drummer Chico Hamilton's quartet getting a little commercial here. This title track was also released as a 7 inch single. I like how this track kind of tries to be a commercial soul-jazz/boogaloo style track, but the musicians can't help giving it these little rough edges from the mysterious opening to Hamilton's annoyingly relentless tambourine-driven beat to Richard Davis' bass solo which I really like myself.
This was the first major recording credit of guitarist Larry Coryell who was introduced to Hamilton by Gabor Szabo who was Impulse!'s most notable guitarist and had played in Hamilton's band before.
I kind of missed on an opportunity to have a more prominent "people who are not known for playing piano playing piano"-subtheme with this album (there are a couple of tracks like that later on) - the track For Mods Only (that was also the flipside to The Dealer -single) features Archie Shepp on piano:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ToTy1ePIkZo
Track 5:
Albert Ayler - Ghosts
from Love Cry (1968)
Albert Ayler - tenor saxophone
Donald Ayler - trumpet
Alan Silva - bass
Milford Graves - drums
Albert Ayler's music took a step to the more accessible direction when he came to Impulse! This version of Ghosts, a tune that Ayler recorded several times - including two versions on the classic Spiritual Unity album - demonstrates that well being a very joyous and short take that I find a blast to listen to.
Milford Graves' frenetic drumming comes down like a torrent of rain, I think it's a nice contrast to the melody-driven horns.
Love Cry was the first Ayler album that hooked me, so I think it's a decent starting point to get to his music although it has some issues - many tracks feature a harpsichord that's just downright odd at times.
Track 6:
Alice Coltrane - Journey in Satchidananda
from Journey in Satchidananda (1971)
Alice Coltrane - harp
Pharoah Sanders - soprano saxophone
Tulsi - tambura
Cecil McBee - bass
Majid Shabazz - bells, tambourine
Rashied Ali - drums
After John Coltrane's death the spiritual jazz music that was heavily inspired by A Love Supreme and other albums from that era increasingly embraced a very meditative approach to modal jazz trading harmonic complexity for hypnotic repetition. Here's a good example of this from Alice Coltrane's Journey in Satchidananda. This title track is like a stream of music you can just float in.
Track 7:
Shelly Manne - Me and Some Drums
from 2-3-4 (1962)
Coleman Hawkins - piano, tenor saxophone
Shelly Manne - drums
Drummer Shelly Manne's 2-3-4 album is so named since it features Manne in one duet, some trios and quartets.
This track is the duet that has the novelty value of being the first and probably the only released recording of Coleman Hawkins playing piano in the first part and doing a pretty decent job of it for someone not known for the instrument at all. Apparently piano was his first instrument as a child before he picked up sax later.
I like how informal and intimate this little duet feels. Manne's "talking drums" style playing reminds me of Max Roach's solo drum material from Drums Unlimited from a couple of years later. When the cymbals come in, I feel like this could be great backing for a spoken word -style track.
Track 8:
John Coltrane & Johnny Hartman - Lush Life
from John Coltrane And Johnny Hartman (1963)
Johnny Hartman - vocals
John Coltrane - tenor saxophone
McCoy Tyner - piano
Jimmy Garrison - bass
Elvin Jones - drums
Feels wrong to have an Impulse! list without John Coltrane who really made the label what it was, so here's the obligatory 'Trane. Here the focus is more on the vocals of Johnny Hartman than 'Trane's sax, though.
Not everyone was happy with the more exploratory direction 'Trane's music took after Giant Steps, so Impulse! also put out some more traditional albums like this one, a collaboration with Duke Ellington and the Ballads album.
It just feels to me like Coltrane succeeded in pretty much everything he did in the early 60's. This is certainly one of my very favorite male vocal jazz albums. It's pretty much a one-mood-only type record, but when you're in the mood for some smooth vocal jazz, it does the trick.
Track 9:
Charles Mingus - Myself When I Am Real
from Mingus Plays Piano (1963)
Charles Mingus - piano
This is another one of my own personal favorites - maybe my most favorite solo piano track of all time and I think this was also one of the first Charles Mingus tracks that I ever heard and this really hooked me.
Mingus writes in the liner notes: "Now, on this record there is a tune which is an improvised solo and which I am very proud of. I am proud because to me it has the expression of what I feel, and it shows changes in tempo and changes in mode, yet the variations on the theme still fit into one composition. I would say the composition is on the whole as structured as a written piece of music. For the six or seven minutes it was played (originally on piano), the solo was within the category of one feeling, or rather, several feelings expressed as one."
He certainly presents it as an improvisation, but his wife Sue later said that this was one composition he did in her living room and themes and ideas from it pop up elsewhere on the album and it's just so well constructed that I just can't believe he didn't plan out this somewhat ahead of time. The whole album Mingus Plays Piano feels to me like it's a look into how Mingus the composer worked and developed his ideas. Really interesting album, I think.
Later on this recording was transcribed by Hub Miller and orchestrated by Alan Raph for the Let My Children Hear Music -album there entitled "Adagio Ma Non Troppo": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KozkReSD0G4
Track 10:
Shirley Scott and Clark Terry - Up a Hair
from Soul Duo (1967)
Clark Terry - flugelhorn
Shirley Scott - hammond
Bob Cranshaw - bass
Mickey Roker - drums
This is an album I only learned of very recently when local trumpeter Jukka Eskola named it as his primary inspiration behind his new Jukka Eskola Soul Trio -project.
It's basically your run-of-the-mill Hammond organ driven soul jazz, but I really, really like how Terry's spirited playing sells this track. For something as basic as this, that first solo is pretty great. Nice feel-good track you can just tap your feet to.
and that wraps it up for this week - big thanks to everyone who contributed and see you all next week for Bebob's Wildcard
>>65932030
I'm amazed this was Coleman Hawkins. How interesting. Great choice
>>65930851
but Lateef's Get Over, Get Off and Get On is pretty clearly in 5/4, isn't it?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=83Pd88OEiVQ
Holland is also spot on on Don Ellis' gleeful announcements on what bizarre time signatures they are going to play on that album IMHO.
These old Blindfolds are fun, really make me want to listen to the tracks.
>>65930891
>with the B-side of the Sound Pieces album being his only quartet recordings for the label.
Wish he would have done more of this type of thing
>I think this is a really wonderful composition, very spacious and modern sounding in a very timeless way.
Exactly what I thought. This piece wouldn't sound out of place on a Criss Cross album today.
>>65931225
Did you listen to the rest of this album? Is it any good? I thought it had potential to be good but this track was too much.
>>65932030
I knew that was one of the older guys like Hawkins or Webster on tenor. The more abstract and colorful feel of the piano playing threw me off though. Pretty interesting.
>>65932300
>He certainly presents it as an improvisation, but his wife Sue later said that this was one composition he did in her living room and themes and ideas from it pop up elsewhere on the album and it's just so well constructed that I just can't believe he didn't plan out this somewhat ahead of time.
I think when you're improvising in a solo setting you're almost always going to end up falling back on some things that you've played before.
>>65932437
Ha I figured that had to be Clark Terry. What a great player.
>>65932834
Yeah it definitely sounds like 5 to me. I think it's pretty interesting what he has to say about the odd time signature tunes (and that Leonard kind of seems to focus on that) since odd time signatures are a staple of most of his original music, especially between 2000 and 2010.
What's even more interesting is that that Blindfold test comes from 1968 when Holland had just joined Miles' group and was only 22.
I'm going to look and see if I can find any more Blindfold tests that he's done more recently.
>>65933071
I think Klemmer's Impulse! releases Intensity, Constant Throb and Waterfalls are all alright - they are also very cheap to pick up on vinyl for whoever is into that. I personally think Intensity is the best one of them.
After his Impulse! stuff he did mostly terrible smooth jazz from what I've heard and his more ballad style playing isn't very interesting to me and there's some of that on every album, so I picked one of the more high energy tracks, although Rapture of the Deep is quite repetitive. Waltz for John Coltrane is probably the best individual track with nice and excited playing from Klemmer in a tighter package, but my digital copy had it bundled with a very noodly electric piano intro Prayer for John Coltrane (that really does sound like someone trying to imitate Chick as you said) and I couldn't be bothered to separate it.
Well I couldn't find any other blindfold tests that Holland did or even any evidence that he did another one but I'm sure he must have at some point in the 70's, 80's, 90's or 00's.
But I did come across this cool feature of current jazz players talking about their favorite Blue Note albums. Maybe off topic for impulse! week but I thought I'd share anyway.
>>65933886
Thanks for posting these. Fascinating stuff
>>65933886
Also I'd just like to highlight this.
Trombonist Conrad Herwig talking about Larry Young's "Unity":
>"At college, Jim Snidero and I made these T-shirts with the picture of the cover, and we sat around wearing them and listening to it."
I laughed out loud at that.
>>65933886
cool stuff - not surprising that Shorter and Herbie are so widely represented
reminds me of The Vinyl Factory site asking 16 music industry people about their favorite Blue Note releases - a couple of contemporary jazz musicians included, but mostly hip hop producers and record label figures and such
http://www.thevinylfactory.com/vinyl-factory-releases/blue-note-changed-my-life-16-artists-pick-their-favourite-blue-note-records-of-all-time/
Wide support for 70's Donald Byrd in those circles
>>65934089
Yeah I remember seeing that one before. I'm surprised Grant Green didn't show up some on that list. Actually nobody mentioned him in the Downbeat article either...
>>65932437
Nice picks this week. It was fun being able to recognize some of them but others being tricky.
>>65933886
These are a lot of fun to read. It makes me wish I was more familiar with all these modern players.
>>65933886
Thank you so much man!
>>65930891
interesting that it's Oliver Nelson - I only know him from Blues and the Abstract Truth, so I'll dig much more into his discography for sure. this guy knows how to arrange!
>>65931889
in Hindustani classical music I've heard tamboura drones that lasted more than half and hour before the tabla even kicked in (these guys can have a monstrous amount of patience) - it's an interesting sound that can keep my attention even more strongly in this more sonically-varied environment than its regular context.
I love how jazz can accept any new instrument - the conga drums that Dizzy Gillespie's band absorbed from Chano Pozo - there were lots of different waves of different musical cultures: Cuban, Brazilian, South Asian - there's no reason why that process can't continue forever, I think.
