Big Al

20 years of keepin' it greeeazy

These were great! I have to confess I now want that Klemperer album! 😂

Happy April Fool's Day and what better way to celebrate with this fool and his BFT 229! My last BFT was January 2013 and it might be something of an understatement to say that life is drastically different now than it was then, both in my own life and in the world. Therefore, I wanted to stick with music that was new to me over the course of the last 10 years. Ironically, and this is the only clue I'll give, none of this music was recorded in the last ten years (that will have to be saved for a future BFT). It's funny: I spent three months putting this together and the original result was boring and unlistenable; a few rearrangements and swapping out of songs and now I love it, and that took all of 30 minutes! Anyway, I hope y'all enjoy it too! https://thomkeith.net/index.php/blindfold-tests/

Wow, that does seem like yesterday. Congrats to Jim and the staff for keeping this site going!

Proof that nothing on the internet is free from comment-section idiocy...

Loads of fun to be had on this BFT! I'm gonna check out the Gene Ammons collection, that kind of swing is right up my alley!

Has anyone else had any problems with skipping at the beginning of their discs? I've tried them on different players with the same result. Thankfully, they transferred to digital without skips. Just wanted to know before I reach out to Mosaic about this.

I like it but I couldn't tell you the last time I pulled it off the shelf. I agree Jive Hoot is the standout track. Which means I'll probably pull it off the shelf and wonder why I rarely listen to it.

Track 12 isn't "Mean to Me?" Well whattya know. I like it that after 25+ years of listening to jazz, I still can't recognize jazz standards when I hear them...

I hereby nominate my guess for track 7 as THE dumbest guess I've ever submitted on a BFT. And given the volume of dumb guesses I've made over the years, that's saying something. My guess for track 3 is a close second. It's one of the reasons I no longer own the CD collection on which this track can be found.

My oh MY was this a blast! Track 1: "Lush Life." Has a late-70's/early-80's Pablo feel to it. No idea on the player, but what a lovely way to start a BFT! Track 2: Ahhhh, I knew this one from the first note! Lovely tune from a lovely album. I always enjoy spinning this particular version at Christmas even though it's not technically a Christmas song! Track 4 from https://tinyurl.com/22m5z5zu Track 3: Oh wow, I have no idea who this is but I can't wait to find out! Sounds like my man Ben Webster on tenor! The fact that it sounds like it's mono to these ears makes me think this is a mid-70's Pablo recording. Track 4: I didn't know they had reverb back in the 40's! If the theme of this BFT is "lovely Sunday afternoon music" then it is hitting the bullseye with each track! I fear this BFT is gonna cause a strain on my wallet! Track 5: Again, no clue but I love it! I can see I'll be spinning this BFT a lot after this initial spin! Track 6: This! This is the tempo this song should always be played! Not too slow and not too fast. Just right! I can't wait to find out who this is! Track 7: First clunker of the set, which is not the fault of the player. He clearly admired Dolphy whereas Dolphy's music makes me want to stick industrial-grade cotton in my ears. Track 8: Oh boy did THIS send me off on a loop! I first thought this was Billy Eckstine but the more it went on the more I thought I might have this in my collection and may have skipped over it for various reasons. Then I thought this was a vocal track from Tadd Dameron's MAGIC TOUCH, then I thought it was a vocal track from the Tadd Dameron-Fats Navarro Complete Blue Notes, then I thought it was a vocal track from BIRTH OF THE COOL.... As you can tell, I spent FAR too much time trying to figure this out, searching Discogs & whatnot. After letting this sit for a few hours, the answer finally came to me: track B2 from https://tinyurl.com/8pswhmtn (or disc 2 track 4 from https://tinyurl.com/3vbhfh75 which is where I first heard this tune). Turns out I was kinda correct: I used to have this in my collection. And every time I wonder why I never kept this, I stream it again and I remember why: this music, which on paper should be right up my alley, has absolutely no effect on me. May be time to give this another listen and see if I need to scour the racks for my 3rd or 4th copy of this collection. Track 9: Lovely (there's that word again) version of "Solitude." I'm kinda proud my first guess at the piano player was the correct one since I'd never heard it before! Discogs says it's track A-2 from https://tinyurl.com/y6kfee3v but it looks like this was combined with other albums in this series into a 4-LP box that looks like it would be well worth my money! Track 10: That's "When I Fall in Love," right? At first I though this also had that mid-70's/early-80's Pablo sound, but changed my mind around the 5-minute mark when everybody started playing free-like. Talk about a mood-killer. Track 11: The trumpet-player sure likes Miles. I like a mute as much as the next guy but... I don't know. Is it a mike problem? Those high notes sound way too shrill for these ears. Is that Terje Rypdal on guitar? Subsequent listens have made me like this even more than I did upon initial listening. Track 12: Very interesting take on "Mean to Me." I like it that it's only taken approx. 25 years for me to finally recognize jazz standards. Makes me wonder if this is another Mose Allison type thing where the trumpet player is not known for being a trumpeter? Around the 4:40 mark I heard what sounded like a Tony Williams drum lick. Track 13: Good GRIEF this almost ruined my day! It would be one thing if I'd never heard this tune before. Sure, it sounds like so many other Blue Note tunes of the day, a variation on "Impressions." Good stuff! I would've just guessed Grant Green on guitar, maybe Lee Morgan on trumpet and Hank Mobley on tenor sax, and moved on. But NO, I *have* heard this song and it was literally on the tip of my tongue ALL BLOODY DAY. I was at the point of distraction all day, trying to figure out who, what, where. I mean, I could even see the CD on my shelf. Every avenue I checked was a dead end and I wanted so bad to go home and look thru my collection. Maybe I should've done that all along and just gone about my day because I would've eventually landed where I am now, sitting at home with my collection, seeing this as disc 5 track 8 from https://tinyurl.com/m8hjupbr (which is how I know this tune), but I understand it was originally intended as (and eventually released as) track 4 from https://tinyurl.com/2pszvh7m but also released as side 2 track 1 from https://tinyurl.com/2mxm35k8. This was totally nerve-wracking and TOTALLY worth the search! It just reminds me I need to listen to this set again! Track 14: oh man, this is FILTHY!!! The trumpet just leers at you from every corner! Very eerie. And cryptic. And greeeeeazy! Track 15: sounds like a tribute to Raymond Scott. That electric piano is KILLIN' me! Love it! Track 16: this sounds like an Elvin Jones group. It's apparently not from his celebrated Lighthouse gig on Blue Note, at least not that I can find. WOW! Whatta stellar BFT! And I have to follow this next month??? YIKES!!! Doing searches for some of these tracks led me to albums I hadn't spun in a VERY long time which I need to remedy quickly! After typing this up I listened to this BFT two more times. So much good music!

Thanks again Mike, this was a very enjoyable BFT!

No more guesses from me, educated or otherwise. Just looking forward to the reveal!

After a few days of digging this, I have to confess this just may be my all-time favorite Mosaic box set! I love the jams! Everyone is in top flight shape and they sound like they're having a blast tearing everything up left & right! I know YMMV but for me, I could groove to this stuff all day!

Can I hold Airto FREE while waiting for more titles to be listed?

Received mine yesterday and started listening tonight. I started reading the booklet last night. Everything looks great and, like gmonahan said, this is all new to me and I am loving it!

Nope. I also haven't received mine. Scott assured me in an email this past week mine would be shipped this week. My card hasn't been charged yet though.

Just listened to it. On second thought, I won't be keeping an eye out for this after all.

WOW! I'll be keeping an eye out for this!

Is track 3 Lee Morgan and Billy Higgins and a bass player I should know but can't place at the moment? This one is driving me crazy! Ugh!!! That's two I could've guessed correctly if I'd just gone with my gut. I know nothing about Gato except that I normally find him unlistenable mainly because of his seeming inability to hold a note still, which I heard in this track but thought, "nah, this is too subdued, it's probably someone else." UGH!!!!

Well, I was right: track 9 is indeed Sam Jones on cello but I was WAY off about the rhythm section. Would never have guessed that was Joe Zawinul. And Les Spann on flute is just delightful!

Track 1: I sure wish I knew who this was! I think I own this but I can't place any of the players. Lovely way to start a BFT! Track 2: Oscar Peterson from one of his vocal albums? His voice sounds like Nat King Cole and I have his tribute album to Nat, but this isn't one of the tracks. Then again, the playing is a lot more subdued than what I normally hear from OP. I dig this one too! Track 3: I love it that we go from two tracks where piano was heavily emphasized to a track with no piano at all! I love it! Very melodic. Is this from that Kenny Dorham Riverside album without a piano? Track 4: Wasn't sure I'd like this at first but now the absence of a rhythm section is making me dig this a lot more than I thought I would. The band as rhythm section! Love it! Track 5: Sounds like a relatively recent recording of Cubano Chant. No idea who this is but the tenor player sounds inspired by Sonny Rollins. Good stuff! Track 6: Ahhhh NOW yer talkin'! A flute with a sax player and a rhythm guitar but no piano. And that voice! WOW! Again no idea who this is but I can't wait to find out! I mean, I know it's "Desafinado" but trying to narrow it down would take me longer than just waiting for the answer! Track 7: West Indies jazz? I dig it! Track 8: Sounds like something recent. Nobody immediately jumps to mind but I dig the eerie vibe to it! Track 9: Beautiful! I dug it as soon as it started! Is that a bass guitar or a cello? I thought this might've been from that Wes Montgomery album where he played a bass guitar but it's not from that album. The piano-bass-drums sounds like Wynton Kelly, Paul Chambers, and Jimmy Cobb, they are SO in the pocket! Okay, it's definitely a cello. I'll go with Sam Jones then! I can't wait to find out who this is! Track 10: Nice piano-bass duo! Maybe one of the Bill Evans/Eddie Gomez duos? Whoever it is, these guys swing and they sound like they're having a blast! Track 11: Bass & bari! We're getting all kinds of lineups here! My knowledge of bari players is limited to Gerry Mulligan, Pepper Adams, and Cecil Payne, and this doesn't sound like any of them. It sure swings tho! Track 12: This sounds like an outtake from the sessions that produced Joe Jackson's wonderful 2015 LP Fast Forward. Which is just another way to say I have no idea who this is and I can't wait to find out! Track 13: can't say I found this one very interesting. Started nice but I spent the entirety of the track waiting for the rest of the band to come in. Track 14: The wildest version of Get Happy I've ever heard, and since my online sleuthing skills are non-existent I shall have to wait for someone else to get it! Mikeweil, you always put together a fun BFT and this was no exception! Thanks for putting this together, I'll definitely be spinning this again!

A most enjoyable BFT, Dan!

Here's hoping

I gotta say: this thread depressed me. Started off quirky and then went downhill. If you're reading this, somehow the thread is opened again. If you're not reading this, then this is a moot point. Just makes me glad the Politics page is no longer in existence here.