Joe

Thanks!

Please excuse the Tales From Topographic Oceans - Adventure Time mashup. All links below go to additional information available via Discogs. I've added some notes of my own as well. "Odile," Fred Tompkins "Recorda Me," Jason Marshall "Cool Struttin’," Bennie Green "Chito’s Song," Cochemea Gastelum "La Danse Des Ferrailleurs," Yochk’o Seffer "Prohibido," Benny Carter "Yesterdays" (arr. by Jimmy Giuffre), Hal McKusick "Five-Two," Scott Colley "Turn It Around," Matana Roberts "Sophisticated Lady," Curtis Clark "Fair Weather" (words and music by Kenny Dorham), Bob Mover (sax and vocals) "The Magnetic A," Donald Smith 1. Fred Tompkins, who plays flute and wrote this composition, is a new name to me. But apparently he's been doing interesting things in St. Louis for awhile. Here's his Wikipedia entry (it gets into his relationship with Elvin Jones) and a link to an interview with him from last May. Jimmy Owens is owning it on this track, as he almost always does. In fact, if you're a Jimmy Owens fan and have not yet seen this... you'll want to! 2. I don't know much about Jason Marshall but this record, which I stumbled upon via Bandcamp, makes me want to hear and learn more. And snaps for Marc Cary! 3. So, did Sonny Clark do A&R for Time Records. Because this is secretly a Clark record. Fantastic front line, and this era of Jimmy Forrest is peak Jimmy Forrest, I think. Interesting too that this same composition appears on Cool Struttin' but as "Blue Minor." Evidence of Clark trying to get around a bad publishing deal he signed with Lion and Wolff? 4. Cocehmea is the sax player for the Daptones (as in Sharon Jones and the). As may listeners noted, the nods to Eddie Harris is prominent here. I actually rather like the restraint showed here, the attention to sonic nuance and melody. But, yes, this may be a bit too optimized for Spotify. But good to know there are still players following this R&B/soul/funk path to experimentation. 5. No restraint here! So, who is this guy? He's associated with Margam, Christian Vander, and Zeuhl. If you're as dedicated to tracking Coltrane's influence as far and wide as it goes (which is far and wide), you'll have to reckon with Zeuhl, whether you end up enjoying that experience or not. You can;t quibble with the dude's technical abilities, though. Here's an interview with Seffer from 2022. 6. Polite? Perhaps. Subtle? Profoundly so. It's bossa-esque, but no bossa nova. Maybe that explains the hint of unease or melancholy here. The variation on the chorus that follows the the first of Mundell Lowe's guitar solos is a marvelous thing indeed. the brief tenor solo is courtesy of Bill Perkins... I think. The original liner notes are a bit confusing on this one. But they indicate that this track originated from those sessions (not the sessions with Teddy Edwards and Barney Kessel). 7. Hal McKusick is, for my money, always worth hearing. But he's also a guy who basically disappears from the discography after 1958 - this LP, in fact. He ran with fast company for sure: Boyd Raeburn, Claude Thornhill, George Russel, Art Farmer, Bill Evans. The Konitz influence is strong but not overpowering. As noted, hints of Paul Desmond as well. But I picked this mostly on account of Guiffre's arrangement, which, once you know it's Giuffre, becomes quintessentially Giuffre. Connie Kay on finger cymbals! 8. Moody! I kind of approach my BFTs like old-school mix tapes, and I liked the progression from the Carter to this track. The tension is very plastic or fluid here, and these are all players who can really wring maximum effect from every note. Craig Taborn, Ralph Alessi, Brian Blade and, yes, Bill Frisell. As minimal as they appear to be, the composed elements here have a lot of strength. Not nearly as funky as Mingus' "Folk Forms No. 1," but echoes that cellular approach here. 9. I dig the Coin Coin records well enough, although I find they suffer from heavy-handedness here and there. This recording stands as a ice counterpart / counterpoint. The setup is more traditional and facilitates "blowing," but it also shows how deep Roberts' AACM roots run. 10. I've followed Curtis Clark ever since I read New Dutch Swing and learned about Letter From South Africa in the late 90s / early 00s. But this live solo performance from 1987 was new to me last year. The record is very much worth hearing and mostly favors Clark's own compositions. But this! Damn. I guess all that time he spent in Europe didn;t help his profile all that much, but he's just an important extension of the Ellington-Monk continuum as Mal Waldron, Ran Blake, etc. Ample demonstration of that here. 11. The late-period Chet Baker is strong with this one. I find this track very moving (pun intended). Another guy who came up in the 70s, made a strong impression, then kind of got drowned out as the hype machine started humming behind the Young Lions / Neoclassicists / Neoconservatives. Oh well. Killer rhythm section here: Kenny Barron, Bob Cranshaw, and Steve Williams. Josh Evans is on trumpet and Steve Hall on tenor sax. Mover himself has shared a "making of" documentary about this album on YouTube. 12. You'd be excused for thinking this is a Cecil McBee date. Or a Jack DeJohnette-led session. So outsized are their contributions here. But Donald Smith - who I mostly know from his association with Oliver Lake (and the fact that he's Lonnie Liston Smith's little brother) - still holds his won here. Tyner-esque, sure. But there's also a individual lyricism on display, too. It would have been nice to have more Donald Smith records, I think. But this one is pretty good, and very much of its time. Thanks again to Masahiko Yuh and the folks behind Whynot Records! Thanks to everyone for listening, offering thoughts, and making guesses.

Reveal to be posted tomorrow (Saturday, 3/1)!

Questlove is turning into quite a filmmaker.

No, later generation. #1: Close! Early 70s. #4: Digging this description! "Miles meets Burt Bacharach meets trance fusion." #8: Ding on the guitar player, close on the trumpet. #11: Not a Horace Silver composition. But words and music are by a former Horace associate (and early Jazz Messenger). #12: I know! the pianist is the listed leader, but this is the dummer's tune.

Not Hill on 10, but he and the player in question both owe something of their approaches to Monk. Agree that 11 has a nice "late in the set" vibe. I find it quite moving. Everyone on 12 has been IDed by other listeners if you don't want to wait for the reveal. Thanks!

Thanks! 1: Johnny Richards is an interesting touchpoint. I honestly don't know if there's any connection there and will investigate. 3: Not Silver, not Fuller. Already ID'ed by other listeners, but, yes, I chose this one as much for the composition as the playing. 5: WSQ is also an interesting touchpoint. But this track comes from a kind of parallel universe.

Thanks for this extensive commentary! The trumpet player on track #1 is definitely something of an overlooked figure. But every time they show up on record, attention must be paid. Track 2: Younger player as far as I am aware. Definitely a new recording. Track 7: Konitz contemporary for sure. This player was often compared to Konitz. But there's some Paul Desmond in the mix too, yes? You are onto something with track 11 (vocialist also being a horn player; horn player being of a certain age). The tune itself is a clue. Written by one trumpet player; sung more famously by another. The leader on this date has some association with the latter.

Vivaldi is pretty good. Maybe too many bells and whistles. https://vivaldi.com I also like Brave, https://brave.com. IIRC, its built on Chromium, meaning Google Chrome extension will work in a Brave environment.

Indeed! I'm a bit surprised no one has unmasked the trumpet player or pianist. Also, there's a well-known drummer here, only they're not playing drums. (Yet their work hjer does resemble the ensemble work they're most known more.)

12 has been revealed!

https://fastly-s3.allmusic.com/release/mr0000025993/front/400/iqsyNJQqkBQaaNj_C735xByhM-OFI8zG4l-qVpXXB1I=.jpg

The saxophonist on track 9 is also known for some rather conceptual work.

No, but a nice guess! Definitely a contemporary musician.

Thank you! Track 1 is due south (roughly) from Detroit. Almost The South. Track 5 is not necessarily a "jazz player" - that is, they are associated with another (much more niche) genre. Track 6 I love for just that little bit of uneasiness in possesses. Shade of Gary McFarland (who does not appear here). Yes, Track 7 is Atlantic (not the label) rather than Pacific. But the arranger is considered by many to be a quintessential West Coast musician. Track 9 is recent, but more of a "blowing date" from a musician whose reputation rests on some work that is more composed and, dare I say, "intertextual." Track 10: I knew this player quite well, I thought, before hearing this record. "Wow" was my reaction too! Track 12: Not Cables, but I can hear echoes of him here now that you mention it. The drummer is arguably a bigger name than Hart. The pianist is almost a no-name.

Thanks for sharing. I'll miss seeing Monsieur Claude around these parts as well.

Thanks! Bingpot on 3 and 6. Track 1 was recently brought to my attention by a friend. It's kind of specific to one city's jazz scene (not Dallas or Fort Worth, though). A scene with some jazz history, in fact, that's often overlooked. (And, yes, that's Elvin.) Track 2 is another new name to me. Hoping other listeners can tell me more about them! Track 7 is an arranger you know. (Even if you don't know these players.) Track 8 is the bassist's date. I've featured this trumpet player in a previous BFT. Track 10 sure feels like it should be Ran Blake... but it's not! Europe is in the mix, but the pianist is not European by birth. Track 12 features an obscure leader and ringers elsewhere. Will be curious to see if anyone IDs them.

This one is now available for your listening pleasure. No theme or conceit; just 12 tracks culled from my recent listening which I felt like sharing with a an audience of more than one (me). https://thomkeith.net/blindfold-tests/2025-blindfold-tests/ Thanks in advance for the discussion!

Surprises galore! I quite like the first track and am curious to check that one out.