BLINDFOLD TEST #1 ANSWERS HERE

[DrJ]

OK folks, without further ado, here's the "answer key" and some of my comments for the first Organissimo Blindfold Test. Read 'em and weep - but then please chime in with more comments and discussion! Thanks again to Dan Gould for taking care of the logistics that made this happen, and to Organissimo for hosting this great bulletin board!

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General comments: The very loose theme here was picked up by Jim Sangrey - at least one musician on each track was not from the U.S., and in many cases the whole band was from elsewhere. My aim with this theme was simple: expose more people to some not just good but GREAT music from other parts of the world and get people to question some of the pervasive “America-centric” view of jazz. The guesses on most of the music that “stumped” people at first pretty much confirm that we tend to think first of artists from the U.S. and then only after that broaden our view. And for a track like #7, it’s interesting that NOBODY even considered going to Eastern Europe or beyond for possibilities.

Some of the musicians from other countries represented here obviously play well within the mainstream “American” style (and can hang with “the big boys” on any day), but others have their own thing going entirely, emphasizing that these are not all “imitators” by any means.

1) Oscar Aleman – “Nobody’s Sweetheart” (Kahn/Erman/Meyers/Schoebel) 2:18

Swing Guitar Masterpieces, 1938-57 (Acoustic Disc)

Oscar Aleman – guitar. December 5, 1938

I included this because I suspect few have heard Argentinian guitarist Aleman play although more have heard about him. This is an outstanding disc (produced by Dave Grisman), with most of the music actually in small-group swing format, much of it in Quintet of Hot Club of France configuration (clarinet, two guitars, violin, bass, and drums). “Nobody’s Sweetheart” is one of two unaccompanied performances Aleman made at a single session that Charles Delaunay called “masterpieces of pre-war jazz.” What I find most intriguing about this particular performance is the off-kilter rhythm…it’s not quite ragtime, not quite traditional New Orleans jazz, not quite “American” style swing, and not quite American swing through the prism of a Belgian gypsy either, but very much its own thing, undoubtedly the local Argentinian influence. Incidentally, Aleman played a National metal-bodied guitar, very unusual for jazz, because it projected better than other acoustic instruments in the pre-amplification era.

2) J.J. Johnson – “Overdrive” (J.J. Johnson) 3:22

The Complete Columbia J.J. Johnson Small Group Sessions (Mosaic)

J.J. Johnson – trombone, Bobby Jaspar – tenor sax, Hank Jones – piano, Percy Heath – bass, Elvin Jones – drums. July 24, 1956

I figured a lot more people would get this one. Everyone is in fine form. I’m knocked out by the composition - a simple line, but with some really artful little twists (especially in the closing passages, with that little variation on the main melody). The tight unison playing of JJ and Jaspar is also remarkable - sounds like one, extra fat trombone at times rather than trombone and sax. Jaspar’s work with JJ is wonderful, I think he fit with JJ’s conception just about perfectly and I actually prefer him with JJ over more ostensibly “forceful” saxophonists. I can hear the Getz parallel some heard, but the tone is huskier, less pretty.

3) Barney Wilen – “Swingin’ Parisian Rhythm (Jazz sur Seine)”(Barney Wilen) 4:27

Jazz sur Seine (Universal France)

Barney Wilen – tenor sax, Milt Jackson – piano, Percy Heath – bass, Kenny Clarke – drums. February 13 or 14, 1958.

Fun to stump folks for a while on this one! Wilen has a HUGE tone for such a little skinny guy, and he’s in great form throughout this disc. Jackson’s piano playing was a surprise to me as for many, more fluid here than on some tracks where he actually sounds to be using his fingers the way he would use vibe mallets! And Clarke sounds like the giant he was (a great pleasure getting to hear him on so many fine European recordings). Another great one from Universal’s JAZZ IN PARIS series.

4) Michel Legrand – “The Jitterbug Waltz” (Thomas “Fats” Waller) 5:15

Legrand Jazz (Philips)

Michel Legrand – arrangement, Herbie Mann – flute, Betty Glamann – harp, Barry Galbraith – guitar, Miles Davis – trumpet, John Coltrane – tenor sax, Phil Woods – alto sax, Jerome Richardson – baritone sax & clarinet, Eddie Costa – vibes, Bill Evans – piano, Paul Chambers – bass, Kenny Dennis – drums. June 25, 1958

I’ve always thought I’d figure a way to work this in to a blindfold test if I got to pick the selections, an ideal stumper. More people picked up on the players than I thought, but then again this is a fairly well-known recording. Interesting that some thought the alto player was Cannon, now that I listen I can hear the parallel. I think Legrand really did something quite wonderful with this recording and was wholly successful in mixing scored with improvised passages.

5) Tubby Hayes – “You For Me” (B. Haymes) 4:38

The New York Sessions (Columbia/Legacy)

Tubby Hayes – tenor sax, Horace Parlan – piano, George Duvivier – bass, Dave Bailey – drums. October 3, 1961

The lack of breathing others picked up on does mean that he can get a little wearying at long stretches of listening, but Tubby also generates a ton of old fashioned excitement. If you enjoy this CD you’d also enjoy two that were available not too long ago as UK imports: LATE SPOT AT SCOTT’S and DOWN IN THE VILLAGE (Emarcy UK).

6) Abdullah Ibrahim (aka Dollar Brand) – “Kippi” (Dollar Brand) 4:00

Duke Ellington Presents the Dollar Brand Trio (Warner)

Dollar Brand – piano, Johnny Gertze – bass, Makaya Ntshoko – drums. 1964

I’m a huge Ibrahim fan, and while his scope and arrangements often grew larger over the years, he sounds to me just about fully formed way back at this debut American recording. A simply gorgeous, almost spiritual song, that doesn’t suffer at all from lack of traditional “solos.” These old Warner recordings sound great, too.

7) Zbigniew Namyslowski – “Piekna Lola, Kwiat Polnocy (Beautiful Lola, Flower of the North)”(Namyslowski) 6:37

Lola (Decca)

Zbigniew Namyslowski – alto sax, Wlodzimierz Gulgowski – piano, Tadeusz Wojcik – bass, Czeslaw Bartowski – drums. August 1964

I was thrilled that a) this one stumped so many people and b ) that just about everyone really loved it! Simply put, Namyslowksi was BAD!!! This CD has seldom left the multichanger since I found it at Dusty Groove a few months back. It’s all this good, there’s even a tongue-in-cheek yet simultaneously compelling take on the blues. Distinctive tone and phrasing, definite Eastern European overtones to the music, creative writing, and a killer trio backing him. You owe it to yourself to hear him on two other great recordings: WINOBRANIE (Power Bros), an early 70’s date where he’s more aggressive and slightly more “out,” playing with somewhat stronger Polish folk music overtones; and Kryzstof Komeda’s landmark ASTIGMATIC (Power Bros) recording from right around the same time as LOLA. Both can be had from Cadence, and LOLA is still at Dusty Groove.

8) Stephane Grappelli and Stuff Smith – “How High the Moon” (Hamilton/Lewis) 4:59

Stuff and Steff (Universal France)

Stuff Smith – violin, Stephane Grappelli – violin, Rene Urtreger – piano, Michel Gaudry – bass, Michel Delaporte – drums. June 22, 1965

This is just old fashioned fun to me, joyous music. Smith plays first, and you can pick him out right away - far more bluesy, and with a less “legit” approach including a gut-bucket tone, and some (I think forgivable) problems with less than perfect pitch. Grappelli sounds subdued on his take, maybe being deferential to a “guest” as this was recorded in France. Urtreger’s playing opened my eyes a lot, he sounds incredibly swinging and uses space to his advantage. This is a delightful album in the excellent JAZZ IN PARIS series from Universal.

9) Eddy Louiss – “Blue Tempo” (Rene Thomas) 8:04

Eddy Louiss Trio (Dreyfus Jazz)

Eddy Louiss – organ, Rene Thomas - guitar, Kenny Clarke – drums. 1968

Louiss can make some very strong claims to “king of the jazz organ” these days, as far as I’m concerned, with Jimmy Smith ailing, Larry Young long gone, and John Patton more recently so. This album absolutely smokes from start to finish, with “Blue Tempo” forming something of a high point. Yeah, the recording isn’t great and makes it sound a bit dated, but listen to the playing - very modern stuff. Rene Thomas is to my ears a lot more aggressive than he was on many recordings…check out MEETING MR. THOMAS (another Universal JAZZ IN PARIS disc) for more. I was surprised some didn’t like Clarke’s drumming here - this was later than many of the recordings he’s known for, and in a more “exposed” format, but I think he’s the one who really stokes the fires here. I think the lack of pedals the Organissimo trio noted may reflect the poor recording...it's muddy at the bottom so maybe he IS hitting the pedals and we just can't hear it!

10) Toshiko Akiyoshi / Lou Tabackin Big Band – “Long Yellow Road” (Akiyoshi) 6:27

Long Yellow Road (RCA)

Personnel includes Toshiko Akiyoshi – piano, Bobby Shew – trumpet, Don Rader – trumpet, Britt Woodman – trombone, Gary Foster – alto sax, soprano sax, & flute, Lew Tabackin – tenor sax, flute, & piccolo, Bill Perkins – baritone sax, alto flute, & bass clarinet, Peter Donald – drums, Gene Cherico – bass. April 4, 1974

Not much more to say that hasn’t been said in the discussion. This is a gorgeous tune and arrangement, flawlessly executed. The whole album is this great, in fact all of her RCA recordings from this period are this great. Get it, and please help me in reminding Mosaic about what a great boxed set this would make at every opportunity!

11) Valery Ponomarev – “I Was Afraid You’d Never Call Me” (Ponomarev) 6:51

Profile (Reservoir)

Valery Ponomarev – trumpet, Joe Henderson – tenor sax, Kenny Barron – piano, Essiet Essiet – bass, Victor Jones – drums. May 2, 1991

I knew many would get Joe and then be stumped by the trumpet. This is the only Ponomarev in my collection, and I hope to get a lot more based on this one. This recording is definitely one of those in the “playing well within the American main stream” category, I personally don’t really hear much of an Eastern influence at all.

12) Giorgio Gaslini – “Pulsazioni Incrociate (Crossed Pulsations): Movement II from Lampi (Lightenings) – Suite in 5 Movements” (Gaslini) 6:47

Lampi (Soul Note)

Giorgio Gaslini – piano, Daniele DiGregorio – vibes, marimba, & percussion, Roberto Bonati – bass, Giampiero Prina – drums. January 1994

Another I was glad to see stumped people, meaning that Gaslini is new to them. He's done a whole bunch of interesting albums (AYLER'S WINGS, for example) and has hands in a lot of kinds of music including "classical." This is actually just an excerpt from a longer suite (LAMPI), but it was too long for the blindfold test, it would have dominated the CD. This may account for why some felt it sounded a little lacking or unresolved. I like the music itself, and Gaslini’s piano, but it’s DiGregorio’s vibes that blew me away most. An intriguing CD, which also has a tribute piece to Herbie Nichols. This music will grow on you seriously over time and haunt your brain. It deserves to be heard within the context of the whole suite.

13) John Abercrombie, Marc Johnson & Peter Erskine w/ John Surman – “Ogeda” (John Surman) 4:36

November (ECM)

John Surman – soprano sax, John Abercrombie – guitar, Marc Johnson – bass, Peter Erskine – drums. November 1992

It was kind of sneaky to put in Surman playing soprano rather than baritone. I think some of the negative comments are actually pretty on target, but while his soprano tone is not as nice as his baritone playing, I still like the feel of this piece, ECM-ish though it is. And I’m surprised more people didn’t get Abercrombie (as pointed out by the Organissimo guys!), really I find his tone on electric is very distinctive. This is a nice record that again grows on one with repeated listenings.

14) Esbjorn Svensson Trio (EST) – “Little Rootie Tootie” (Thelonious Monk) 4:06

EST Plays Monk (ACT)

Esbjorn Svensson – piano, Dan Berglund – bass, Magnus Ostrom – drums. January 1996

I’m not 100% sure where I stand on this one, personally - it’s by turns technically amazing, overly precious, gutsy, derivative, and novel, depending on which time I listen to it. Interesting if nothing else. I do think they are still musically “young” and haven’t found a way to both get inside and expand on Monk’s work (there are actually better tracks on this CD, I was running out of time on my CD-R and had to choose a short track). I expected to see a lot of people guess Brad Mehldau Trio or Stephen Scott, and even thought I'd see a few Keith Jarrett guesses (EST has been dogged by some for sounding way too much like the Jarrett Trio - can't say I agree), but none were logged. I think EST at this point has far greater potential than what they’ve actually shown on record so far, but I will say I thoroughly enjoy this CD when in the right mood - again, my reaction to it on a day to day basis seems to reflect my inner state more than with a lot of music.

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But (to cop a favorite line from Marti DiBergi, Spinal Tap documenteur): enough of my yackin’! Let the discussion begin anew!

Edited September 8, 2003 by DrJ

[Dan Gould]

Well, I've got to go back and listen again with the answers in mind, but my first reaction is complete mortification at the fact that Tony sent me "Lola" not very long ago at all, I listened twice and dug it, but clearly it did not register enough, and on top of that, I just didn't play "smart" and even consider the possibility that something had already been heard courtesy of the good Doctor.

Oh, the shame!

[JSngry]

Damn - I've actually got that Louiss disc, but have only listened to it once, about a month ago. Nowhere near sinking in. But I liked that cut more than some. Time to put it in rotation for a while.

The Namyslowski cut indeed comes as a total surprise. I was hearing Brazillian and African overtones, not Eastern European. But the guy has a great tone, a good feel, and if his vocabulary isn't necessarily the most distinctive, what he does with it is personal enough that I'd like to hear more. Sounds like he can play!

Can't stress enough how good Foster sounds to me on the Akiyoshi/Tabackin cut. Wish he played with that much "core" ALL the time. And what a chart! Indeed, I had heard that album back in the 70s, but don't remember anything about it, at least not consciously. Sometimes I thought the band played Toshiko's charts a little too "cleanly", at the expense of inflections and other things that give a big band personality, and that's kind of the case here, but this is one of her charts where the voicings give the music all the personality it needs. That punch/fall chord behind the soloists is just totally WACK - where you'd expect to hear a big brassy POWWWWwwwwwwwwww, instead there's this oblique sound that takes up space and time, but with what? SOME kinda sound, but certainly nothing either traditional or expected in terms of voicing, density, or color. Marvelously idiosyncratic writing, and executed to perfection - that music is NOT easy to play, and I speak from experience, having gotten a taste of a few of her things back at NT. Besides, all the doubling (not heard on this cut), the voicings are such that the blend has to be JUST so, or else you got a mess on your hands, like Thad's stuff, only even moreso. Maybe my gripe about the lack of inflections is missing the point, maybe the point of executing that music IS the voicings themselves, and maybe too much inflection would destroy the personality of the voicings. Never thought of it that way before... Anyway, this cut is more to my liking than I remember much of the band's output being. Don't know if hearing more of it would be similarly revelatory or not, 50/50 odds on that one, but THIS item sure was.

Ah, the Legrand...extremely mixed feelings. OTOH, yeah, it IS a very creative reworking, but I don't know, there's something "cute" about it, and I DETEST "cute" in music. But hell, Trane, Miles, and some above average Woods, I'll wade through the foo-foo to get to the juju.

Alleman (Spanish for "German" btw, good thing this wasn't post WWII, what with it being Argentina and all... ) sounds like he's playing stride piano on guitar (or Dobro as the case may be, or National metal-bodied guitar, or as Taj Majhal called it, "Miss National"). I was really struck by his facility and assurance. This guy might be going on my "to check out further" list, for sure. VERY nice work.

Gotta get that Ponomarev side. He sounds fine enough, but Joe sounds like he was having a good day, and that's enough for me!

Gaslini didn't do it for me. Maybe the larger context would help, but I dunno. For free-ish type mallets, I'm a Karl Berger/later Walt Dickerson man myself. The scalar motif they kept working with had the "cute" factor again, and that's just not for me. Good players, though, no question about that.

Abercrombie, eh? Never been much of a fan of his work as a leader. Surman? Sometimes, YES!, sometimes, nooooooo... This one falls into the latter category, I'm afraid.

I'll stand by my earlier comments re:the Svensson - too much whimsy, not enough meat. If you're going to do Monk, you got to have both, or at least I think you do. It ain't an easy game to play, but it ain't supposed to be.

So lessee - DEFINITELY got to check out the JJ Mosaic, that Wilen disc (and others!), the Ponomarev thing, maybe some Alleman & some Namyslowski, and won't automatically pass over Akiyoshi/Tabaken in the used vinyl bins anymore. Damn fine learning experience in my book.

Thanks, Tony!

[Brad]

Last night, after seeing some references to Tubby Hayes, I pulled out a Tubby Hayes and Dizzy Reece cd on Savoy, which I have to admit I had never listened to. I thought the tone was very similar to the New York Sessions. I plan on listening to this one closely tonight and have to see if I can pick the New York Sessions up as well as the ones Tony mentions.

Well, I was half right on the Stuff Smith. I like this album and want to get it. Almost more so than Stuff, I was impressed with Rene Urtreger. Reminds me of Kenny Drew. I will look for this one.

I have an Eddy Louiss on the Jazz in Paris series and since the theme was international players I wondered if it was him. I actually pulled it out but didn't play it. I found something offputting about it when I first listened to the cd I have and this cut. It's not like the organ players I'm used to hearing, John Patton, Baby Face, Larry Young, etc. Well, I have to listen to it again.

I did not get Ponomarev. I have heard some of his stuff on the radio awhile ago and wanted to pick some up. But never got around to it. Beautifuly hard bop tone. Time to check it out.

As with the others, Thanks Tony.

[Jim R]

1. Well, I can't say I'm surprised to learn it was Aleman. The fact that I guessed it was him doesn't mean much, because although it was an "educated' guess, I really had no familiarity with his actual work (never actually heard him, that I know of). I said that this pre-dated my interest/taste, and I basically still feel that way. The sound itself doesn't move me, and the artistry and style just aren't enough to overcome that. Glad to have been exposed, at any rate.

2. Not much I can add to what's been said. The JJ Mosaic remains one of my proudest possessions.

3. I'm going to have to give Wilen some more attention. I have several discs by him, but none of them ever grabbed me the way that this track did (probably because of the special qualities of the rhythm section on this). I'll be particularly curious to see whether his tone was fairly consistent on the other recordings I have, and whether the sound/engineering from this particular studio made a distinct difference in the way I reacted to him- which was VERY positively! I KNEW I should have bought more of those Jazz In Paris discs....

4. I STILL need to practice more on Jitterbug Waltz. An old favorite of mine, and MUCH harder to actually play than it might seem (at least on the guitar!). I've been opening up more and more to LeGrand over the past few years, as a composer and as a pianist. A very talented man, who probably doesn't get as much attention as he deserves.

5. I already knew that I had been neglecting Tubby Hayes. I've been aware of him for many years, but up until the past few years (with the CD releases of several of his albums) I was never very motivated to hunt for his stuff. My first exposure to him was a CD I bought about ten years ago, called "100 % Proof". I bought it because the group included my man Louis Stewart on guitar. Unfortunately, I hadn't expected it to be an "out" recording (for the most part, at least), and it wasn't my cup of tea. A few years ago, I got a copy of "Changing of the Guard...", and although I liked it, it didn't motivate me to track down more Tubby. It now occurs to me that I need to get on the ball.

6. This one was an eye-opener, and I'll be paying more attention to anything I see by Ibrahim.

7. Actually, I did keep my mind open to any and every geographical possibility on this one, but my limited knowledge of eastern european jazz prevented me from suggesting anything from there. During my searching for clues, I did come across Namyslowski's name at AMG, but there was insufficient data in my brain to make any connection with the recording. At least I can say to Jim: I TOLD you it was european! I enjoyed this enough to open myself up to the possibility of seeking more. On the other hand, now that I've listened to this track 157 times, I may need a break from this guy!!

8. I knew I should have bought more of those Jazz In Paris discs.

9. As I said, I'm somewhat of a completist when it comes to Rene Thomas. His sound just gets me- always has. He used the same equipment as a number of other guitarists of his era (he was heavily influenced by Jimmy Raney), but his attack and his sound are so distinctively meaty compared to most of the others. "Blue Tempo" is probably my least favorite track on this session, FWIW. Somebody commented on the "creepy" sound of the intro (I've forgotten the exact complaint), and I guess I react in a somewhat similar way. Anyway, I still think this album/CD is one of THE greatest o-g-d trio recordings I've ever heard.

10. A learning experience. I've got to give this one more time, and I may be inspired to investigate further.

11. SO much good jazz, so little time. Again, I'm going to be open to whatever I may come across.

12. Still not my type, but it's good to be exposed to different things.

13. Ditto # 12.

14. I'm in agreement with Jim's citicisms. Not sure there's enough here to have made me a new fan.

I'm in a hurry right now, but again I want to thank Tony and Dan. This was an absolute blast.

[Jim Alfredson]

I think the lack of pedals the Organissimo trio noted may reflect the poor recording...it's muddy at the bottom so maybe he IS hitting the pedals and we just can't hear it! 

I just listened to the track on my B&Ws and I cannot hear any pedals past the intro. He's using a strange setting for his basslines (I think the first three drawbars all the way out... maybe #2 at about 5 or 6) but definately no pedals.

I like Abercrombie, especially the trio stuff with Dan Wall and Adam Nussbaum.

[DrJ]

b3-er Posted on Sep 8 2003, 01:47 PM

I just listened to the track on my B&Ws and I cannot hear any pedals past the intro. He's using a strange setting for his basslines (I think the first three drawbars all the way out... maybe #2 at about 5 or 6) but definately no pedals

Well not being an organist myself, I sincerely appreciate the analysis and education, Jim...my relatively untrained ear does hear a pretty major difference in the way Louiss plays compared with organists from the States, so maybe this helps account for it.

Edited September 8, 2003 by DrJ

[JSngry]

Funny, I like much of Abercrombie as a sideman (ESPECIALLY w/DeJohnette), or even as a co-leader (hel-LO GFATEWAY 1 & 2), but the projects that are entirely his own invariably fall flat with me. The notable exception is the TIMELESS album. Might be one or two more along the way, but as a generality, that's how it works for me. Go figure.

[Jazzmoose]

Well, part of me wants to thank DrJ for adding the names Wilen, Hayes, Namyslowski, Ponomarev and especially Gulgowski to my list of artists to explore. The other part of me wants to go back and edit my comments on the first thread. How embarrassing! Please tell me that this is some other Kenny Clarke on track 9!!

[Jim Alfredson]

I'm with ya, Moose. When we listened to the disc after rehearsal, Joe, Randy, and I all agreed that the drummer was pretty stiff. Weird that it turned out to be Clarke. Maybe he wasn't totally comfortable with the tune yet.

[Jim R]

FWIW, the other tracks on the Eddy Louiss Trio album besides "blue tempo" (aka "theme for emmanuel") were:

no smoking,you've changed,don't want nothin' (Clarke),nardis, and hot house (labeled as "groovin' high")

[Dan Gould]

OK, I've given one more listen with my cheat sheet in hand, and I have to admit I am even more embarrased than I was when I first read Tony's list. But more on that in a moment.

My one general comment is one of appreciation for the breadth of music Tony clearly enjoys, a breadth much wider than my own and definitely wider than my blindfold disc will exhibit (not that there's anything wrong with that

#1 Just doesn't do a heckuva lot for me, I'm afraid. But I agree with Tony's comment about the idiosyncracies of his playing and his rhythm.

#2 Well, I got J.J. right, and I do own the Mosaic but frankly I never considered going deep into the box to see if I could find it!

#3 Lon has exposed me to old Barnie and I definitely enjoy his playing, but it was especially nice to hear this track and realize that it was Bags on piano. Like some others, I have slept, more or less, on the Jazz in Paris series, clearly to my detriment.

#4 As I've listened to this more and more, I find the arrangement less and less pleasing, frankly. The solos are great and I have no excuse for missing Trane and Miles, but the arrangement actually grew tiresome to my ears.

#5 The first new element in my embarassment, The New York Sessions is a disc I have and have listened to many times.

#6 Ibrahim is someone I have wondered about in the past but never checked out. This might be the track that get's me started ....

#7 Like I said above, Tony sent me this disc, its great and highly recommended, no excuses for not remembering, especially considering that it wasn't long ago at all that I had this on in the car.

#8 Like the solo guitar, just doesn't do enough for me.

#9 And here is the *other* element of embarrasment for me. I had said that I had only recently acquired a single disc by Louiss, well, it turns out that its this one!! What can I say, except that I liked the CD but its not the first or fifth organist I reach for.

#10 Unlike the LeGrand cut, this one I actually enjoyed the arrangement more than the solos. A big band I have not been exposed to, but I did enjoy this ...

#11 No excuses for not recognizing Joe. As for the leader, you do know, Tony, that he spent some time with the Messengers and has always stuck in the hard bop realm? I have several of his CDs, all on Reservoir, two with Ralph Moore and his more recent one, The Messenger, which I definitely recommend. And for what it's worth, his two originals that reference Russia "Messenger from Russia" and "Escape from Gorki Park" don't show much eastern influence either.

#12-14 Sorry, these just didn't do much for me at all.

[Gary]

#2  Well, I got J.J. right, and I do own the Mosaic but frankly I never considered going deep into the box to see if I could find it!

you neednt had worried about digging too far Dan - its disc 1 track 2

Edited September 8, 2003 by Gary

[DrJ]

Well, no need for embarrassment on any counts...there's so much music out there, I routinely feel I may have heard something only to learn that I own the CD and have listened to it on numerous occasions! I'm sure my turn is coming...

[Dan Gould]

Well, no need for embarrassment on any counts...

Well, perhaps not, but oh what could have been-if I'd been smart, I might have smacked four out of the park!

[randyhersom]

Well done DrJ. Gave my Americentric ass a good swift kick!

I enjoyed it thoroughly and hope to get better. I really have trouble finding time for concentrated listening, so I'm not expecting too much of myself.

I'll be playing the CD again for pleasure and it worked quite nicely as a radio show.

Thanks to Jim and DrJ

[Dmitry]

Some good music on this one that I'm planning to check out, particularly Gaslini.

I got 2 out of 14, and I'm contempt.

[Dan Gould]

Up, cause it looks to me like there are quite a few participants who haven't come back to post on the Answers thread. Shouldn't that be a requirement? I think it should be an expectation, at least. Like Rooster-you were deep into the puzzling things out-no reaction to the answers? (Don't mean to call you out on this, I just figured you'd have something to say ...

[Noj]

I wrote the answers down to accompany the cd in a jewel case. I suppose I have less of a reaction as I knew none of them, not even the JJ Johnson.

However, I need to listen to the cd again cross-referencing it to my responses, everyone else's responses, the answers, AMG, etc. Definitely an on-going project!

Thanks again, Tony and Dan!

[mikeweil]

I love blindfold tests! Thanks again to all involved who made it happen!

I just posted my guesses on the other thread before reading this one, and there were quite a few nice surprises!

1 - Aleman was a name that came to my mind, but I have to admit it would have been an educated guess - never heard a single note by him, but will certainly check him out now!

2 - At least I mentioned Jaspar. He sounds great but doesn't get me quite as much as Wilen or Lafitte. I'm surprised it's Elvin!

3 - Sure I got that one right! I'm afraid that spoils my idea to use his "Tilt" album for a consecutive blindfold ...

4 - I like cute arrangements like this ... but I can understand why some can grow tired of things like this after a while. Miles plays a lot cleaner on this than on his own albums ... Herbie Mann a lot gutsier than usual. A look into the Coltrane disco after posting my guesses gave it away. I'm proud I recognized Bill Evans. Again: Is this on CD?

5 - Tubby Hayes - never checked him out. Good player, but I'm not sure I would listen to him that often.

6 - Abdullah Ibrahim - I should have known. I thought I should recognize this player. This is an album to get. At times he has so much peace in his music it's incredible.

7 - Namyslowski - 20 years ago a then close friend with a connection to Poland used to fool me all the time with records he brought from his trips there. Some great musicians there, as in all of Eastern Europe. Now that I know I understand some of the overtones of this piece better. Still it isn't quite to my taste.

8 - Well I got Stuff Smith in the fours. This is the best playing of Utreger I've heard so far - found him too inconsistent on other records I have with him. Bassis and drummer are a surprise!

9 - I knew this right away, have the CD, had the LP, like it. I would have chosen Nardis for the test. So later Klook sounds stiff to some - he tried to play a little differently in his later years, probably had lost some elasticity with age, but still had great power. He played but did not like the rock inflections in the music. His European output is too little known to US listeners.

10 - So I was right about Tabackin. I had Gary Foster in mind, but he sounds different here compared to the stuff with Clare Fischer I heard him on. Good trumpet player.

11 - Ponomarev - saw him with the Jazz Messengers. He's improved a lot since then - more original. I wasn't quite convinced by my guess about Woody Shaw. Joe was easy.

12 - I like this much more than other Gaslini records I have or had. I will get me this. This is more composed than most of you think.

13 - Surman? I know him as a player with more guts. That damn ECM or ECM-like sound waters down so much of the individuality. Would have thought it was a Scandinavian or Eastern European player.

14 - Monk is always right with me. I will check this out. At the same time I'm skeptical about the achievements to come from this new European generation of piano trios. We'll wait and listen ...

Can hardly wait for the second test to come! We're in for a series of ear-openers!

Edited September 10, 2003 by mikeweil

[DrJ]

Glad you enjoyed it, Mike! LEGRAND JAZZ is available on CD...although a bit tricky to find. I used to have a version from Philips in Germany, and that one I see pop up at places like Borders fairly frequently. The sound is pretty good, not great. I upgraded to a Japanese 24-bit paper sleeve edition last year (which has the original cover art; the German edition does not), and I think that one can still probably be found. But then again I love this album, finding the arrangments clever without being overly cute and the playing to be top notch throughout (other tracks feature different all-star configurations including Ben Webster on some).

[JSngry]

Hey Tony, where'd you get the Wilen thing? It's import only, right? You know a good price/convinience intersection? I'm a'cravin' to hear more!

As a sidenote, Bags' piano work here REALLY brings out the common base between Bud & Monk that wasn't always apparent until Bud's later work. I think this also shows why Bags was consistenly rated one of the premier performers of Monk material even though they didn't record together after the BN days - Bags got the connection between Monk & "bebop" that a lot of people didn't. Hell, he probably SAW a lot of it firsthand. There is absolutely no substitute for being there!

Anyway, I dug, REALLY dug Wilen on this side, but it's Bags that I want to study. if you know what I mean. So what's a good source with a good price?

TIA

[Soul Stream]

I just wanted to comment on how much I enjoyed reading everyone's comments, guesses, frustrations.

It's all part of what seems to make this board different. People really caring about the music. Can't wait for part 2....

[Daniel A]

I upgraded to a Japanese 24-bit paper sleeve edition last year (which has the original cover art; the German edition does not), and I think that one can still probably be found.

There seems to be several different covers around for this album.

I suppose your Japanese edition looks like this:

I find it to be nicer than the Philips CD cover:

But then there is also this version:

...allthough I think the best of them all is the original Columbia LP cover (anyone who knows how it ended up on Philips?). Anyway, this is a lovely album. I have no problems with the arrangements being "cute". On the contrary, I find them to be "clever", in the best sense of the word.

The Columbia LP:

[Jim Alfredson]

Did Columbia have a Miles Davis font for his name? It seems to be the same throughout the classic era.