Blindfold Test

BY TED PANKEN

Albert Tootie Heath

ith a long career that includes significant gigs with Sonny Rollins, the Modern Jazz Quartet, the Heath Brothers and the Bobby Timmons Trio, drummer Albert Tootie Heath, 78, has seen, heard and done it all. He distills these experiences on the trio date Tooties Tempo (Sunnyside) his first leader album since 1971s Kawaidawith pianist Ethan Iverson and bassist Ben Street.

Willie Jones III Sextet

I Get A Kick Out Of You (Plays The Max Roach Songbook, WJ3, 2013) Jones, drums; Stacey Dillard, tenor saxophone; Steve Davis, trombone; Jeremy Pelt, trumpet; Eric Reed, piano; Dezron Douglas, drums.

Clifford Brown, Max Roach, George Morrow, Richie Powell, Harold Land. If its not, its imitators. Thank youimitators. That sounds like Clifford Brown with a firecracker in his ass. Its like cartoon music, like the record is on the wrong speed. You cant pat your foot, cant feel it; youre just bombarded with notes. The piano player is trying to make a statement, and here comes the drum solo. Its great, but whats the point? Of course its a challenge to play that fast. But youre playing for people. Its drums. Wheres the beat? On the serious side, great musicianship, fantastic technique. The guys have mastered their instruments. [after] Im 78 years old. I get out of the street because cars are moving too fast. You dont see anybody 78 in the clubs, listening to that fast crazy music. Its young people. At least we had an excuse. We were high, and we thought the audience was high. Im sober.

and starts playing a million notes or a piano player plays all 10 keys at once and messes it up. Its a nice introduction. Wheres the song? That sounds a bit like Ahmad, but Ahmad wouldnt play that. I liked the drums in the beginning, but they did that for six months. [after] Ahmad Jamal was one of my favorite pianists when he had Vernell Fournier and Israel Crosby. After that, he left me. Hes supposed to. Artists paint different pictures. That doesnt mean I have to love it.

Warren Wolf
Things Were Done Yesterday (Wolfgang, Mack Avenue, 2013) Wolf, vibraphone; Lewis Nash, drums; Benny Green, piano; Christian McBride, bass.

Wynton Marsalis Quintet & Richard Galliano

What A Little Moonlight Can Do (From Billie Holiday To Edith Piaf: Live In Marciac, Rampart Street, 2010) Marsalis, trumpet; Galliano, accordion; Walter Blanding, tenor saxophone; Dan Nimmer, piano; Carlos Henriquez, bass; Ali Jackson, drums.

I can feel the beat. Its not going by so quickly that you cant sing it. Theres the bridge. Its a composition. It repeats, so people can follow you. I like these guys, though I have no idea who they are. The vibes player is great. Its not Bobby Hutcherson, who would have played a thousand notes by now. You cant bend the note on vibes, but Milt Jackson got that kind of sound. These young people dont have identity in the solos. 5 stars. [after] Lewis Nash is unbelievable. He plays whatever you have on the paper, embellishes immediately, knows whats connected with what, and makes it sound like something.

I dont hear the drummer. Its so fast. ... [drum solo] Oh, tap-dancing. I like it. [trumpet solo] What the fuck is all of that? Too many choruses. He gets to the climax, and instead of quitting he goes past it. Its not necessary. When you get a nut, its over. Its not Dizzy. Its Busy Gillespie. [after] Ali Jackson is a fabulous musician.

Dafnis Prieto Sextet

En Las Ruinas de su Infanciai (Taking The Soul For A Walk, Dafnison, 2008) Prieto, drums; Yosvany Terry, alto saxophone; Peter Apfelbaum, tenor saxophone; Avishai Cohen, trumpet; Manuel Valera, piano; Yunior Terry, bass.

Brad Mehldau Trio

Airegin (Where Do You Start, Nonesuch, 2012) Mehldau, piano; Larry Grenadier, bass; Jeff Ballard, drums.

Whats the guys name who used to smoke the pipe? He played the craziest shit on the piano. Paul Bley. Hed play that kind of stuff, with a typewriter in the background. Paul Motian is gone, so it cant be him. [states theme] After they fool around, they play a song. I like this, but I like Miles Davis and Philly Joe and Paul Chambers playing it better. Thats what happens when you get old. You get stuck on something. You hear the same thing by somebody else, and it doesnt quite do it. Great piano player. Benny Green does that twohand thing, but Phineas Newborn did it before. I like the drums and bass. The drum solo is very musical. 5 stars.

A statement. I love it. Yeah! The phrase repeated several times, which allows you to anticipate its coming again. Now they went somewhere else. The drums and piano are paying attention to each other, laying a foundation. The solos can be as crazy as they want, because theyve got some kind of foundation going on. Theres the theme again. You can feel something. 5 stars.

Wayne Shorter Quartet

Zero Gravity (Without A Net, Blue Note, 2012) Shorter, tenor saxophone; Danilo Prez, piano; John Patitucci, bass; Brian Blade, drums.

Branford Marsalis Quartet

Endymion (Four MFs Playin Tunes, Marsalis Music, 2012) Marsalis, tenor saxophone; Justin Faulkner, drums; Joey Calderazzo, piano; Eric Revis, bass.

I love that tenor sound. Now, the guys with him sound like theyre playing in another room. Wheres the song? Sing it! [sings opening] I love that part. But this is awful. The drummer should not have accepted the recording session.

Thats somebody practicing the bass. The piano player is practicing, too. Thats not a bad thing, but when youve got a recording, you make music. Well give it three minutes, though its going to skin up my ears. Now the drummer came in. This is not jazz. You need to call this something else. [after] Wayne Shorter?! I love some of his compositions, but what he played there is awful. Brian Blade, it sounds like you threw the drumset down the stairs. I love you when youre playing some music. DB

Ahmad Jamal
Blue Moon (Blue Moon, Jazz Village, 2012) Jamal, piano; Reginald Veal, bass; Herlin Riley, drums; Manolo Badrena, percussion.

I like it because it has a beat. I can handle that ... until a horn player comes in
106 DOWNBEAT NOVEMBER 2013

The Blindfold Test is a listening test that challenges the featured artist to discuss and identify the music and musicians who performed on selected recordings. The artist is then asked to rate each tune using a 5-star system. No information is given to the artist prior to the test.

MARK SHELDON