Ron Carter Esperanza Spalding - Downbeat

Blindfold Test | By dan ouellette
James Carter
For his second Blindfold Test, saxophonist James Carter appeared in
front of an audience at the NRC Jazz Cafe on July 6 at the 2012
North Sea Jazz Festival, in Rotterdam, Holland. Still soaked in sweat
after performing with his organ trio (featuring singer Gregory Porter as
guest) earlier in the evening, an energized Carter settled into the listening
session by saying, “It’s cool to be among the pantheon of greats who
were in the hot seat. The Blindfold Test is a hip rite of passage.” Carter
and Gary Smulyan are co-winners in the Baritone Saxophone category
of this year’s DownBeat Readers Poll (see page 57).
Zoot Sims
“Too Close For Comfort” (Zoot Sims In Copenhagen, Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab/
Storyville, rec’d 1978) Sims, tenor saxophone; Kenny Drew, piano; Niels-Henning
Ørsted Pedersen, bass; Ed Thigpen, drums.
I’m stumped, but I really like this. I’ve acquired that it’s “Too Close For
Comfort,” and that it’s in the key of C. Whoever the tenor is, [it’s someone
who is] Lesterian or Zoots-ish or Al Cohn-ish. Then there’s honking
at the bottom that reminded me of Harold Ashby, but this has a pop to
it. There’s ornamentation on the C sharp, which is certainly indicative of
Lester Young. I’m guessing now, but I’d say Zoot. [after] Of all the names
I dropped, I felt like all the information in the tune was coming through
Zoot, particularly on the tones and timbres being used on the upper register.
The Horace Silver Quintet
“The Kicker” (Song For My Father, Blue Note, rec’d 1965) Silver, piano; Joe Henderson,
tenor saxophone; Carmell Jones, trumpet; Teddy Smith, bass; Roger
Humphries, drums.
This is definitely Joe Henderson. Wow. I’m tripping. I played this song
in a jazz session sometime last year, but I never knew the name of the
tune. I played along with the rest of the guys who knew it, just soloing
and feeling the vibe. But I never did get the title. Joe’s tone was immediately
identifiable. There was a roundness in it, and he had the concepts
and ideas which resulted in that punch and push. [after] The name is
“The Kicker”? Well, that certainly kicked me.
David Murray & Mal Waldron
“Free For C.T.” (Silence, Justin Time, rec’d 2001) Murray, bass clarinet; Waldron, piano.
I could just see him playing this, oh, yeah. Playing on the big licorice, as I
like calling the bass clarinet. It’s David Murray, though I’m not sure who
the pianist is. Immediately what hit me about David’s playing was the airflow
and the vibrato he uses, particularly in the lower register. I grew up listening
to that sound in my formative years—David, Eric Dolphy and, to a
lesser degree, Harry Carney’s bass clarinet takes on “Shadowy Sands” and
sometimes “Sophisticated Lady.” Plus there were the bass clarinet sounds
in cartoon music by Carl Stalling and on shows like “The Flintstones.” I
like what David is doing here. In the upper register he pinches a lot—almost
like pinching your nose and tightening your embouchure. His phrasing is
really similar to his tenor, especially on ballads.
Branford Marsalis Quartet
“Brews” (Four MFs Playin’ Tunes, Marsalis Music, 2012) Marsalis, soprano saxophone;
Joey Calderazzo, piano; Eric Revis, bass; Justin Faulkner, drums.
It’s Steep. That’s what they call Branford. He comes from that lineage of
soprano saxophone players like Hodges, Bechet, Trane—the cats you
can immediately identify. Branford is also quite emulated. At the beginning
of this song, it threw me a little, but once we got deeper into it, I
could hear those Branfordisms like those little tails he plays. And then
you can hear him getting ready to seriously take flight. I like that.
Donald Harrison
“Treme Swagger” (This Is Jazz: Live At The Blue Note, Half Note, 2011) Harrison, alto
saxophone; Ron Carter, bass; Billy Cobham, drums.
This sounds recent. I love where it was going. It’s kind of a Lou
Donaldson, Funky Butt, second-line form that’s so soulful. Just when
you think the saxophonist is ready to settle into a key, he picks up and
moves somewhere else. There’s a cool enigma going on, but it finally
gets back to the C. The alto player is like Lou or John Handy. There’s
a bit of Gary Bartz, too. But I think I might be talking out of turn. The
rhythm section is funky as heck. The drums set a vibe. All he needed
was a whistle, and I would have been in a line to get a po’ boy. My
guess: Sonny Fortune? [after] Well, I was definitely on course with New
Orleans. That makes sense it was Donald [Harrison]. You can hear the
alternate fingers in the middle register he uses. And it was soulful.
Gerry Mulligan
“Capricious” (Jeru, Columbia Legacy, rec’d 1962) Mulligan, baritone saxophone;
Tommy Flanagan, piano; Ben Tucker, bass; Dave Bailey, drums; Alec Dorsey, congas.
Mulligan comes to mind because of the baritone saxophone. It has the
immediate, grabbing tone—and the ideas definitely sound
Mulliganesque. It sounds like the late ’50s or early ’60s. He’s running
that much of the horn and has the bossa nova groove that permits him
to play the cut [rather] than just punctuating. It was really happening. It
was indicative of the time. Was that Hank Jones on piano? [after] It was
Tommy Flanagan? Well, a Detroit guy. I need to be shot for that.
Joe Lovano Us Five
“Birdyard” (Bird Songs, Blue Note, 2011) Lovano, aulochrome; James Weldman,
piano; Esperanza Spalding, bass; Otis Brown III and Francisco Mela, drums.
OK, you can turn it off right now. This is a dead giveaway. Of course, it’s
Lovano, but what gives it away is the aulochrome. François Louis came
up with the instrument, even though the idea goes back to 2500 B.C. in
Egypt, where there was a dual-column instrument that had two reeds.
François perfected it so that you don’t have to play multiple horns like
Rahsaan Roland Kirk. He took it a step further, where he used two
soprano saxophones together so that they could play unison, but also,
one of the horns can play dissonance. What Lovano did was really cool.
I’d love to get a hold of one, but they’re not commercially available. DB
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.
Vincent soyez
114 DOWNBEAT DECEMBER 2012