Leonard Feather Blindfold Tests

[Plays "Nieta" by Harold Land, from Harold In The Land Of Jazz, Contemporary Records (1958). Personnel: Rolf Ericson: trumpet; Harold Land: tenor saxophone; Frank Butler: drums.]

Paul Desmond: Okay.

Leonard Feather: Well.

Paul Desmond: Oh all set?

Leonard Feather: Just to be safe.

Paul Desmond: That sounded quite a bit more like Clifford, like Max Roach and Clifford Brown and... That's a good record. I don't especially want to hear it again, but I enjoyed it while it was going. Give it three stars.

Leonard Feather: Did any individuals stood out, anything? Tenor? Rhythm section, tune, anything else?

Paul Desmond: It was all very competent. Nobody stuck out especially. It's like it had a very good group sound.

Leonard Feather: Okay. Any particular preference coast wise? What would you say?

Paul Desmond: Well, it certainly sounds New York-ish.

Leonard Feather: Yeah.

[Plays "Improvisation" by Buddy Collette, from Buddy Collette's Swingin Shepherds, EmArcy Records (1958). Personnel: Buddy Collette: flute; Paul Horn: piccolo; Bud Shank: alto flute; Harry Klee: bass flute.]

Paul Desmond: That was wild.

Leonard Feather: Yeah (laughs).

Paul Desmond: I liked the writing very much if it was written, and if it wasn't written I like it even more.

Leonard Feather: Yeah. Was it hard to tell?

Paul Desmond: Yeah. At first, it sounded as if it must've been written and towards the end more and more it seemed too random to be written. Which could be very good writing or very good playing or luck. No, eliminate luck. With more than two people it takes more than that.

Leonard Feather: Yeah.

Paul Desmond: But I liked it very much. I would imagine it would have to be on the East coast somehow because I think there's more flute players out here. There seem to be an awful lot of them on their record. Is it one of those Herbie Mann organizations?

Leonard Feather: Was it possible to guess at the instrumentation? Or was that too hard to tell?

Paul Desmond: Well the only thing I could hear was an alto flute and a collection of flutes and a piccolo and some kind of hand-played drum.

Leonard Feather: Yeah that's about it. Well as long as you liked it that's the main thing. What would you rate it out of five?

Paul Desmond: Three, three and a half.

Leonard Feather: Yeah, okay.

[Plays unknown song]

Paul Desmond: Wilder was doing it, if you want to know the truth. It sounds like those Monday night studio musicians, woodwinds workshop groups, which are great to play in, but I don't think people should have to listen.

Leonard Feather: Yeah that's right. Well you wouldn't recognize anybody.

Paul Desmond: No. I'd say, well, it's hard to... Well about the three stars academically for the musicianship involved in playing it that well.

Leonard Feather: Yeah.

Paul Desmond: But no star for the idea of doing it. Not as a jazz record anyway.

[Plays unknown song]

Leonard Feather: Five stars. Don't give any five unless you think it's sensational.

Paul Desmond: Well, I think it's a good idea.

Leonard Feather: What's a good idea?

Paul Desmond: Wait, no, actually I better clarify that. I've heard Dizzy play Begin the Beguine. I think with some kind of a rhythm, but that certainly wasn't it. I don't think unless I'm losing my mind.

Leonard Feather: You're...

Paul Desmond: And I enjoyed that, but I don't enjoy this. It was much too overwritten and ornate and oppressive. I... I don't know if it was the musicians' fault, they all seemed to play pretty well. But I don't like the arrangement or again, the idea of doing that particular thing.

Leonard Feather: Yeah.

Paul Desmond: Seems to get harder to find records that you just like to listen to.

Leonard Feather: You mean as opposed to having to study them all or what?

Paul Desmond: Having to react to them, I suppose.

Leonard Feather: Well, yeah.

Paul Desmond: I- I started out sort of being conservative with the amount of stars in the theory that eventually I would reach something that I would want to give five stars to, but it seems to be working the other way. And I was never very good at fractions. I don't know. I guess two stars.

[Plays "Margo" by Teddy Charles, from New Directions 4, Prestige Records (1954). Personell: Teddy Charles: vibes, piano, composer; Shorty Rogers: trumpet; Jimmy Giuffre: tenor saxophone; Shelly Manne: drums; Curtis Counce: bass.]

Paul Desmond: Curiouser and curiouser. I have no idea who they were, but I enjoyed listening to it very much. I would like to listen to it many times again. It had that air of improvisation about it again, which puzzles me because I don't think that could have all been improvised, but it certainly had the feel.

Leonard Feather: Yeah.

Paul Desmond: Because if it was, it was certainly by very harmonically sophisticated guys.

Leonard Feather: Sure.

Paul Desmond: It was beautiful, very moody and reflective. Four...

Leonard Feather: Four stars?

Paul Desmond: Four and a half stars. I don't know what I'm saving that half a star for.

Leonard Feather: Well, maybe the real thing will come along. Any coast, ideas on that?

Paul Desmond: Well it certainly doesn't fit in with the stereotype of either coast and I imagine the individuals could be from both coasts. It's much more of an individual thing than anything else.

[Plays unknown song]

Paul Desmond: We have to wonder whether your selection of records represents journalistic foxiness or musical taste. Well, again I don't know who it was. Maybe Marge Hyams or somebody like that. I didn't like it very much. It... Oh. Playing accordion is sort of a self inflicted occupational hazard that requires an awful lot in the way of content to justify it. Which in this case didn't happen. I had, sort of had that, oh, 50% better than Muzak feeling. I'd say two stars.

[Plays "It's a Bore" by Andre Previn, from Modern Jazz Performances Of Songs From Gigi, Contemporary Records (1958). Personnel: Andre Previn: piano; Red Mitchell: bass; Shelly Manne: drums.]

Paul Desmond: Well that was Andre and Shelly. One of those show tune albums. I love that rhythm section.

Leonard Feather: Yeah.

Paul Desmond: And Andre seems to be getting closer and closer to his goals of sounding like Horace Silver.

Leonard Feather: Yeah, he sure does.

Paul Desmond: Three and a half stars.

[Plays unknown song]

Paul Desmond: It's a wonderful sound to hear again. That's got to be Gerry and Chet. Unless, well in this kind of a test, I should never say things like that because if there exists an expert duplication, I'm sure you'd be playing it for me. But I still think that's Gerry and Chet. It certainly isn't the best thing they've done, but it has a nostalgic value. If there is anything to be said about West coast or East coast jazz. If you're classified Gerry Mulligan's group as West coast, which is kind of silly because it just happens to be where they were at when they met.

Leonard Feather: Yeah that's always...

Paul Desmond: I would say this is one of the most valid things to come out of the West coast.

Leonard Feather: Yeah.

Paul Desmond: And they've done a number of remarkable things. Four stars. Oh, maybe I'm being nostalgic.

Leonard Feather: Well.

Paul Desmond: It sounded good. I liked to hear it.

Leonard Feather: Like the rhythm section?

Paul Desmond: I was... It was okay. It wasn't too demanding a situation for a rhythm section. So it's hard to tell.

Leonard Feather: Yeah.

[Plays "Red Pepper Blues" by Art Pepper, from Meets The Rhythm Section, Contemporary Records (1957). Personnel: Paul Chambers: bass; Philly Joe Jones: drums; Red Garland: piano.]

Paul Desmond: This reminds me of that blindfold test that Bill Russo took where he heard a Lee Konitz record, said it sounded as if he had fallen back into the mainstream. Which killed me at the time because it seems awful to think that you would change your playing after careful consideration and have somebody else interpret it as an unfortunate accident.

Leonard Feather: Yeah.

Paul Desmond: And my first thought was if it's Lee, he's drowning. Somebody should save him. I shouldn't say all these things. Can I edit this later?

Leonard Feather: No.

Paul Desmond: That's not fair. And I guess it was probably Bud Shank and I sympathize with him because I have the same problem in my occupation, which is to... It's a problem of one who was sort of raised in the atmosphere of cool jazz, trying to sound hostile enough to be currently acceptable.

Leonard Feather: Yeah.

Paul Desmond: Why am I saying all this? It was well done, but it wasn't really too moving.

Leonard Feather: How about the piano?

Paul Desmond: Piano sounded a little more authentic, but it's easier to do that on piano. You don't have the problem of sound.

Leonard Feather: Yeah.

Paul Desmond: It's easier to shift.

Leonard Feather: True.

Paul Desmond: And there never was... Well piano has pretty much sounded the same throughout all this, more so than horns. There's an aura of kind of competent funkiness about this. But it seems superficial and not as if it's really meant somehow.

Leonard Feather: Any comment on the bass solo?

Paul Desmond: I honestly didn't hear it.

Leonard Feather: It was an arco solo.

Paul Desmond: Oh.

Leonard Feather: Well I guess-

Paul Desmond: Could you, could you play it again, and I'll be happy to-

Leonard Feather: If you want me to. No, it wasn't that important. I can if you like.

[Skips, the following dialogue is related to the previous record.]:

Paul Desmond: Philly Joe Jones.

Leonard Feather: Yeah.

Paul Desmond: Are we still going?

Leonard Feather: Yeah.

Paul Desmond: Sounds like like Paul Chambers and Philly Joe Jones, which I suppose would mean that the alto player was Art Pepper. But the situation remains pretty much the same.

Leonard Feather: Did you rate it?

Paul Desmond: No, I didn't. Let's see if Tom James was two stars... Hard to... I sympathize with you.

Leonard Feather: Well two is fair and three is good.

Paul Desmond: I'd say three and a half for just a very good but uninspired job.

Leonard Feather: All right.