Leonard Feather Blindfold Tests

[Plays unknown song.]

Leonard Feather: Branford Marsalis blindfold test record number one.

Branford Marsalis: My first inclination when I hear the size of the band and the orchestration would be to think Gil Evans, but it's not Gil because he doesn't write like that. Has to be George Russell. He reminded me, it's because I was going to do a big band record.

Leonard Feather: Oh really?

Branford Marsalis: And Thad Jones was writing the arrangements for me when he passed. And one of the songs we were going to do was New York, New York.

Leonard Feather: No kidding.

Branford Marsalis: With George Russell. So I had to listen to that song for about four months.

Leonard Feather: My goodness.

Branford Marsalis: And we had come to the conclusion, well I had come to the conclusion, Thad would never say yes or no but, that it was, I couldn't use almost anything that George had done.

Leonard Feather: Really?

Branford Marsalis: Like uh, Get to the ticket, find your ticket, go. That was great. But then when the band started, the arrangement, it's just meandering then nothing. It just goes on and on and on and it doesn't have any point of reference or anything. And I just couldn't... I knew there's no way I could play that, and I just didn't want to hear that on my record.

Leonard Feather: Is that what you hear here also?

Branford Marsalis: Unfortunately, yes. So that's how I knew it was him because it sounded so much, that it reminded me. That's why I kind of giggled because I remember the frustration of figuring out... The second part of the song in New York, New York is great. You know the part where it slows down.

Leonard Feather: Oh yeah, yeah.

Branford Marsalis: And he starts talking about lack of attentions that can I hide from, but it's the sort of like... That's great harmony. But I think when George was, just my opinion though, when he tried to get very creative and very unusual, it was very unusual, but it just kind of sat there.

Leonard Feather: Yeah.

Branford Marsalis: You know what I mean?

Leonard Feather: Yeah, I got you.

Branford Marsalis: I knew this was him after a while.

Leonard Feather: Yeah.

Branford Marsalis: I knew it was, because George Russell is the only other guy that has a band with that kind of instrumentation other than Gil.

Leonard Feather: Yeah. Yeah. So, any rating?

Branford Marsalis: I don't rate, I don't give rating.

Leonard Feather: Well, you could. I mean, it's not that... What you're saying, in effect is you don't think it's just...

Branford Marsalis: Two stars.

Leonard Feather: That's what it was. It's from a new album. I think it's new. It's on Blue Note.

Branford Marsalis: It's rough, man...

[Plays "You Are The One" by Chico Freeman, from Tangents, Elektra Musician Records (1984). Personnel: Chico Freeman: composer, tenor saxophone; Steve Coleman: alto saxophone; Bobby McFerrin: vocal.]

Branford Marsalis: Well, the composition was Steve Coleman's. It's Steve Coleman playing saxophone, whom I love and admire the hell out of, I love the way he plays and I love his approach to the music, particularly in composition as well as performance. Bobby McFerrin, I would, presume was singing. I've heard him do about a 100% better than that and this isn't, I think he's still, probably is the premiere voice of the 20th century in terms of the voice, maybe not the interpretation sometimes. The tenor player, I don't know. The only person that came to my mind was Chico Freeman. I don't know if it was him or not. Was that him?

Leonard Feather: Tell you in a minute.

Branford Marsalis: Okay. I don't know if that was him or not, but that was definitely Steve. The drummer...

Leonard Feather: Who was Steve?

Branford Marsalis: Steve Coleman. I thought it was Steve Coleman on alto.

Leonard Feather: You did?

Branford Marsalis: Yeah. I think that one of the major problems I had with this record is recording technique. Is this, you can't tell what kind of relationship the drummer and the bass player have because the drummer's in an isolation booth. You can tell he's isolated and separated and it sounds so bad because it never really swings because there's no air, there's no interspersion, there's no group sound. And those kinds of records they always upset me, so that is very hard for me to get to the music because the recording sounds so bad. And I think that subconsciously that happens to a lot of other people as well, and I would use this to make a pitch to get musicians to study more about the acoustics of music, and why things work, and why they don't, and strive for better recording technique. The drummer, taking a shot in the dark, I would, it sounded that, points to me like Billy Hart, but I was never really sure.

Leonard Feather: Like the composition?

Branford Marsalis: I liked it. I don't particularly like the arrangement. I like the composition though. No, I don't particularly... It would sound like Steve, but then it doesn't because it can't be Steve's record to me because Steve stuff is a lot more structured than that, the way that that turned out. Yeah. You know, it's as if there was a whole lot of ifs. It sounded like Steve though, I'd be surprised if it was somebody else.

Leonard Feather: Do you want to rate it? Good, three, fair?

Branford Marsalis: Three...

Leonard Feather: Two? All right.

Branford Marsalis: No three. Probably it would have gotten a four if I could distinguish it better. The recording technique brings it down to a three.

[Plays unknown song]

Branford Marsalis: I have no idea who that was. It will remind me of some of the pieces you're forced to play when you study classical music as a saxophone major at any of those institutions. But they didn't remind me of saxophone students because they didn't have that obnoxious vibrato that most classical saxophonists would have. Soprano player sounds like they listen to a lot of Wayne or that they're very influenced by the Weather Report Wayne. The music sounds like it would be good in a horror movie. I mean really, it's good is add tension and climax is concerned. But it reminds me of a lot of 20th century composers who write for saxophones in the classical genre. It's like, I fail to see the point of it. You know, it just kind of, it is what it is and it goes on, and other than showing what kind of impeccable technique the performers have, musically it does nothing, it just sits there. It's like... You know, I can't even think of any other instrument that has to suffer through that though. Even in trumpet, like The Carnival of Venice is at least musical. I mean, that was some of the most unmusical stuff that I've heard in quite some time. And not in terms of the musicians performing. It's just the piece itself is no, it doesn't leave you a whole lot to play with. You know, a whole bunch of Slonimsky scales. Scales that you can find in any music thesaurus. And if you practice them long enough then you can play them.

Leonard Feather: Yeah. I guess.

Branford Marsalis: Four stars for technique. Zero for musical content.

Leonard Feather: Yeah.

Branford Marsalis: What was that shit?

[Plays "Airegin" by Miles Davis, from Bag's Groove, Prestige Records (1957). Personnel: Miles Davis: trumpet; Sonny Rollins: tenor saxophone; Percy Heath: bass; Kenny Clarke: drums.]

Branford Marsalis: Certain records need no rating. It reminds me of one time I was reading DownBeat, and this idiot was reviewing Miles Live at the Plugged Nickel, probably one of the greatest albums that that quintet ever recorded, which was really attributed to how they sounded. But he gave it like three stars, two stars or something like that.

Leonard Feather: Who did?

Branford Marsalis: I don't remember who it was, but whoever it was should be shot. I mean really, and he was saying that it was like a ho-hum record, really wasn't nothing exciting. I mean, he'd probably gotten it a week before he reviewed it. Said when it sounded good, it sounded like Wayne's band, he sounded good but... I mean somebody really didn't have an idea of creativity. And that's when I realized that certain records, man, they shouldn't even be rated, shouldn't even be considered like 5,000 stars automatically. Sonny Rollins is playing Nigeria spelled backwards. You know, we're already talking about that. What can I say man? It's Miles anew. Is that Max? I don't know. I don't remember that well. It didn't really sound like him...And Percy Heath? Is it Percy?

Leonard Feather: Percy Heath, Kenny Clarke.

Branford Marsalis: Kenny Clark, yeah. The Klook man. Percy Heath, man I love the way he plays the bass. The lines are so lyrical and smooth. I'd love to do a record with him one day.

[Plays "Lush Life" by the World Saxophone Quartet, from Plays Duke Ellington, Nonesuch Records (1986). Personnel: Julius Hemphill: alto saxophone, arranger; Oliver Lake: alto saxophone: David Murray: tenor saxophone; Hamiet Bluiett: baritone saxophone.]

Branford Marsalis: When I originally went to school, I went to school for arranging. So it reminds me of, there were a lot of students who came in and you had to reharmonize old standards. So what cats would do was, whenever they wanted to do something that sounded new and inventive, they would get all of these chords and they'd figure out all these chords that work with the melody line. They really don't work with the melody line because I mean if they had worked that good with the melody line then Strayhorn would have wrote it that way when he put it down. But they re harmonized all of these chords and what winds up happening is most of them run into a brick wall and you get a good one out of everyone. And they can't figure out which ones to use and which ones not to use. The saxophone soli section was really happening because it's cool to do that in soli sax and because the lines are moving by so fast and it doesn't matter. The soli part was real nice. The only person I can figure this being is the modern jazz, not modern, the world saxophone quartet, because that's the only saxophone group I've ever heard that has such that full bodied sound. You know, I don't know if it's the sound of it, it's just, it has to be them because they have that sound that I've never heard. The only group I've heard to come close to that is that 125th street saxophone quartet of Bobby Washington, Ed Jackson, Jim Hartung, and the other guy's name I can't remember. But all those other groups don't have that sound. It sounds like they're trying to play louder than the next guy, or else it sounds like they're just, it sounds like they've been in the studios too long. But these cats have that sound, they sound like they've been playing together a lot. So I can't figure it being anybody but them. But the re harmonization of the melody is a bit hokey for me. So I give it like four stars for sound and performance, and I had to give it like a two on that arrangement.

Leonard Feather: Yeah, I know what you mean.

Unknown Speaker: Hello Branford.

Branford Marsalis: Good to see you again, how have you...

[Plays "Splatch" by Miles Davis, from Tutu, Warner Bros. Records (1986). Personnel: Miles Davis: trumpet; Marcus Miller: all other instruments.]

Leonard Feather: Just repeat what you just said.

Branford Marsalis: When?

Leonard Feather: I can turn it off.

Branford Marsalis: I said you can turn it off now I already know what this is. I can sing this whole track for you from the beginning to the end.

Leonard Feather: You like it that well?

Branford Marsalis: Yeah, I really do. I think it's killing. I can't remember the name of the track. What's it called?

Leonard Feather: Splatch.

Branford Marsalis: Splatch. Right. I think this record shows a lot of things. It shows Marcus Miller's emergence as a first rate producer.

Leonard Feather: Uh-huh?

Branford Marsalis: I think it's finally what Miles has always wanted, which was to be like successful in the pop format, even though I don't know how successful he will be, I know that it's what he wanted. You know, the record companies would do themselves a favor by quit shoving him in the jazz section and putting him more on the pop section where he wants to be. This is a very marketable album. The first side, I think the second side is dreadful, but the first side is very marketable and it has some great tunes on it. You know, the whole first side.

Leonard Feather: Wait a minute. Is that on the first side? Splatch?

Branford Marsalis: Definitely. Last cut, first side.

Leonard Feather: You should know right?

Branford Marsalis: The first side is happening, the second side is kind of rough. I think Marcus could have done himself a better, a greater favor by not playing saxophone on that. You know, because that was like the real low point of the album. But this was one of those rare records where even though he's playing every instrument, it doesn't sound like it, and that's a true credit to him. I know for a fact that Miles knows very little about the way these records are done and the recording technique used to do them. So I think that it's kind of a downer that such an incredible musical presence as Miles Davis has been reduced to a spectator on his own record. Because I know from how these records are made, and I know from playing with Miles that the only thing he did was come in and play them overdubs. They overdubbed his parts when the rhythm track was finished, because his mind doesn't think like Marcus', this is definitely a Marcus Miller production. And it's kind of down that Miles was reduced to a spectator on his own record, but the record is happening, I like the cuts for particularly, like I said again, on the first side. So I'll give five stars to side one. Judging this as a pop record, first of all, let's get it straight. I'm not judging this as a jazz record at all. Judging this as an instrumental pop record, you know, George Howard and all those guys, this record gets five stars. The production is much better than all those other records in instrumental records, shadow effects and special effects. The production on this is incredible. Miles sounds better than he sounded, I think, on any of those records since he's come back. Two stars for side two, five stars for side one.

Leonard Feather: That's interesting. Yeah, okay. That's very interesting because...