Blindfold Test

STEVEN SUSSMAN
BY TED PANKEN

Aaron Parks
P
ianist Aaron Parks, 32, has been a force in jazz since he joined
Terence Blanchard 15 years ago, as was most recently demonstrat-
ed on his 2013 solo CD, Arborescence (ECM), and on his influential
2008 Blue Note CD, Invisible Cinema. This was Parks’ first Blindfold Test.

ELEW
“My Favorite Things” (And To The Republic, Sunnyside, 2016) ELEW, piano; Reginald
Veal, bass; Jeff Watts, drums.
Eric Lewis? He sent up a line, and then started hammering out these
octaves repeatedly in this way I’ve heard him do many times at different
jam sessions. To me, it was too much of a good thing. It started with the
melody, then immediately off to the races with a bunch of different stuff,
then the melody again, then a bunch of a different stuff. At the begin-
ning, I wasn’t so into it. In the middle I was like, “All right, get in there,
absolutely.” At the end it lost me again. We had already reached the pin-
nacle. We didn’t need more. The trio felt like piano with bass and drums
that happened to also be there. I loved the drummer—super-happening
and swinging. I could hardly hear the bass over the voicings.
Joey Alexander
“Soul Dreamer” (Countdown, Motéma, 2016) Alexander, piano; Larry Grenadier, bass;
Ulysses Owens, drums.
Interesting approach to articulation. The pedaling is inconsistent—a lot
of notes and chords end up shorter, jarringly so, than I expect in a song
like this, which has a flowing energy. There are some Glasperisms; this
person has listened to and absorbed some of that stuff. Then at the end of
the form there’s the unexpected, Chick Corea-ish double-the-bass melo-
dy. A nice modern piano trio track. I’m not sure how I liked it. It just all
sort of happened, and I didn’t feel particularly taken with or intrigued
about what was going to happen next.
Renee Rosnes
“Lucy From Afar” (Written In The Rocks, SmokeSessions, 2016) Rosnes, piano; Steve Nel-
son, vibraphone; Peter Washington, bass; Bill Stewart, drums.
The rhythm from the piano feels good, and the piano solo kept to the
point—a refreshing length. A hip ending as well. It felt like everyone was
on the same mission and were going for it together.
Edward Simon
“Volver” (Latin American Songbook, Sunnyside, 2016) Simon, piano; Joe Martin, bass;
Adam Cruz, drums.
Funky intro. I know the melody, but can’t place it. It’s a tango. It’s a
tricky arrangement, and I feel this is maybe a third or fourth take, so
the rhythm feels on the grid, as sometimes happens when you’re try-
ing to play a lot of written-out stuff correctly. But there’s a lot that I
really like. The pianist’s touch. The motivic development. The voic-
ings, the harmony, these phrases that pop out and emerge. I hear
elements of Gonzalo Rubalcaba and Danilo Pérez shining through
somehow, especially at the beginning. Oh, it’s Ed Simon. I love Ed. I
used to listen to him a lot, especially before I joined Terence’s band.
Now the drumming is funky. Could be Adam Cruz, who I’ve always
loved, but has really shined for me in recent years.
Matthew Shipp
“In A Sentimental Mood” (To Duke, RougeArt, 2014) Shipp, piano; Michael Bisio, bass;
Whit Dickey, drums.
This reminds me of My Name Is Albert Ayler, where he goes through
standards like “I have something to say about your American
Songbook!” Actually, the piano player is playing it pretty close to the
Aaron Parks
vest, staying centered amidst all the chaos. There’s something mantric
about it. The simplicity reminds me of Mal Waldron, and the three-
note groupings remind me of Vijay Iyer, but the touch doesn’t sound
at all like him. The approach felt earnest and honest, like somebody
talking about a sentimental mood that had basically crossed over the
line into madness. It didn’t feel ironic.
Bruce Barth Trio
“Almost Blue” (Live At Smalls, SmallsLive, 2010) Barth, piano; Vicente Archer, bass;
Rudy Royston, drums.
The piano is soft in the mix. This feels like a live record. Whoever this
is seems most comfortable playing fast. At the beginning, it wasn’t
particularly gelling with the rhythm section, but everybody wanted
to swing and then they got there. It’s a roaming left hand—always
wanting to say something, like another melodic voice wanting to
enter the picture. Fun track.
Kris Davis
“Twice Escaped” (Waiting For You To Grow, Clean Feed, 2014) Davis, piano; John
Hébert, bass; Tom Rainey, drums.
Nice touch right off the bat. Committed to the single-note piano line
idea. I love the drummer. Is it Marcus Gilmore? Oh, is this Kris Davis?
She has a certain flow that I recognized when she went into time. I appre-
ciate the clarity of her tone. I love the bassist, too, with the muscular tone
and multi-functional approach, taking care of different parts simultane-
ously. I love the whole thing. It felt like everybody was listening and play-
ing together, and was very happening when it went into time. Very cool.
Rob Clearfield
“Islands” (Islands, Eyes and Ears, 2016) Clearfield, piano, organ; Curt Bley, bass; Quin
Kirchner, drums.
The head was mellow, flowing and songful, but now it’s linear mad-
ness on the solo—a totally different song. Then back to the head. This
feels forced, like something needs to happen. It’s a pet peeve when
people set up a mood and subvert it on the solo. The head has these
Glasper-ish, Bruce Hornsby-ish chords, some pretty harmony that I
wish I’d had a chance to hear come through in the blowing. 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.

106 DOWNBEAT NOVEMBER 2016