DOWN BEAT MAGAZINE: BLINDFOLD TESTS

Earlier this week, NPR's Jazz Blog posted some links to classic Blindfold Test interviews that I was completely enthralled by. Down Beat's Blindfold Tests were essentially "blind" listening sessions with jazz giants. Each musician was given zero information about whatever record they were about to hear and then they were asked to not only guess who/what they were listening to but attempt to give the performance a rating.

The responses vary depending not only on what records are played but also the particular interviewee's personality. Miles comes across a bit bi-polar as he jumps from great praise and excitement to vicious attacks on record companies and what he calls "sad records." Mingus is extremely self-deprecating, almost refusing to acknowledge that his opinions on jazz are valid. While Monk is on a completely different planet, and occasionally in a different room all together.

Here are the links to the few tests I've been flipping through. I advise that while you read along you also look up each of these tracks on Youtube or Spotify to see if you can hear what they're talking about. Whether you agree or disagree doesn't matter, these men have earned the right to say what they like. Enjoy.

Miles Davis: 1955, 1958, 1964, and 1968

Thelonious Monk: 1966

Charles Mingus: 1960