Downbeat blindfold test by Ted Panken: Martial Solal

[jputterman26]

Ellington isn't known as well for his piano playing as he is for his compositions, but what Martial is saying is that the playing on this tune is nothing special. That's his view, and it is at the very least informed by his own skill.

[IntuitionDigression]

I was there and saw the entire bllindfold test: it was a disaster for Martial Solal. He is not able to be a critic, but he is not meant to be a critic. Martial Solal is a fantastic player and artist, a genius, but he should refrain himself from giving musical judgments and evaluating his peers: evaluation and critique is the job of jazz critics, not the job of musicians. Actually, blindfold tests should be moree properly proposed to critics, not musicians (it would tell us much about critics)

[vova47]

He couldn´t recognize Duke, one of the most individual sounds in jazz piano, these little fills he makes cannot belong to anybody but him. As for his comments he has the right to be critical even if the person in question is a great musician, but to say it could be just anybody is ridiculous...

[JessePiano]

Thanks for this clip. Martial has balls to be put on the spot like this. "No comment" haha