Hampton's Jazz Fest & DownBeat Magazine

present Live Jazz Blindfold Test

with Pianist/Composer Bill O'Connell

and moderator Dan Ouellette

Wednesday ~ 9/13/23 ~ 6:00PM

Admission is Free
 

WHAT IS A BLINDFOLD TEST?

As per Downbeat Magazine, 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.

​

BIOS:

Dan Ouellette is a New York-based writer, author, journalist, editor, curator and speaker with an expertise in jazz music as well as “beyond jazz” music includes significant archival interviews with Frank Zappa, Lou Reed, Elvis Costello, John Lee Hooker, David Byrne, Allison Kraus, T-Bone Burnett, Joni Mitchell and others. Dan travels the world covering music. His explorations include Beijing, Cape Town (South Africa), Melbourne (Australia), Mali, Istanbul, Canada (Vancouver, Montreal, Quebec City), the Mississippi Delta juke joints, Austria, and Italy (Genova, Perugia and Orvieto).

 

Bill O’Connell

After a 40 year long career that has seen him excel as a leader, soloist, arranger, musical director, and accompanist for some of the most celebrated names in jazz and Latin jazz, grammy nominated pianist Bill O’Connell can lay claim to a track record of challenging and artistic-diverse triumphs that few of his peers can match. Bill has displayed his versatility performing , writing and arranging for numerous jazz and latin jazz artists including Sonny Rollins, Chet Baker, Mongo SantaMaria, Dave Valentin, Gato Barbieri, Jerry Gonzalez as well as vocalists Jon Lucien, Astrud Gilberto and Kenny Rankin. He has recorded 17 CD’s as a leader including “A Change is Gonna Come” on the Savant label. “Bill O’Connell’s Savant recording ( A Change is Gonna Come) cements his place as a master of the broadest spectrum of musical styles, a giant of modern jazz and a member of Latin jazz royalty.” (Fye.com) Bill’s latest CD is “Bill O’Connell Live in Montauk” (Savant, June 2023). Dan Ouellette writes, (Live in Montauk) “ …is fresh and energetic as the nearby crashing waves…” .

This CD was recorded as part of the Hampton’s JazzFest in 2021.