From The Archives: The Duke As a Hillbilly????

When I was researching that “trick” quiz question on the first Leonard Feather Blindfold Test, I came upon the Downbeat Special 20th Anniversary Issue from June 30, 1954. In addition to talking about the Blindfold Tests, Feather had some great stories and quotes. Here’s a comment from Jack Teagarden on Duke Ellington: “I never did like anything Ellington ever did. He never had a band all in tune, always has a bad tone and a bad blend. I’d just as soon listen to a hillbilly on a jukebox.”

This is what Feather had to say about the first Mary Lou Williams Blindfold test from 1946:

“Mary Lou set the pace perfectly; her denunciations of Jelly Roll, Bunk, et al, her praise for Woody and other modernists gave pause to the die-hard scribes and who, because of their respect for her as a musician, gave her comments serious consideration.”