Monday, February 2, 2009

Name this singer, win a prize.

Ready for another contest? Click here and listen to a mystery track on my Vox blog.

The first person to correctly name that singer – in the comments section here – will win a prize. (Only one guess per person, please.)

That prize is a new CD featuring Miles Davis in his boppish prime, alongside John Coltrane, Cannonball Adderley, Bill Evans and other all-stars. The “Broadcast Sessions” album contains performances recorded for radio in 1958 and 1959. (Click here to hear one of those tracks.)

UPDATE (02/04/09): Well, no winner this time. Contest is over. The song is called “Miles,” and the singer is Frank Holder, an esteemed jazz vocalist in the U.K.

Holder also used to be a Calypsonian. He was born in Guyana.

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24 comments:

  1. AnonymousFebruary 2, 2009 at 4:13 PM

    I'm sorry to admit it but this sounds like Tony Bennett to me... Gonna go slit my wrists now...

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  2. KellybelleFebruary 2, 2009 at 6:18 PM

    I was gonna say Tony Bennet, too!
    I listened to Wlakin' straight through til' I realized there was no vocal. Duh.

    um...can Ihave another guess? Mel Torme?

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  3. SamFebruary 2, 2009 at 9:23 PM

    George Benson?

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  4. SamFebruary 2, 2009 at 9:38 PM

    I take it back, its not George Benson, it's probably Craig Easley.

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  5. Undercover Black ManFebruary 3, 2009 at 4:37 AM

    ^ You take it back??

    Sam, even if it was Craig Easley, you wouldn't have won the prize. Only one guess allowed.

    I can't be fucked with when I'm in game-show-nerd mode.

    Now who-da-hell is Craig Easley?

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  6. AnonymousFebruary 3, 2009 at 4:54 AM

    The pronunciation of some of the words gives it away as someone British or from perhaps from the Caribbean. I know who it is but only because I found the answer in an obvious place and confirmed it via Wikipedia. I'll leave it for someone else to claim the prize.

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  7. Undercover Black ManFebruary 3, 2009 at 4:57 AM

    ^ You don't want the prize, neptune?? You earned it, brah. Take it!

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  8. Undercover Black ManFebruary 3, 2009 at 5:38 AM

    Also, neptune, I suppose you found it in an "obvious place" after making an educated guess as to the title of the tune?

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  9. UnknownFebruary 3, 2009 at 12:17 PM

    Johnny Hartman?

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  10. WithnailFebruary 3, 2009 at 4:01 PM

    Well, shit, if no one else is gonna try.

    Harry Belafonte?

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  11. Undercover Black ManFebruary 3, 2009 at 4:17 PM

    neptune, where y'at?

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  12. WithnailFebruary 3, 2009 at 5:48 PM

    So it's not harry belafonte?

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  13. Undercover Black ManFebruary 3, 2009 at 6:02 PM

    ^ Afraid not.

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  14. AnonymousFebruary 3, 2009 at 6:10 PM

    Eddie Jefferson?

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  15. AnonymousFebruary 3, 2009 at 6:19 PM

    Nobody's guessed it yet? The answer is on UBM's Vox site.

    (Hah! The captcha for this post is "ashiness". Dang, Google, hittin' a little close to home there.)

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  16. Undercover Black ManFebruary 3, 2009 at 6:29 PM

    ^ neptune, if you think it's Oscar Brown, you're wrong.

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  17. AnonymousFebruary 3, 2009 at 6:38 PM

    Carmen McRae?

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  18. boarddebiFebruary 3, 2009 at 8:10 PM

    Hey UBM,

    Is it Miles Davis?

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  19. Undercover Black ManFebruary 3, 2009 at 10:35 PM

    ^ No, it's not.

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  20. S.O.L.February 4, 2009 at 3:04 AM

    I know it's gonna kill me when you reveal this -- or maybe not. The voice is so familiar and yet ...

    Whoever said Tony Bennett needs to listen to TB sing a bit -- nothing like him at all. I got three guesses and I know they're all wrong so I'm gonna say ... Johnny Hartman?

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  21. UnknownFebruary 4, 2009 at 4:12 AM

    Thats what I thought too...If its not Johny, I am stumped..

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  22. AnonymousFebruary 4, 2009 at 11:22 AM

    Oh wah, I was going to guess that next after some cursory googling earlier today. I just wanted to get a listen to his voice first and didn't have time to find a sample. Good contest but did you really expect anyone to get this? That guy is fairly obscure, no? Give us a reasonable shot. :-)

    That said, I'm going to ask a aficionado who's closer to Miles Davis' age whether they've ever heard of this guy.

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  23. Undercover Black ManFebruary 4, 2009 at 11:56 AM

    ^ neptune: I like a challenging contest. And it's a tricky zone between finding one that anybody would know and finding one that's ridiculously impossible.

    And while I didn't expect any of my readers to recognize Frank Holder's voice (especially since I don't have any regular U.K. readers, to my knowledge), this is one that was figure-outable... if someone wanted to invest 15 minutes or so.

    You were doing it right when you said: "The pronunciation of some of the words gives it away as someone British or from perhaps from the Caribbean." That excludes a lot of people.

    Then, if you guess that the title of the track is "Miles" (or even "Miles, Miles"), then it's a matter of just doing a little search-engine work on iTunes. It's there (audio sample and all).

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  24. S.O.L.February 5, 2009 at 12:32 AM

    Damn, I looked it up on iTunes and couldn't find it. And I knew the name of the song. I knew it had to be an obscure guy cause you wouldn't make it that easy. Give us a new one, UBM. I want that there prize. LOL

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