Words: 70
Average Length: 5.20
Difficulty: Like swinging convincingly in 5/4 time
On my best days playing alto sax, my tone was a pale imitation of Paul Desmond’s crystal, liquid, heavenly sound. Desmond was a marvel – a soloist whose intelligence and grace made his lines seem inevitable, and a composer of one of the very greatest jazz classics (see 60 Across), track three on the Dave Brubeck Quartet’s hugely influential Time Out album (one of the best-selling jazz albums of all time). If you know the tune, the puzzle should be medium difficulty; if you don’t, it’ll be tougher. Check out this live performance. Desmond’s sinuous solo builds tension and release over a hypnotic, two-chord drone (Eb minor-Bb minor). Brubeck follows with a brief, mysterious piano solo far removed from his usual crashing chords. Anyway, I hope you enjoy the puzzle – and I really hope you enjoy the tune and give Desmond and the Dave Brubeck Quartet a listen.
Words: 24
Average Length: 4.67
Difficulty: Maybe a tad tougher than usual. Or maybe not. I don’t know.
This week’s MMM features a brilliant musician who is also very funny (whom you all know), another brilliant musician who is also very funny (whom you probably don’t know but should), a major earworm, and a smattering of rock, K-Pop, standards, and rap. Enjoy!
I’m back from a wonderful trip hiking in Wales and riding trains in the Isle of Man (including the railway that inspired Thomas the Tank Engine!). I’m posting this early because I cracked my computer screen and I’m not sure how long it’ll take to repair it. Stay tuned for a challenging Themeless on Sunday, assuming I have my computer back.
Words: 74
Average Length: 5.11
Difficulty: More moderate than the temperature outside, that’s for sure
July 4 was a big deal to some of our Founding Fathers, just not in the way you think. Solve and find out what I mean.
I’m taking a short break from posting while I spend a few days hiking in Wales and then exploring the Isle of Man. I’ll have a new puzzle up on July 13. Stay cool!
Words: 16
Average Length: 5.25
Difficulty: A smidge tougher than average maybe?
Mix one cup of rock, a couple of tablespoons of pop, indie, and rap, and a dash of other music stuff, pour the mixture over 7 artfully arranged squares of very dark chocolate, marinate for a few weeks in your “Upcoming Puzzles” folder, and voila – Mostly Musical Mini 13, where, fittingly, 13 of the 16 clues are legitimately music-related. I hope you find it tasty!
Words: 16
Average Length: 5.00
Difficulty: Listening-habits specific – this one leans heavily jazz and rock
I started with the cold/hot pair at 4D and 12A and ended up with a bit of R&B, jazz, disco, and classic rock. Which is an indirect way of saying that none of the theme entries is more recent than around 1976. I’ll try to be more chronologically inclusive (i.e., less fusty) in future offerings, I promise.
Words: 76
Average Length: 4.87
Difficulty: Gently moderate
Ah, June in DC: The gnats are swarming, the Nats are in last place, and natch, I’ve got a June-themed puzzle for you. Please enjoy and share!
Words: 16
Average Length: 5.25
Difficulty: Moderato
Yesterday’s LA Times/Wash. Post puzzle, 23 Across: Clue – *Tunes for fogies. Answer – Classic Rock. The clue was asterisked to indicate an answer fitting the “sugar coat” theme, or as the clue for the “sugar coat” answer put it, “make sweeter, in the way the theme answers do to their starred clues.” As an old college friend of mine used to say, “I resemble that remark.” (I graduated college in 1980, so any college friend of mine is an old friend.)
Having said that, note that out of 12 music-related clues in this week’s mini, only one answer (11 Across), a mere 8.3%, is arguably classic rock-related. Don’t claim that 4 Down were classic rock. They were a classic band, but a decade too late.
Jeff's Puzzles