Ed Blackwell

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Edward Joseph "Ed" Blackwell (born October 10, 1929 in New Orleans , Louisiana , † October 7, 1992 in Hartford , Connecticut ) was an American jazz drummer who was considered a "walking lexicon of rhythms", but tonal and melodic aspects of drumming came to the fore. He felt as committed to the tradition of New Orleans as to that of Africa, accompanied with a relaxed swing, with a continuous beat and used accents on the drums rather antiphonically to the respective soloist. In his solos he stayed close to the thematic material and always emphasized the dance dimension of drumming. In 1993 he was in the Hall of Fame of downbeat selected.

life and work

Blackwells showed an interest in drumming as a child. His first snare drum -Lesson he receives in high school. During this time he was strongly influenced by Paul Barbarin , whose concerts he attended. In 1949 he began playing rhythm and blues in Ray and Plas Johnson's band . During this time he met Ornette Coleman . His jazz career began in 1956 with performances with Ellis Marsalis , Harold Battiste and Alvin Batiste , with whom he ran the Original American Jazz Quintet ; from 1957 he also worked with Ray Charles . In 1960 he moved to New York, where he replaced drummer Billy Higgins in the Ornette Coleman quartet and recorded several records, including the legendary recording " Free Jazz: A Collective Improvisation " on December 21, 1960 . In the following years Ed Blackwell also worked with John Coltrane (John Coltrane & Don Cherry: "The Avant-Garde"), Eric Dolphy and Booker Little ("At the Five Spot Vol. 1-3"), Don Cherry (et al "Complete Communion") and Archie Shepp (including "On This Night" with five drummers).

From 1965 to 1967 he was part of the group of Randy Weston , with whom he made three tours to North Africa. Blackwell's engagement with African music made itself felt in his later game. Between 1969 and 1973 he was again the drummer of the Ornette Coleman Quartet. He also made recordings with Don Cherry, Dewey Redman , Marion Brown , Karl Berger and Anthony Braxton . In 1972 he became " Artist in Residence " at Wesleyan University . Here he taught in the context of African and Afro-American studies. In 1976 he founded the band project Old and New Dreams with Don Cherry , Dewey Redman and Charlie Haden , with which he worked until his death, repeatedly interrupted by worsening kidney disease. Other partners during this time were Joe Lovano and Mal Waldron , with whom he made several records.

Blackwell, who had supervised a festival series in Atlanta, was often the focus of his own productions at major festivals in the 1990s, around 1990 in New York and 1991 in New Orleans. There were also reunions, around 1987 by the American Jazz Quintet ( From Bad to Badder ) and in 1989 by the trio with Cherry and Haden ( The Montreal Tapes ). With the record Walls-Bridges (with Dewey Redman and Cameron Brown , 1992) he appeared as a leader for the first time. In his "Ed Blackwell Project" (with Graham Haynes , Carlos Ward , Mark Helias ) he plays in memory of his friend and fellow drummer Eddie Moore .

Selection discography

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Obituary in The Independent , article in Drummerworld about Blackwood ( Memento of the original from September 2, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . It also states October 8th, Allmusic Guide . @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.drummerworld.com
  2. ↑ after M. Kunzler Jazz-Lexikon , p. 106
  3. ↑ John Litweiler: Ornette Coleman: A Harmolodic Life. William Morrow and Company, New York 1992, p. 38
personal data
SURNAME Blackwell, Ed
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Blackwell, Edward Joseph (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American jazz drummer
DATE OF BIRTH October 10, 1929
PLACE OF BIRTH New Orleans
DATE OF DEATH October 7, 1992
Place of death Hartford, Connecticut