Johnathan Blake

Johnathan Blake, Oslo Jazzfestival 2018
Picture: Tore Sætre

Johnathan Blake (* 1. June 1976 in Philadelphia ) is an American jazz - drummer .

Live and act

Johnathan Blake son of jazz violinist John Blake Jr . He started playing the drums when he was ten; He gained his first experience in his hometown in the Lovett Hines Youth Ensemble . After graduating from George Washington High School, he studied jazz at William Paterson University with Rufus Reid , John Riley , Steve Wilson and Horacee Arnold . During this time he began to work as a professional musician, u. a. in the Oliver Lake Big Band , with Roy Hargrove and David Sánchez . In 2006 he received the ASCAP Young Composers Award ; the following year he completed his studies with a master's in composition at Rutgers University (studied with Ralph Bowen , Conrad Herwig and Stanley Cowell ).

The first recordings were made in 1996 by Norman Simmons ; Blake then worked in the Mingus Big Band in the 2000s and appeared on their Grammy- nominated albums Tonight at Noon (2002) and I Am Three (2005). He also played with Ronnie Cuber , Russell Malone , Randy Brecker and Joe Locke , with whom he performed on JazzBaltica in 2009 . He can also be heard on recordings by Omer Avital , George Colligan , Wayne Escoffery , Tom Harrell , Brian Lynch , Donny McCaslin , Monday Michiru , Alex Sipiagin and Jack Walrath . With musicians like Benjamin Koppel , Kenny Werner and Scott Colley he recorded the album Brooklyn Jazz Session (2011); In 2012 he released his debut album The Eleventh Hour (Sunnyside), on which saxophonists Mark Turner and Jaleel Shaw participated. In 2018 he worked with Jonathan Kreisberg at Dr. Involved in Lonnie Smith's album All in My Mind ( Blue Note ). In the field of jazz, Blake participated in 58 recording sessions between 1996 and 2018. In 2019 he was a member of the Kálmán Oláh Quartet (with John Hébert and Tim Ries ), also in the quartet of Oded Tzur .

Web links

• Jonathan Blake's website. In: johnathanblake.com. Retrieved April 3, 2018 . 
• Johnathan Blake at Allmusic (English)
• Johnathan Blake at Discogs (English)
• Larry Englund: Interview with drummer Johnathan Blake. In: rhythmandgrooves.net. December 4, 2010, accessed April 3, 2018 . 

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Johnathan Blake Bio. In: johnathanblake.com. Retrieved April 3, 2018 . 
2. ↑ Jazz Listings for Feb. 8-14. In: nytimes.com. February 7, 2013, accessed April 3, 2018 . 
3. ↑ Tom Lord: The JAZZ Discography. In: lordisco.com. Retrieved February 20, 2020 .