Johnathan Blake - Passage

August 11, 2023

Label: Blue Note Records, 2023

Personnel - Immanuel Wilkins: alto saxophone; Joel Ross: vibraphone; David Virelles: piano; Dezron Douglas: bass; Johnathan Blake: drums.

Drummer Johnathan Blake demonstrates virtuosity in his compositional itineraries and pragmatism in his band leading. He has been a busy sideman working alongside the likes of Kenny Barron, Bill Frisell, Tom Harrell and the late Dr. Lonny Smith. Passage is his sophomore release on Blue Note and a powerful follow-up to the deservedly acclaimed Homeward Bound, picked by JazzTrail as one of the best jazz albums of 2021. There are no changes to the lineup of his excellent multi-generational Pentad ensemble, which features saxophonist Immanuel Wilkins, vibraphonist Joel Ross, pianist David Virelles and bassist Dezron Douglas.

Dedicated to Johnathan’s late father, the jazz violinist John Blake Jr., the album kicks off exclusively percussive at the sound of mallets and cymbals, but plays like a melody. The tidal pull of his approach takes us to his father’s tune “Passage”, where we indulge in a beautifully swinging post-bop. The caressing theme statement is asserted by Wilkins, who takes the first solo with impetuous genius. He’s followed by the always rhythmically interesting Virelles, who besides contributing one of his sultry Afro-Cuban-infused compositions named “Tiempos”, delivers a fantastic solo on Blake’s “West Berkley St.”, a soulful, Motown-inspired tune full of groove and joy.

Equal parts cheerful and cool, Blake’s “Groundhog Day” has Wilkins and Ross driving the piece to ecstatic heights. They also find wide harmonic avenues to explore - with adventurous notes that fall in and out of scope - on Douglas’ “A Slight Taste”, which is etched by a smokin’ funky groove. Virelles stretches out on Minimoog, to which he adds Fender Rhodes sounds on “Muna & Johna's Playtime”. Despite the odd meter, the piece is seamless in the flow with a folk contour in the melody, featuring Wilkins and Virelles in a stimulating musical interlocution. Ross, who steps forward here in the final vamping sequence, is also at the center of “Out of Sight, Out of Mind“, a bewitching, horn-less ballad delivered with a Bobby Hutcherson vibe.

Open to different genres, grooves and intensities, Johnathan Blake puts out a lovely recording that brims with openheartedness and positive expression. He remains one of the most sought-after drummers of the scene as he adapts to classic jazz environments as well as modern contexts with remarkable prowess.

Favorite Tracks:
02 - Passage ► 05 - Groundhog Day ► 08 - A Slight Taste

Johnathan Blake - Homeward Bound

October 20, 2021

Label: Blue Note Records, 2021

Personnel - Immanuel Wilkins: alto saxophone; Joel Ross: vibraphone; David Virelles: piano; Dezron Douglas: bass; Jonathan Blake: drums.

Jonathan Blake, one of the most respected and sought-after jazz drummers on the scene, carved a path through the contemporary jazz with some powerful albums released under his name (The Eleventh Hour; Trion) as well as fruitful collaborations with Tom Harrell, Kenny Barron and Dave Holland, Dr. Lonnie Smith, Jaleel Shaw and Maria Schneider.

For Homeward Bound, the fourth entry in his personal discography and his debut on the Blue Note Records, he convenes a freshly formed quintet, Pentad, which features prodigious musicians such as saxophonist Immanuel Wilkins, vibist Joel Ross, bassist Dezron Douglas and pianist David Virelles.

A one-minute drum intro prepares the terrain for the title track, a beautiful theme that Blake composed for saxophonist Jimmy Greene's daughter, Ana Grace, whose life was taken at the age of six during the Sandy Hook elementary school shooting in 2012. Marvelously expressed with odd meter signature, the piece is illuminated by a slick harmonic progression and radiant melodic insight. It also encapsulates mesmerizing improvisation from Ross and Wilkins, who alternate bars with a focused sense of direction, and then Virelles, who scrumptiously blurs the picture with impeccable note choices. Blake also shines, becoming lyrically busy over a vamp marked by contrapuntal adorn.

Boasting a silky synth-soaked texture, “Rivers & Parks” has everyone swinging and grooving, but it’s Wilkins who leaps out, exploring outside boundaries and heating his vocabulary with fervid figures. His mesmeric improvised flights also come into view during the extroverted reworking (in six) of Joe Jackson’s 1982 electropop hit “Steppin’ Out”. Virelles, who enters the stage alone on this one, provides wonderful comping throughout while bass and drums embrace this delicious state of ecstasy.

The two other tunes that didn’t come from the pen of Blake are “Shakin’ the Biscuits”, a bouncy, funkified, bopish frolic written by Douglas that will put you in a great mood, and “Abiyoyo”, a traditional South African children’s song in sextuple meter whose lullabyish melody runs in circles.

Blake’s “LLL”, a dedication to the late drummer Lawrence 'Lo' Leathers, is a stirring post-bop number that gives Ross plenty of time to showcase his progressive mallet prowess.

The elegant drumming of Blake permeates the album. His accomplishment here is not just a direct result of an accumulated experience throughout the years, but also the refined taste that shows up in everything he does.

Favorite Tracks:
02 - Homeward Bound ► 04 - Shakin’ the Biscuits ► 08 - Steppin’ Out

Johnathan Blake - Trion

May 21, 2019

Label: Giant Step Arts, 2019

Personnel - Chris Potter: tenor saxophone; Linda May Han Oh: double bass; Johnathan Blake: drums.

Johnathan Blake is an influential drummer known for his resolute actions and instinctive reactions. His trio with saxophonist Chris Potter and bassist Linda May Han Oh is an example of both musical cohesion and freedom. Thus, the title Trion, which in physics means a singlet state formed from three atoms of different colors, couldn’t have been more appropriate to identify this double-album recorded live at The Jazz Gallery in New York and released on Jimmy Katz’s imprint Giant Step Arts.

Both discs open with a solo statement by Blake: “Calondedrum”, named for an evergreen tree native in Africa, and “Bedrum”, which means ‘drum about in celebration’. Speaking about celebration, it’s impossible to get away from the jubilant rhythmic expression of The Police’s “Synchronicity I”, which, maintaining the original time signature of 6/4, feels like a lively post-bop rollercoaster ride where Potter delves into a phenomenal and disseminative grooving idiom. The indelible hookup between Oh and Blake branches out in powerful statements. The bassist takes some time digging strong rhythmic figures and the drummer, in phase with his bandmates, pushes forward before the tradeoffs with Potter. Other celebratory occasions that encourage cultural diversity and eclectic sounds can be found on Potter’s optimistic “Good Hope”, a blazing South African-inspired piece where Blake makes shakiness a virtue with a gifted Afro-centric pulse. The saxophonist is not just mercurial here, also loading Blake’s gospel-inflected “West Berkeley St.” with ecstatic vibes. This last tune was named after a street in Philadelphia, where the drummer grew up.

No matter the angle from which the trio approaches the music, you will feel an energy that engulfs you wave upon wave. “One For Honor”, penned by bassist Charles Fambrough, is a wonderful example, stretching with a playful disposition that melds swing and Latin jazz. If Potter is determined and goes timbral in the final vamp, Blake summons many colors, adding gravity and tension to his playing.

Both “Blue Heart” and “No Bebop Daddy” drift effortlessly with a three-time feel. The former is a previously unrecorded piece by Blake’s father - jazz violinist John Blake, Jr., while the latter composition was inspired by Donny McCaslin’s young son’s frustration about the music chosen by his father while driving him to school. This number evinces a moderate inclination to rock and boasts a bass solo that combines articulation with sensitivity and deliberation. Even if no bebop is found here, Parker’s “Relaxin’ at Camarillo” brings it back.

Linda Oh’s compositional contribution is a time-shifting piece swamped in metaphors called “Trope”. After delving in a three-minute solo intro, she literally provides harmonic substance for Potter’s melodies with Blake filling every corner with enchanting brushed cymbals.

These leading contemporary jazz figures employ their accurate sense of direction, improvisatory ferocity, and instinct for groove, catapulting Blake’s artistic statement to a place of distinction.

Favorite Tracks:
02 (disc1) - Synchronicity I ► 05 (disc1) - One For Honor ► 02 (disc2) - Good Hope