Americana is often reduced to a particular musical sound—folk, country, roots and the familiar twang associated with those traditions. But the idea of Americana can be far more expansive. If American music is understood as the sum of the country's extraordinary musical history, then the definition can stretch from Jimmy Webb to Thelonious Monk, Charles Ives to Beyoncé. Pianist Ran Blake and vocalist Dominique Eade have spent decades exploring those connections, and their latest recording, Roots & Byways, is a fascinating reflection of that journey.
Blake, the legendary pianist, composer, educator and performer, has built a career around musical curiosity and an unmistakably individual approach to interpretation. His work with vocalists has been particularly celebrated, reflecting his ability to treat the piano almost orchestrally while leaving plenty of room for spontaneity and playfulness.
Eade first encountered Blake nearly five decades ago after arriving in Boston to continue developing her musical practice at Berklee. Hearing Blake perform solo piano proved revelatory. His music opened new possibilities for Eade, connecting the jazz and contemporary classical influences she had encountered previously in ways she had not imagined. She soon moved into the Third Stream Music Department at New England Conservatory, where she became Blake's student and mentee.
That relationship developed into a lasting musical partnership. Over the years, Blake and Eade have collaborated in duo and quartet settings and have even worked together in connection with film. Blake's appetite for musical discovery has remained undiminished. He is an enthusiastic collector of what he calls "aural cocktails"—mixtapes, CDs and playlists through which he continually searches for new music and new interpretations of familiar songs. In the digital era, YouTube has become another source of endless discovery, with Blake regularly sharing different versions of songs with his collaborators.
That spirit of exploration is central to the way Blake and Eade work together. Their rehearsals are less about perfecting a predetermined musical product than establishing trust. Once that trust is in place, the performers can approach the music with a greater sense of openness and freedom, allowing arrangements and interpretations to evolve naturally.
Despite decades of performing together, Blake and Eade waited a surprisingly long time before documenting their partnership on record. They finally crossed that threshold with Whirlpool in 2011, followed by Town and Country in 2017. Roots & Byways now adds another chapter to a relationship that continues to develop rather than simply revisit the past.
Recorded over two sessions in August 2023 at Jordan Hall at New England Conservatory, a favored performance space for the duo, Roots & Byways presents an eclectic collection drawn from the enormous landscape of American music. The album features fourteen pieces, along with two solo piano interpretations by Blake, encompassing standards, popular songs, film music and folk material.
The selections demonstrate just how broad the American musical vocabulary can be. Frank Campo's "Grey December," a relatively rare ballad that has also been associated with Chet Baker, receives a performance marked by cool poise. The repertoire then moves into the sophisticated and sometimes challenging territory of revolutionary jazz composers, with Charles Mingus's "Portrait," Max Roach's "Mendacity" and Thelonious Monk's "Pannonica."
Leon Payne's "Lost Highway," famously recorded by Hank Williams, takes on a different character in Blake and Eade's hands, with a new tuning providing another perspective on its familiar story of heartache.
The duo also digs into the vast catalog of soul and popular music. The Sylvers' "I Remember" receives an unexpected interpretation, while Whitney Houston's "Saving All My Love for You" is transformed into something distinctly personal. Mary Lou Williams' "What's the Story, Morning Glory" provides an opportunity for a more acrobatic reading, demonstrating the musicians' willingness to push even well-established material into unfamiliar territory.
Even "On Top of Old Smokey," one of the most recognizable pieces of American folk repertoire, becomes something new through their singular approach. The album eventually reaches across the Atlantic with Michel Legrand's "Watch What Happens," while Blake's solo interpretation of Edith Piaf's "Les Grognards" expands the album's perspective beyond American borders.
That final connection is particularly meaningful within the context of Roots & Byways. The album isn't simply an exercise in Americana nostalgia or a collection of familiar songs. Instead, Blake and Eade look at American musical culture as something constantly shaped by outside influences, historical experience and the continuing reinterpretation of the past.
What emerges is a recording that feels deeply rooted yet remarkably open-ended. Blake and Eade aren't merely performing songs from the American songbook—they are questioning what that songbook encompasses and demonstrating how much remains to be discovered within it.
Roots & Byways ultimately celebrates more than a diverse collection of music. It celebrates a partnership that has endured for nearly five decades and continues to evolve through curiosity, trust and an ongoing willingness to take familiar music somewhere unexpected. For listeners willing to follow Blake and Eade down these musical byways, the rewards are considerable.
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