One of the most in-demand drummers of his generation,
Johnathan Blake takes an all-too-rare turn as a leader with his vibrant new
release, Trion. The album, captured live before a thrilled audience at New York
City's renowned Jazz Gallery, features a virtuoso chordless trio with two
fellow masters of their instruments: the modern tenor giant Chris Potter and
the eloquent bassist Linda May Han Oh. Trion, packed with nearly two hours of
thrilling, exhilarating music, will be released April 5, 2019 thanks to the
groundbreaking new non-profit Giant Step Arts, led by noted photographer and
recording engineer Jimmy Katz.
Though Blake's name is on the cover, he approached this trio
date with the same sense of open camaraderie with which he enters into any
musical situation - the collaborative spirit that makes him such a remarkable
drummer. The album's title is taken from a physics term that refers to three
atoms combining to form a single unit, a concept that is deeply meaningful in
the context of this highly attuned trio.
Blake initially put this trio as a collective which called
itself the BOP Trio, inspired by the initials of each member's last name. Their
instant chemistry stemmed from extensive playing together in other situations:
Blake had worked in similar chordless settings under Potter's leadership along
with Larry Grenadier and Ben Street, and with Oh in trios with Mark Turner and
Jaleel Shaw.
"I'm in awe of both Linda and Chris," Blake says.
"This was a really beautiful chance for us to make some honest music
together and I really enjoyed the process. We all felt very comfortable in the
chordless format; we really know how to fill up the space without getting in
each other's way, which gives each one of us the opportunity to have our
shining moments."
Those moments are
also facilitated by the unprecedented freedom offered by the innovative Giant
Step Arts. Katz launched the organization in January 2018 in order to provide
some of the music's most innovative artists with the artistic and financial
opportunity to create bold, adventurous new music free of commercial pressure. For the artists it chooses to work with, by
invitation only, the nonprofit:
* presents premiere performances and compensates the artists
well
* records these performances for independent release
* provides the artists with 800 CDs and digital downloads to
sell directly. Artists will own their own masters.
* provides the artists with photos and videos for
promotional use
* provides PR support for the artists recordings
"Giant Step Arts will not be selling any music,"
Katz says. "We have two goals: help the musicians and raise more money so
we can help more musicians."
When Katz approached him with the offer to record, Blake
says, "I was almost in shock. It's almost unheard of for artists nowadays
to own their own project if they sign with a record label. Jimmy and [his wife
and partner] Dena Katz have always been strong advocates for the music and they
just want the best artistic project out there. Their idea is that if the
project is really good, it's not only a reflection of the artist but it's also
a reflection on them. I think they're really visionaries in that respect."
Both of Trion's two discs opens with a solo drum feature by
Blake; the expressive "Calodendrum" is named for an evergreen tree
native to Africa, reflecting the drum language's roots on the continent, while
"Bedrum" is a word that means "to drum about in
celebration," which couldn't be more appropriate for Blake's joyful
percussion explosions.
The band initially enters via Potter's arrangement of The
Police's frenetic "Synchronicity I," which showcases the trio's
brilliant attack and sustained intensity, stretching out over an enthralling
and invigorating 17 minutes. Oh's deeply moving solo leads into her own moody
piece "Trope," built on her brooding bass throb and a sinuous melody
beautifully expressed by Potter.
Potter contributes two pieces; the composer sets the pace
for the lively bounce of the South African-inspired "Good Hope" by
using his sax keys as percussion instruments, while the weightless lines of
"Eagle" soar with seemingly effortless grace. Blake's own originals
look back to his early days in Philadelphia. "West Berkley St.,"
named for the street where Blake grew up in the city's Germantown section, and
"High School Daze" both groove with the influence of the funk and hip
hop tunes he heard alongside jazz, while the latter adds in a few unexpected
swerves that suggest the stupor of wandering from classroom to classroom.
"No Bebop Daddy" was inspired by saxophonist Donny McCaslin's young
son, who would loudly protest his father's choice of music from his car seat on
morning rides to school.
Blake's own father, the late jazz violinist John Blake Jr.,
is represented by his "Blue Heart," a previously unrecorded
composition. "Since he left us in 2014 I've made it a point to continue to
celebrate my father's life and legacy," Blake says. "It's a way for
me to continue to let people know about this man who was such a great artist
and beautiful human being."
Bassist Charles Fambrough was a family friend and a
collaborator with John Blake Jr. in the McCoy Tyner band. Fambrough's "One
for Honor" was originally recorded on Tyner's 1980 album Horizon, and
later on the bassist's own 1991 release The Proper Angle. "Charles
basically knew me from birth and was one of the first people to give me a professional
gig when I was still living in Philadelphia. He was like an uncle to me, and I
want his music to live on and people to know about this amazing musician who
left us way too soon."
The trio's take on Charlie Parker's classic "Relaxin'
at Camarillo" was unplanned, an on-the-spot decision when the Jazz Gallery
audience demanded an encore. Its muscular swing and infectious exuberance,
especially coming on the spur of the moment, reveals the three musicians' love
for playing together along with their spirited virtuosity.
"A lot of magic and beauty can come out of the freedom
to explore that Jimmy granted us," Blake says. "I think the reason
the music sounds the way that it does is because there was so much trust and
freedom."
Founded by renowned photographers Jimmy and Dena Katz, Giant
Step Arts is an innovative, artist-focused non-profit organization dedicated to
presenting one-of-a-kind performances by some of modern jazz's most innovative
artists, all recorded for independent release and documented both
photographically and on film. The most unprecedented aspect of the endeavor is
the fact that the musicians have total control of their artistic projects: they
not only receive all the recordings and digital downloads of their musical
output but also retain complete ownership of their masters. Giant Step Arts is
also committed to promoting the projects and fostering the careers of their
artists by providing them with promotional photo and video material and
publicity.
