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Thread: AAJ Interview, Brian Blade: Fellowship - More Than Just A Word

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    AAJ Interview, Brian Blade: Fellowship - More Than Just A Word




    My interview with Brian Blade, today @ All About Jazz.

    In the 21st century, few drummers have managed Brian Blade's kind of crossover success. Beyond playing in saxophonist Wayne Shorter's quartet for nearly 15 years, beyond being a first-call drummer for producer/singer/songwriter Daniel Lanois—whether it's for his own projects like Black Dub or working with everyone from Bob Dylan to EmmyLou Harris—and beyond also being on-call with some of the most important names in modern music (not just jazz, but music) like Joni Mitchell, Norah Jones, John Scofield and Kenny Werner, Blade has forged a dual-career as both the co-founder of his more jazz-centric The Fellowship Band, and as an astute and tastefully sweet singer/songwriter, so far documented on just one release, the unexpectedly superb Mama Rosa (Verve, 2008).

    The Fellowship Band began life as a name sourced from Blade's first solo album, Fellowship (Blue Note, 1998), a remarkable date that featured simpatico reed multi-instrumentalists Myron Walden and Melvin Butler, the rock-steady but ever-responsive bassist Chris Thomas, imaginative pedal steel guitarist Dave Easley, gently open-eared (and open-minded) guitarist Jeff Parker and, perhaps, most importantly, the keyboardist who, along with Blade, would become one of The Fellowship Band's two primary composers, Jon Cowherd. That first album was a strong shot across the bow, introducing a group whose blending of the jazz tradition with the folkloric roots and inescapable influence of church in Blade's Shreveport, Louisiana upbringing caught the ears of so many other musicians that, when the group plays in New York, it is actually a challenge for non-musicians to find a ticket.

    In the 16 years that followed there have been only three more Fellowship recordings: 2000's exceptional milestone, Perceptual, where Parker was replaced by up-and-coming guitarist Kurt Rosenwinkel; 2008's impressive Season of Changes saw the departure of Easley, the reduction of the group to a sextet and a new home with Verve; and, finally, after six years, the rightfully anticipated Landmarks, which finds the Fellowship Band back at its original home with Blue Note Records. While there are significant guest appearances by both Parker and guitarist Marvin Sewell, Landmarks reflects the Fellowship Band of the past five years: a lean and mean quintet, with original members Blade, Thomas, Cowherd, Walden and Butler.

    Continue reading here...
    Last edited by jkelman; 04-14-2014 at 09:06 AM.

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