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Johnathan Blake: The Eleventh Hour

  Tobias Fischer

This one’s been getting a lot of play in my car, which I never could have predicted being that this jazz quintet is led by a drummer.

Blake’s not just any drummer, though; the son of famed violinist John Blake Jr., he’s a speed-dial guy for New Yawk session work for the likes of Kenny Barron, Tom Harrell, David Sanchez and so on. But whatevs, right, it’s a quintet led by a drummer, which doesn’t usually forebode the tight, slick, prog-bopping urban-sang-froid offered here, much less any technical blow-doors-ness as subtle as what Blake’s sticks do within the structures.

Kevin Hays’s piano roams and jabbers throughout, taking the heaviest workload even in the face of two very capable sax players (Jaleel shaw and Mark Turner), while Gregoire Maret adds extra sugar to the mix with some Sesame Street harmonica.

By Eric Saeger

Homepage: Johnathan Blake
Homepage: Sunnyside Communication Records