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Michael Blake

An enduring presence for the last 30 years, saxophonist, composer and bandleader Michael Blake has built his reputation playing jazz and creative music in New York City. This visionary composer and arranger has produced a cornucopia of recordings that vary in context and mood. He has played tenor and soprano saxophone with a diverse range of artists including Lounge Lizards, Charlie Hunter, Henry Butler, Steven Bernstein & the Hot 9 and Ray Lamontagne.

Michael was born on May 19th, 1964 in Montreal, Canada. In the late 60’s his family moved across the continent to California’s Bay Area where the indelible sounds of Psychedelic Rock, Funk and Soul would have a huge impact on his young ears. After resettling in Vancouver, Canada, he picked up the clarinet at 14 and a few years later the tenor saxophone, studying both with David Branter, a disciple of renown saxophonist and teacher Eugene Rousseau. Michael credits his brother for bringing jazz records into the house and his parents for taking him to concerts where he heard  Count Basie, Ella Fitzgerald, Benny Goodman, Oscar Peterson, Dave Brubeck and Miles Davis.

Michael Blake graduated from High School receiving the Music Award and enrolled in College. Disenchanted with school he cut his teeth at jam sessions and learned the music of local trailblazer, trombonist, pianist and composer Hugh Fraser. He formed his first group with fellow saxophonist Phil Dwyer and pianist Ross Taggart and freelanced in an array of bands. In 1984 & 1985 Michael participated in the Banff School of Fine Arts Jazz Program where we studied with bassist Dave Holland and saxophonists Steve Coleman and David Liebman. Michael received a grant from The Canada Council for the Arts to further his studies in New York City and relocated there in 1987.

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Album Review

Michael Blake: Dance of the Mystic Bliss

Read "Dance of the Mystic Bliss" reviewed by Vincenzo Roggero


Veterano della scena downtown newyorchese,Michael Blake porta al debuttto sulla propria etichetta P&M Records, Chroma Nova, ensemble dalla configurazione particolare con quattro strumenti a corda, due percussionisti brasiliani, il leader ai sassofoni e, per la prima volta su disco, al flauto. Difficile individuare un centro gravitazionale preciso in Dance of the Mystic Bliss, forse un'intrinseca vena melodica presente nelle dieci composizioni tutte a firma Blake, ma sarebbe fare torto alla grande varietà di atmosfere, di tessiture e di groove che ...

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Radio & Podcasts

Michael Blake, Ben Wendel, Bjork and Others

Read "Michael Blake, Ben Wendel, Bjork and Others" reviewed by Jerome Wilson


This eclectic show has music from saxophonists Michael Blake and Jeff Coffin, vocalists Hailey Brinnel and Bjork(!), and much more. Playlist Henry Threadgill Sextett “I Can't Wait Till I Get Home" from The Complete Novus & Columbia Recordings of Henry Threadgill & Air (Mosaic) 00:00 Wally Cirillo “Smog L.A." from Explorations (Fresh Sound) 1:04 The Verve Jazz Ensemble “Studio J" from All In (Self-Produced) 4:11 Alex Weitz “Odyssey" from Rule of Thirds (Outside In Music) 10:04 Host Speaks ...

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Radio & Podcasts

A Few Of My Favorite 2023 Jazz Things (So Far) - Part 2

Read "A Few Of My Favorite 2023 Jazz Things (So Far) - Part 2" reviewed by Ludovico Granvassu


A retrospective of some of the most compelling tunes we heard in the first half of 2023, distilled for your enjoyment.Happy listening!Playlist Ben Allison “Mondo Jazz Theme (feat. Ted Nash & Pyeng Threadgill)" 0:00 Michael Blake's Chroma Nova “Little Demons" Dance of the Mystic Bliss (P&M) 0:16 Host talks 6:50 Thomas Naïm “Panama Red" On the Far Side (Rootless Blues) 8:31 Greg Ward's Rogue Parade “Dashing Towards First Light" Dion's Quest (Sugah Hoof) 13:24 Host talks ...

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Album Review

Samuel Blaser: Routes

Read "Routes" reviewed by Chris May


The Jamaican trombonist Don Drummond (1934-1969), the inspiration for Routes, was in certain respects a mid-twentieth Jamaican parallel of the New Orleans cornetist Buddy Bolden (1877-1931). Bolden pioneered jazz in the US, Drummond in Jamaica. Both achieved mythic proportions during their lifetimes and both their legends endure. Both, tragically, spent their final years in what were then called insane asylums. One difference between the two musicians is that, while no recording of Bolden has survived, if indeed ...

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Album Review

Michael Blake: Dance of the Mystic Bliss

Read "Dance of the Mystic Bliss" reviewed by Jerome Wilson


This is saxophonist Michael Blake's new group, Chroma Nova, which contains guitar, violin, cello, bass and two Brazilian percussionists. They play a set of compositions, inspired by Blake's late mother, dancer Merle Blake, which rely on fluid rhythms and textures taken in many different directions. Blake is often the main solo voice here but he also blends in with the other instruments to create all kinds of intriguing sonic fabrics. For example, “Topanga Burns" starts with a stately ...

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Play This!

Michael Blake: Afro Blake

Read "Michael Blake: Afro Blake" reviewed by Ludovico Granvassu


Africa seems to have been a special source of inspiration for Michael Blake, as compositions like “Addis Abeba" (Elevated), “Malagasy" (Combobulate), “Mauritania" (Buzz), “Road to Lusaka" (In the Grand Scheme of Things), “Africa Used to Be Home" (More Like Us) or “Surfing Sahara" (Elevated ) attest. They are all characterized by memorable themes and an instantly recognizable sound, but there's one song that is like a “first among equals" and leaves a deep mark every time I listen to it, ...

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Album Review

Michael Blake: Combobulate

Read "Combobulate" reviewed by Chris May


The instrumentation alone promises something out of the ordinary. Saxophone, two tubas, trumpet, trombone, drums. Then there are the musicians, luminaries of downtown New York jazz. Michael Blake, Bob Stewart, Marcus Rojas, Steven Bernstein, Clark Gayton, Allan Mednard. And within seconds of the needle descending on track one, side one, Combobulate starts delivering on the promise. The album is one of four marking the return of audiophile-vinyl label Newvelle after a two-year hiatus. The approximate meaning of its ...

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138

Performance / Tour

You're Gonna Keep On Drinking? O.K., They'll Keep on Playing

You're Gonna Keep On Drinking? O.K., They'll Keep on Playing

Source: Michael Ricci

Michael Blake Quartet with the bassist Ben Allison and the guitarist Steve Cardenas at City Winery in a series titled Wine & Jazz — A Great Pairing.

The saxophonist Michael Blake gamely addressed his audience between songs at City Winery on Tuesday night, though that exercise must have felt a little disheartening. Most of the club’s patrons were blithely impervious, engaged in tipsy conversation at their tables or near the bar. The room’s cavernous size and hard surfaces only amplified ...

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Event

"This is Our Music IV" Presents Bobby Previte, Michael Blake and Knucklebean in Brooklyn on June 11!

"This is Our Music IV" Presents Bobby Previte, Michael Blake and Knucklebean in Brooklyn on June 11!

Source: All About Jazz

Friends of SOUND! Please join us at “This Is Our Music IV" on June 11 in Brooklyn, when we present the Bobby Previte/Briggan Krauss Duo, Michael Blake Trio featuring Ben Allison and Michael Sarin and, of course, Knucklebean! Come be a part of this special night! Know what's below, yo... WHO: Bobby Previte/Briggan Krauss Duo + Michael Blake Trio with Ben Allison and Michael Sarin + Knucklebean WHAT: “This Is Our Music IV" - Curated by Brad Farberman WHEN: Wednesday, ...

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Recording

Knitting Factory Releases "Elevated" by Michael Blake

Knitting Factory Releases "Elevated" by Michael Blake

Source: All About Jazz

While composing and arranging new music is Michael Blake's main motive, this timely Knitting Factory Records debut release, Elevated, by the Brooklyn based saxophonist offers listeners the first opportunity to hear him in a traditional setting. Blake's original compositions exist in the spiritual roots of jazz but his concept points in new directions. The ever-percussive bassist Ben Allison and visionary pianist Frank Kimbrough join drummer Mike Mazor to provide Blake's luscious tenor and soprano saxophone room to ascend. Elevated is ...

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Music Industry

Michael Blake's DRIFT (Intuition Music), May 2001 release

Michael Blake's DRIFT (Intuition Music), May 2001 release

Source: All About Jazz

DRIFT (Intuition Music): Creating a sonic environment that blends the styles of Jazz, Blues and Modern Music into a deep groove with abundant personality.

Blake sees his band Free Association as a work in progress inspired by John Lurie, Roland Kirk, Fela Kuti, Ellington and other great band leaders. Like these originals, he relies on and reacts with his instrumentalists to produce an integral group spirit.

DRIFT features Palmetto recording artists Matt Wilson on drums and Jazz Composers Collective founder ...

"This is music unbound in time...perfectly executed" DownBeat - James Hale

"Not only is it one of the year's best jazz albums, but it's another gem in a career filled with them" Chicago Reader - Peter Margasak

"Panoramic imagination" The New York Times

"Saxophonist Michael Blake‘s 2016 release is astonishing, exploding with intricate details and unleashing one grand statement after the other. Everything about this album indicates a sound and vision steps ahead of the music of today." Dave Sumner, Bird is the Word

"Incredibly inventive use of technique and emotion with an astuteness that ought to be the envy of musicians everywhere" Jazz da Gama

"You can hear Archie Shepp and Lucky Thompson and Coltrane and Dewey Redman in Mr

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Primary Instrument

Saxophone, tenor

Location

New York City

Willing to teach

Beginner to advanced

Credentials/Background

University of Calgary (Calgary, AB)

Poznan Music Conservatory (Poznan, Poland)

Rhythmic Music Conservatory (Aarhus, Denmark)

Oxford University (Oxford, England)

University of London (London, England)

University of Southampton (Southampton, England)

Centro Cultural Vila Flor (Guimaraes Portugal)

Souza Lima (San Paulo, Brazil)

Koninklijk Conservatory (Antwerpen, Belgium)

Capilano University (Vancouver, Canada)

Vancouver Community College (Vancouver, Canada)

Brown University (Providence, RI)

Humboldt State University (Arcata, CA)

Penn State University (University Park, PA)

Cornish College (Seattle, WA)

Clinic/Workshop Information

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Photos

Music

Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

Routes

Enja
2023

buy

The Normyn Suites

Sunnyside Records
2022

buy

Combobulate

Newvelle Records
2022

buy

Kimbrough

Newvelle Records
2021

buy

Videos

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