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John Blum

John Blum was born in New York City, April 15, 1968 and has been a mainstay of the free-jazz community there for over 15 years. While in Europe in 1992, he recorded with Clarinetist Tony Scott’s Trio which included Antonio Grippi on Alto Sax. Upon returning to New York City, Blum became a member of the Improvisers Collective (1993-1995) and also initiated projects as a soloist and a group leader. By early 1998 he joined together with Antonio Grippi on Saxophone, William Parker on Bass, and Denis Charles on Drums to form The” Astrogeny Quartet”. A CD of this group was released on Eremite records in 2005. In 2001 Blum recorded a solo piano CD for Drimala Records entitled “Naked Mirror”, and was also featured on Butch Morris’ “Conduction 117” released on JumpArts Records. In 2003, Blum recorded with Sabir Mateen on Tenor Sax in Sunny Murray’s Trio and is featured on Murray’s CD “Perles Noires Volume 2” on Eremite Records. He joined the Steve Swell Quintet in 2005 and a CD was released on NotTwo Records of their 2006 NYC Vision Festival performance. In addition to his solo recorded for Konnex Records in 2008, Blum also recorded a trio CD “In The Shade Of Sun” with William Parker and Sunny Murray released on Ecstatic Peace Records.

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3
Album Review

John Blum: Nine Rivers

Read "Nine Rivers" reviewed by Mark Corroto


Pianist John Blum's solo Nine Rivers is not so much a hit as it is a HIIT. His music is and has consistently been, to borrow a term from sports, a HIIT workout. HIIT or High Intensity Interval Training is a series of repeated all-out efforts with a brief recover time in between each effort. This recording from the 2013 Crosscurrent Festival in Pescara, Italy confirms Blum's approach as an anaerobic endeavor. His intensity only recovers in the spaces between ...

17
Album Review

John Blum and Jackson Krall: Duplexity

Read "Duplexity" reviewed by Troy Dostert


A pianist of undeniable virtuosity and uncompromising intensity, John Blum has impressed free-jazz aficionados since the early 2000s with his uniquely potent approach to his instrument. One can easily hear the influence of Cecil Taylor in his ferocious, jaw-dropping power; but just as important are his ties to earlier pianists. There is just as much Art Tatum as Taylor in Blum's manic flights, as lightning-quick stride passages are as likely to surface as his more concussive thunderings. Fortunately, he's teamed ...

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Album Review

John Blum: Who Begat Eye

Read "Who Begat Eye" reviewed by Martin Longley


Pianist John Blum is a native New Yorker who has been immersed in the city's free improvisation scene for the last 15 years. His work with bassist William Parker and drummer Sunny Murray has had the highest profile and last year's release by this trio, In The Shade Of Sun, appeared on guitarist Thurston Moore's Ecstatic Peace label, no doubt doing much to push Blum's music towards an alternative rock audience.

This set of solo pieces was recorded in a ...

332
Album Review

John Blum: In The Shade Of The Sun

Read "In The Shade Of The Sun" reviewed by Karl Ackermann


Despite his relative anonymity, pianist John Blum has been a New York free jazz fixture for more than a decade. In the Shade of the Sun teams him with ubiquitous bassist William Parker and percussion innovator Sunny Murray. Blum and Murray work well together, having established their musical relationship in Murray's trio and on Perles Noires Volume 2 (Eremite, 2005). Parker can create his own place in any mix and does so here as well.

Blum's keyboard technique is something ...

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Album Review

John Blum Astrogeny Quartet: Astrogeny

Read "Astrogeny" reviewed by Clifford Allen


Bassist William Parker is known for his telepathic collaborations with percussionists; of late, his work with Hamid Drake has become an in-demand support system. Unfortunately not as well known or historically revered was his longtime partnership with free-percussion architect Denis Charles, which lasted from the '70s until Charles' death in 1998.

Recordings such as Parker's Through Acceptance of the Mystery Peace (Centering/Eremite) and In Order to Survive (Black Saint), clarinetist Peter Kuhn's Livin' Right (Big City) and Rob Brown's Breath ...

231
Album Review

John Blum: Naked Mirror

Read "Naked Mirror" reviewed by Mark F. Turner


New York pianist/composer John Blum has been on the music seen for over ten years. His list of credentials is quite extensive having worked with such notables such as William Parker, Cecil Taylor, and Jackson Krall. He is well known within the circles of “free jazz" artists.

The term for the idiom free jazz should require some definition. In a loose quote from (Avant-Garde Jazz Musicians): “Free" or “free-form jazz", for instance, suggests that few guidelines are established in the ...

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Recording

John Blum Astrogeny Quartet and Farewell Denis Charles

John Blum Astrogeny Quartet and Farewell Denis Charles

Source: Gapplegate Music Review by Grego Edwards

John Blum played piano on several cuts of Sunny Murray's excellent Perles Noires Eremite two-CD set. Beyond that his Astrogeny Quartet (Eremite 049) is my first exposure to his playing in depth. The album has a classic free-new thing ring to it, thanks to all involved. William Parker centers the music with his usual very strong and personal approach. Denis Charles. a drummer who has not been given the recognition he deserves, fleshes out the freetime barrage with shifts in ...

Primary Instrument

Piano

Willing to teach

Beginner to advanced

Credentials/Background

MFA in Music Composition and Performance

Photos

Music

Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

Nine Rivers

ESP-Disk
2023

buy

Duplexity

Relative Pitch Records
2020

buy

In The Shade Of The...

Ecstatic Peace
2010

buy

Who Begat Eye

Konnex Records
2010

buy

In The Shade Of Sun

Challenge Jazz
2009

buy

Who Begat Eye

Challenge Jazz
2009

buy

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