#brian blade

Drummer Brian Blade (born July 25, 1970)

Joni Mitchell w/ Brian Blade - Fez, New York City, November 6, 1995

I enjoyed Ann Powers' recent book Traveling: On the Path of Joni Mitchell — a winning mix of criticism and biography that embraces Mitchell's complexities and contradictions. Powers loves Joni, make no mistake, but she's also willing to look head-on at the thornier aspects of the songwriter's career. And that's a good thing; in the end, I came away with even more of an appreciation for Joni's art.

Powers is also to be commended for digging into the lesser-trawled corners of the discography. I feel like Mitchell's 80s and 90s albums have been somewhat boosted in recent years, but probably not enough. Sure, they are weird and sometimes not entirely successful, but you'd say the same about Bob Dylan and Neil Young, right? Anyway, Powers reminded me of this remarkable mid-90s tape of Joni and drummer supreme Brian Blade playing a duo set at Fez in New York City. Really amazing stuff, and the debut of a new high-tech instrument for Mitchell, a modified Stratocaster that hooked up to a digital Roland VG8 unit.

Joni Said: This device has the capacity to hold all my tunings of all my songs, and what the audience basically heard at the Fez show was an impromptu first live rehearsal jam between Brian and me. Happily, it turned out to be one of the highlights of my entire career, not including some of the wild experiences I may have slept through or blotted out from the '60s. I almost canceled the Fez show just hours before I went on, maybe fearing it wouldn't work out. But happily there were no boos when I plugged in my electric guitar instead of playing an acoustic. Actually, the Roland brain provides a sound beautifully suited to each song -- like, for instance, the nylon-string tonality people are used to on certain things. You also hear a freshness and distinctiveness that's almost orchestral it's so rich. I wanted to blow chords up in size the way Georgia O'Keefe blew up the flowers in her paintings, and now that's possible.

Booker's Garden - Charles Lloyd

Charles Lloyd - Flute

Jason Moran - Piano

Larry Grenadier - Bass

Introduction: Brian Blade is a highly acclaimed and in-demand musician known for his exceptional drumming skills and ability to play various genres of music, including jazz and beyond. Blade was born fifty-three years ago today on July 25, 1970, in Shreveport, Louisiana. His journey from a young, talented drummer to a highly influential figure in contemporary jazz is truly extraordinary. Blade…