Michael Blake

[rollhead]

I love this guy.

I am listening to his CD "Elevated," now, and I am continually amazed at the beauty (to my ears) of his tone and his melodic sense.

As a would-be sax player, I am especailly attracted to his tone on the tenor. He manages to get a fat sound out of tenor that I associate mostly with the older, pre-Coltrane tenor players. (I like Bill McHenry for the same reason.)

Plus, for a relatively young musician, he never seems to be in a big hurry. He plays MUSIC, not just an instrument for the special effects.

Perhaps it is because he is tied up with the Jazz Composers Collective, but he manages to be able to sound both new and respectful of those who came before him.

His music resonates.

[John L]

I am also a fan. Elevated is a fine album, and Drift is one of the best jazz releases that I have heard in recent years. In addition to the saxophone, he is a very talented composer and arranger.

[jazzy mary]

I love Elevated too. Drift is another good one. Plus he has a new album on Clean Feed. Michael is a sweetie and he lives in Park Slope!

[rollhead]

I am on Michael Blake's e-mailing list, and I got a notice from him today that he would be on Columbia University's radio station, WKCR.

Here is his note:

Greetings,

Happy New Year to you all! I'm hosting the musicians show on WKCR tonight, January 11 from 6 - 9pm. You can find WKCR at 89.9 on your FM dial.

This is going to be fun because I get to play some of my own music and also select tracks from my friends albums. I also intend to play some of the music that's inspired me over the years and will dig into the library of vinyl at the station. Those of you outside of the NY area with a high speed internet connection can stream from WKCR's website:
http://www.columbia.edu/cu/wkcr/

Thanks,
Michael

[jazzy mary]

A friend just gave me Michael's new Clean Feed release. I'm listening to it now. It's fabulous!!