Ran Blake

[paul secor]

Belated happy birthday wishes to Mr. Blake.

There is some very, very fine Ran Blake on the Soul Note box. Anyone who's a fan and doesn't have at least most of it should pick it up.

[Enterprise Server]

Loved his music. An original thinker and a guy who boldly stepped outside the box...

[Niko]

just in case: while many of the threads here are RIP threads, this one isn't...

[sidewinder]

just in case: while many of the threads here are RIP threads, this one isn't...

Amen to that !

[Clunky]

I like what I've heard of Blake , SN box now ordered . I don't generally like buying music by the kilo . I mostly prefer immaculately curated issues/reissues ( like Nessa ) . As a consequence only the Threadgill and Cyrille box are in my collection.  However I didn't have any of this RB material so I broke my self imposed rule and went for the box .

[srellek]

Would also (re)recommend Ran's latest release, Ghost Tones. It was reviewed in this NYT write-up not too long ago. The music is incredible. It's also fun to see all of the legends' signatures Ran collected in support of Russell. How often do you see a page signed by Monk, Randy Weston, Ornette, Bill Evans, Freddie Hubbard, and Eric Dophy -- in few square inches?

 

[clifford_thornton]

Is Bill Dixon's signature there? He was a copyist for Russell and was at one point asked to join the sextet, I believe.

[jlhoots]

Would also (re)recommend Ran's latest release, Ghost Tones. It was reviewed in this NYT write-up not too long ago. The music is incredible. It's also fun to see all of the legends' signatures Ran collected in support of Russell. How often do you see a page signed by Monk, Randy Weston, Ornette, Bill Evans, Freddie Hubbard, and Eric Dophy -- in few square inches?

 

Yes - excellent!

[colinmce]

Is Bill Dixon's signature there? He was a copyist for Russell and was at one point asked to join the sextet, I believe.

Don't see it on there.

[clifford_thornton]

Bummer. 

I think he was between Al Kiger and Don Ellis in terms of working with the Sextet concept when Bill might've come on board.

[AllenLowe]

is there anyone else here who really likes Blake, as I do, but often finds his music.....unsatisfying?

[clifford_thornton]

Yes.

[xybert]

Yes, although i've only really listened to The Short Life of Barbara Monk, which i think is nice but don't really get the hype. I usually keep my opinion on Blake to myself as i feel like, basically, i could be wrong especially as i haven't really listened to him enough beyond that one album, which, despite being a classic... for me, sometimes, often even, i find that the classic album (see KOB, A Love Supreme etc) is not the best entry point for me and it's not until i've explored more of the discography that i go back to the classic and really get into it.

 

[JSngry]

I get no small satisfaction just hearing a guy who's found an organic starting point that many people could not even conceive of as a transitional point, never mind a destination point. The really good stuff, icing on cake, etc.

[AllenLowe]

I'm always more intrigued by his basic concept than by his execution of it.

[jlhoots]

The Ran Blake / Jeanne Lee album is an all-time classic!!!

The "noir" albums I also like.

[clifford_thornton]

I know what Allen means.

Yes, the duets with Jeanne Lee are pretty wonderful.

[paul secor]

To my ears, Ran Blake mines a small area very deeply. When I'm in the right place, his music moves me deeply.

[JSngry]

He knows the right changes, always.

 

 

[jeffcrom]

To my ears, Ran Blake mines a small area very deeply.

The most on-point sentence in this thread, in my opinion.

I think I once said somewhere in these forums that there was a remarkable aspect to Mr. Blake's technique that I never fully appreciated until I heard him live (in a small auditorium at Georgia State University in Atlanta) - he has the most amazing and subtle pedal technique of any pianist I've ever heard.