- Chris Drukker
- Michael Blake
The jazz world is filled with immensely skilled musicians who spend most of their careers in relative anonymity because they never manage to establish a truly original voice. They may be peerless sidemen—playing charts perfectly and delivering solid solos—but if and when they lead a band there’s nothing about the music that distinguishes it from the past or present. There’s a much smaller class of musicians who do distinguish themselves, but for one reason or another they don’t attract a wide following despite earning the respect and admiration of fellow musicians. It bums me out that saxophonist Michael Blake seems stuck in this category, because over the last 15 years or so he’s amassed a dazzling, distinctive body of work that’s consistently brought me pleasure and provoked me to think about the various concepts behind his disparate projects.
Today’s playlist:
