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Johnathan Blake Trion with Chris Potter and Linda May Han Oh
February 18, 2023 @ 7:30 pm
Note: this event will happen simultaneously in-person and via livestream. The livestream will ONLY happen on our homepage (it will NOT stream on Facebook) and replay following the event will be limited.
VJC listeners may remember Blake’s appearance with the Kenny Barron Trio at The Latchis Theater in 2011. The omnipresent drummer has appeared on over 150 recordings with jazz’s revered luminaries; his sixth album as a leader was released by Blue Note in 2021. Side-people on Blake’s recordings have included Robert Glasper, Tom Harrell, Chris Potter, Linda May Han Oh, Mark Turner and others. Downbeat calls his work “a celebration of life and legacy, bursting with exuberance and lighthearted energy.”
Heralded by NPR Music as “the ultimate modernist,” Blake has recorded with the Mingus Big Band, Dave Holland, Pharoah Sanders, Ravi Coltrane, Dr. Lonnie Smith, Tom Harrell, Hans Glawischnig, Avishai Cohen, Donny McCaslin, Linda May Han Oh, Jaleel Shaw, Chris Potter, Maria Schneider, Alex Sipiagin, Kris Davis, Roy Hargrove, Russell Malone and countless other distinctive voices. He appears on three Grammy-nominated albums, one with Kenny Barron Trio (Book of Intuition), and two with the Mingus Big Band (Tonight at Noon, and I am Three).
Born in Philadelphia in 1976, Blake is the son of renowned jazz violinist John Blake, Jr. — himself a stylistic chameleon and an important, ongoing influence. According to his website, Blake is “deeply aware of Philadelphia’s role as a historical nerve center and has immersed himself in the city’s storied legacy – not just in jazz, but also soul, R&B and hip-hop. In many ways he’s an heir to Philadelphia drum masters such as Philly Joe Jones, Bobby Durham, Mickey Roker, and Ralph Peterson.” Growing up, he learned from Philadelphia legends like Shirley Scott and Kenny Barron, and studied at the Settlement Music School with a fertile wave of artists of his own generation including Christian McBride, Joey DeFrancesco, Questlove and Jaleel Shaw.
The VJC community is especially fortunate to share Johnathan Blake’s Trion featuring Chris Potter and Linda May Han Oh – three of the top leaders in creative music. This is an important group of brilliant musicians who are agile communicators. This concert will provide an exceptional experience for deep listening!
To hear this group – check out TRION’s bandcamp page: https://johnathanblake1.bandcamp.com/album/trion
—The New York Times
