Brian Blade video clip

I can't help it but smile when I see Brian Blade playing. He is so great!

http://www.wbjazz.com/wilkins/joshua.html

I love Brian Blade's playing...he has to be one of the most musical players I have ever heard...everything he plays sounds so good and has unbelievable feel [img]graemlins/thumbs_up.gif[/img] [img]graemlins/thumbs_up.gif[/img] two thumbs up!!!

This one of the coolest post I have seen in a while!!!! It is not always about how many strokes or how fast! Brian is a very fun drummer to watch...

can the guy be any more of a "jazz" drummer?
is it just me or am i the only one who doesn't understand what the hypes about. i think he's good though.

I think his feel is amazing.

"can the guy be any more of a "jazz" drummer? "

No, he probably couldn't, and isnt it great that he is such a "jazz" drummer? Show me another guy that can burn with that white hot intensity, and amazing groove, but at such a low volume level, and with such control, and feel.

His feel/mood makes me feel like I'm in a library study, surrounded by nice dark cherry wood, sitting in a deep cozy high back leather chair, lights are down low, and I'm enjoying a nice Cuban cigar. Dark, Rich, and tons of feel.

Seriously, any guy on this board that has done alot of straight ahead playing can tell you that his control is amazing to have that speed, and feel, without beating the hell out of the drums.

Of course Brian's drumming is going to be very Jazz oriented....those clips are of him playing a jazz gig with joshua redman...what do you want him to do, break out double strokes with his feet at 200 BPM....ya, that would go over really well [img]eek.gif[/img]

Quote:

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Originally posted by quitou:
Of course Brian's drumming is going to be very Jazz oriented....those clips are of him playing a jazz gig with joshua redman...what do you want him to do, break out double strokes with his feet at 200 BPM....ya, that would go over really well [img]eek.gif[/img]

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<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">uh, no. not what i meant. to me, his touch, technique, the way he looks when he plays, and his feel is very jazz drummerish. like he can't play a phat backbeat groove if his life depended on it. not to compare but for contrast sake, weckl and vinnie have a great swing feel but don't sound or look jazz drummerish. haha i don't know what i'm talking about. nevermind!

Brian Blade can play the phatest backbeat you've ever heard. Every style i have heard him play, he totally nails it. He can groove as hard as anyone out there. As far as pocket-playing, i think he can match anyone, no doubt.

I understand what Shedder is saying. He's old-school, that's all. Technique is not imnportant to him, you can tell by how he plays. But like many great jazz players (Elvin especially), their lack of technique defines their sound.
It wouldn't hurt to maybe work on it a little though?
I've done many straight-ahead gigs too and touch and dynamic control is a must for a serious jazz player. Hopefully he's not limited to just that old-school style of playing. Maybe that's what he wants though, who knows? He's making a living playing JAZZ so my hat's off to him for sure.

Shed's in da hausssss! lol
BB's a killin' drummer [img]graemlins/thumbs_up.gif[/img] [but downright gawky to watch] [img]tongue.gif[/img] ...but his grip is killin' me...

<font color="#a62a2a" size="1">[ March 20, 2004 02:00 AM: Message edited by: FuseU1 ]</font>

I mean...I guess he looks fairly stiff when he plays but, other than that, what is your all's major gripe with his technique? In my opinion, the major criterion of technique is one's permittal/failure of the sticks to naturally rebound (he seems to be doing this beautifully.) His Grip looks ok too. I think this particular group just requires a real 'piss 'n' vinegar' feel.

Brian Blade is a shining example of taking many influences and defining his own sound. I can recognize him from his snare sound alone along with a touch on the kit nothing I find short of inspiring. Something I think we all hope to devlelop someday. Listening to Kenny Garrett's pursuance: music of John Coltrane, Brian is absolutely burning from the first note. Vinnie and Dave would both be quite impressed. As for pocket and "phat grooves" listen to the record that clip was taken from Joshua Redman's Elastic, many tracks that display grooves as deep as dare I say the great Gadd or our late great Porcaro. I also saw him play live in a very "pop" setting with Seal laying it down beutifully There are several albums I can list that would show off all different styles of his playing. Forgive me if I sound in anyway defensive, Though I feel many drummers become pigeonholed without enough listening to what else they have performed on. Not to mention being one of John Patittucci's favorites right up there with Colaiuta, Weckl, and Horacio-that alone tells me he is doing something right. Just realized this rant has gone on and on. Sorry. We all have our faves and Brian is definetly one of mine. Oh yeah one more thing. Looking stiff, look at another one of my faves Steve Smith. Incredible player, but can we agree the guy looks like a robot when he plays

Like I 1st said, Blade is a GREAT drummer, all caps, no doubt.
TOOCH loves his playing [along w VC, DW, PE, & HH]...so does SHORTER...nuff said...
I saw BB playing w Tooch on a PBS special - jazz fest somewhere in the tropics[?] w Bill Cosby hosting...
He has a very unorthodox look AFA his posture, which looks uncomf to me...maybe that's why i said the "grip" thing, because i rem. the odd posturing...but hey, he's emoting - & it OBVIOUSLY works for him, & that's whats most important - the playing that he evokes from his kit. [img]graemlins/thumbs_up.gif[/img] [img]cool.gif[/img]

Interesting topic.

Music is art. Art can be interpreted any way YOU want, witholding the intentions of the piece of music and the genre itself of course. It doesn't depend on what you WANT to listen to or in this case, what you want to WATCH. Many musicians can simply play ANY piece note for note(Vinnie comes to mind I guess and there are tons of others), but lose the emotion behind the music in sum cases, lacking the ability to show feeling in their roles within the band setting. Perhaps Blade allowed the music itself to move "into" him and flowed with it instead of simply hitting the right bottoms or being concerned with the personal bias of other drummers in the room. The limitations would rest with the audience as you can see, but surely some of it must also rest with the skills of the drummer himself. In this case this doesn't apply at all, not in that setting. Any performancenvr is going to be an interpretation. You will never be able to directly hear the intentions directly. You can only imagine what such intentions might have been and then use that as a guide in your performance and/or listening. Maybe in free jazz you can say you are actually listening directly to the artist's intentions, because there aren't any established intentions which guide the performance.

A certain amount of individualism and improvisation is not only a good thing but IMHO is to some extent neccesary. To me, it is up to the drummer himself to mutate or interpret the piece be it a standard or original. The idea of not letting a drummer go to his or her free will is abominable. The listener's job is to listen and say "I like this," or "this is crap." [img]wink.gif[/img]

<font color="#a62a2a" size="1">[ March 20, 2004 06:53 PM: Message edited by: Bozzio ]</font>

This just goes to show what hip players we have on this site. Not many other drummer sites that i have seen can appreciate both the chops players AND a player like Brian Blade. It is great to see this. I get chills when i see the Virgils and the Marcos in person, but i also get that same feeling when i see Brian play. I guess it is because they have total control of what THEY are trying to say on the drums, and that music flows freely from them whether it be one note or one hundred. You get to see a glimpse into a very musical mind and no matter where they rate on the "chops meter", if they are a great musician it is going to do something for you.

If anyone has a video with Brian Blade, let me know... I could kill to see him play!

Samuel-there's a commercially available Japanese video of Kenny Garrett w/Blade, Chris Thomas, and Junko Onishi from the early 90's that's pretty cool. Unfortunately I don't know how or where you can get it. There's also a KILLIN' video taken from Japanese tv of a tribute to Coltrane w/Blade, Dejohnette, Dave Liebman, George Garzone, Brecker, J. Redmen, Holland, C. Mcbride, Calderazzo et al.

Markie-That's the record, Garrett's tribute to Trane, every note Blade plays on there is perfect. To me he's a cross between Elvin and early Jack. His time feel and phrasing on that record is just incredible. Garrett's Triology is also a great Blade record. As far as him being "old school" , he's considered to be a modern player in the jazz world compared to someone like Carl Allen, Kenny Washington, or even Greg Hutchinson, Karriem Riggins. BTW, Blade, Hutchinson, and Riggins can lay down the pocket. Redmen's Elastic w/Blade has already been mentioned, also check out Sam Yahel's Ya-Ya. Hutchinson plays a some pockets without the jazz sounding kit on Christian Mcbride's Family Affair. Riggins plays and produces on some hip-hop records as well as on Detroit Experiment.

I saw Brian play with Seal a few years ago and he just killed. Mike Landau on guitar, Levin on bass and David Sancious on keys, 1 of the best bands Seal ever had.

In the words of Dom Famularo:

'There are two rules by which we will all benefit as musicians':

1. There are no rules.

2. Follow rule one.

I love his playing. He's musical and grooves.

Brad

I saw Brian play with Herbie a
couple of years ago and he made
quite an impression on me - his
unorthodox style and sensitivity.

He was perfect for the band in
every way - this spider-like ap-
proach a signature...

I wish I could have seen him with
Seal. I had seen a Seal tour that
I thought was weak but Blade must
have been the treat you describe,
Randy. You lucky dawg...

[img]cool.gif[/img]

<font color="#a62a2a" size="1">[ March 22, 2004 11:35 PM: Message edited by: peter c ]</font>

I 4got to also say the i saw BB play w the great Wayne Shorter Quartet in late 6-'03...alongside monsters Tooch & Danilo Perez...BB turned in a great perf...he's a great drummer...

Good descriptn, peter:

Quote:

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...this spider-like ap-
proach a signature...

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<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">That...or a praying mantis, is similar to what i was trying to say...guess you could say he prescribes to a "praying mantis style gung-fu" on the kit [in my best Bruce Lee voice [img]wink.gif[/img] ]

<font color="#a62a2a" size="1">[ March 23, 2004 09:30 PM: Message edited by: FuseU1 ]</font>

Brian Blade is one of my favourites, too. I love his cymbal sound and touch. Very musical.

Do you guys have the Brian Blade Fellowship cd's? If you don't, I can strongly recommend getting them. They're fantastic. Great <u>music</u> and playing for sure but these albums will also show you that Blade can also write and produce.

Brian Blade bio
Brian Blade interwiew (1998)

I think Brian kicked ass, playing a 4 piece kit with only 4 BIG cymbals. At times the cymbals seemed washy but overall the band was very tight.
The only sad thing at the time was Seals record Human Being was doing very poor sales and the money he was out laying to the players was pushing him under so the tour only lasted a few weeks.

That is unfortunate.
Seal is a good "pop" artist/songwriter, w a unique voice; about the level of a Sting, IMHO.

In the semi-touring "A circuit" pop/top40/rock [& r&b/funk] band i was in from '89-'93, we covered the tunes "Crazy" & "Killer"...we grooved the tar outta both of em [bumped em just 1 notch or 2 over the orig tempo 4 a little more of an "exciting live vibe" ;c)]...

"Don't Cry" is 1 of my fav vocal pop tunes in 6/8. [Harvey M or A Newmark on kit ;c)]
I'm sure if that band had existed aft '93, we'd have ended up playing "Kiss FA Rose" [also the triplety-6 feel] a million times \:c/...& i would've insisted on covering "Cry" to compensate ;c)

<font color="#a62a2a" size="1">[ March 24, 2004 03:42 PM: Message edited by: FuseU1 ]</font>

Thanks again for this post! BB sure burns with some serious feel and intensity! if i may add, i saw his brother brady on a late night show with jewel, and he has serious feel as well! i guess it's in the genes or it's in the water, down by the bayou!

What i'd really like to know is...... where can i get a full length dvd of this? it looks professionally edited. any info would be greatly appreciated! [img]smile.gif[/img]

Oh my god, I didn't expect 25 replies for this post!

If you really love Brian's playing, make sure you have Joshua Redman's 'Timeless Tales' album. It is awesome.*


* You may quit playing drums after audition of this disc!