An adept jazz drummer,
Johnathan Blake has distinguished himself as both a first-call sideman and leader in his own right. Steeped in the Philly jazz traditions of players like
Mickey Roker and
Philly Joe Jones,
Blake first emerged in the 2000s on the East Coast. Although primarily known for his work in the acoustic, post-bop style with outfits like
the Mingus Big Band and veteran players like
Tom Harrell and
Kenny Barron,
Blake has moved ably between straight-ahead and more genre-bending styles, contributing to projects by
Jaleel Shaw,
Omer Avital,
Questlove, and others. A gifted composer, he has released his own inventive solo albums, including 2012's
The Eleventh Hour and 2018's
Trion.
Born in 1976 in Philadelphia,
Blake grew up in a musical family the son of jazz violinist John Blake, Jr. He started playing drums at age ten, and by his teens was playing in the Lovett Hines Youth Ensemble, during which time he also began to compose. Also as a teenager, he played with saxophonist
Robert Landham in a youth jazz ensemble at the noted Philadelphia institution Settlement Music School, where he rubbed shoulders with contemporaries like
Jaleel Shaw,
Christian McBride, and
Joey DeFrancesco. At night, he also gained valuable experience sitting in at local clubs with veteran legends like
Shirley Scott and
Mickey Roker. After graduating from George Washington High School,
Blake further honed his skills in the jazz program at William Paterson University. There, he studied with such well-regarded teacher/performers as
Rufus Reid,
John Riley, Steve Wilson, and
Horace Arnold. In 2006 he earned an ASCAP Young Jazz Composers Award, and the following year, he received his Masters from Rutgers University, where he focused on composition and studied with
Ralph Bowen,
Conrad Herwig, and
Stanley Cowell.
While in school, he also continued to seek out professional opportunities, working with the
Oliver Lake Big Band,
Roy Hargrove,
Russell Malone, and
David Sanchez. As a member of
the Mingus Big Band,
Blake helped earned Grammy nominations for 2002's
Tonight at Noon and 2005's
I Am Three. He has also garnered the respect of jazz veterans, working with
Randy Brecker,
Joe Locke, and
Ronnie Cuber, among others. He is also a longtime member of trumpeter
Tom Harrell's group, having appeared on many of the trumpeter's albums, including 2007's
Light On, 2009's
Prana Dance, and 2011's
Time of the Sun.
In 2012,
Blake released his debut album as leader,
The Eleventh Hour, which featured
Harrell, as well as
Robert Glasper,
Jaleel Shaw, Ben Street, and others. More work followed with
Harrell, including appearing on the trumpeter's albums like 2013's
Colors of a Dream, 2015's
First Impressions, and 2016's
Some Gold, Something Blue. He also appeared on
Dr. Lonnie Smith's 2016 album
Evolution and played on pianist
Kenny Barron's Grammy-nominated 2016 trio album,
Book of Intuition, and 2018 octet date
Concentric Circles.
Also in 2018,
Blake returned to his solo work with
Trion, featuring saxophonist
Chris Potter and bassist
Linda May Han Oh. He also reunited with
Dr. Lonnie Smith for
All in My Mind and paired with tenor saxophonist
Eric Alexander for 2019's Leap of Faith. In 2020, he joined pianist
Barron and bassist
Dave Holland for the elegant trio album
Without Deception. That same year, he also contributed to tenor saxophonist Oded Tzur's boundary-pushing album
Here Be Dragons. ~ Matt Collar