Articles by Michael Blake
Two Unearthed Live Gems By Rahsaan Roland Kirk
by Michael Blake
What a joy it was to sit down with these never-before-heard live recordings from American jazz genius Rahsaan Roland Kirk. Unearthed by producer Zev Feldman and released in tandem by Resonance Records, these beautifully packaged CD sets--complete with striking artwork, evocative photos, and heartfelt personal reflections--are a marvelous tribute in their own right. I was first introduced to Kirk as a teenager while visiting friends whose parents' record collections often included his more commercially successful albums like The ...
Continue ReadingGina Leishman: This New York Life
by Michael Blake
On the late summer afternoon I visited composer Gina Leishman, we couldn't meet in her apartment because it was under repair. A pipe had burst so a friend was loaning her apartment to Gina for a few days; one of those little studio apartments that New Yorkers manage to transform into what seems like a sprawling flat. Nestled on a similarly charming tree-lined street, it had the same cozy feel as her old apartment in the West Village, only a ...
Continue ReadingMarcus Rojas: Dancing with a Tree
by Michael Blake
Sometimes musicians transcend what is considered normal technique. They discover new worlds of sound and establish concepts previously unknown; concepts that even defy the practical methods that the inventors of the instrument intended. One person I know that has done just that is Marcus Rojas. In third grade he decided to play the tuba and, even though his family asked why he wouldn't play a more common instrument like trumpet or trombone, he stuck with it. Today, Marcus is one ...
Continue ReadingThe Cry of Jay Rodriguez
by Michael Blake
On an unseasonably warm February evening I set out from Brooklyn to catch the multi-instrumentalist Jay Rodriguez's band at Le Poisson Rouge. While walking from the West 4th Street subway station to the venue on Bleecker Street I recalled taking this exact route over 30 years ago to play a jam session in the same space, back when it was called The Village Gate. A remaining sign of The Gate is the original corner marquee out front above a CVS.
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