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Ran Blake, Tim Berne, Satoko Fujii & Clemens Kuratle
by Maurice Hogue
Another of those “found" albums is the highlight of this episode. In 2006 master pianist Ran Blake and guitarist Dave “Knife" Fabris were performing at The Bimhuis in Amsterdam. After the gig the club gave them a recording of their performance, and as often happens, that disappeared. It finally emerged during the pandemic when Fabris found it. Live In Amsterdam 2006 is now available and another addition to the Ran Blake legend. Dave Fabris got his name “Knife" because he ...
Continue ReadingRan Blake / Dave Knife Fabris: Live Amsterdam 2006, First Visit
by Mark Corroto
In 2006, pianist Ran Blake, in his seventh decade, is captured in concert at Amsterdam's Bimhaus with guitarist Dave Fabris. Their collaboration began first as mentor/mentee but had become more like partners after working together for over three decades. Together they can be heard on Blake's releases, two on hatOLOGY Something To Live For (1999) and Horace Is Blue: A Silver Noir (2000), and also on Vilnius Noir (NoBusiness, 2011), Indian Winter (Soul Note, 2005) and Ghost Tones (A-Side, 2015). ...
Continue ReadingRan Blake: Gray Moon, When Soft Rains Fall and Northern Noir
by John Ephland
I'm a sucker for musical duets. Duets that make me feel like I'm in the same room with the two of them. Here we have three recent releases with the iconoclastic, legendary Ran Blake, now 83, in what is his most typical setting. Yes, to hear Blake paired up like this is to hear more of an artist completely at home by and with himself as well as with others, one at a time. In this ...
Continue ReadingRan Blake / Christine Correa: When Soft Rains Fall
by Jerome Wilson
Pianist Ran Blake and vocalist Christine Correa have recorded several duo albums together including two on the music of Abbey Lincoln. Here they turn to another iconic singer, Billie Holiday, concentrating on the contents of her final album, Lady In Satin (Columbia, 1958). Lady In Satin is known for its lush orchestral and choral arrangements by Ray Ellis. This 2020 version is stripped down to a bare bones pairing of voice and piano. Correa's singing is raw and ...
Continue ReadingThe Very Singular Mr. Ran Blake
by Duncan Heining
There have been few American composers and musicians, with the ability to encapsulate their country's music in all its racial and ethnic complexity. We might perhaps point to Aaron Copland, Leonard Bernstein, Charles Ives and perhaps, in their own distaff ways, Harry Partch and Steve Reich. In jazz, their number is fewer still--Duke Ellington and George Russell certainly and, at a stretch, Jelly Roll Morton. And then there's pianist and composer Ran Blake. Listening to any one of ...
Continue ReadingRan Blake - Christine Correa: Streaming
by Neri Pollastri
Pianista raffinatissimo e di straordinaria esperienza, Ran Blake ha frequentato spesso i duetti con la voce, tanto che il suo primo disco, del 1962, è appunto in coppia con Jeanne Lee. Ultimo lavoro del genere in ordine di tempo è questo Streaming con la cantante Christine Correa, di origini indiane ma ormai da quarant'anni negli USA, che tra le molte collaborazione ne ha una proprio con Jeanne Lee. I due si cimentano su un repertorio perlopiù di standard, ma che ...
Continue ReadingRan Blake & Jeanne Lee: The Newest Sound You Never Heard
by Jerome Wilson
Pianist Ran Blake has developed a reputation over the years for recording duets with vocalists, including in recent times, Sara Serpa, Dominique Eade and Christine Correa. That began back in 1961 when he released The Newest Sound Around (RCA), a remarkable set of duets with singer Jeanne Lee. The duo toured together occasionally in subsequent years but never released another recording until You Stepped Out Of A Dream (Owl) in 1989. Now here comes a new and very welcome discovery, ...
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