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Brian Blade

"I remember when I first read the words hanging in a frame on my grandma Rosa's wall. The serenity prayer was something I couldn't understand until almost thirty years later, but now after experiencing some peaks and valleys of life, those words ring in my ears with clarity." Brian Blade has set those words to music for his first recording as a singer, guitarist and songwriter: Mama Rosa is a revealing journey through thirteen songs about family, loved ones, travels and a sense that these things that shape and inspire us have to be shared with others to complete a circle. He has been writing and recording material with words for as long as he's been making music. In fact, Mama Rosa grew naturally from the four-track home demos that he's recorded over the years and several of the original performances from those tapes can be heard on this album. Initially, Blade felt that these songs would never be heard by anyone else, but after encouragement from longtime friend Daniel Lanois, these home recordings became the cornerstones for the album. There is an initial spark close to the moment of inspiration and that intimate vibe is felt throughout Mama Rosa. "For some time now, these songs have existed in the solitude of my room, and I got a lot of joy and satisfaction from just knowing that they existed," Blade says. "But at a certain point I questioned whether it was fear or selfishness that kept me quiet. Facing the music and the mirror, I began to ask if this was the end of the process? What does God expect of me? Maybe someone else might find some inspiration in the songs." The lyrical themes of home, memories and loved ones, and how they shape who we are, are reflected in Blade naming the album after his grandmother. Rosa is the subject of the album's vivid opening track "After The Revival." Sung from the perspective of his mother Dorothy Blade, expecting the birth of her first son, Brian's older brother, Brady, Jr. "After the Revival" also alludes to Blade's early years at the Zion Baptist Church in Shreveport, Louisiana, where his father is pastor, and where Brian first started singing and playing the drums. The multi-talented young veteran is already widely respected in the jazz world as drummer/composer/leader of Brian Blade and The Fellowship Band, with whom he has released three albums.

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"This is music that has heart, melody, and sophisticated and well-intentioned lyric poetry, and these songs are concerned with what it means to try and live alone and with others in the light each day..." ALL MUSIC GUIDE

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Concert Schedule

Album Discography

Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

Fragments - Time Out...

Columbia Records
2023

buy

The Winds of Change

Mack Avenue Records
2023

buy

Mulberry Street...

Cowbell Music
2022

buy

Finding Light

Ridgeway Records
2022

buy

Live In Europe

Three Faces Records
2022

buy

Pride and Joy

Le Coq Records
2022

buy

The End of Innocence

From: The Winds of Change
By Brian Blade

Little Scorpio

From: Pride and Joy
By Brian Blade

Daily Jubilee of Dancing Herbie D.

From: Finding Light
By Brian Blade

Song of A Solitary Crow

From: Between Two Worlds
By Brian Blade

When There Were Trains

From: Balancing Act
By Brian Blade

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