Brian Blade & The Fellowship Band will be doing a special performance at the University of The Arts in Philadelphia on March 26. Click here for tickets and more info!
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2/4/2010 Brian Blade & The Fellowship Band
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10/26/2009 Brian Blade with Daniel Lanois' Black Dub
If Blade had remained confined to the ilk of new-breed jazz drummer with a sound and a thing, that would have been enough to establish him as one of an elite handful of his generation. His capacity to cross between serious jazz and pop/rock with...
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10/22/2009 Brian Blade Sits With New Hampshire Public Radio
Recently Brian spent some time catching up with the New Hampshire Public Radio show Word of Mouth. The interview talks about Brian's roots in Louisiana and some of his a-list collaborations with Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, etc. Listen to the entire...
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10/21/2009 Listen to the New Interview on "Word of Mouth"
Cick Here!
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10/12/2009 MUSICAL MINISTRY STIRS ZION BAPTIST
The idea for the live recording, conceived by Brian Blade, a renowned jazz drummer, was to both celebrate and replicate his father's half century of musical ministry at Zion Baptist. He rounded up some of his friends to form the band, including...
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10/5/2009 The Hallelujah Train
World Premiere • Live Concert Recording Brian Blade is “the most imaginatively supple drummer in jazz” (New York Times). He learned his trade hitting rhythm at Shreveport’s Zion Baptist, where his father — the spine-shaking Pastor Brady Blade, Sr. —...
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8/25/2009 Mama Rosa
"Do you ever pick up an album, think it's so-so at first, and then really get into it? That's what happened to me with Brian Blade's Mama Rosa...." Full Review Here
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8/14/2009 The Hallelujah Train
In this once-in-a-lifetime event, the drummer, the producer, and the drummer’s father convene in Durham to cut a live album driven by Pastor Blade. They’re joined by bus-fulls of churchgoers from Shreveport and the sharpest sidemen in the...
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8/10/2009 Listen to the Fellowship at Newport!
Brian Blade & The Fellowship Band recently played the 55th Newport Jazz Festival. If you could not attend, listen to NPR's broadcast here
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7/14/2009 Conversation with Brian Blade
"The way I was brought up, boundary lines were never laid on the ground between people or the music..." Read the new interview from Jazz.com here
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7/13/2009 Mama Rosa review
"Brian Blade has gone where few jazz greats have by turning a corner in his musical syntax in such a dramatic way. The album overall is an extremely pleasant surprise. It is humble, unsullied, and heartening to say the least..." Read the full review...
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7/7/2009 Brian Blade and The Fellowship Band Ottawa Jazz Festival Review
"Brian Blade and the Fellowship Band helped close the Ottawa International Jazz Festival Sunday night by balancing moments of plaintive, stripped-down beauty and explosive joy..." Read the full review here...
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7/6/2009 Brian Blade: "Serve the song and surrender to the moment"
“I guess genres and boundary lines have been blurred if not destroyed to the point where you have a distillation of influences,’’ Blade says. “But the main thing that people love about music and other arts in general is whether it speaks to you and...
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6/29/2009 Brian Blade in the Wall Street Journal
Brian was recently interviewed by the Wallstreet Journal during his performance at the Highline Ballroom. Watch it here
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6/19/2009 Special show on June 24!
On Wednesday, June 24, 2009 Brian Blade will perform selections from Mama Rosa, Blade's first recording as a singer, guitarist, and songwriter at The Highline Ballroom in NYC. With Special Guest Daniel Lanois, other musicians include Brady Blade on...
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6/18/2009 New Photos from the West Coast Tour!
Brian Blade & The Fellowship Band played just played a series of engagements on the West Coast. Check out some of the great pics here!
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6/17/2009 2009 Jazz Awards: Drummer of the Year!
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6/10/2009 Great Mama Rosa Review
"Nothing is better than an album that is a total surprise. It doesn’t happen nearly often enough, when an artist whose work is known floats in something from out in the bleachers to wake up the ears. Brian Blade is one of the finest drummers alive. He...
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6/8/2009 Something Else - Brian Blade Mama Rosa
"Blade's old boss Joni Mitchell must be proud of her drummer's own contribution to the oeuvre of quality rootsy music. And so should anyone else who's a fan of any of the diverse array of top acts Blade has made his name working for."
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6/1/2009 Brian Blade wins 2009 Modern Drummer Readers Poll Award!
For the second year in a row, Brian has won the Modern Drummer Readers Poll Award for best Contemporary Jazz Drummer! Check out the July 09 issue for the complete story...
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6/1/2009 Listen to Brian Blade's New Podcast About Mama Rosa
Listen to this new podcast as Brian talks about writing the music for his debut singer/songwriter album "Mama Rosa."
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5/29/2009 Brian Blade and The Fellowship Band Summer 2009
Be sure to check out Brian Blade and The Fellowship Band this summer! June 7 - Pete Douglas Beach House, Half Moon Bay, CA June 8 - Kuumbwa Jazz Center, Santa Cruz, CA June 9 - Yoshi's Oakland, Oakland, CA June 10 -13 - Catalina's Jazz Club, Hollywood,...
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5/19/2009 The Friday Morning Listen: Brian Blade
"As it turns out, Blade is indeed a fine singer-songwriter...It's really a beautiful (and slightly stunning) thing."
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5/13/2009 Five Peace Band, Montreal, Canada
"As ever, watching Blade was like witnessing a force of nature...Not since the late Tony Williams has there been a drummer so unfettered, capable of playing with great nuance and explosive punctuations that consistently avoid being non sequiturs..."
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5/12/2009 Mama Rosa/Philadelpia Daily News
"HARKENING TO THE MASTERS: I'd bet a bundle Brian Blade heard lots of Neil Young's most plaintive, folky, acoustic music growing up. And also sang along with Young's sometime saddle pals David Crosby, Stephen Stills (him especially) and Graham Nash....
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5/12/2009 Brady Blade to play drums at Highline Ballroom
Brady Blade will be performing on drums behind Brian at the Highline Ballroom on June 24! The final lineup is: BRIAN BLADE (vocals & guitar) CHRIS THOMAS (bass) KELLY JONES (vocals & guitar) GOFFREY MOORE (guitar) AARON EMBRY (vocals &...
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5/7/2009 Brian Blade Mama Rosa Band to play Highline Ballroom in NYC!
On June 24, the Highline Ballroom in NYC WITH SPECIAL GUEST DANIEL LANOIS will host a special performance by Brian Blade featuring Music From Mama Rosa. The band will be: BRIAN BLADE (vocals & guitar) CHRIS THOMAS (bass) KELLY JONES...
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5/6/2009 Drummer of the Year!
Brian has been nominated for the 2009 Jazz Journalists Association Drummer of the Year Award!
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5/4/2009 Icons Among Us
"The Fellowship is a band, it's also an idea of hopes, that you hope to see around you—not just on the bandstand—but a manifestation of that hope..."
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5/4/2009 Welcome to the new BrianBlade.com!
Welcome to the new BrianBlade.com. The Events page now shows all of Brian's gigs and who he is playing with. The Discography has been updated to include all of Brian's releases and you can simply click Buy Now to order the CD or download tracks. Expect...
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4/29/2009 Pop Matters - Mama Rosa Review
"Here, in 2009, the best drummer in the world has offered us a singer-songwriter record that bears the marks of all of those with whom he has worked, whose sounds he has studied, and whose aesthetics he has learned to reflect..."
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4/29/2009 All Music Guide Mama Rosa Review
"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..."
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4/22/2009 Brian Blade Live on WNYC
Listen to Brian Blade and the Mama Rosa Band live on WNYC!
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4/21/2009 Blade has grown considerably as a singer/songwriter...
After a lengthy gap between records with his Fellowship Band, drummer Brian Blade has stepped up the pace, following up the unmistakable sound of Season of Changes (Verve, 2008) with Mama Rosa. Blade temporarily deserts the folkloric jazz context of...
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4/21/2009 Blade is a natural born storyteller...
Blade is a natural born storyteller with an evocative singing voice, an individual and polished guitar style, and real estate with enough fine musicians to bring them into his projects. This is music that has heart, melody, and sophisticated and...
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4/21/2009 New Brian Blade Interview!
Brian Blade: Songs from His Heart...
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3/31/2009 David Binney with Brian Blade – Third Occasion – Mythology
"Brian Blade's palette is as varied as ever. He, like Matt Wilson, can fit in any jazz idiom... Blade provides sensitive accompaniment."
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3/31/2009 Chick Corea and John McLaughlin with Brian Blade live at Variety Playhouse
"...with Kenny Garrett on saxophone, Christian McBride on bass and Brian Blade on drums. As an eclectic all-star ensemble, Five Peace band offers music that features tunes played with a nod to Miles, intricate acoustic jazz, burning jazz/rock/funk, and...
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3/31/2009 Festival Picks
"La.-bred trap drummer extraordinaire Brian Blade, who’s been an in-demand sideman for the likes of Wayne Shorter, Joni Mitchell, Bill Frisell, Norah Jones, Emmylou Harris, Daniel Lanois and Bob Dylan, among others. Surely this will be one of the most...
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3/31/2009 Chick Corea and John McLaughlin, with Brian Blade, get a chance to collaborate
"Determined to recruit McLaughlin for an extended project, Corea rounded up powerhouse alto saxophonist Kenny Garrett, ubiquitous bass master Christian McBride and savvy drummer Brian Blade, players with extensive experience in both acoustic and electric...
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3/31/2009 Five Peace Band with Brian Blade
"The Five Peace Band isn't just a reunion of two former Davis sidemen and superstars of the early- 70's fusion scene (Corea with RTF and McLaughlin with the Mahavishnu Orquestra), but a multi-generational all-star band... Blade and former Frank Zappa...
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3/31/2009 Triple Threats in 2009
"The June 25-July 5 festival's opening and closing nights will also feature groups, led respectively, by trumpeter Dave Douglas and drummer Brian Blade, two of the leading figures in contemporary jazz."
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3/31/2009 Brian Blade and The Fellowship Band to play at Icons Among Us premier at Jazz at Lincoln Center!
"Paradigm Studio partners with Don Q Rum in association with Rums of Puerto Rico to present Icons Among Us: jazz in the present tense. The four-part documentary film series examines the world of contemporary jazz looking at today's brightest talent....
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3/24/2009 New Brian Blade Album Mama Rosa Coming Soon
Brian Blade's latest album, Mama Rosa, is scheduled for release on April 21, 2009 in the US. In his first recording as a singer, guitarist, and songwriter the album is a revealing journey through a thirteen-song cycle about family, loved ones, travels and...
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3/6/2009 Brian Blade and the Fellowship Band at Loyola
"Led by Blade on drums, the Fellowship will feature works from “Season of Changes,” named one of 2008’s top albums by JazzTimes..."
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2/23/2009 Review: Chick Corea and John McLaughlin at Aotea Centre
"On hand with these 67-year-olds was a younger generation of players: saxophonist Kenny Garrett, bassist Christian McBride (who came up through the neo-conservative 1980s but quickly abandoned its constraints) and the extraordinary drummer Brian...
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1/30/2009 Brian Blade: Following Footprints
"There was a moment at the Village Vanguard some months back when Brian Blade, onstage with his Fellowship band, was traversing the kit in typically propulsive fashion, and at the peak of a particularly intense flurry around the toms he let out a...
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1/16/2009 Season of Changes selected as 2008 Contributor Pick!
"We solicited opinions from all active All About Jazz contributors and out of more than 1,000 nominations, the following 2008 releases garnered the most votes."
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1/13/2009 Brian Blade on Jazzset with Dee Dee Bridgewater
On January 22nd, Jazzset with Dee Dee Bridgewater will feature Brian Blade and The Fellowship Band from their June 2008 week at the Village Vanguard.
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1/7/2009 JazzTimes names Season of Changes as one of the top CD's of 2008!
"The Fellowship interacts like a jazz group even as it purveys a monumental, suitelike sensibility, with complex forms, big narrative arcs and a prevailing folk-rock melancholy."
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12/16/2008 Season of Changes tops list as best of 2008!
"Brian Blade and the Fellowship Band, Season of Changes (Verve). The vibe here is overwhelmingly a newer jazz. This sextet led by drummer Brian Blade has a big-plains feel, yet also dips into modernist jazz soloing, strutting rock, and classical...
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12/2/2008 Season of Changes selected as one of AlbanyJazz.com's top 5 albums of 2008
"After an eight year hiatus the Fellowship returns with another collection of songs that transverse music genres with ease..."
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11/26/2008 Brian Blade Radio Interview on the Jazzcat
LeRoy Downs live radio interview with Brian Blade from November 25. Listen as Brian discusses his approach to composing, playing, the Fellowship Band, and his experiences with Wayne Shorter.
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11/21/2008 Good Fellows
Brian Blade and company help blaze jazz’s newest path
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11/11/2008 A Piece of the interaction
"Drummer Brian Blade takes a unique approach to all of his collaborations..."
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10/17/2008 Brian Blade Review from the 51st Monterey Jazz Festival
Emerging percussionists Blade, Sanchez, and Wilson take charge...
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8/12/2008 Brian Blade at the Newport Jazz Festival
"Blade is a first-call drummer among the jazz elite — he was also appearing at the festival as a regular member of the Wayne Shorter Quartet. But the Fellowship have been his pet project since their first disc in 1998. At the Pavilion Stage on...
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7/28/2008 New Blade Podcast!
Brian Blade discusses his latest album on this brand new podcast. Enjoy!
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6/30/2008 Road Trip: Brian Blade & The Fellowship Band
"I thought I really knew the band's music from its three CDs, but seeing the group in a club brought some things into focus...I hear now why those songs are so memorable, leaving me and others singing bits of their melodies as we wandered into the...
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6/18/2008 Listen to the live interview with Brian Blade on Soundcheck
Soundcheck's John Schaefer conducted an interview with Brian Blade on June 18. Be sure to check it out!
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6/17/2008 Listen to a recent interview with Brian Blade conducted by Josh Jackson of WBGO
WBGO's Josh Jackson recently conducted a 50 + min interview with Brian Blade. Don't miss it!
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