So I'm having a little chat with one of my Internet music nerd writer friends and, right in the middle of yakking about all things jazz review, he come out and asks if I've heard Brian Blade's recent singer-songwriter album. Singer-songwriter? My mind flashes through several thoughts, included in that is the fear that I've started to slip and have forgotten this folk-type person who shares a name with jazz drummer Blade. Brian Blade? The guy who has played with Kenny Garrett, Joshua Redman, Wayne Shorter, and Charlie Haden? Brian Blade of the Brian Blade Fellowship? Yes, that's the one.
As it turns out Blade is indeed a fine singer-songwriter. If you take a peek at his list of credits, it appears he has played in a wide variety of related contexts. The shortened list includes Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, Emmylou Harris, Norah Jones, and Daniel Lanois. Mama Rosa is a collection of songs that Blade didn't even intend to release. Over the years, he's been quietly composing and recording songs at home on a four-track. It took uber-musician friend Daniel Lanois to convince him to flesh out the material and get it released. If anybody has an ear, it is definitely Lanois...and it certainly did not fail him here. The songs are quite heartfelt and personal, and Blade's voice is fine, reedy, and assured. One striking difference with this record as opposed to a lot of other modern folk albums is that Blade makes some unusual harmonic choices here and there. You can definitely notice his jazz influence, even as he shapes it for this context. It's really a beautiful (and slightly stunning) thing.
For some reason, the discovery of this music resonates (in my mind anyway) with what's going on in the rest of the world, both with this recession and with my own life. Every day there is news of businesses calling it quits. General Motors is giving up on Saturn. Bankruptcy is everywhere. A few weeks ago, I drove up the street and noticed that my local video store had closed. A day or two later, people were there loading all of the display cases into a big truck. At the moment, things are shrinking. But sooner or later, the monetary pressure will reverse course and then the question will be: what will step in to fill the gap? You know it will happen. It always does. The new growth surely follows the burning of the field.
Article comments
1 - PIco
I'm a nerd? Strange, my wife thinks that, too ;-)
A fine job describing how this record connects in ways that go beyond just musical.
2 - galan05
Thanks to the miracle that is radio station WWOZ New Orleans, I heard Brian Blade for the first time today -- "Second Home" on his Mama Rosa album.
Anyone from New Orleans will feel this song more than they hear it. When a song brings a smile to your face and tears to your eyes at the same time, you know where it's taking you.
It's taking you home.