An intensely thoughtful drummer, composer, and bandleader,
Brian Blade is a holistic performer, skillfully throwing himself into myriad adventurous jazz contexts, but he also has an ear for folky introspection and cross-genre exploration. Emerging in the late '90s,
Blade quickly established himself as a versatile sideman, appearing on albums with
Joshua Redman,
Kenny Garrett, and
Brad Mehldau. At the same time, he drew attention from artists outside the jazz tradition, appearing on recordings with esteemed singer/songwriters like
Joni Mitchell,
Bob Dylan, and
Emmylou Harris. He has applied all these experiences to his own albums, debuting with 1998's
Brian Blade Fellowship, and continuing on albums like 2000's
Perceptual, 2008's
Season of Change, and 2017's
Body and Shadow. Along with his own work,
Blade has earned Grammys for his work with
Wayne Shorter and as a member of the
Chick Corea Trio on
Trilogy.
Born in 1970 in Shreveport, Louisiana,
Blade was initially exposed to music at the Zion Baptist Church, where his father was the pastor. At elementary school he took up the violin. However, inspired by his older brother who played drums at church, he eventually switched to that instrument, playing drums and percussion throughout his middle and high school years. It was during high school that he also began investigating jazz, listening to artists like
Elvin Jones,
Art Blakey,
Philly Joe Jones,
Tony Williams, and sundry other influential drummers. After high school, he moved to New Orleans where he further honed his skills attending both Loyola University and New Orleans University. There, he gained valuable experience performing with artists like
Ellis Marsalis,
Alvin Red Tyler, and Harold Battiste. He also sought out local mentors, studying
David Lee, as well as highly respected drummer and second-line master
Johnny Vidacovich, who keyed
Blade in to other New Orleans luminaries like Ernie Elly,
Herlin Riley, and Herman Lebo.
Gigs followed, and by the time he left New Orleans he was playing regularly five nights a week. In the late '90s,
Blade moved to New York where he quickly found himself in-demand, recording with
Kenny Garrett,
Joshua Redman,
Marcus Printup,
Ryan Kisor,
Brad Mehldau, and many others. He also branched out, building a reputation not just as a jazz drummer, but also an intuitive sideman for singer/songwriters including
Joni Mitchell,
Emmylou Harris,
Marianne Faithfull, and
Bob Dylan, the latter of whom invited him to play on his Grammy Award-winning 1997 album
Time Out of Mind.
As a leader,
Blade brought all his eclectic experience to bear on his 1998 Blue Note debut
Brian Blade Fellowship. Produced by
Daniel Lanois, the album featured his band with fellow Loyola alum and pianist
Jon Cowherd, bassist
Christopher Thomas, and saxophonists
Myron Walden and
Melvin Butler. He returned two years later with another
Lanois-produced effort,
Perceptual, which found guitarist
Kurt Rosenwinkel added to the
BBF and included a guest appearance by
Joni Mitchell.
In 2000, he joined saxophonist
Wayne Shorter's band, and further developed his sound, playing regularly with his bandmates bassist
John Patitucci and pianist
Danilo Perez. Together, they helped shepherd in a renewed period of creative energy for
Shorter, issuing albums like 2002's
Footprints Live!, 2003's Grammy-winning
Alegria, and 2005's
Beyond the Sound Barrier, for which
Blade also picked up a Grammy. Around the same time, he also contributed to
John Patitucci's Grammy-nominated
Remembrance and appeared on albums by
David Binney,
Scott Colley,
Myron Walden, and others.
A decade after releasing his first album as the
Brian Blade Fellowship, he returned with 2008's
Season of Changes, this time on
Verve. The album again reunited the drummer with pianist
Cowherd, as well as bandmates
Walden,
Butler,
Rosenwinkel, and
Thomas. The following year, he shifted gears, drawing upon his Americana and folk influences for Mama Rosa, which showcased his skills as a singer/songwriter.
Quiver, with guitarist
Bill Frisell and cornetist
Ron Miles, arrived in 2012 and earned
Blade Germany's ECHO Jazz Award for International Artist of the Year Drums/Percussion.
In 2013,
Blade joined pianist
Chick Corea's trio with bassist
Christian McBride. The group's debut,
Trilogy, peaked at number nine on the Billboard Jazz Albums chart and won the Grammy for Best Instrumental Jazz Album. The drummer then re-signed with Blue Note in a cooperative deal with the Shreveport, Louisiana-based Mid-City Records. His fourth
BBF,
Landmarks, arrived in April of 2014. The quintet was augmented by guitarists
Marvin Sewell and
Jeff Parker. A year later,
Blade was also part of a celebrated trio that included guitarist
Wolfgang Muthspiel and bassist
Larry Grenadier on
Driftwood for Deutsche Grammophon.
In 2017,
Blade formed yet another trio, reuniting with his fellow sidemen in
Wayne Shorter's quartet, pianist
Perez and bassist
Patitucci, for the studio date
Children of the Light on Mack Avenue. During the same season,
Blade's Fellowship released
Body and Shadow on Blue Note. Recorded in the historic Columbus Theatre in Providence, Rhode Island, the album was co-written, arranged, and produced by
Blade and longtime collaborator pianist
Cowherd. He then joined saxophonist
Joshua Redman for the Grammy-nominated quartet album
Still Dreaming, and in 2019 joined bassist Jeff Denson and guitarist
Romain Pilon for the trio album
Between Two Worlds.
Blade continued his long relationship with
Muthspiel on 2020's
Angular Blues offering from
ECM; the lineup also included bassist
Scott Colley. Also that year, he was back with
Joshua Redman for a reunion of the saxophonist's '90s quartet with bassist
Christian McBride and pianist
Brad Mehldau on
RoundAgain. ~ Matt Collar