Seamus Blake
A gifted saxophonist, Seamus Blake is a forward-thinking improviser with a distinctive approach to modern creative jazz and swinging post-bop. Emerging in the '90s, he came to wide acclaim after winning the 2002 Thelonious Monk Jazz Award. An in-demand performer, Blake is a longtime member of the Mingus Big Band, as well as the Criss Cross label group Opus 5, and has worked with such similarly inclined artists as Alex Sipiagin, Victor Lewis, John Scofield, and more. As a leader, he has also released a handful of his own adventurous acoustic jazz albums, including 1997's Four Track Mind, 2007's Way Out Willy, and 2009's Bellwether. He also leads the genre-bending funk and jazz-rock-influenced outfit the Bloomdaddies. In 2017, he picked up a Juno Award nomination for Jazz Album of the Year for Superconductor.
Born in England in 1970, Blake grew up in Canada and eventually studied at the Berklee College of Music in Boston. While there, he recorded with drummer Victor Lewis and Franco Ambrosetti. After graduating, he relocated to New York City and quickly established himself as a go-to sideman, working with such luminaries as drummer Billy Drummond, pianist Darrell Grant, saxophonist Mark Turner, and others. He has also toured with John Scofield, and is a regular member of the Mingus Big Band, having appeared on six of the group's Grammy-nominated albums.
As a leader, Blake made his debut with 1993's The Call on Criss Cross. A acoustic post-bop date, it featured the saxophonist alongside guitarist Kurt Rosenwinkel, pianist Kevin Hays, bassist Larry Grenadier, and drummer Bill Stewart. For his follow-up, 1997's The Bloomdaddies, Blake incorporated electronics and pushed the music in a more funk and rock-influenced direction. The shift exemplified his stylistically far-reaching aesthetic, and his subsequent releases would often find him moving across genres from album to album. He moved back to acoustic jazz for 1997's Four Track Mind, bringing along tenor saxophonist Turner and trumpeter Tim Hagans. He then split the difference, delving into funk and edgy jazz on 1999's Stranger Things Have Happened, which also featured guitarist Rosenwinkel and pianist Brad Mehldau, bassist Grenadier, and drummer Jorge Rossy.
In 2000, he paired with fellow Berklee alum drummer Marc Miralta and bassist Avishai Cohen for Sunsol, followed a year later by Echonomics with pianist David Kikoski, bassist Ed Howard, and longtime associate drummer Lewis. Kikoski was also on board for 2007's Way Out Willy and 2009's Bellwether, both of which showcased a hard-swinging post-bop sound. In 2010, Blake released the concert album Live at Smalls, featuring such longtime bandmates as drummer Bill Stewart, guitarist Lage Lund, bassist Matt Clohesy, and Kikoski. A member of drummer Adam Nussbaum's BANN ensemble, Blake appeared on the group's 2011 debut album, As You Like.
Also around this time, the saxophonist made his debut with the Criss Cross label ensemble Opus 5, appearing on 2011's Introducing Opus 5 alongside trumpeter Alex Sipiagin, pianist Kikoski, bassist Boris Kozlov, and drummer Donald Edwards. The group, which is modeled after Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers, has continued to work regularly, issuing 2012's Pentasonic, 2014's Progression, and 2015's Tickle. That same year, he joined Cuban pianist Gonzalo Rubalcaba on the Grammy-nominated album Suite Caminos. Two years later, Blake picked up his first Juno Award nomination for Jazz Album of the Year for his orchestral-infused Superconductor.
© Matt Collar /TiVo
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The Return
Joel Haynes, Seamus Blake, Neil Swainson
Jazz - Released by Cellar Live on Sep 8, 2023
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Guardians of the Heart Machine
Contemporary Jazz - Released by Whirlwind Recordings on Mar 15, 2019
24-Bit 88.2 kHz - Stereo -
Let's Call the Whole Thing Off
Jazz - Released by Criss Cross Jazz on Jun 17, 2016
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Sweet transients
Jazz - Released by Fresh Sound Records on Jan 1, 2000
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Fear of Roaming
Sangha Quartet, Seamus Blake, Kevin Hays, Larry Grenadier, Bill Stewart
Jazz - Released by Fresh Sound Records on Feb 16, 2003
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Dreams
Marc Miralta Quartet, Seamus Blake, Ed Simon, Omer Avital
Jazz - Released by Fresh Sound Records on Jan 1, 2007
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Transitions
Joel Haynes, Seamus Blake, Jodi Proznick
Jazz - Released by Cellar Live on Jun 9, 2008
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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December
Jazz - Released by Fresh Sound New Talent on Dec 11, 2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Live au Cabaret (feat. Norman Lachapelle & Karl Jannuska)
Seamus Blake, Daniel Thouin Trio, LACHAPELLE Norman, Karl Jannuska
Contemporary Jazz - Released by Effendi records on Mar 31, 2001
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mosh for lovers
Jazz - Released by Fresh Sound Records on Jan 1, 2001
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Ville de Montréal
Bridges, Seamus Blake, Jesper Bodilsen
Jazz - Released by AMP Music & Records on May 18, 2023
24-Bit 48.0 kHz - Stereo -
PARKER: Billie's Bounce / RODGERS: My Favourite Things (Sonny Stitt - Gene Ammons - Jesse Greer)
Classical - Released by CBC on Jan 1, 2008
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Catch of the day
Jazz - Released by Fresh Sound Records on Apr 9, 2007
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Way Out Willy
Jazz - Released by Criss Cross Jazz on Feb 20, 2007
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
moosejaww
Alternative & Indie - Released by Planck Records on Dec 5, 2022
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Circumstance
Jazz - Released by Fresh Sound Records on Aug 28, 2005
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo