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Some of it. Here's the whole unedited thing. This was from ... 2001?
Interview with Brian Blade
Before he even turned 30, drummer Brian Blade had already built up a resume that would put most musicians to shame. He worked as the drummer of choice for such pop artists as Daniel Lanois, Emmylou Harris, Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, and Seal, as well as jazz players Wayne Shorter, Bill Frisell, and Joshua Redman. In what little spare time he had left Blade developed his Brian Blade Fellowship project, a fascinating hybrid of jazz, blues, folk, and country that released one of the most distinctive and wonderful albums this year, Perceptual. Yet the soft-spoken Blade is remarkably humble about his achievements and extremely generous, as The Onion discovered.
The Onion: You recently recorded with Wayne Shorter.
Brian Blade: Yeah. For me, man, it just kind of keeps coming up roses, Privileges, honors. Just being around these people you have such great respect for. They paved the way for you. Like Wayne: he’s so heavy, you know? Brilliant.
O: It’s also pretty appropriate, since I hear so much of (legendary Miles Davis Quintet drummer) Tony Williams playing in you.
BB: It’s such an influence that it’s almost scary at times, when I realize that it’s him playing the horn in front of me. It’s kind of daunting, but I just try to surrender to the moment. He’s so brilliant.
O: It must be scary to put it all in perspective. You know, Tony was playing with Wayne and Miles when he was about ten years younger than you are now.
BB: Yeah, I guess so. I try not to think about it so much just because, well, it’s hard not to think about it. I often do, actually. The whole idea of what hasn’t really been said. Like John Lennon said (laughs and sings) “nothing you do that can’t be done.”
O: The Fellowship is actually saying and doing a lot of things that haven’t been done.
BB: Well, I appreciate that. It came together over a period of almost a decade, actually. Unknowingly, when (piano player) Jon Cowherd and I met in New Orleans – (bassist) Christopher Thomas was also there at that time – we always talked about having a group some day. It just took this long to come to pass, but all the musicians in the band kind of came into my life and here we are, trying to do it together.
O: Why did you decide to incorporate pedal steel, which doesn’t seem a traditional jazz instrument?
BB: Oh, that was just Dave (Easley’s) sound, what he expressed through the instrument. It could have been … actually, the sympathetic sort of overtone or relationship between the horn, the string, and John’s piano, it’s like our little orchestra. Since I write on the guitar, I like having the steel and the texture that it adds to the ensemble. But then, Dave is a great improviser, so we just got so much from this one voice that it’s brilliant.
O: Since the recorded versions already sound so organic, I was wondering how things were developing live.
BB: It’s evolving and changing. We’re taking chances every night. No one is sort of tied to anything, necessarily. Of course, we respect the forms and structures, the melodic integrity of the music, but we always try to push ourselves to, even in the melodic interpretation, make that as powerful as possible, so that maybe there doesn’t need to be a solo, or maybe there doesn’t need to be the drumming here. Perhaps just that one note has the power to make people feel something.
O: How does the audience respond?
BB: It’s been great. People have been coming out. People are slowly realizing that we exist, and hopefully they’ll listen to the music and want to hear it live. Not everybody’s downloading their music, you know! (laughs) People still want to have a live experience.
O: How tough is it to tour with such a large band?
BB: Extremely tough. Of course financially, but that’s a sacrifice I’m willing to make for as long a necessary. Just because I want it to happen, and if I can sort of be my own benefactor for however long, so be it. I’ll do that. I’d like to get to the point where we are somewhat recognized by people and have an audience that we feel we’ll grow together. We’ll change along the way, and you’ll come along for the trip, and we’ll change with you. That way maybe we can start helping people who need some help, on a whole other level, not just playing live gigs. That gets kind of personal too, I guess.
O: Music is always personal, right?
BB: Well, the music is, but it’s also what you do away from the music that the music actually fuels. In fact, even more so, it’s what you do away from the music that the music fuels. You know, like charity. Sometimes it can get sort of selfish. It’s what you do, but how can you just give it and have your life be something other than that? It’s kind of a heavy weight sometimes.
O: Well, your music is very alive, and music like that always brings people together. Then after they gather other things can happen.
BB: I hope so. That’s ideal, but we’ll see, as time goes by, if we can continue to do good work.
O: With a lot of the work you’ve been getting, it does kind of show that people are listening.
BB: I think so. I’m trying to be an optimist …
O: Oh, there’s not much to be pessimistic about. You can just list the names of all the people you’ve played with.
BB: Yeah. I’m always at the crossroads, I think, for myself, which is personal, but also the strain of traveling with seven folks at times gets to be … you lose sight of the beauty in it. But when we start playing everything’s OK! It’s alright.
O: What kind of music did you listen to growing up? Your playing is all over the map.
BB: Well, I grew up in church, so gospel music I guess was kind of the first music I heard. Choral music, sacred music. I have a pretty clear memory of hearing Al Green when I was at my grandmother’s. It was kind of the first musical experience that sticks in my memory. But everything along the way that I thought was great – Earth, Wind, and Fire, Stevie Wonder, all these things. Later I got into Miles Davis and John Coltrane and Joni Mitchell, and all these recordings just made me want to buy more recordings! And New Orleans, when I moved there to go to college, was kind of emerging into such a rich musical community, just on the street there, that everything started to multiply in a good way.
O: New Orleans is eating, sleeping, and breathing jazz.
BB: Even if you’re not a music student, per se, just being in the city it all passes through you for sure.
O: So you were really familiar with Joni Mitchell before she called you up?
BB: Yeah, she’s my greatest musical influence. I felt like I owed her this debt, she had given me so much! All of a sudden I felt that I was just getting more blessings. I just hope I can serve the situation properly.
O: And she picked you personally, right?
BB: Yeah, you can’t even put it into words. It’s so fulfilling.
O: I was surprised to see you playing with Seal alongside Tony Levin and David Sancious.
BB: Yeah, it’s absolutely brilliant, man, all those people. I guess my head should be getting pretty big. But hopefully it’ll stand up. These recordings and all, beyond one night stands. Hopefully they’ll be important to people, as they are to me, and touch folks.
O: That’s definitely the case with Bob Dylan and Emmylou Harris. Time Out of Mind and Wrecking Ball both mean a lot to many people. How difficult is it to get past their iconic status?
BB: Of course that’s on your mind, that these are some of the most amazing voices of any time, some of the greatest songwriters of any time. You’re standing before these people and obviously your knees wobble a bit, probably. (laughs) But it’s also rewarding when you have such reverence for someone and you meet them and they’re even greater than you thought. They let you in on it and then they’re not puffed up, you know? It kind of takes away my nervousness and hesitation. I just feel that I’m here and they want me to try to do what I do. I just try and do it, man.
O: You’re a composer yourself, and your own playing is pretty musical. When you’re in a situation like that, how much freedom do you have to do what you want?
BB: It’s been absolutely carte blanche. If there’s ever a suggestion made, it’s never restrictive. It’s more conceptual. But most times, with Joni or with Wayne, it’s always this dance, you know that I mean? You figure that the other person knows their steps so that you don’t step on each other’s toes. Just have a good time.
O: Maybe that’s why the music sounds so natural.
BB: I think so. They give so much freedom so that the music can just unfold. For me, that’s the only way, I think. Of course, these are my heroes, too, so anything they say I’m going to do! (laughs) But they’ve never made me feel uncomfortable that way.
O: Both Emmylou and Dylan were produced by Daniel Lanois. He must have been pretty helpful in getting you these jobs.
BB: Oh, absolutely. He’s a great friend. He introduced me to Joni from a long distance. Music that I had been recording with him, his music, he played for her. She liked the tone of it and that’s how we started talking over the phone. Then of course, he brought me in on the sessions with Bob and Emmy. Of course, we’ve had this relationship for so long. He’s such an inspiration to me, his songwriting and what he does as a producer. Brilliant.
O: And with Bill Frisell you did those covers of the Elvis Costello and Burt Bacharach collaboration.
BB: Man, I love Bill. He’s probably … you think about it, the guitar. How many guitarists could there be in the world? But, man, he’s so special. Such a voice, and I love playing with him. I definitely feel a kindred spirit in Bill. Hopefully we’ll record some of his music or even my music again some day.
O: You’ve been fortunate enough to play with a lot of your musical heroes. Who do you hope to play with that you haven’t played with yet?
BB: Neil Young. Gee whiz. I’d love to play with a Symphony, you know, New York Philharmonic or something. (laughs) It sounds strange, but I want to try to start writing in this way, as if the band wasn’t big enough already! It’s so unseen, in a way, because there are so many artists that maybe people don’t know about – Dave Berkman or Sam Yahel, that I play with so often in New York – I want to continue these things so that they grow over time. When you can make a session but then never see these people again, I’m not too fond of doing that. I’m more in for the long run. It’s been a real privilege to be able to do these things and still play with the band and tour with friends. It’s sometimes a fragile balance, because there’s not much time between these things, but that’s fine because it’s what I want to do. There’ll be time to sleep later!
― Josh in Chicago, Monday, 8 January 2024 21:53 (three months ago) link
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