# CD review: Johnathan Blake – Passage – 2023: Video, CD cover

- Link: https://jazzblues.eu/2023/09/08/cd-review-johnathan-blake-passage-2023-video-cd-cover/
- Published: 2023-09-08T00:04:28+01:00
- Author: https://JazzBlues.EU

**New York drummer Johnathan Blake delivers rhythm with a fine balance of tension
and ease. Equally at home playing cutting-edge modern jazz or R&B, his credits span
two decades and range from the Mingus Big Band and rapper Q-Tip to an upcoming Village
Vanguard residency with guitarist Bill Frisell. Yet his own-name releases have been
few and far between. **

Passage, his fifth solo album, features Pentad, the sparkling quintet he presented
on Homeward Bound, his 2021 Blue Note debut. Blake’s sensitivity and creative support
continue to shine and his compositional skills impress.

Two years on, the band’s intensity is a fraction higher and the soloists dig even
deeper into the music’s core. Alto saxophonist Immanuel Wilkins plays with the fire
and focus that made his recent Love Supreme performance such a standout. Cuban pianist
David Virelles combines scintillating speed with downbeat left-hand vamps, and Joel
Ross unerringly finds the right lines to weave into an already heady mix.

The album opens with the brief, sparse and melodic “Lament for Lo”, a moving tribute
to late drummer Lawrence “Lo” Leathers, conjured by unaccompanied mallets. For the
most part, compositions twist, turn and deliver fascinating narrative shifts. The
title track, composed by the leader’s late father, violinist John Blake, switches
from edgy counterpoint to urgent walking bass swing. The intricate “Tiempos”, written
by Virelles, toys with time and adds a subtle Latin twist.

Blake’s own compositions dominate. “Muna & Johna’s Playtime”, named after his children,
interrupts its playful vibe with the whiny, doubtful sounds of Virelles’ Moog. “
Groundhog Day” features bassist Dezron Douglas in a sinuous hip-hop joust. The elegiac
mood of the ballad “Out of Sight, Out of Mind” ebbs and flows.

The set closes on the summery and soulful vibe of “West Berkley Street”, a reference
to Blake’s Philadelphia childhood, made even more poignant by the voice of Blake’s
father, captured in voicemails then sampled.

Drummer, composer, and bandleader **Johnathan Blake** follows up his acclaimed 2021
Blue Note debut _Homeward Bound_ with _Passage_, an uplifting sequel that once again
features his band **Pentad** with **Immanuel Wilkins** on alto saxophone,** Joel
Ross** on vibraphone, **David Virelles** on piano, and **Dezron Douglas** on bass.
Dedicated to the memory of his father **John Blake Jr.**, a jazz violinist whose
stirring composition “Passage” gives the album its title, the 10-track set also 
features five new originals by Blake, as well as pieces by Douglas, Virelles, and
Blake’s drum teacher and mentor **Ralph Peterson Jr.**

**Tracklist:**

1. Lament For Lo
 2. Passage 3. Muna & Johna’s Playtime 4. Tiempos 5. Groundhog 
Day 6. Tears I Cannot Hide 7. A Slight Taste (Dez Intro) 8. A Slight Taste 9. Out
of Sight, Out of Mind 10. West Berkely St.

![Johnathan Blake - Passage – Blue Note Records](https://i0.wp.com/store.bluenote.
com/cdn/shop/files/JohnathanBlake_Passage_Cover.jpg?w=640&ssl=1)

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