Recording of the Week, Johnathan Blake - Passage

For his latest album entrenched in memory and nostalgia, Johnathan Blake looks to his family and surroundings for an active source of inspiration. With his father, jazz violinist John Blake, Jr., having passed some nine years ago, it is only fitting that the Philadelphian musician pay him tribute in the best way possible. An experienced performer who first undertook his study of the drums at the age of ten, Blake has spent the years – scratch that, decades since honing his craft, chiefly as a member of the Mingus Big Band as well as a highly in-demand player across other streams.

His first Blue Note appearance came in the form of Dr. Lonnie Smith’s record, Evolution (2016), the late practitioner’s first release for the label in forty five years, followed by All In My Mind (2018). The same year as a third outing with Smith – this time complete in a live setting with two guest appearances from Iggy Pop on vocals – saw Blake’s first solo foray into the reputable Blue Note canon with the release of his debut, Homeward Bound (2021). It was with this record that he gathered what has since become a flourishing hot new band, having initially snowballed from the ternary Trion into the astounding five-piece Pentad – reassembling here for the second time.

It has to be said that one of the album’s most potent calling cards is its presenting the cream of the latest additions to the Blue Note roster, with the familiar tones of sax player Immanuel Wilkins – fresh off the back of his own miraculous release, The 7th Hand (2022) – assuming a strong supporting role in addition to vibraphonist Joel Ross, who, these days, is seemingly everywhere all at once. Pianist David Virelles, who has carved a pretty impressive trajectory in the ECM-path over the last decade and a bit, brings plenty of his own developed aural skills to the foray as he displays a critical sharpness for balance and space. He is matched in energy by his fellow pair of lead instrumentalists, who adapt in equal measure to their surroundings. Integral to affairs is an astute sense of rhythm, which Blake presents with striking aplomb in another example of an artist guiding from the rear. Demonstrating his versatility not just as a player but as a swashbuckling leader, it is under his jurisdiction that each performer on the recording is forced to attune their natural sensibilities to one another’s presence, locking into a higher level of musical camaraderie as they do so.

The first sound that makes itself known is the tuneful rumble of ‘Lament for Lo’, a contemplative drum solo that heralds the forthcoming proceedings. And then we’re off, as title-track ‘Passage’, a syncopated sizzler, skips assertively along without drawing too much attention to itself. Such is the character of this recording – its personnel don’t need to brag; they simply get on with the matter at hand. ‘Muna & Johna’s Playtime’ gently ventures across a frolicky compound of interwoven twos and threes in an ode to the bandleader’s children. The pianist’s Cuban heritage is injected directly into the veins of ‘Tiempos’, a sultry latin-tinged number that falls somewhere between a slow rhumba and habanera. Of course, there’s plenty of instances for the band to muck around with the form, ramping up the horsepower to see how far they can push it without leaving cracks. From the conviviality of ‘A Slight Taste’ and its funky breaks (featuring a timely opening double bass solo from Dezron Douglas, amicably referred to on record as ‘Dez’) to the laid-back restraint of ‘West Berkley St.’, with its titular nod to Blake’s childhood address, this record is ostensibly good-willed in personality and filled with a dynamic vigour. One track can find the ensemble at their most pensive and tranquil, before the next dispels any questionable urge the listener may have to reach for the snooze button as it triumphantly blows your socks off. The narrative thread of the record is recapitulated towards its tail-end, as we overhear genuine snippets of voicemail messages, reminding us of the tenderness that resides at the album’s core: “Hey John – it’s Dad catching up with ya…”

As each of its layers peel off with every repeated listen to further reveal the intricate nature of its performers, Passage should certainly be regarded as a record of great sensitivity – but never does this come across as melodramatic. Rather than taking up lodgings amidst the sentimental, Blake has opted instead to share with us a deep insight into his personal thoughts and feelings. As he wears his heart on his sleeve, he pours out his soul with the help of his fellow musicians into an outward expression of gratitude and remembrance.