Alex Blake (born Alejandro Blake Fearon Jr., 1951) is a jazz bass player.

Biography

Blake was born in 1951 in

Panama Panama, officially the Republic of Panama, is a country in Latin America at the southern end of Central America, bordering South America. It is bordered by Costa Rica to the west, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north, and ...

and moved to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

at the age of seven, growing up in

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

. He began his career with

Sun Ra Le Sony'r Ra (born Herman Poole Blount, May 22, 1914 – May 30, 1993), better known as Sun Ra, was an American jazz composer, bandleader, piano and synthesizer player, and poet known for his experimental music, "cosmic" philosophy, prolific ou ...

's band Arkestra. Blake became one of the major proponents of the fusion movement in the late 1970s through his writing and performances with

Lenny White Leonard White III (born December 19, 1949) is an American jazz fusion drummer who was a member of the band Return to Forever led by Chick Corea in the 1970s. White has been called "one of the founding fathers of jazz fusion". White has won thre ...

and

Billy Cobham William Emanuel Cobham Jr. (born May 16, 1944) is a Panamanian–American jazz drummer who came to prominence in the late 1960s and early 1970s with trumpeter Miles Davis and then with the Mahavishnu Orchestra. He was inducted into the '' Mode ...

. A live performance compilation was released by Bubble Core Records in 2000 titled '' Now Is the Time: Live at the Knitting Factory''. The album featured Blake's own

quintet A quintet is a group containing five members. It is commonly associated with musical groups, such as a string quintet, or a group of five singers, but can be applied to any situation where five similar or related objects are considered a single ...

, which included

Pharoah Sanders Pharoah Sanders (born Ferrell Lee Sanders; October 13, 1940 – September 24, 2022) was an American jazz saxophonist. Known for his overblowing, harmonic, and multiphonic techniques on the saxophone, as well as his use of "sheets of sound", San ...

, Victor Jones,

John Hicks Sir John Richard Hicks (8 April 1904 – 20 May 1989) was a British economist. He is considered one of the most important and influential economists of the twentieth century. The most familiar of his many contributions in the field of economics ...

and Neil Clarke (percussion). In addition to leading his own group, Blake also performed and recorded with

Randy Weston Randolph Edward "Randy" Weston (April 6, 1926 – September 1, 2018) was an American jazz pianist and composer whose creativity was inspired by his ancestral African connection. Weston's piano style owed much to Duke Ellington and Thelonious M ...

, as well as other musicians.

Discography

As leader

* ''Especially for You'' (Denon, 1979) * '' Now Is the Time: Live at the Knitting Factory'' (Bubble Core, 2000)

As sideman

With

* ''

Total Eclipse An eclipse is an astronomical event which occurs when an astronomical object or spacecraft is temporarily obscured, by passing into the shadow of another body or by having another body pass between it and the viewer. This alignment of three ...

'' (Atlantic, 1974) * '' A Funky Thide of Sings'' (Atlantic, 1975) * '' Shabazz'' (Atlantic, 1975) With

The Manhattan Transfer The Manhattan Transfer was an American vocal group founded in 1969 in New York City, performing music genres like a cappella, Brazilian jazz, Swing music, swing, vocalese, rhythm and blues, Pop music, pop, and standards. They have won eleven G ...

* ''

Bodies and Souls ''Bodies and Souls'' is the seventh studio album by The Manhattan Transfer, released in September 1983 on the Atlantic Records label. This album took the Manhattan Transfer in a different direction from their previous releases, offering a new, ...

'' (Atlantic, 1983) * '' Bop Doo-Wopp'' (Atlantic, 1984) * ''

Vocalese Vocalese is a style of jazz singing in which words are added to an instrumental soloist's improvisation. Definition Vocalese uses recognizable lyrics that are sung to pre-existing instrumental solos, as opposed to scat singing, which uses nonsen ...

'' (Atlantic, 1985) * ''

Live Live may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Live!'' (2007 film), 2007 American film * ''Live'' (2014 film), a 2014 Japanese film * ''Live'' (2023 film), a Malayalam-language film *'' Live: Phát Trực Tiếp'', a Vietnamese-langua ...

'' (Atlantic, 1987) * '' The Offbeat of Avenues'' (Columbia, 1991) * ''

Man-Tora! Live in Tokyo ''Man-Tora! Live in Tokyo'' is the fourth live album released by The Manhattan Transfer. The title is a shortening of , the Japanese transliteration of the band's name. The songs were recorded during their 1983 Japan tour to promote their album ' ...

'' (Rhino, 1996) With

* '' Love Will Find a Way'' (Arista, 1978) * '' Beyond a Dream'' with

Norman Connors Norman Connors (born March 1, 1947) is an American jazz drummer, composer, arranger, and producer who has led a number of influential jazz and R&B groups. He also achieved several big R&B hits of the day, especially with love ballads. He is poss ...

(Arista Novus, 1981) * ''

Save Our Children Save Our Children, Inc. was an American political coalition formed in 1977 in Miami, Florida, to overturn a recently legislated county ordinance that banned discrimination in areas of housing, employment, and public accommodation based on sexua ...

'' (Verve, 1998) With

* '' It's After the End of the World'' (MPS/BASF, 1971) * ''My Brother the Wind Vol II'' (El Saturn, 1971) * ''Newport Jazz Festival the Electric Circus'' (Transparency, 2009) * ''Live in London'' (Transparency, 2010) * ''Live at the Red Garter'' (Transparency, 2013) * ''In the Orbit of Ra'' (Strut/Art Yard, 2014) * ''The Intergalactic Thing'' (Roaratorio, 2016) With

Kazumi Watanabe is a Japanese guitarist. Other guitarists such as Luke Takamura and Sugizo have cited him as an influence. Career Watanabe learned guitar at the age of 12 from Sadanori Nakamure at the Yamaha Music School in Tokyo. He released his first album ...

* ''Lonesome Cat'' (Denon, 1978) * ''Village in Bubbles'' (Better Days, 1978) * ''The Best Performance'' (Better Days, 1982) With

* ''African Sunrise'' (Antilles, 1992) * ''Saga'' (Verve/Gitanes, 1995) * ''

Khepera Khepri (Egyptian: ''ḫprj,'' also transliterated Khepera, Kheper, Khepra, Chepri) is a scarab-faced god in ancient Egyptian religion who represents the rising or morning sun. By extension, he can also represent creation and the renewal of life.v ...

'' (Verve, 1998) * '' The Spirits of Our Ancestors'' (Verve, 1992) * ''Spirit! The Power of Music'' (Gitanes, 2000) * ''Live in St. Lucia'' (Image, 2003) * ''Zep Tepi'' (Random Chance, 2006) * ''The Storyteller'' (Motema, 2010) With others *

Ahmed Abdullah Ahmed Abdullah (born Leroy Bland; May 10, 1946) is an American jazz trumpeter who was a prominent member of Sun Ra's band. Biography He began playing the trumpet at age 13 in his native New York City. One of the first groups he performed with wa ...

, ''

Dedication Dedication often refers to various religious and secular ceremonies and practices such as: * Dedication (ritual) the ritual or ceremonial establishment of a purpose for a person, place, or thing ** Dedication of churches ** Child dedication, a C ...

'' (CIMP, 1998) * Ahmed Abdullah, '' Tara's Song'' (TUM, 2005) *

Jimmy Buffett James William Buffett (December 25, 1946 – September 1, 2023) was an American singer-songwriter, author, and businessman. He was known for his tropical rock sound and persona, which often portrayed a lifestyle described as "island escapis ...

, ''

Hot Water Water heating is a heat transfer process that uses an energy source to heat water above its initial temperature. Typical domestic uses of hot water include cooking, cleaning, bathing, and space heating. In industry, hot water and water heated t ...

'' (MCA, 1988) *

Jonathan Butler Jonathan Kenneth Butler (born 10 October 1961) is a South African singer-songwriter and guitarist. His music is often classified as R&B, jazz fusion or worship music. Biography Born and raised in Athlone, Cape Town, South Africa, during apa ...

, ''Head to Head'' (Mercury, 1993) *

Chico Freeman Chico Freeman (born Earl Lavon Freeman Jr.; July 17, 1949) is a modern jazz tenor saxophonist and trumpeter and son of jazz saxophonist Von Freeman. He began recording as lead musician in 1976 with ''Morning Prayer'', won the New York Jazz Award ...

, ''Sweet Explosion'' (In+Out 1990) *

Carlos Garnett Carlos Garnett (December 1, 1938 - March 3, 2023) was a Panamanian-American jazz saxophonist. Biography Garnett was born on December 1, 1938, in Red Tank, Panama Canal Zone.He became interested in jazz after hearing the music of Louis Jordan an ...

, ''

Black Love Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''Psyc ...

'' (Muse, 1974) *

Stan Getz Stan Getz (born Stanley Gayetski; February 2, 1927 – June 6, 1991) was an American jazz saxophonist. Playing primarily the tenor saxophone, Getz was known as "The Sound" because of his warm, lyrical tone, with his prime influence being the wis ...

, ''The Final Concert Recording'' (Eagle, 2000) *

Mac Gollehon Mac Gollehon is an American trumpet player who has played on over two hundred gold and platinum records and remixes. He is especially noted for his performances on David Bowie's '' Let's Dance'', Duran Duran's records, '' Notorious'' and " Skin ...

, ''Smokin' Live'' (McKenzie, 1997) * Mac Gollehon, ''La Fama'' (American Showplace, 2012) *

Weldon Irvine Weldon Jonathan Irvine Jr. (October 27, 1943 – April 9, 2002), also known as Master Wel, was an American composer, playwright, poet, pianist, organist, and keyboardist. Biography Irvine, an African American, was born in Hampton, Virginia, on ...

, ''Time Capsule'' (Nodlew Music, 1973) * Weldon Irvine, ''In Harmony'' (Strata-East, 1974) *

Oran "Juice" Jones Oran "Juice" Jones (born March 28, 1957) is an American retired R&B singer. Early life Jones was born in Houston, Texas, and raised in Harlem, New York City, New York. Career Military career He graduated from the United States Naval Academ ...

, '' Player's Call'' (Tommy Boy, 1997) *

Ryo Kawasaki was a Japanese jazz fusion guitarist, composer and band leader, best known as one of the first musicians to develop and popularise the fusion genre and for helping to develop the guitar synthesizer in collaboration with Roland Corporation and K ...

, ''Ring Toss'' (Chiaroscuro, 1977) * Ryo Kawasaki, ''Nature's Revenge'' (MPS, 1978) *

Earl Klugh Earl Klugh ( ; born September 16, 1953) is an American acoustic guitarist and composer. He has won one Grammy Award and received 13 nominations. Biography At the age of six, Klugh commenced training on the piano until he switched to the guitar ...

, '' Whispers and Promises'' (Warner Bros., 1989) *

The Last Poets The Last Poets is a poetry collective and musical group that arose in the late 1960s as part of the African-American civil rights movement and black nationalism. The name was inspired by revolutionary South African poet Keorapetse Kgositsile who ...

, ''Delights of the Garden'' (Douglas, 1977) *

Yusef Lateef Yusef Abdul Lateef (born William Emanuel Huddleston; October 9, 1920 – December 23, 2013) was an American jazz multi-instrumentalist, composer, and prominent figure among the Ahmadiyya Community in the United States. Although Lateef's main i ...

, ''

Autophysiopsychic ''Autophysiopsychic'' is an album by American multi-instrumentalist and composer Yusef Lateef, recorded in 1977 and released on the CTI label.Payne, DCTI Records discographyaccessed February 27, 2012 The record was recorded in October 1977 at El ...

'' (CTI, 1977) *

Babatunde Lea Babatunde Lea (born Michael Wayne Lea; February 18, 1948) is an American percussionist who plays Afro-Cuban jazz and worldbeat. He took his name from Nigerian drummer Babatunde Olatunji. Biography Michael Lea was raised in Englewood, New Jerse ...

, ''March of the Jazz Guerrillas'' (Ubiquity, 2000) *

Frank Lowe Frank Lowe (June 24, 1943 – September 19, 2003) was an American avant-garde jazz saxophonist and composer. Biography Born in Memphis, Tennessee, Lowe took up the tenor saxophone at the age of 12. As an adult he moved to San Francisco, where h ...

, ''

The Flam ''The Flam'' is an album by American jazz saxophonist Frank Lowe recorded in 1975 for the Italian Black Saint label.

'' (Black Saint, 1976) *

Carmen Lundy Carmen Latretta Lundy (born November 1, 1954) is an American jazz singer. She has been performing for over four decades, with a focus on original material. She has been positively compared with Aretha Franklin, Ella Fitzgerald and Sarah Vaugha ...

, ''Night and Day'' (CBS/Sony, 1987) *

Arif Mardin Arif Mardin (March 15, 1932 – June 25, 2006) was a Turkish-American music producer, who worked with hundreds of artists across many different styles of music, including jazz, rock, soul, disco and country. He worked at Atlantic Records for ov ...

, '' Journey'' (Atlantic, 1974) *

Brownie McGhee Walter Brown "Brownie" McGhee (November 30, 1915 – February 16, 1996) was an American folk and Piedmont blues singer and guitarist, best known for his collaboration with the harmonica player Sonny Terry. Life and career McGhee was bor ...

, ''Blues Is Truth'' (Blue Labor, 1976) * Brownie McGhee, ''Rainy Day'' (Tomato, 1989) *

Airto Moreira Airto Guimorvan Moreira (born August 5, 1941) is a Brazilian jazz drummer, composer and percussionist. He is married to jazz singer Flora Purim, and their daughter Diana Moreira is also a singer. Coming to prominence in the late 1960s as a membe ...

, ''

Virgin Land A frontier is a political and geographical term referring to areas near or beyond a boundary. Australia The term "frontier" was frequently used in colonial Australia in the meaning of country that borders the unknown or uncivilised, the ...

'' (Salvation, 1974) *

Don Pullen Don Gabriel Pullen (December 25, 1941 – April 22, 1995) was an American jazz pianist and organist. Pullen developed a strikingly individual style throughout his career. He composed pieces ranging from blues to bebop and modern jazz. The great ...

, ''

Capricorn Rising ''Capricorn Rising'' is an album by American jazz pianist Don Pullen featuring saxophonist Sam Rivers. It was recorded in 1975 for the Italian Black Saint label.

'' (Black Saint, 1976) * Don Pullen, '' Tomorrow's Promises'' (Atlantic, 1977) *

Sonny Rollins Walter Theodore "Sonny" Rollins (born September 7, 1930) is an American retired jazz tenor saxophonist who is widely recognized as one of the most important and influential jazz musicians. In a seven-decade career, Rollins recorded over sixt ...

, '' The Way I Feel'' (Milestone, 1976) *

Dom Um Romao Dom or DOM may refer to: People and fictional characters * Dom (given name), including fictional characters * Dom (surname) * Dom La Nena (born 1989), stage name of Brazilian-born cellist, singer and songwriter Dominique Pinto * Dom people, an et ...

, ''Saudades'' (Water Lily Acoustics, 1993) *

Charles "Bobo" Shaw Charles Wesley "Bobo" Shaw (September 5, 1947 – January 16, 2017) was an American free jazz drummer, known as a prominent member of the Human Arts Ensemble and Black Artists Group. He was born in Pope, Mississippi, United States. Charles "Bobo ...

, ''Concere Ntasiah'' (Universal Justice 1978) *

Janis Siegel Janis Siegel (born July 23, 1952) is a multiple grammy-winning American jazz singer, best known as a member of the vocal group The Manhattan Transfer. Musical career In 1965, Siegel made her recording debut with a group called Young Generation ...

, ''At Home'' (Atlantic, 1987) * Charles Sullivan, ''

Genesis Genesis may refer to: Religion * Book of Genesis, the first book of the biblical scriptures of both Judaism and Christianity, describing the creation of the Earth and of humankind * Genesis creation narrative, the first several chapters of the Bo ...

'' (Strata-East, 1974) *

Ximo Tebar Ximo Tebar (March 30, 1963 in Valencia) is a Spanish jazz musician (guitar, composition). Life and works Tebar started taking guitar lessons at the age of seven. His first music genre was flamenco. At the age of 15, he was attracted to Brazilia ...

, ''Steps'' (Omix, 2008) *

, ''Presents the Adventures of Astral Pirates'' (Elektra, 1978)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Blake, Alex Living people 21st-century American male musicians 21st-century double-bassists 1951 births American jazz double-bassists American male jazz musicians Male double-bassists Panamanian emigrants to the United States Post-bop double-bassists