Can complex contemporary jazz sound deeply personal and sentimental? If it is up to American drummer and composer Johnathan Blake, yes. His album Passage is steeped in familial sentiment and loss. First, he lost his father, jazz violinist
John Blake Sr. in 2014. On the cover, he poses as a toddler with his father. But Passage is also about the demise of his drum teacher and several uncles. His
… mourning takes shape in solemn post-bop with minor undertones. Even the Latin tango of Tiempos continues to sound somber and subdued. The highlight is the title track, a modal composition by his father in which the band briefly lets loose and vibraphonist Joel Ross takes an extended solo. You wish Blake's gifted regular quintet would grab more moments like this. Among all the personal thanks in the cover, to living and deceased family members, Heavenly Father Jehovah also pops up. You read that more often on covers, but now makes one realize that Passage as a jazz record does not appear spiritual, but rather pious. (MR)more
