Ran Blake

[Ken Dryden]

On 4/11/2010 at 9:39 AM, AllenLowe said:

I've always felt partially responsible for driving him underground. His phone number used to be in the book. So 20 years ago I called him up to ask if he was interested in a recording project I was working on, and he was completely paranoid that I'd gotten his phone. I explained to him that it was a public listing. When I checked the next week, it was unlisted.

 

just doing my bit for American culture.

Dave Brubeck had a listed landline phone, though he wasn't necessarily the one to answer it when he was off the road.

He shared a story that likely happened some time in the 1960s, when a woman called to book him for a wedding reception and she obviously didn't know who he was, as she got his number from the musician's union. What was funny is that he didn't let on about his fame and he was going to be off the road at the time and considering playing it for scale on a lark, when the woman suddenly, shrieked, "Oh, my god, you are the DAVE BRUBECK, I'm so sorry that I bothered you," then she hung up.

[Pim]

10 hours ago, Late said:

Oh man, I forgot how good this one is:

Grabbed it at random this afternoon, and had to stop what I was doing to just listen. That's what the best music does.

Thanks for reminding. Definitely interested in this one. Ricky Ford was doing wonderful things those days. And I love Steve Lacy in these kind of settings. 

[soulpope]

11 hours ago, Late said:

Oh man, I forgot how good this one is:

Grabbed it at random this afternoon, and had to stop what I was doing to just listen. That's what the best music does.

Wonderful indeed ....

[Late]

The Blue Potato And Other Outrages

I wonder why this album never saw a digital release. And yet...it's on YouTube in what appears to not be a vinyl rip.

Check out "Garvey's Ghost" from this album. 👌

[optatio]

1 hour ago, Late said:

The Blue Potato And Other Outrages

I wonder why this album never saw a digital release. And yet...it's on YouTube in what appears to not be a vinyl rip.

Check out "Garvey's Ghost" from this album. 👌

👍

[Joe Bip]

I have quite a collection of Ran Blake LPs and CDs but haven't kept up with anything more recent than the duets with Sara Serpa from 2010. So many duets.

I'd love to hear his 1994 appearance on Marian McPartland's Piano Jazz but haven't found it archived online yet.

Something I found out recently was that he wrote liner notes for other musicians' albums several times: 

Chris Connor – Cocktails and Dusk; Free Spirits reissue

Horace Silver – The Trio Sides (Blue Note)

Mal Waldron – One and Two

I don't own any of these releases, but I very much wanted to read the Waldron liner note, so I used a magnifying glass and read the image on Discogs. He recounts his intense lessons with Waldron, who at first did not want to take him on as a student. Blake said he's never met a more patient person than Waldron. He also recalled working in the kitchen at the Jazz Gallery nightclub and making something called "Ivory Soap mayonnaise." 🤨

 

He refers to "High on a Windy Hill" as one of the most harmonically sophisticated ballads ever written. I don't know if he essayed it for any of his recordings, but here is a fairly recent YouTube performance: Ran Blake - High on a Windy Hill (Tribute to Chris Connor)

[clifford_thornton]

On 10/27/2022 at 7:57 PM, Ken Dryden said:

Dave Brubeck had a listed landline phone, though he wasn't necessarily the one to answer it when he was off the road.

He shared a story that likely happened some time in the 1960s, when a woman called to book him for a wedding reception and she obviously didn't know who he was, as she got his number from the musician's union. What was funny is that he didn't let on about his fame and he was going to be off the road at the time and considering playing it for scale on a lark, when the woman suddenly, shrieked, "Oh, my god, you are the DAVE BRUBECK, I'm so sorry that I bothered you," then she hung up.

I understand that Brubeck was a really nice guy, so it wouldn’t be a surprise at all if he’d taken the gig for fun (too bad she hung up so hastily).