Statistics of Ron Blake
saxophone
Tenor saxophonist Ron Blake and guitarist Bobby Broom have played together many times over the years, going back to Broom’s 1997 album, Waitin’ and Waitin,’ and beyond. It was Broom who hired Blake for his band shortly after his college years. The strong chemistry between these musicians is one of numerous elements that make Mistaken Identity—Blake’s first album under his own name in 15 years—special. (They’re joined by Nat Reeves or Reuben Rogers on bass and Kobie Watkins on drums.) Another key factor is the heartfelt inclusion of songs by jazz legends who have played important roles in Blake’s personal life as well as his career.
“Uncle” Benny Golson’s classic “Stablemates” is performed with soulful clarity. The late Johnny Griffin’s beautiful minor key ballad “When We Were One” features Blake at his most lyrical on tenor. Then there is Blake’s hero Sonny Rollins’s “Allison” (from his underrated 1987 album, Dancing in the Dark), on which the tenorist’s unencumbered playing is bolstered by Broom’s forceful comping and sweetened by the guitarist’s unison lines.
“Uncle” Benny Golson’s classic “Stablemates” is performed with soulful clarity. The late Johnny Griffin’s beautiful minor key ballad “When We Were One” features Blake at his most lyrical on tenor. Then there is Blake’s hero Sonny Rollins’s “Allison” (from his underrated 1987 album, Dancing in the Dark), on which the tenorist’s unencumbered playing is bolstered by Broom’s forceful comping and sweetened by the guitarist’s unison lines.