Cindy Blackman
Encyclopedia
Cindy Blackman is an American jazz
and rock drummer
. Blackman is best-known for recording and touring with Lenny Kravitz
. Blackman has recorded several straight-ahead jazz albums under her own name, and has performed with acclaimed jazz and rock artists, including Pharoah Sanders
, Ron Carter
, Sam Rivers
, Cassandra Wilson
, Angela Bofill
, Buckethead
, Bill Laswell
and Joe Henderson
. Tony Williams is her main drumming influence. In 1997 she recorded Multiplicity as a drum teaching video. "To me, jazz is the highest form of music that you can play because of the creative requirements," says Blackman. Blackman is the wife of rock legend Carlos Santana
.
ians and her uncle a vibist. "My mom, when she was younger, played violin
in classical orchestra
s, and her mom, incidentally, was a classical musician. My mom used to take me to see classical concerts," says Blackman. "My dad was into jazz -- Miles Davis
, Ahmad Jamal
, people like that." Blackman's first introduction to the drums happened when she was seven years old in her hometown of Yellow Springs, Ohio
and attending a pool party at a friend's house, she went to use the bathroom and saw a drum set and just hopped onto the set. "It was incredible," says Blackman. "Just looking at them struck something in my core, and it was completely right from the second I saw them," says Blackman. "And then, when I hit them, it was like, wow, that’s me. That’s completely natural for me. It’s like breathing for me. It didn’t feel awkward at all."
After her first introduction to drums at her friend's house, Blackman began playing in the school band
and was able to convince her parents to get her a drum set of her own while she was still only seven. "Of course those would be broken up in a matter of days," Blackman says. "The only thing I heard at home was, 'we don't know if you can play drums because one, they're noisy, and two, they're very expensive." Some people ask why she didn't study violin or flute
like other girls. "I learned very early on -- when I was 13 -- that when I concentrate on those attitudes, I don't make progress for myself," says Blackman. "If they're not paying my mortgage, I don't care what they think."
and studied at the Hartt School of Music in Hartford, Connecticut
. Blackman began to have an interest in jazz at age 13 after listening to Max Roach
and got her first professional drum kit
set at 14. "Jazz was the thing that was most intriguing because of the challenge that was involved," says Blackman. "When I was shown that the drummers on these records were playing independently with all four limbs, I was like: 'Really?! Is that what they're doing? Is that what Max Roach is doing on that record? Oh! Okay!'"
Drummer Tony Williams was an early influence. "The first drummer I ever saw, where I got to feel the impact up close, was Tony Williams," Blackman said. "When I was 16, Tony came to my local drum store with a bassist
and did a [drum] clinic that left a powerful impression on me. And that's what I thought drumming should be: drummers should have a lot of impact and a great sound, without being limited to a conventional role in the band--the drums should speak just as freely as anybody." Blackman says that the way the Williams used all four limbs to attack the drums strongly influenced her. "I just love and loved everything about Tony," says Blackman. "To me, not only was he a master technician, a master drummer, the innovator of the age, but also, he was a sound innovator. He had so many things that elevated the sound and the level of skill required to play this kind of music." But although Blackman is sometimes referred to as a disciple of Tony Williams, she follows her own path. "On the one hand, it doesn't bother me at all to be associated and in line with a master of the instrument like that – Okay, I might not be where I want to be, but I'm on the right track," says Blackman. "On the other hand, I don't plan on being a clone. What I'm doing is always looking to expound on something that he's done, or push the music in a different way."
Blackman moved to Boston to study at the Berklee College of Music
with Alan Dawson
, one of Tony Williams' teachers. "Alan's method was incredible in terms of getting your independence together, getting your hands together," says Blackman.
While she was at Berklee a friend recommended her for a gig
with The Drifters
so Blackman left college after three semesters and moved to New York City
in 1982. Blackman worked as a New York street performer but also got a chance to watch and learn. "I looked for Art Blakey
, I looked for Elvin [Jones], I looked for Philly Joe Jones
, for Roy Haynes
, for Tony Williams. I saw so many great drummers, like Ed Blackwell
and Billy Higgins
, Louis Hayes
. I saw Al Foster
play quite a bit, Billy Hart
, Jack DeJohnette
. All these people, they’re in New York so I got a chance to watch them do their thing."
While in New York, Art Blakey became a significant influence. "He really was like a father to me. I learned a lot just watching him. I asked him a lot of questions about the drums and music -- and he answered all of them. He was fantastic," said Blackman. Blackman initially encountered resistance to a woman playing drums in the jazz world. "I’m a black
woman, so I’ve encountered racial prejudice, and I’ve encountered gender prejudice
. I’ve also encountered prejudice against my afro when I wore that out. But I’ve also encountered prejudice against my musical opinions. What I’ve learned to do is completely ignore that."
's "Jazz Stars of the Future" on WKCR-FM in New York. In 1987, Blackman's first compositions appeared on Wallace Roney
's Verses album. When an executive at Muse Records
heard Blackman's recordings, he offered her a recording contract
to lead her own project. In 1988 Blackman released Arcane, her debut as a bandleader
. Her band included Wallace Roney on trumpet
, Kenny Garrett
on alto saxophone
, Joe Henderson
on tenor saxophone
, Buster Williams
and Clarence Seay
on bass, and Larry Willis
on piano
.
In 1993, Blackman had an opportunity to work with Lenny Kravitz
. Blackman in New York talked to Kravitz in Los Angeles on the phone, played drums for him over the phone, and Kravitz asked Blackman to fly out to LA. "Lenny asked me can you play something for me over the phone," Blackman says. "So I put the phone down and I started playing something like, BOOSH-bat-bat, BOOSH-BOOSH-BOOSH-bat, and I went back to the phone and I said, 'Can you hear that?' He said, 'Yeah. Can you fly out to L.A. right now?'" "I flew out the next morning. While I’m downstairs waiting for the instruments to come from the studio, these people started coming in. First 12, and then like 30 more. I was like, 'whoa, this is an audition
'. I ended up playing and instead of staying for one or two days, I stayed for two weeks and did the first video
that I did with him, Are You Gonna Go My Way
. Apart from 2004, I played with him ever since."
Blackman had previously only played jazz shows and was unprepared to play for an entire arena. "The first time I played in a really large concert with Lenny was at an outdoor festival called Pinkpop
. We played for like 70,000 people. It was in the summer so most people had just t-shirts or tanks, a lot of guys had their shirts off, so you just see skin and hands and they’re doing this wave thing. I almost lost it, my equilibrium was teetering. I wasn’t used to seeing that many people; I was disoriented; I just had to stop looking and start focusing."
Blackman says that playing with Kravitz and playing jazz are different. "My job with Lenny is a different thing. My job is to play a beat for hours, and make it feel good, and add some exciting fills and exciting colors, when it fits tastefully," Blackman says. "My job in my band or in a creative situation is a totally different thing. We may start with a groove that feels great, I may play that for hours too, but I’m going to explore and expand and change that, play around with the rhythm and interject with the soloists." "I like dance music and I like making the music feel good," says Blackman. "To drive an audience of 100,000 into complete oblivion by playing a groove so strong ... I love doing that. I love the chance to show versatility."
In an article published May 1, 2004, NPR reported that Blackman had recently left Kravitz's group to focus on her own music. "I love danceable music, and I love big fat beats and I really dig rock 'n' roll," says Blackman. "But jazz is my heart, it's my love, and I've never left jazz in mind or spirit."
In 1994 Blackman made her first recording with a working group and called the album Telepathy
because of the tight communication in the band. "I wanted to do a quartet
record because of the amount of space you get with fewer players," she said in Telepathy's liner notes
. "It's intimate, but more dimensional than a piano trio. I'm really into this sound, and it was nice to play with a group that was a group. You can't help but have a better feel when the musicians know each other, are headed in the same direction, and have the same goals. You can make most everything work. You get chances to play a lot of colors, and really stretch your ideas."
In 2005 Blackman released Music for the New Millennium on her Sacred Sounds Label. "It’s rooted in tradition, but it’s not traditional music. It’s explorative, very creative, very expressive, and we really try to expand any ideas we have that everything is played over the forms, but we like to stretch it, and really see the colors and make the music grow and move," says Blackman. "We experiment — but it’s never free. Everything is written out. I have charts for all the songs. We expand on what’s there, and stretch harmonics and note choices."
Blackman continues to make her home in Brooklyn in New York City. "It’s always such an amazing place, with every level of musical accomplishment, you can see complete beginners and you can see innovators. That’s why I live in New York. Not only is it tough, but all the greatest people have come through New York," says Blackman. Blackman prefers to play jazz in small, intimiate clubs. "It's an acoustic situation. You are close-knit and you are creating one hundred percent of the time -- so to me it just doesn't really get any better that!" Blackman also travels extensively conducting drum clinics. In September 2007, she made a tour of South America
, teaching clinics in Argentina
, Chile
, and Brazil
, and on November 30, 2007, Blackman and her quartet performed at Art After 5 at the Philadelphia Art Museum.
Blackman says her goal is to become a musical virtuoso
. "I want to become a virtuoso," says Blackman. "To me, virtuosity is the ability to say anything on your instrument you want to at any given moment." Blackman describes her music as "completely creative." "I want to push the envelope. I want to really expound on some concepts that, to me, are the highest in the improvisation of music," says Blackman. Blackman loves jazz and wants to delve into its intricacies. "Oh my gosh, it’s the best thing in the world," says Blackman. "I feel so blessed, and I’m so thankful to be able to play music. It’s an honor, and it’s a blessing."
On July 9, 2010, Carlos Santana
proposed to Blackman on stage during a concert at Tinley Park, Illinois. Blackman is Santana's touring drummer; he proposed right after her drum solo. They were married on Maui
, Hawaii on December 19, 2010. People Magazine
church during her teenage years, but became a follower of the Bahá'í Faith
at the age of 18; she also started studying Kabbalah
in the 2000s. Blackman cultivates spirituality in her musicianship. "I believe that music is so sacred that once you're playing music you are doing the work of prayer, whether you're conscious of it or not, because you have a focused intent," says Blackman. "You transcend
, because you're crossing barriers that a lot of people and even us as musicians don't normally venture to, because we don't think about it. When you can learn to move those energies, even if they're sad, into something that is of benefit, like focusing on bringing light to people who are listening, or just to the universe in general, then you can do something good with it. I don't keep that in mind 100 per cent of the time – I'm human – but I try to."
and karate
. "I'm really conscious of taking great care of myself," Blackman says. "I make sure my body is in peak condition as much as possible. When I'm at home, I eat completely organic
, take a lot of sea minerals, try to eat natural foods. I eat nothing out of a can, I don't drink soda and I usually juice my own juices. When I see my peers we talk about different things and I know it pays off."
Blackman is a rarity as a female jazz percussionist. "In the past, there were a lot of stigma
s attached to women playing certain instruments," Blackman says. "I think a lot of women stick to particular instruments, like piano, that are acceptable, so that lessens the playing field in terms of how many women are out there. And let's face it, boys' clubs still exist. But I care nothing about that at all. I'm going to do what I'm going to do musically anyway." However Blackman draws on the role models of her mother who played violin in an orchestra and her grandmother who was a classical pianist and does not let stereotypes deter her. "God forbid I should be limited to only play my drums in my basement; but if that's all I had, that's what I would do," says Blackman. "Any woman, or anyone facing race prejudice, weight prejudice, hair prejudice ... if you let somebody stop you because of their opinions, then the only thing you're doing is hurting yourself. I don't want to give somebody that power over me."
Blackman is adamant that musicality has nothing to do with gender
. "The gender question is not even worth bringing up because the drums have got nothing to do with gender," Blackman says. "I'm there because I love to play music. And I'm in support of anyone who wants to play the instrument. I wouldn't care if Art Blakey
was pink with polka dots and wearing a tutu. I wouldn't care if Tony Williams was green." "There are people who have opinions about whatever and whoever, in terms of gender, in terms of race and weight, hairstyle, religion," says Blackman. "But to me, your personality influences what you play and what you do, but everything else is for you to develop and to nourish and to take further, and that's where I'm at. In terms of my goals, me being a female drummer has nothing to with anything except for the fact that I wear bras and panties and guys don't."
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
and rock drummer
Drummer
A drummer is a musician who is capable of playing drums, which includes but is not limited to a drum kit and accessory based hardware which includes an assortment of pedals and standing support mechanisms, marching percussion and/or any musical instrument that is struck within the context of a...
. Blackman is best-known for recording and touring with Lenny Kravitz
Lenny Kravitz
Leonard Albert "Lenny" Kravitz is an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer and arranger, whose "retro" style incorporates elements of rock, soul, R&B, funk, reggae, hard rock, psychedelic, folk and ballads...
. Blackman has recorded several straight-ahead jazz albums under her own name, and has performed with acclaimed jazz and rock artists, including Pharoah Sanders
Pharoah Sanders
Pharoah Sanders is a Grammy Award–winning American jazz saxophonist.Saxophonist Ornette Coleman once described him as "probably the best tenor player in the world." Emerging from John Coltrane's groups of the mid-60s Sanders is known for his overblowing, harmonic, and multiphonic techniques on...
, Ron Carter
Ron Carter
Ron Carter is an American jazz double-bassist. His appearances on over 2,500 albums make him one of the most-recorded bassists in jazz history, along with Milt Hinton, Ray Brown and Leroy Vinnegar. Carter is also an acclaimed cellist who has recorded numerous times on that...
, Sam Rivers
Sam Rivers
Samuel Carthorne Rivers , is an American jazz musician and composer. He performs on soprano and tenor saxophones, bass clarinet, flute, harmonica and piano....
, Cassandra Wilson
Cassandra Wilson
Cassandra Wilson is an American jazz musician, vocalist, songwriter, and producer from Jackson, Mississippi. Described by critic Gary Giddins as "a singer blessed with an unmistakable timbre and attack [who has] expanded the playing field" by incorporating country, blues and folk music into her...
, Angela Bofill
Angela Bofill
Angela Bofill is an American R&B vocalist and songwriter.Bofill was born to a Cuban father and a Puerto Rican mother; one of the first Latina singers to find success in the R&B market.She performed with Ricardo Marrero & the Group and Dance Theater of Harlem chorus prior to her 1978 debut album,...
, Buckethead
Buckethead
Brian Carroll , better known by his stage name Buckethead, is a guitarist and multi instrumentalist who has worked within several genres of music. He has released 34 studio albums, four special releases and one EP. He has performed on over 50 more albums by other artists...
, Bill Laswell
Bill Laswell
Bill Laswell is an American bassist, producer and record label owner....
and Joe Henderson
Joe Henderson
Joe Henderson was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. In a career spanning more than forty years Henderson played with many of the leading American players of his day and recorded for several prominent labels, including Blue Note.-Early life:From a very large family with five sisters and nine...
. Tony Williams is her main drumming influence. In 1997 she recorded Multiplicity as a drum teaching video. "To me, jazz is the highest form of music that you can play because of the creative requirements," says Blackman. Blackman is the wife of rock legend Carlos Santana
Carlos Santana
Carlos Augusto Alves Santana is a Mexican rock guitarist. Santana became famous in the late 1960s and early 1970s with his band, Santana, which pioneered rock, salsa and jazz fusion...
.
Early training and influences
Born November 18, 1959, Blackman comes from a musical family, both her mother and grandmother were classical musicClassical music
Classical music is the art music produced in, or rooted in, the traditions of Western liturgical and secular music, encompassing a broad period from roughly the 11th century to present times...
ians and her uncle a vibist. "My mom, when she was younger, played violin
Violin
The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
in classical orchestra
Orchestra
An orchestra is a sizable instrumental ensemble that contains sections of string, brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. The term orchestra derives from the Greek ορχήστρα, the name for the area in front of an ancient Greek stage reserved for the Greek chorus...
s, and her mom, incidentally, was a classical musician. My mom used to take me to see classical concerts," says Blackman. "My dad was into jazz -- Miles Davis
Miles Davis
Miles Dewey Davis III was an American jazz musician, trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. Widely considered one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Miles Davis was, with his musical groups, at the forefront of several major developments in jazz music, including bebop, cool jazz,...
, Ahmad Jamal
Ahmad Jamal
Ahmad Jamal is an innovative and influential American jazz pianist, composer, and educator. According to Stanley Crouch, Jamal is second in importance in the development of jazz after 1945 only to Charlie Parker...
, people like that." Blackman's first introduction to the drums happened when she was seven years old in her hometown of Yellow Springs, Ohio
Yellow Springs, Ohio
Yellow Springs is a village in Greene County, Ohio, United States, and is the location of Antioch College and Antioch University Midwest. The population was 3,487 at the 2010 census...
and attending a pool party at a friend's house, she went to use the bathroom and saw a drum set and just hopped onto the set. "It was incredible," says Blackman. "Just looking at them struck something in my core, and it was completely right from the second I saw them," says Blackman. "And then, when I hit them, it was like, wow, that’s me. That’s completely natural for me. It’s like breathing for me. It didn’t feel awkward at all."
After her first introduction to drums at her friend's house, Blackman began playing in the school band
School band
A school band is a group of student musicians who rehearse and perform instrumental music together. A concert band is usually under the direction of one or more conductors...
and was able to convince her parents to get her a drum set of her own while she was still only seven. "Of course those would be broken up in a matter of days," Blackman says. "The only thing I heard at home was, 'we don't know if you can play drums because one, they're noisy, and two, they're very expensive." Some people ask why she didn't study violin or flute
Flute
The flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening...
like other girls. "I learned very early on -- when I was 13 -- that when I concentrate on those attitudes, I don't make progress for myself," says Blackman. "If they're not paying my mortgage, I don't care what they think."
Influences
When Blackman was 11, she moved to Bristol, ConnecticutBristol, Connecticut
Bristol is a suburban city located in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States southwest of Hartford. According to 2006 Census Bureau estimates, the population of the city is 61,353. Bristol is primarily known as the home of ESPN, whose central studios are in the city. Bristol is also home to...
and studied at the Hartt School of Music in Hartford, Connecticut
Hartford, Connecticut
Hartford is the capital of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960, it is the second most populous city on New England's largest river, the Connecticut River. As of the 2010 Census, Hartford's population was 124,775, making...
. Blackman began to have an interest in jazz at age 13 after listening to Max Roach
Max Roach
Maxwell Lemuel "Max" Roach was an American jazz percussionist, drummer, and composer.A pioneer of bebop, Roach went on to work in many other styles of music, and is generally considered alongside the most important drummers in history...
and got her first professional drum kit
Drum kit
A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
set at 14. "Jazz was the thing that was most intriguing because of the challenge that was involved," says Blackman. "When I was shown that the drummers on these records were playing independently with all four limbs, I was like: 'Really?! Is that what they're doing? Is that what Max Roach is doing on that record? Oh! Okay!'"
Drummer Tony Williams was an early influence. "The first drummer I ever saw, where I got to feel the impact up close, was Tony Williams," Blackman said. "When I was 16, Tony came to my local drum store with a bassist
Bassist
A bass player, or bassist is a musician who plays a bass instrument such as a double bass, bass guitar, keyboard bass or a low brass instrument such as a tuba or sousaphone. Different musical genres tend to be associated with one or more of these instruments...
and did a [drum] clinic that left a powerful impression on me. And that's what I thought drumming should be: drummers should have a lot of impact and a great sound, without being limited to a conventional role in the band--the drums should speak just as freely as anybody." Blackman says that the way the Williams used all four limbs to attack the drums strongly influenced her. "I just love and loved everything about Tony," says Blackman. "To me, not only was he a master technician, a master drummer, the innovator of the age, but also, he was a sound innovator. He had so many things that elevated the sound and the level of skill required to play this kind of music." But although Blackman is sometimes referred to as a disciple of Tony Williams, she follows her own path. "On the one hand, it doesn't bother me at all to be associated and in line with a master of the instrument like that – Okay, I might not be where I want to be, but I'm on the right track," says Blackman. "On the other hand, I don't plan on being a clone. What I'm doing is always looking to expound on something that he's done, or push the music in a different way."
Blackman moved to Boston to study at the Berklee College of Music
Berklee College of Music
Berklee College of Music, located in Boston, Massachusetts, is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known primarily as a school for jazz, rock and popular music, it also offers college-level courses in a wide range of contemporary and historic styles, including hip...
with Alan Dawson
Alan Dawson
Alan Dawson was a respected jazz drummer and widely influential percussion teacher based in Boston. He was born in Marietta, Pennsylvania and raised in Roxbury, MA. Serving in the Army for Korean War duty, Dawson played with the Army Dance Band while stationed at Fort Dix from 1951-1953...
, one of Tony Williams' teachers. "Alan's method was incredible in terms of getting your independence together, getting your hands together," says Blackman.
Arrival in New York
Gig (musical performance)
Gig is slang for a musical engagement in which musicians are hired. Originally coined in the 1920s by jazz musicians, the term, short for the word "engagement", now refers to any aspect of performing such as assisting with performance and attending musical performance...
with The Drifters
The Drifters
The Drifters are a long-lived American doo-wop and R&B/soul vocal group with a peak in popularity from 1953 to 1963, though several splinter Drifters continue to perform today. They were originally formed to serve as Clyde McPhatter's backing group in 1953...
so Blackman left college after three semesters and moved to New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
in 1982. Blackman worked as a New York street performer but also got a chance to watch and learn. "I looked for Art Blakey
Art Blakey
Arthur "Art" Blakey , known later as Abdullah Ibn Buhaina, was an American Grammy Award-winning jazz drummer and bandleader. He was a member of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community....
, I looked for Elvin [Jones], I looked for Philly Joe Jones
Philly Joe Jones
Joseph Rudolph Jones was a Philadelphia-born United States jazz drummer, known as the drummer for the Miles Davis Quintet.Philly Joe Jones was often confused with another influential jazz drummer, Jo Jones...
, for Roy Haynes
Roy Haynes
Roy Owen Haynes is an American jazz drummer and bandleader. Haynes is among the most recorded drummers in jazz, and in a career lasting more than 60 years has played in a wide range of styles ranging from swing and bebop to jazz fusion and avant-garde jazz...
, for Tony Williams. I saw so many great drummers, like Ed Blackwell
Ed Blackwell
Ed Blackwell was an American jazz drummer born in New Orleans, Louisiana, known for his extensive work with Ornette Coleman....
and Billy Higgins
Billy Higgins
Billy Higgins was an American jazz drummer. He played mainly free jazz and hard bop.Higgins was born in Los Angeles, California. Higgins played on Ornette Coleman's first records, beginning in 1958...
, Louis Hayes
Louis Hayes
Louis Hayes is an American jazz drummer.-Biography:His father played drums and piano and his mother the piano and he refers to the early influence of hearing jazz, especially that of big bands, on the radio...
. I saw Al Foster
Al Foster
Al Foster is an American jazz drummer. Foster played with Miles Davis's large funk fusion group in the 70s, was one of the few people to have contact with Miles during his retirement, and was also part of his comeback album The Man With the Horn of 1981...
play quite a bit, Billy Hart
Billy Hart
William "Billy" Hart is a jazz drummer and educator who has performed with some of the most important jazz musicians in history.-Biography:Early on Hart performed in Washington, D.C...
, Jack DeJohnette
Jack DeJohnette
Jack DeJohnette is an American jazz drummer, pianist, and composer. He is one of the most influential jazz drummers of the 20th century, due to extensive work as leader and sideman for musicians like Miles Davis, Joe Henderson, Freddie Hubbard, Keith Jarrett and Sonny...
. All these people, they’re in New York so I got a chance to watch them do their thing."
While in New York, Art Blakey became a significant influence. "He really was like a father to me. I learned a lot just watching him. I asked him a lot of questions about the drums and music -- and he answered all of them. He was fantastic," said Blackman. Blackman initially encountered resistance to a woman playing drums in the jazz world. "I’m a black
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
woman, so I’ve encountered racial prejudice, and I’ve encountered gender prejudice
Prejudice
Prejudice is making a judgment or assumption about someone or something before having enough knowledge to be able to do so with guaranteed accuracy, or "judging a book by its cover"...
. I’ve also encountered prejudice against my afro when I wore that out. But I’ve also encountered prejudice against my musical opinions. What I’ve learned to do is completely ignore that."
First compositions and recording contracts
In 1984, Blackman was showcased on Ted CursonTed Curson
Theodore "Ted" Curson is a jazz trumpeter. He is perhaps best-known for recording and performing with Charles Mingus....
's "Jazz Stars of the Future" on WKCR-FM in New York. In 1987, Blackman's first compositions appeared on Wallace Roney
Wallace Roney
Wallace Roney is an American hard bop and post-bop trumpeter.Roney took lessons from Clark Terry and Dizzy Gillespie and studied with Miles Davis from 1985 until the latter's death in 1991...
's Verses album. When an executive at Muse Records
Muse Records
Muse Records was an American record label which released jazz and blues music.Muse was founded in the early 1970s by Joe Fields, who had previously worked as an executive for Prestige Records in the 1960s...
heard Blackman's recordings, he offered her a recording contract
Recording contract
A recording contract is a legal agreement between a record label and a recording artist , where the artist makes a record for the label to sell and promote...
to lead her own project. In 1988 Blackman released Arcane, her debut as a bandleader
Bandleader
A bandleader is the leader of a band of musicians. The term is most commonly, though not exclusively, used with a group that plays popular music as a small combo or a big band, such as one which plays jazz, blues, rhythm and blues or rock and roll music....
. Her band included Wallace Roney on trumpet
Trumpet
The trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...
, Kenny Garrett
Kenny Garrett
Kenny Garrett is a Grammy Award-winning American post bop jazz saxophonist and flautist who gained fame in his youth as a member of the Duke Ellington Orchestra and of Miles Davis's band. He has since pursued a critically acclaimed solo career...
on alto saxophone
Alto saxophone
The alto saxophone is a member of the saxophone family of woodwind instruments invented by Belgian instrument designer Adolphe Sax in 1841. It is smaller than the tenor but larger than the soprano, and is the type most used in classical compositions...
, Joe Henderson
Joe Henderson
Joe Henderson was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. In a career spanning more than forty years Henderson played with many of the leading American players of his day and recorded for several prominent labels, including Blue Note.-Early life:From a very large family with five sisters and nine...
on tenor saxophone
Tenor saxophone
The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor, with the alto, are the two most common types of saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B, and written as a transposing instrument in the treble...
, Buster Williams
Buster Williams
Charles Anthony Williams is an American jazz bassist.-Biography:Williams has gained prestige among jazz musicians as a solid supportive player. Since the early 1960s, he has made subtle swing, a precise rhythm and superb technique the landmark of his playing...
and Clarence Seay
Clarence Seay
Clarence Seay is a jazz bassist and composer.He has been an acoustic bassist with the Wallace Roney Quintet for over 15 years...
on bass, and Larry Willis
Larry Willis
Lawrence Elliott Willis is an American jazz pianist and composer. He has performed in a wide range of styles, including jazz fusion rock music, Bebop and Avant-Garde...
on piano
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
.
Work with Lenny Kravitz
Lenny Kravitz
Leonard Albert "Lenny" Kravitz is an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer and arranger, whose "retro" style incorporates elements of rock, soul, R&B, funk, reggae, hard rock, psychedelic, folk and ballads...
. Blackman in New York talked to Kravitz in Los Angeles on the phone, played drums for him over the phone, and Kravitz asked Blackman to fly out to LA. "Lenny asked me can you play something for me over the phone," Blackman says. "So I put the phone down and I started playing something like, BOOSH-bat-bat, BOOSH-BOOSH-BOOSH-bat, and I went back to the phone and I said, 'Can you hear that?' He said, 'Yeah. Can you fly out to L.A. right now?'" "I flew out the next morning. While I’m downstairs waiting for the instruments to come from the studio, these people started coming in. First 12, and then like 30 more. I was like, 'whoa, this is an audition
Audition
An audition is a sample performance by an actor, singer, musician, dancer or other performing artist.Audition may also refer to:* The sense of hearing* Adobe Audition, audio editing software...
'. I ended up playing and instead of staying for one or two days, I stayed for two weeks and did the first video
Video
Video is the technology of electronically capturing, recording, processing, storing, transmitting, and reconstructing a sequence of still images representing scenes in motion.- History :...
that I did with him, Are You Gonna Go My Way
Are You Gonna Go My Way
Are You Gonna Go My Way is the third studio album by American rock musician Lenny Kravitz, released on March 9, 1993 by Virgin Records America. It was recorded at Waterfront Recording Studios, Hoboken, New Jersey...
. Apart from 2004, I played with him ever since."
Blackman had previously only played jazz shows and was unprepared to play for an entire arena. "The first time I played in a really large concert with Lenny was at an outdoor festival called Pinkpop
Pinkpop
Pinkpop Festival, or Pinkpop for short, is an annual festival held at Landgraaf, Netherlands. It is held annually on the Pentecost weekend...
. We played for like 70,000 people. It was in the summer so most people had just t-shirts or tanks, a lot of guys had their shirts off, so you just see skin and hands and they’re doing this wave thing. I almost lost it, my equilibrium was teetering. I wasn’t used to seeing that many people; I was disoriented; I just had to stop looking and start focusing."
Blackman says that playing with Kravitz and playing jazz are different. "My job with Lenny is a different thing. My job is to play a beat for hours, and make it feel good, and add some exciting fills and exciting colors, when it fits tastefully," Blackman says. "My job in my band or in a creative situation is a totally different thing. We may start with a groove that feels great, I may play that for hours too, but I’m going to explore and expand and change that, play around with the rhythm and interject with the soloists." "I like dance music and I like making the music feel good," says Blackman. "To drive an audience of 100,000 into complete oblivion by playing a groove so strong ... I love doing that. I love the chance to show versatility."
In an article published May 1, 2004, NPR reported that Blackman had recently left Kravitz's group to focus on her own music. "I love danceable music, and I love big fat beats and I really dig rock 'n' roll," says Blackman. "But jazz is my heart, it's my love, and I've never left jazz in mind or spirit."
Return to jazz
Telepathy
Telepathy , is the induction of mental states from one mind to another. The term was coined in 1882 by the classical scholar Fredric W. H. Myers, a founder of the Society for Psychical Research, and has remained more popular than the more-correct expression thought-transference...
because of the tight communication in the band. "I wanted to do a quartet
Quartet
In music, a quartet is a method of instrumentation , used to perform a musical composition, and consisting of four parts.-Western art music:...
record because of the amount of space you get with fewer players," she said in Telepathy's liner notes
Liner notes
Liner notes are the writings found in booklets which come inserted into the compact disc jewel case or the equivalent packaging for vinyl records and cassettes.-Origin:...
. "It's intimate, but more dimensional than a piano trio. I'm really into this sound, and it was nice to play with a group that was a group. You can't help but have a better feel when the musicians know each other, are headed in the same direction, and have the same goals. You can make most everything work. You get chances to play a lot of colors, and really stretch your ideas."
In 2005 Blackman released Music for the New Millennium on her Sacred Sounds Label. "It’s rooted in tradition, but it’s not traditional music. It’s explorative, very creative, very expressive, and we really try to expand any ideas we have that everything is played over the forms, but we like to stretch it, and really see the colors and make the music grow and move," says Blackman. "We experiment — but it’s never free. Everything is written out. I have charts for all the songs. We expand on what’s there, and stretch harmonics and note choices."
Blackman continues to make her home in Brooklyn in New York City. "It’s always such an amazing place, with every level of musical accomplishment, you can see complete beginners and you can see innovators. That’s why I live in New York. Not only is it tough, but all the greatest people have come through New York," says Blackman. Blackman prefers to play jazz in small, intimiate clubs. "It's an acoustic situation. You are close-knit and you are creating one hundred percent of the time -- so to me it just doesn't really get any better that!" Blackman also travels extensively conducting drum clinics. In September 2007, she made a tour of South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
, teaching clinics in Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
, Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
, and Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
, and on November 30, 2007, Blackman and her quartet performed at Art After 5 at the Philadelphia Art Museum.
Musical goals and personal life
Virtuoso
A virtuoso is an individual who possesses outstanding technical ability in the fine arts, at singing or playing a musical instrument. The plural form is either virtuosi or the Anglicisation, virtuosos, and the feminine form sometimes used is virtuosa...
. "I want to become a virtuoso," says Blackman. "To me, virtuosity is the ability to say anything on your instrument you want to at any given moment." Blackman describes her music as "completely creative." "I want to push the envelope. I want to really expound on some concepts that, to me, are the highest in the improvisation of music," says Blackman. Blackman loves jazz and wants to delve into its intricacies. "Oh my gosh, it’s the best thing in the world," says Blackman. "I feel so blessed, and I’m so thankful to be able to play music. It’s an honor, and it’s a blessing."
On July 9, 2010, Carlos Santana
Carlos Santana
Carlos Augusto Alves Santana is a Mexican rock guitarist. Santana became famous in the late 1960s and early 1970s with his band, Santana, which pioneered rock, salsa and jazz fusion...
proposed to Blackman on stage during a concert at Tinley Park, Illinois. Blackman is Santana's touring drummer; he proposed right after her drum solo. They were married on Maui
Maui
The island of Maui is the second-largest of the Hawaiian Islands at and is the 17th largest island in the United States. Maui is part of the state of Hawaii and is the largest of Maui County's four islands, bigger than Lānai, Kahoolawe, and Molokai. In 2010, Maui had a population of 144,444,...
, Hawaii on December 19, 2010. People Magazine
Spirituality of music
Blackman attended a BaptistBaptist
Baptists comprise a group of Christian denominations and churches that subscribe to a doctrine that baptism should be performed only for professing believers , and that it must be done by immersion...
church during her teenage years, but became a follower of the Bahá'í Faith
Bahá'í Faith
The Bahá'í Faith is a monotheistic religion founded by Bahá'u'lláh in 19th-century Persia, emphasizing the spiritual unity of all humankind. There are an estimated five to six million Bahá'ís around the world in more than 200 countries and territories....
at the age of 18; she also started studying Kabbalah
Kabbalah
Kabbalah/Kabala is a discipline and school of thought concerned with the esoteric aspect of Rabbinic Judaism. It was systematized in 11th-13th century Hachmei Provence and Spain, and again after the Expulsion from Spain, in 16th century Ottoman Palestine...
in the 2000s. Blackman cultivates spirituality in her musicianship. "I believe that music is so sacred that once you're playing music you are doing the work of prayer, whether you're conscious of it or not, because you have a focused intent," says Blackman. "You transcend
Transcend
Transcend Information, Inc. is a Taiwanese company that manufactures and distributes of memory products headquartered in Taipei, Taiwan. Transcend's product portfolio consists of over 2,000 devices including memory modules, flash memory cards, USB flash drives, digital audio players, Portable...
, because you're crossing barriers that a lot of people and even us as musicians don't normally venture to, because we don't think about it. When you can learn to move those energies, even if they're sad, into something that is of benefit, like focusing on bringing light to people who are listening, or just to the universe in general, then you can do something good with it. I don't keep that in mind 100 per cent of the time – I'm human – but I try to."
Physical demands of playing
Blackman keeps herself in shape for the physical demands of playing the drums by practicing yogaYoga
Yoga is a physical, mental, and spiritual discipline, originating in ancient India. The goal of yoga, or of the person practicing yoga, is the attainment of a state of perfect spiritual insight and tranquility while meditating on Supersoul...
and karate
Karate
is a martial art developed in the Ryukyu Islands in what is now Okinawa, Japan. It was developed from indigenous fighting methods called and Chinese kenpō. Karate is a striking art using punching, kicking, knee and elbow strikes, and open-handed techniques such as knife-hands. Grappling, locks,...
. "I'm really conscious of taking great care of myself," Blackman says. "I make sure my body is in peak condition as much as possible. When I'm at home, I eat completely organic
Organic food
Organic foods are foods that are produced using methods that do not involve modern synthetic inputs such as synthetic pesticides and chemical fertilizers, do not contain genetically modified organisms, and are not processed using irradiation, industrial solvents, or chemical food additives.For the...
, take a lot of sea minerals, try to eat natural foods. I eat nothing out of a can, I don't drink soda and I usually juice my own juices. When I see my peers we talk about different things and I know it pays off."
Role as female musician
Social stigma
Social stigma is the severe disapproval of or discontent with a person on the grounds of characteristics that distinguish them from other members of a society.Almost all stigma is based on a person differing from social or cultural norms...
s attached to women playing certain instruments," Blackman says. "I think a lot of women stick to particular instruments, like piano, that are acceptable, so that lessens the playing field in terms of how many women are out there. And let's face it, boys' clubs still exist. But I care nothing about that at all. I'm going to do what I'm going to do musically anyway." However Blackman draws on the role models of her mother who played violin in an orchestra and her grandmother who was a classical pianist and does not let stereotypes deter her. "God forbid I should be limited to only play my drums in my basement; but if that's all I had, that's what I would do," says Blackman. "Any woman, or anyone facing race prejudice, weight prejudice, hair prejudice ... if you let somebody stop you because of their opinions, then the only thing you're doing is hurting yourself. I don't want to give somebody that power over me."
Blackman is adamant that musicality has nothing to do with gender
Gender
Gender is a range of characteristics used to distinguish between males and females, particularly in the cases of men and women and the masculine and feminine attributes assigned to them. Depending on the context, the discriminating characteristics vary from sex to social role to gender identity...
. "The gender question is not even worth bringing up because the drums have got nothing to do with gender," Blackman says. "I'm there because I love to play music. And I'm in support of anyone who wants to play the instrument. I wouldn't care if Art Blakey
Art Blakey
Arthur "Art" Blakey , known later as Abdullah Ibn Buhaina, was an American Grammy Award-winning jazz drummer and bandleader. He was a member of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community....
was pink with polka dots and wearing a tutu. I wouldn't care if Tony Williams was green." "There are people who have opinions about whatever and whoever, in terms of gender, in terms of race and weight, hairstyle, religion," says Blackman. "But to me, your personality influences what you play and what you do, but everything else is for you to develop and to nourish and to take further, and that's where I'm at. In terms of my goals, me being a female drummer has nothing to with anything except for the fact that I wear bras and panties and guys don't."
Discography
- Code Red with Steve ColemanSteve ColemanSteve Coleman, born , is an African American saxophone player, spontaneous composer, composer and band leader. His music and concepts have been a heavy influence on contemporary jazz.-Chicago:...
, Wallace RoneyWallace RoneyWallace Roney is an American hard bop and post-bop trumpeter.Roney took lessons from Clark Terry and Dizzy Gillespie and studied with Miles Davis from 1985 until the latter's death in 1991...
, Kenny BarronKenny BarronKenny Barron , is an American jazz pianist. He is the younger brother of tenor saxophonist Bill Barron, and known for his lyrical, adaptive style.-Biography:...
, Lonnie PlaxicoLonnie PlaxicoLonnie Plaxico is an African American jazz bassist.Plaxico was born in Chicago, Illinois into a musical family, and started playing the bass at the age of twelve, turning professional at fourteen...
, 1992 - Arcane with Wallace RoneyWallace RoneyWallace Roney is an American hard bop and post-bop trumpeter.Roney took lessons from Clark Terry and Dizzy Gillespie and studied with Miles Davis from 1985 until the latter's death in 1991...
, Joe HendersonJoe HendersonJoe Henderson was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. In a career spanning more than forty years Henderson played with many of the leading American players of his day and recorded for several prominent labels, including Blue Note.-Early life:From a very large family with five sisters and nine...
, Kenny GarrettKenny GarrettKenny Garrett is a Grammy Award-winning American post bop jazz saxophonist and flautist who gained fame in his youth as a member of the Duke Ellington Orchestra and of Miles Davis's band. He has since pursued a critically acclaimed solo career...
, Larry WillisLarry WillisLawrence Elliott Willis is an American jazz pianist and composer. He has performed in a wide range of styles, including jazz fusion rock music, Bebop and Avant-Garde...
, Buster WilliamsBuster WilliamsCharles Anthony Williams is an American jazz bassist.-Biography:Williams has gained prestige among jazz musicians as a solid supportive player. Since the early 1960s, he has made subtle swing, a precise rhythm and superb technique the landmark of his playing...
, Clarence SeayClarence SeayClarence Seay is a jazz bassist and composer.He has been an acoustic bassist with the Wallace Roney Quintet for over 15 years...
, 1992 - Telepathy with Antoine RoneyAntoine RoneyAntoine Roney is an American jazz tenor and soprano saxophonist, brother to trumpeter Wallace Roney.Born in Philadelphia, he graduated from the Duke Ellington School of the Arts of the D. C...
, Jacky TerrassonJacky TerrassonJacques-Laurent Terrasson is a jazz pianist better known as Jacky Terrasson.He was born in Germany, but his mother was American and his father French. He studied at the Berklee College of Music before playing in Chicago and New York City clubs. He gained increased attention on winning the 1993...
, Clarence SeayClarence SeayClarence Seay is a jazz bassist and composer.He has been an acoustic bassist with the Wallace Roney Quintet for over 15 years...
, 1994 - The Oracle with Gary BartzGary BartzGary Bartz is an American alto and soprano saxophonist and clarinetist.Bartz graduated from the Baltimore City College high school and The Juilliard School...
, Kenny BarronKenny BarronKenny Barron , is an American jazz pianist. He is the younger brother of tenor saxophonist Bill Barron, and known for his lyrical, adaptive style.-Biography:...
, Ron CarterRon CarterRon Carter is an American jazz double-bassist. His appearances on over 2,500 albums make him one of the most-recorded bassists in jazz history, along with Milt Hinton, Ray Brown and Leroy Vinnegar. Carter is also an acclaimed cellist who has recorded numerous times on that...
, 1996 - In The Now with Ravi ColtraneRavi ColtraneRavi Coltrane is an American post-bop jazz saxophonist. Co-owner of the record label RKM Music, he has produced artists such as pianist Luis Perdomo , guitarist David Gilmore and trumpeter Ralph Alessi....
, Jacky TerrassonJacky TerrassonJacques-Laurent Terrasson is a jazz pianist better known as Jacky Terrasson.He was born in Germany, but his mother was American and his father French. He studied at the Berklee College of Music before playing in Chicago and New York City clubs. He gained increased attention on winning the 1993...
, Ron CarterRon CarterRon Carter is an American jazz double-bassist. His appearances on over 2,500 albums make him one of the most-recorded bassists in jazz history, along with Milt Hinton, Ray Brown and Leroy Vinnegar. Carter is also an acclaimed cellist who has recorded numerous times on that...
, 1998 - Works On Canvas with J.D. Allen, Carlton Holmes, George Mitchell 1999
- A Lil' Somethin' Somethin with Kenny BarronKenny BarronKenny Barron , is an American jazz pianist. He is the younger brother of tenor saxophonist Bill Barron, and known for his lyrical, adaptive style.-Biography:...
, Gary BartzGary BartzGary Bartz is an American alto and soprano saxophonist and clarinetist.Bartz graduated from the Baltimore City College high school and The Juilliard School...
, Ron CarterRon CarterRon Carter is an American jazz double-bassist. His appearances on over 2,500 albums make him one of the most-recorded bassists in jazz history, along with Milt Hinton, Ray Brown and Leroy Vinnegar. Carter is also an acclaimed cellist who has recorded numerous times on that...
, Kenny GarrettKenny GarrettKenny Garrett is a Grammy Award-winning American post bop jazz saxophonist and flautist who gained fame in his youth as a member of the Duke Ellington Orchestra and of Miles Davis's band. He has since pursued a critically acclaimed solo career...
, Lonnie PlaxicoLonnie PlaxicoLonnie Plaxico is an African American jazz bassist.Plaxico was born in Chicago, Illinois into a musical family, and started playing the bass at the age of twelve, turning professional at fourteen...
, Wallace RoneyWallace RoneyWallace Roney is an American hard bop and post-bop trumpeter.Roney took lessons from Clark Terry and Dizzy Gillespie and studied with Miles Davis from 1985 until the latter's death in 1991...
, Clarence SeayClarence SeayClarence Seay is a jazz bassist and composer.He has been an acoustic bassist with the Wallace Roney Quintet for over 15 years...
, Jacky TerrassonJacky TerrassonJacques-Laurent Terrasson is a jazz pianist better known as Jacky Terrasson.He was born in Germany, but his mother was American and his father French. He studied at the Berklee College of Music before playing in Chicago and New York City clubs. He gained increased attention on winning the 1993...
, Buster WilliamsBuster WilliamsCharles Anthony Williams is an American jazz bassist.-Biography:Williams has gained prestige among jazz musicians as a solid supportive player. Since the early 1960s, he has made subtle swing, a precise rhythm and superb technique the landmark of his playing...
, 2000 - Someday with J.D. Allen, Carlton Holmes, George Mitchell
- Music for the new Millennium with J.D. Allen (tenor sax), Carlton Holmes (Fender Rhodes and synth), George Mitchell (bass). Mastered in New York City by Kimo KaulaniKimo KaulaniKimo Kaulani is an American record producer, songwriter, composer and singer.-Career:Kimo Kaulani began working in the music industry in as a keyboardist for a Capitol Records Recording Artist for 2 years. After leaving Capitol Records, he formed Solopro Music Inc...
& Edward Vinatea, 2005. - Another Lifetime with Mike SternMike SternMike Stern is an American jazz guitarist. After playing for a few years with Blood, Sweat & Tears, he landed a gig with Billy Cobham and then broke through with Miles Davis' comeback band from 1981 to 1983, and again in 1985. Since then, he launched a solo career, releasing more than a dozen albums...
and Doug CarnDoug CarnDoug Carn is an American jazz musician from St. Augustine, Florida, formerly married to Jean Carne and known for his several albums released for Black Jazz Records....
featuring guests Joe LovanoJoe LovanoJoseph Salvatore "Joe" Lovano is a post bop jazz saxophonist, alto clarinetist, flautist, and drummer. Since the late 1980s, Lovano has been one of the world's premiere tenor saxophone players, earning a Grammy award and several nods on Down Beat magazine's critics' and readers' polls...
, Vernon ReidVernon ReidVernon Reid is an English-born American guitarist, songwriter, composer, and bandleader. Best known as the founder and primary songwriter of the heavy metal band Living Colour, Reid was named #66 on Rolling Stone magazine's 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time.Critic Steve Huey writes, "[Reid's]...
, Patrice RushenPatrice RushenPatrice Rushen is a Grammy Award-winning African American R&B and jazz vocalist, composer and pianist.-Biography:...
, Benny Reitveld and David Santos, 2010