Drummer Johnathon Blake Releases New Single “Requiem for Dreams Shattered” ft. Bilal | LISTEN!
DRUMMER-COMPOSER JOHNATHAN BLAKE SET TO RELEASE
HIS POWERFUL NEW ALBUM MY LIFE MATTERS ON SEPT. 19
HEAR “REQUIEM FOR DREAMS SHATTERED” FEATURING BILAL
PRODUCED BY DERRICK HODGE, THE ALBUM FEATURES
DAYNA STEPHENS, FABIAN ALMAZAN, JALEN BAKER & DEZRON DOUGLAS
Drummer-composer Johnathan Blake is set to release his powerful new Blue Note album My Life Matters on Sept. 19, a suite of music he composed as a commission for The Jazz Gallery that serves as a dual treatise on the importance of family values and the social imperative to stand up in the face of injustice. Co-produced by acclaimed bassist and labelmate Derrick Hodge, the album features saxophonist Dayna Stephens, pianist Fabian Almazan, vibraphonist Jalen Baker, and bassist Dezron Douglas. The album’s poignant second single “Requiem for Dreams Shattered” featuring vocalist Bilal is out today.
“Right around that time when I was writing this music, it seemed like every other day I was watching or listening to the news, and it was another person of color — another Black and Brown person — being taken away from us at the hands of people that were supposed to serve and protect us,” says Blake. “I didn’t want to become numb to the things that were unfolding in front of me. I wanted to speak up through my music.”
What resulted are 14 original compositions, many of them aptly titled by Rio Sakairi, Artistic Director of The Jazz Gallery, who heard the music at its inception. “All of the interludes, and most of the album’s songs, she came up with those titles. I allowed her to sit with the music, and she just understood what I was trying to convey.”
My Life Matters often oscillates between two opposing forces: present and future, tragedy and hope, reality and conception. Known for pushing the boundaries musically, whether it is with groups like Robert Glasper Experiment or on numerous projects for film and television, Hodge’s hand in the production can be heard and felt throughout the album.
While Blake never set out to make a protest album in the vein of Max Roach’s We Insist! Freedom Now Suite, he will gladly take up the charge established by his predecessors as part of this music’s continuum. “Those musicians set the bar very high for us to follow. If we’re not following their lead, then we are doing them a disservice.”
Blake’s acclaimed 2021 Blue Note debut Homeward Bound will receive its first-ever vinyl release on Dec. 5 as part of the Tone Poet Vinyl Series. The album was a celebration of life and legacy featuring Blake’s quintet Pentad with alto saxophonist Immanuel Wilkins, vibraphonist Joel Ross, keyboardist David Virelles, and bassist Dezron Douglas.
Blue Note Records