Up Front & Personal - Ron Blake

Tenor and soprano saxophonist Ron Blake makes an excellent debut as a leader for the Tahmun Records label. On Up Front & Personal, his quartet, featuring Shedrick Mitchell on piano, Reuben Rogers on bass, and Greg Hutchinson on drums, spotlights Blake's high standard of performance and his talents as a composer on three original compositions. The original works created for his quartet include tributes to family members who inspired "Waltz for Gwen," "Tom Blake," along with a tribute to producer Michael Carvin, with "Song for Michael Carvin." Ron Blake blends the very personal, acoustic sound of his sax on "Waltz for Gwen" with the acoustic bass and piano to effect the tender dialect of this beautiful song. All of this work has further led Blake to cover five great jazz compositions with his special guest Johnny Griffin doing tenor saxophone duties on "Waltzswing and the Dexter Gordon tune, "Fried Bananas." Their uncommon solos stretch past a strictly jazz-influenced compositional prowess on Griffin's "Waltzswing" as does their second wind duet approach to reed royalty on "Fried Bananas." Blake's sound and improvisations really open up the whole dynamic for their interplay. On the final track, a Caribbean-influenced rhythmic piece, Blake provides a different range of natural sounds followed by excellent solos moving from and within his rhythm section. This song exemplifies the comfort level within the quartet and relates their perfectly matched harmonic and melodic sense to the listener. One listen to Up Front & Personal will connect you to an interesting combination of sounds, improvisation, motion, and musical concepts that should garner Ron Blake a loyal following for years to come. ~ Paula Edelstein, All Music Guide