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Alex Blake
Jazz / Latin / Nu-Jazz

THE ALEX BLAKE QUARTET





New York, New York
United States

Profile Views:  20176




Last Login:  11/11/2009
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   Alex Blake: General Info
Member Since3/21/2007
Band Websitehttp://www.alexblake.info
Band Members---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Alex Blake Quintet at Central Park - Harlem Meer Performance Festival 2009

Alex Blake - Bass

Ted Cruz - Keyboard

Chris Hunter - Sax

Victor Jones - Drums

Neil Clarke - Percussion

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Live at Flushing Town Hall - NYC

ALEX BLAKE - Acoustic & Electric Bass

TED CRUZ - Keybords

CHRIS HUNTER - Sax & Flute

VICTOR JONES - Drums

NEIL CLARKE - Percussion

Video Credit: Rels LeTang - Douglas / LeTang Promotion

Promo & Presentation LeTang Biz

www.myspace.com/letangjazzblues

Contact: Shar LeTang - Sharletang@gmail.com

Influences

Sounds Like The percussive bassist... ALEX BLAKE
Record LabelUnknown Indie
Type of LabelIndie


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   Upcoming Shows ( view all )
Oct 17 2009 9:00P
ALEX BLAKE QUARTET at Puppets Jazz Bar Park Slope Brooklyn, New York
Oct 28 2009 8:00P
Alex Blake / Malcolm Braff Trio Munich
Oct 30 2009 8:00P
Alex Blake / Malcolm Braff Trio Arbon
Oct 31 2009 8:00P
Alex Blake / Malcolm Braff Trio Lausanne
Nov 1 2009 8:00P
Alex Blake / Malcolm Braff Trio Hilden
Nov 3 2009 8:00P
Alex Blake / Malcolm Braff Trio Bolzano, Bolzano
Nov 5 2009 8:00P
Alex Blake / Malcolm Braff Trio Esslingen
Nov 12 2009 7:30P
Jazz Alley / Randy Weston Trio / Alex Blake / Neil Clarke Seattle, Washington
Nov 20 2009 9:00P
Puppets Jazz Bar / ALEX BLAKE QUARTET! Park Slope Brooklyn, New York
Dec 4 2009 9:00P
ALEX BLAKE QUARTET AT PUPPET’S JAZZ BAR New York, New York

Alex Blake's Latest Blog Entry  [Subscribe to this Blog]

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   About Alex Blake

LeTang Biz Promo & Presentation for Alex Blake

www.myspace.com/letangjazzblues

Check Alex Blake Quartet on All About Jazz!

http://www.allaboutjazz.com/alexblakequartet!

Check out...THE ALEX BLAKE QUARTET'S VIDEO from their FLUSHING TOWN HALL performance !

Thank you for visiting the official Alex Blake myspace page. This page is managed by LeTang Biz Promo & Presentation for Alex Blake. We appreciate you contacting Alex Blake... All messages and comments, that come into this site are forwarded to Alex Blake.

Alex Blake's tiled photo by Agostino Mela.

ALEX BLAKE VIDEO on www.vgjazz.com

BLAKE CD "IN MOTION" on CD BABY!

http://cdbaby.com/cd/ablakeq

Blake Quartet Review!

Blake Quartet Heats Up Atheneum

By OWEN McNALLY, Special To The Courant

If you go to see bassist Alex Blake it's a good idea to have a fire extinguisher handy when this combustible virtuoso unleashes his explosive quartet April 14 at 8 p.m. in the historic Aetna Theater at the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art, 600 Main St., Hartford. It's presented by the Hartford Jazz Society.

Blake comes to Hartford with three kindred musical arsonists: saxophonist/flutist Chris Hunter, keyboardist Ted Cruz and drummer Victor Jones.

Read the complete review under Music at: www.courant.com

ALEX BLAKE

As bassist & band leader Alex Blake is proof that his versatility and acoustic ability lends itself to reshaping the concept of the bass as a lead instrument…

Alex began playing professionally by the time he was twelve. Alex's education did not end with success on the bandstand however. He continued to study privately with some of the great teachers of stringed instruments, composition, theory, as well as arranging. Reggie Workman and Harry Constant at The New Muse in Brooklyn, Melonie Punter and Akua Dixon at the String Reunion and composer/recording artist Richard Davis all helped to hone Alex's already accomplished and individual style

Alex began to collaborate creatively on the inception of some of the more recognized Afro-Cuban, Puerto Rican, and Latino Jazz artists including Mongo Santamaria. Machito (Maria Bauza), and Celia Cruz to name a few. By the time he was sixteen, Alex had reached the epitome of "outside" success by touring and recording with Sun Ra. From there, at the ripe old age of seventeen, Alex had moved on to play with Dizzy Gillespie, which catapulted the demand for his presence to an international basis. The calls poured in from Freddie Hubbard, McCoy Tyner, Randy Weston, Pharoah Sanders and many others who desired his inventive interpretations on the bass.

Many who work with Alex consider him an entire rhythm section on his own, with his evocation of rhythm guitar and steady drumming, along with lyrical bass lines emanating from his own two hands. If one counts the occasional scat singing over some of his solos, one might be inclined to call him the whole band and give him the horn chair as well…Verve Records

Critics note that...

Jazz in Marciac -Day 13- “Basically being his own rhythm, percussion and lead tones - Loudest applause of show yet for this one, no question.” ~ Mark Sabbatini - All About Jazz

Festival International de Jazz de Montreal 2005, Day 3 By Andrey Henkin

Bassist Alex Blake, who wowed the crowd with his seated, heavily percussive upright bass attack. Though Weston and guest Candido, conguero supremo, were the top billing, Blake stole the show with his unique approach.

Blake's remarkable soloing on "African Sunrise" employed every imaginable aspect of his instrument. Tapping on the wood, strumming, sliding his fingers up and down the strings, scatting along with his bass lines, he displayed incredible virtuosity combined with inventive musicality in a fashion that was stunningly entertaining." – Don Heckman, The Los Angeles Times

ABOUT THE BLAKE QUARTET

Ted Cruz - Keyboards

Since graduating from the University of North Texas in 1990, Mr. Cruz has been active with both recording and performing with various jazz, rock, R&B and classical music-recording artists all over the world. His current jazz and improvisational musical exploits include recording and touring worldwide with the Alex Blake Quartet.

Ted’s production and arranging has been recognized and acclaimed by Billboard, Downbeat, Vibe and Rolling Stone magazines. His recent composition works include a Meet The Composer grant for the improvisational score to Tetsuo The Iron Man, which was performed at the Knitting Factory in New York, and he also composed the music for the opening and closing ceremonies of the millennium celebration in Times Square, New York City.

Mr. Cruz's recent forays into film and television music has his work featured on HBOs PSA series and he scored the television documentaries Creating Counterparts which was selected as the best documentary at the 2003 Kansas City Film Festival, and Flag Wars in 2002 for PBS Television. Recent independent CD productions include Pete Muller's "More Than This" (2004) and Theresa Sareo's "Alive Again" (2005).

Chris Hunter -Sax & Flute

Originally from London England, Chris Hunter moved to New York in 1983 at the invitation of Gil Evans to join his legendary Monday Night Orchestra. He quickly established himself as one of the leading Journeyman freelance musicians in the city and began working regularly with artists such as Michel Camilo, Hiram Bullock, and Robben Ford.

In addition Chris became a regularly featured soloist on an wide variety of recordings, including themes for Oprah, Regis and Kelly, Ted Koppel, etc and an infinite variety of guest appearances on records. Jonathan Butler, Larry Coryell, Tania Maria, Flora Purim and Airto Moreira, Sting, Robbie Robertson, The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra are just a few of the performers who have utilized his skills.

Recent work has included extensive touring with Michael Franks, The Manhattan Jazz Orchestra, The Super Latin Band, The Manhattan Transfer as well as an unending stream of work in the Jazz Orchestras of George Gruntz, Mike Gibbs, Michel Camilo. Known primarily as an Alto player, Chris is featured extensively on Tenor Soprano and Flute.

Victor Jones - Drums

Born in Newark, New Jersey in 1954, Victor Jones started his musical journey-playing trumpet in the symphonic orchestra of the Elmwood Elementary School in East Orange. After 10 years of studying the instrument, he developed an intense interest in the drums as a result of seeing the Beatles perform on the Ed Sullivan Show. While Jones continued his trumpet playing, the drums became his real passion.

As a teenager, he won several awards for outstanding musicianship, and in 1975, was discovered by Lou Donaldson. This led to a string of prestigious gigs, including two years with Donaldson's outfit and then a stint with Stan Getz's band.

Touring with Getz introduced Jones to an international audience, and he has since toured and recorded with a multitude of renown artists, such as James Moody, Woody Shaw, Freddie Hubbard, Stanley Clarke, Phyllis Hyman, Stanley Turrentine, Masabumi Kikuchi, Michel Pettruciani, Dizzy Gillespie and Chaka Khan. For the last two years, he has been touring with the world famous Jimmy Scott.

As one of the most prolific and eclectic drummers of today's jazz, Jones has contributed work on the 2000 GRAMMY---nominated Michael Wolff album Impure Thoughts, and Yamaha artist Mino Cinélu's score for the 1997 Oscar-nominated documentary Colors Straight Up.

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Alex Blake's Friends Comments
Displaying 25 of 188 comments  ( View All | Add Comment )
Musicprofessor1

Musicprofessor1
Online Now!


Nov 12 2009 2:07 AM

Hello Alex Blake thank you for being a positive force in this world.
Music is one of the few things left that still has the power to bring people from
different cultures together in harmony. Always feel free to contact me.
Darryl
Acacio da COSTA MIGUEL

Acacio da COSTA MIGUEL



Oct 28 2009 10:08 PM

gracias a la vida y a la musica 
thanks for sharing this wonderful world with me 
obrigado por partilhar comigo este maravilhoso universo 

                           Acacio Miguel
Barbara

Barbara Martin



Oct 23 2009 3:04 PM

Hello, nice to meet you.
Сергей Краснопольский

Сергей Краснопольский



Sep 26 2009 12:24 PM

Audio Arcade - NEW ALBUM

Audio Arcade - NEW ALBUM



Sep 15 2009 5:16 PM

Hi AlexBlakeQuartet!

We are proud to present our current album "True Fidelity". Electro-acoustic chillout, lounge and easy-listening well mixed and always ready to surprise you. We hope you enjoy our work. Further we wanna thank your for your support so far and give away 5 songs of our album!

5 SONGS FOR FREE

www.audioarcade.de

Cheers,
Marcus
VALENTIN ALVAREZ

VALENTIN ALVAREZ



Sep 4 2009 11:09 AM

Thanks for your music and frienship.
Greetings from Madrid.
Audio Arcade - NEW ALBUM

Audio Arcade - NEW ALBUM



Sep 1 2009 5:36 PM

Hi AlexBlakeQuartet!

We are proud to present our current album "True Fidelity". Electro-acoustic chillout, lounge and easy-listening well mixed and always ready to surprise you.

We hope you enjoy our work. Further we wanna thank your for your support so far and wish you a nice week!

Cheers,
Marcus
CD-MASTERING follow me twitter/choospecializt

CD-MASTERING follow me twitter/choospecializt



Aug 29 2009 6:44 PM

Hi there just breezing through again to show some love on your page and tell to seel if you need mixing and mastering? or know anyone who does? Below is my info, Take Care!

Suavet featuring Gucci Mane
Shyheim The Manchild featuring Mya
Hooliganz featuring Bizzy Bone
360 featuring Pappoose
Tekitha featuring RZA,Cappadonna,Ghostface,Raekwon
Trillville-others

Production Track Credits Produced by Choo The Specializt:
Tupac Shakur
Ghostface Killah
Shyheim The Manchild
Tekitha
Quan
Wutang
Allen Iverson

email:choozmastering@gmail.com

/DIV>
Photobucket
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.::.aNaNiMaL.::.

.::.aNaNiMaL.::.



Aug 27 2009 7:59 PM

Véro ka slapé...

Véro ka slapé...



Aug 19 2009 2:26 PM

Hey! Un jour viendra peut-être où les forces de la nature protègeront les visionnaires et défenseurs de l'humanité ! Petit hommage à Thomas Sankara, l'homme intègre...

 Viens écouter SANKARA et donnes ta pensée...Kyembé red épi a ondot soley ! Véro.
Konstanty "Cat" Donskoj

Konstanty "Cat" Donskoj



Jul 17 2009 11:12 PM

Jazz Break

Jazz Break



Jun 26 2009 3:35 PM

*



We appreciate this connection
with you since every new jazz
"friend" is important to us.

New tracks are added to our
Profile Playlist every day, so,
visit often for more Great Jazz.




*
Chaouki Smahi

Chaouki Smahi



Jun 16 2009 8:46 PM

Charlie Mariano one of the best saxophonists, my friend, my brother, my teacher has died today. I will never forget him........

With love
Chaouki
enigma

enigma



Jun 8 2009 4:40 PM


On January 10th,2009
Randy Weston-Piano-, Alex Blake-Bass-
played Ganawa (Blue Moses) in a performance at Harlem N.Y. Baptist Church
to honor the memory and contribution to the late Great FREDDIE HUBBARD
Born April 7,1938 - December 29,2008
The next set performed was by
Jazz greats....
Jermey Pelt -Trumpet- GeorgeCable -Piano- Phil Ranelin -Sax-
Alex Blake-Bass- And Lenny White -Drums-
(Which you should be able to view,connect to this video and watch as well.)
I would have added but the encription would not allow,So please let me know how you enjoyed "Red Clay"
as we are so blessed by his Amazing Grace and in this Moment.
I hope you also feel this way.
Thank You Freddie!!!!!!~I feel so fortunate to have been a part of sharing in the personal gathering and the joy!~Thank You!~E.
Corey

Corey Hubbard



Jun 8 2009 3:24 AM

thanks for accepting me as one of your friends
Black Cat Bone

Black Cat Bone



Jun 5 2009 6:00 PM

Thanks for your friendship, guys.
All the best & keep up the good spirit!
Uli / BCB



William Goffigan - Professional Percussionist

William Goffigan - Professional Percussionist



Jun 3 2009 4:32 PM


Andrea

Andrea



May 31 2009 6:49 PM


Be happy and laugh often...  Life is truly beautiful! Very nice to meet you...


Love,Peace&Light  ~Andrea~
宮野わかな / wakana miyano

宮野わかな   /   wakana miyano



May 31 2009 6:40 AM

Thank You for the add!
I like Your Bass and quartet.
Much continued success !

From tokyo wakana
http://www.myspace.com/keyboardwakana
Serhat Kaner (singer)

Serhat Kaner (singer)



May 10 2009 1:57 AM

Greetings from Istanbul,
Serhat

http://music.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=music.singleplaylist&friendid=463092371&plid=92978
Rick Stone

Rick Stone



May 9 2009 8:37 PM



Carla

Carla



May 4 2009 3:46 PM

Thanks for the add! Carla
The Cunningham Sisters

The Cunningham Sisters



Apr 30 2009 2:32 AM

How are you?

Check out our new K.I.S.S.I.N.G. song.


Smiles♥
Nataiah Natalie Natashia



patt casion

patt casion
Online Now!


Apr 20 2009 6:17 PM

thanks for stopping by..blessings
Bossamundo

Harry Melchior



Apr 12 2009 7:24 PM

oi, thanks for your friendship. Very nice to meet you here on myspace...take care & keep up your awesome work!
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