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Dan Blake: Da Fé

By Mark Corroto
March 2, 2021
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Saxophonist-composer Dan Blake's Da Fé ("of faith"), a meditation on our world in crisis, may have taken, as a starting point, the lyrics to

Lou Reed

guitar
1942 - 2013

" data-original-title="" title="">Lou Reed's "Busload Of Faith" from the über-cynical New York (Sire, 1989) recording, "You can depend on cruelty / crudity of thought and sound / You can depend on the worst always happening / you need a busload of faith to get by." What with global warming, income disparity, hunger, and homelessness, the gentle folk of our world are indeed suffering.

While Da Fé evokes the catastrophes we are experiencing, its execution is more akin to A Love Supreme (Impulse!, 1965) than Dante's Inferno. Blake, who has been heard in groups led by

Anthony Braxton

woodwinds
b.1945

" data-original-title="" title="">Anthony Braxton,

Esperanza Spalding

bass
b.1984

" data-original-title="" title="">Esperanza Spalding, and

Julian Lage

guitar, electric

" data-original-title="" title="">Julian Lage, assembled a quartet that included

Carmen Staaf

piano
b.1981

" data-original-title="" title="">Carmen Staaf on keyboards, bassist

Dmitry Ishenko

bass

" data-original-title="" title="">Dmitry Ishenko and drummer

Jeff Williams

drums

" data-original-title="" title="">Jeff Williams. His quartet recorded these nine compositions, then Blake augmented and amplified the tracks by overdubbing different saxophones and turning

Leo Genovese

keyboards
b.1979

" data-original-title="" title="">Leo Genovese loose to rethink several compositions with his piano, organ, electric piano, and synthesizers.

Opening simply enough with Staaf's cascading keyboard, "Prologue—A New Normal" shifts from phantasmagorical images to foreboding ones with the infusion of disquieting electronic buzz and murmur. With listeners' antennae raised, Blake begins his sermon. "Cry Of The East" finds his soprano saxophone accompanied by the bounce of Williams' drumming before he splits the track through his layered multi-tracked horns. While this track and "Like Fish In Puddles" bring to mind Coltrane's classic quartet, Blake's soprano leans more toward that of

Wayne Shorter

saxophone
1933 - 2023

" data-original-title="" title="">Wayne Shorter, and the latter piece is flavored by some squiggly electronics. That said, this is not a fusion recording. Blake's use of multi-tracking adds to the urgency of his message. "The Cliff" mashes his different saxophones against the demanding swing of his sidemen to create a

Thelonious Monk

piano
1917 - 1982

" data-original-title="" title="">Thelonious Monk-like composition which sounds as if it is performed by Anthony Braxton. The spacey electronics of the title track merge middle-period

Wayne Shorter

saxophone
1933 - 2023

" data-original-title="" title="">Wayne Shorter/Weather Report into his Blue Note sessions. Blake's meditation on suffering ends with "Epilogue: It Heals Itself" which wraps multiple saxophones around and around the heartwarming composition. In other words, keep hope alive. Amen.

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Track Listing

Prologue—A New Normal; Cry Of The East; Like Fish In Puddles; Pain; The Grifter; The Cliff; Doctor Armchair; Da Fé; Epilogue: It Heals Itself.

Personnel

Dan Blake

saxophone, tenor

Carmen Staaf

piano

Leo Genovese

keyboards

Dmitry Ishenko

bass

Jeff Williams

drums

Additional Instrumentation

Dan Blake: soprano saxophone; Carmen Staaf: Fender Rhodes piano; Leo Genovese: piano, Moog synthesizer, prophet synthesizer, farfisa organ, six—trak synthesizer, Fender Rhodes piano..

Album information

Title: Da Fé | Year Released: 2021 | Record Label: Sunnyside Records

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Circular Jazz Trio

Lydia's Cafe
Stone Ridge, NY

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New York, NY

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