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Ron Blake: Mistaken Identity

By Jack Bowers
November 3, 2023
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Once hailed as a promising young lion, Puerto Rico-born saxophonist

Ron Blake

saxophone
b.1965

" data-original-title="" title="">Ron Blake is more a crafty old fox these days, bringing his wealth of experience and undeniable talent to bear on Mistaken Identity, his first album as leader in fifteen years.

To assure a broad comfort zone, Blake invited guitarist

Bobby Broom

guitar
b.1961

" data-original-title="" title="">Bobby Broom, a longtime friend and music partner, to join him alongside drummer Kobie Watkins and bassists

Nat Reeves

bass

" data-original-title="" title="">Nat Reeves (five numbers) and

Reuben Rogers

bass, acoustic

" data-original-title="" title="">Reuben Rogers (four). Among the nine songs on offer, only

Benny Golson

saxophone, tenor
1929 - 2024

" data-original-title="" title="">Benny Golson's "Stablemates" could reasonably be thought of as well-known. The others were written by

Duke Pearson

piano
1932 - 1980

" data-original-title="" title="">Duke Pearson,

Sonny Rollins

saxophone
b.1930

" data-original-title="" title="">Sonny Rollins,

Johnny Griffin

saxophone, tenor
1928 - 2008

" data-original-title="" title="">Johnny Griffin and fellow Puerto Rican

Victor Provost

drums, steel

" data-original-title="" title="">Victor Provost, with two others ("Beyond Yesterday's Tomorrows," "Grace Ann") by Blake and one each by Broom ("No Hype Blues") and Rogers ("To Be").

As Rollins, with whom he shares a birth date, is one of Blake's leading influences, there is a touch of Rollins in his robust tenor but not so much that anyone would confuse one for the other. Unlike Rollins' typically jagged style, Blake's delivery is smooth and supple, his vocabulary less emphatic but every inch as creative and pleasing. Blake plays tenor most of the way, superb baritone on "Grace Ann" (sans Broom) and the breezy, Caribbean-flavored closer, "Mistaken Identity." More baritone would have been most welcome.

That's not to imply that Blake is less than charming on tenor. From the opening passages on Pearson's "Is That So?" (which sounds a great deal like the Mack Gordon/Harry Warren standard, "The More I See You"), Blake proves that experience is indeed a marvelous teacher, ad libbing with perception and soul, as he does on every number. Broom is in the same class, steady and reliable, comping and soloing with assurance while making every nuance seem remarkably suitable. There is more of the same on Rollins' "Allison" and Griffin's "When We Were Young," which lead to Brown's "No Hype Blues," wherein no inflection is overpassed.

"Stablemates" is another glossy showcase for Blake who has kept busy in the time since last he recorded, spending more than twenty years in the Saturday Night Live band, performing in the

Christian McBride

bass
b.1972

" data-original-title="" title="">Christian McBride and

Charles Mingus

bass, acoustic
1922 - 1979

" data-original-title="" title="">Charles Mingus ensembles, teaching at the Jiulliard School, earning a master's degree in Jazz Studies from NYU, and founding the Caribbean Jazz Institute in Sidney, Maine. Hardly a lightweight resume for someone who has been flying mostly under the radar.

Blake puts that experience to good use on Mistaken Identity, causing one to ponder why he hasn't recorded more often while prompting the hope that he will be visiting another recording studio in the near future.

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Track Listing

Is That So?, Allison, When We Were One, No Hype Blues, Beyond Yesterday's Tomorrows, Grace Ann, Stablemates, To Be, Mistaken Identity

Personnel

Ron Blake

saxophone

Bobby Broom

guitar

Nat Reeves

bass

Reuben Rogers

bass, acoustic

Kobie Watkins

drums

Album information

Title: Mistaken Identity | Year Released: 2023 | Record Label: 7tēn33 Productions

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