Ron Blake is a prominent jazz saxophonist and a seasoned member of NBC’s Saturday Night Live Band. Growing up in the Virgin Islands, Ron’s musical talent was nurtured under the directorship of: Johnny LaMotta, Martha Scott, Eric Christian, Ari Arri, Leroy Trotman, Mr. Schulterbrandt, Zora, Austin Venzen, Chubby Lockhart, Georgia Francis and Charles Cox.
CORE met up with Ron Blake before taping resumed for Saturday Night Live.
As a young musician growing up in the Virgin Islands were there any unique experiences that had a profound impact on your career?
RB: Working with Mr. Cox sealed my fate as an aspiring musician. Another huge influence was my best friend during those years, a trumpet player by the name of Ken Mills, we became roommates at both Interlochen and Northwestern University.
You released your first album Up Front and Personal under your own label: Tahmun Records. Explain some of the differences then as an independent artist/label owner versus now as an artist with Mack Avenue. How did this change/affect your music creatively and your career?
RB: I am an advocate for artists owning their work. Having the chance to build something of your own from the ground up is a very rewarding experience. The challenge is maintaining the momentum; I began spending less time playing my horn and more time on the phone, etc., doing the self-promotion thing. So when the opportunity came to work with an indie label that would continue to give me the freedom to create and the support to further document my work, Mack Avenue was, and continues to be, the perfect fit.
You have done numerous collaborations are there any that stand out in your mind?
RB: They all do for the most part. Life is for having experiences and, in my case, trying to create something that will stand the test of time. I'd say working with Meshell N'dgeocello on the Red HOT + Riot CD was a fairly significant collaboration for me. It introduced me to a world of music that brought me full circle to the rhythms of the Caribbean through the music of Fela Kuti. Having performed classical and jazz music, I'd never really found an outlet (outside of 21st Century) that connected the world of art music and the popular sounds of the Caribbean. The Red HOT recording also introduced me to producer Andres Levin, who would eventually invite me to work with his (then) new project, Yerba Buena.
