Biography
Ed Blackwell earned acclaim chiefly through his role in Ornette Coleman's group during the opening years of the 1960s. Absent that affiliation, his place among the foremost jazz percussionists might well have gone unrecognized, even though his technical gifts were substantial. An unfashionable, somewhat rough-hewn manner of marking time—emphasizing melodic contour and fine detail—kept him from independent notice, especially when the forceful manner associated with Art Blakey and Elvin Jones dominated the period. The diverse musical traditions audible in his native New Orleans clearly shaped his singular path, yet it was his individual conception of swing that most distinguished him from other modern jazz drummers.
Like the majority of percussionists who followed Kenny Clarke, Blackwell maintained the pulse on the ride cymbal. Far more often than most, however, he placed accents on the first and third beats of each four-beat bar, lending his work a distinctly martial cast and rendering his rhythmic replies to soloists more explicitly melodic. He further enriched his playing with elements drawn from non-Western sources and gestures typical of earlier jazz eras. A certain endearing formality marked his approach, yet he generated swing as forcefully and inventively as any of his peers.
This apparent conventionality stemmed directly from early study; one formative influence was the traditional New Orleans drumming style of Paul Barbarin. As a young musician Blackwell performed in the rhythm-and-blues ensemble led by Plas and Raymond Johnson. He relocated to Los Angeles in 1951, where he first encountered Ornette Coleman, though their partnership would not attract widespread jazz attention for some time. In 1953 he moved to Texas, returned to New Orleans in 1956, and settled in New York in 1960, replacing Billy Higgins in Coleman's already celebrated quartet. Over the following years Blackwell appeared on several landmark Atlantic sessions with Coleman, among them This Is Our Music, Free Jazz, and Ornette on Tenor. He also joined Eric Dolphy's distinguished quintet alongside Booker Little, contributing to the 1961 recording At the Five Spot.
Beginning in 1965 Blackwell worked regularly with Randy Weston—accompanying him on an African tour two years later—and with Archie Shepp. Wesleyan University in Connecticut appointed him Artist in Residence in 1975. The next year he reunited with former Coleman associates Don Cherry, Dewey Redman, and Charlie Haden to establish the collective Old and New Dreams, a group devoted chiefly to performing compositions from Coleman's repertoire. Throughout the 1980s the band provided Blackwell's most consistent platform. Because health concerns and other factors had frequently prevented him from recording or touring with Coleman's original units, despite his central contributions to their evolution, the widely circulated albums and occasional concerts by Old and New Dreams introduced his work to listeners who might otherwise have remained unaware of it. In 1987 the ensemble issued the tribute "One for Blackwell," spotlighting the drummer and granting him somewhat more solo space than usual.
Until his death from kidney disease in 1992, Blackwell continued to perform with colleagues from his Coleman years as well as New Orleans associates such as Ellis Marsalis, Alvin Batiste, and Harold Battiste. He recorded only rarely as a leader; shortly before his passing, however, he completed Walls-Bridges, a posthumously issued trio session with Dewey Redman and bassist Cameron Brown that demonstrated—despite his declining health—that he remained an artist of consequence.
Like the majority of percussionists who followed Kenny Clarke, Blackwell maintained the pulse on the ride cymbal. Far more often than most, however, he placed accents on the first and third beats of each four-beat bar, lending his work a distinctly martial cast and rendering his rhythmic replies to soloists more explicitly melodic. He further enriched his playing with elements drawn from non-Western sources and gestures typical of earlier jazz eras. A certain endearing formality marked his approach, yet he generated swing as forcefully and inventively as any of his peers.
This apparent conventionality stemmed directly from early study; one formative influence was the traditional New Orleans drumming style of Paul Barbarin. As a young musician Blackwell performed in the rhythm-and-blues ensemble led by Plas and Raymond Johnson. He relocated to Los Angeles in 1951, where he first encountered Ornette Coleman, though their partnership would not attract widespread jazz attention for some time. In 1953 he moved to Texas, returned to New Orleans in 1956, and settled in New York in 1960, replacing Billy Higgins in Coleman's already celebrated quartet. Over the following years Blackwell appeared on several landmark Atlantic sessions with Coleman, among them This Is Our Music, Free Jazz, and Ornette on Tenor. He also joined Eric Dolphy's distinguished quintet alongside Booker Little, contributing to the 1961 recording At the Five Spot.
Beginning in 1965 Blackwell worked regularly with Randy Weston—accompanying him on an African tour two years later—and with Archie Shepp. Wesleyan University in Connecticut appointed him Artist in Residence in 1975. The next year he reunited with former Coleman associates Don Cherry, Dewey Redman, and Charlie Haden to establish the collective Old and New Dreams, a group devoted chiefly to performing compositions from Coleman's repertoire. Throughout the 1980s the band provided Blackwell's most consistent platform. Because health concerns and other factors had frequently prevented him from recording or touring with Coleman's original units, despite his central contributions to their evolution, the widely circulated albums and occasional concerts by Old and New Dreams introduced his work to listeners who might otherwise have remained unaware of it. In 1987 the ensemble issued the tribute "One for Blackwell," spotlighting the drummer and granting him somewhat more solo space than usual.
Until his death from kidney disease in 1992, Blackwell continued to perform with colleagues from his Coleman years as well as New Orleans associates such as Ellis Marsalis, Alvin Batiste, and Harold Battiste. He recorded only rarely as a leader; shortly before his passing, however, he completed Walls-Bridges, a posthumously issued trio session with Dewey Redman and bassist Cameron Brown that demonstrated—despite his declining health—that he remained an artist of consequence.
Albums
