Cindy Blackman has been touted as “one of the hottest drummers in the business,” by the Star-Gazette and touted as one of the top drummers in the world. She is a solid, dependable drummer who can easily move from straight-ahead jazz to rock to funk and back again…
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Cindy Blackman has been touted as “one of the hottest drummers in the business,” by the Star-Gazette and touted as one of the top drummers in the world. She is a solid, dependable drummer who can easily move from straight-ahead jazz to rock to funk and back again. She’s upheld the backbeat and created texture for a veritable “Who’s Who” in jazz: Jackie McLean, Joe Henderson, Don Pullen, Hugh Masekela, Pharaoh Sanders, Sam Rivers, Cassandra Wilson, Angela Bofill, Bill Laswell, Buckethead…and the list goes on.
From her beginnings as a New York street performer, Blackman’s rising star has been seen by millions of people all over the world performing with her own group as well as providing the percussive backbone for retro funk rocker Lenny Kravitz. She has also appeared on Saturday Night Live, The David Letterman Show, Arsenio Hall, The Tonight Show, the UK’s Top of the Pops, Black Entertainment Television and the 1993 MTV Video Awards. She has recently completed her first drumming instructional video entitled, “Multiplicity”.
Jon Pareles of The New York Times says about her performances with Kravitz, “Cindy Blackman on drums could switch from the splashy, sludgy style of the Jimi Hendrix Experience’s Mitch Mitchell to the casual economy of Ringo Starr to the crisp repetitions of James Brown’s funky drummers.” Zwerin also says, “…her strength is a variety of texture rather than one particularly evident style. She plays hard softly, aggressive but supportive, distinctive without encroaching.”
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A force in her own right, Blackman puts the heart and soul of her music above all else. A true artist, she plays for the moment as if she’s directly inside each note, playing each beat as if it were a melody. Close your eyes and listen. You can imagine that she can harness the power of thunder within her hands. When you open your eyes and watch her perform, you realize that she doesn’t just merely play the drums, she becomes the drums. Her playing is forceful, yet passionate enough to stir the soul. From the syncopated dance of her ride cymbal to the thunder of her snare, her dynamic sensibilities invoke the stylings of her mentor, Art Blakey and source of inspiration, Tony Williams. Her other influences include: Miles Davis, Wayne Shorter, Herbie Hancock, Thelonius Monk, Max Roach, John Coltrane, Philly Joe Jones, Elvin Jones, Roy Haynes, Jack DeJohnette, Pete LaRoca and Billie Holiday.
Over the years, Blackman has graced the covers of Talking Drum, Drum, the UK publication Rhythm and the Dutch publication Slagwerkkrant. She has also been featured in Modern Drummer, Downbeat and Musician. In 1997, Blackman opened for the legendary Godfather of Soul, James Brown.
Talking Drum said, “…you can be assured that Ms. Blackman will be around for a long time to come.” She is thunder. She is fire. She is energy. She is passion. She is Cindy Blackman.
Source: cindyblackman.com
