Seamus Blake
Blake in 2012
Blake in 2012
Background information
Born (1970-12-08) December 8, 1970 (age 53)
London, England
OriginVancouver, British Columbia, Canada
GenresJazz
Occupation(s)Musician
Instrument(s)
Years active1993–present
LabelsCriss Cross
Websiteseamusblake.com
Seamus Blake performing with Aarhus Jazz Orchestra in Aarhus, Denmark, 2017

Seamus Blake (born December 8, 1970) is a British-born Canadian tenor saxophonist.

Early life and education

Blake was born in London, England and raised in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. His mother introduced him to jazz when he was a child and he later attended the Berklee College of Music in Boston.[1]

Career

Upon graduation, he moved to New York City.[2] In February 2002, he won the Thelonious Monk International Saxophone Competition.[3][4][5] He currently plays with his own quintet (featuring David Kikoski, Lage Lund, Bill Stewart, and Matt Clohesy) and has been a regular with the Mingus Big Band as well as many other New York musicians.

In 2022 Seamus became a member of Roger Waters touring band for the This Is Not a Drill tour. Seamus is playing sax on Pink Floyd classic songs as well as Waters solo material.[citation needed]

Discography

As leader

With Opus 5

As sideman

With Lea DeLaria

With David Kikoski

With Victor Lewis

With Monday Michiru

With Mingus Big Band

With Eric Reed

With Alex Sipiagin

With others

References

  1. ^ Janus, Cicily (2010). The New Face of Jazz. Billboard Books. p. 32. ISBN 978-0-8230-0065-4.
  2. ^ Miller, Mark. The Miller Compendium to Jazz in Canada. The Mercury Press. pp. 21–23.
  3. ^ Murphy, Sean. "A Conversation with Seamus Blake" (HMTL). JazzEd Magazine. Retrieved 30 March 2017.
  4. ^ "Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz". Archived from the original on 3 February 2011. Retrieved 2 July 2011.
  5. ^ Ratliff, Ben (26 February 2011). "ARTS IN AMERICA; No Nightclub, Just Saxophones, Artfully Competing". The New York Times.
  6. ^ Chinen, Nate (8 June 2015). "Review: Antonio Sánchez With 2 Albums, 'The Meridian Suite' and 'Three Times Three'". New York Times. Retrieved 30 March 2017.
  7. ^ BILAWSKY, Dan (8 January 2016). "Bill Stewart: Space Squid". All About Jazz. Retrieved 30 March 2017.
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