Welcome!

Welcome to BBT!  This site was designed as a final project for Dr. Webster's Technology in the Music Classroom class at Northwestern University.  It now houses some of my favorite Brian Blade solos including a brief introduction to each of them, transcriptions, and sound files.

The Source - Chris Potter

This is the intro from Chris Potter's The Source off of his album entitled Gratitude.  It features Blade's over-the-barline polyrhythms and carefully placed ghost notes.  The solo begins at 0:00.

Original:


Slow:

Headin' Home - Joshua Redman

This is a track off of Joshua Redman's album Mood Swing.  It is a four bar break in which Blade plays around with the "e"s and "a"s of the beat.  Though it looks fairly simple, it is quite funky!

Original:


Slow:

Sweet Nasty - Joshua Redman Elastic Band

This track comes from Joshua Redman Elastic Band's album Momentum.  The solo is a funky mix of displaced snare drum ghost notes and open/closed hi hat.  This excerpt starts around 5:00 in the track.

Original:


Slow:

Greasy G - Joshua Redman Elastic Band

This is a track off of the Joshua Redman Elastic Band cd, Momentum.  The track is played straight and the solo starts around 3:47.  Blade uses syncopated rhythms on the bass drum/snare drum in contrast with the sound of the ride cymbal bell and open hi hat.

Below you can find the original version of the song, as well as a slowed-down version.

Original:


Slow:

Riverwide - Joshua Redman Elastic Band

This is another track off of the Joshua Redman Elastic Band's release Momentum.  The excerpt below is just that - part of the entire solo played by Blade.  This is the first part of the longer solo in which Blade uses over-the-barline polyrhythms and triplet/sixteenth note juxtapositions.  The solo begins around 5:20.

Original:


Slow:

Cat Battles - Joshua Redman

This is a track off of Joshua Redman's album Freedom in the Groove. The song features a latin-style groove in which Blade uses a lot of typical ride cymbal bell, cross stick and tom phrases. This solo is short and sweet, but it really epitomizes the groove felt throughout this tune.

Original:


Slow: