RON BLAKE
Sonic Tonic (Mack Avenue Records)
Reviewed by Ron Saranich

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Ron Blake, a formidable tenorman with an eclectic love of music, has released an excellent jazz CD. Produced by another talented musician, Meshell Ndegeocello, Sonic Tonic features straight ahead jazz tinged by latin, funk, and Caribbean influences. The result is a highly listenable effort by Blake, who is finally hitting his solo stride after serving time as a sideman for some of the biggest names in jazz, such as Art Farmer, Benny Golson, Jimmy Smith, Art Taylor, Roy Hargrove and Christian McBride.

Blake is an artist unafraid to take chances in pursuit of his muse, which guarantees his CDs are never commonplace and formulaic. On Sonic Tonic, Blake is joined by a host of fine musicians, including McBride on bass, Sean Jones on flugelhorn, David Gilmore on guitar, Michael Cain on piano and keyboards, and a bevy of folks on bass, drums and percussion. The music produced by this group is always taseful and absorbing, with a sense of swing inherent in all good jazz.

On the heels of 2003's Lest We Forget, Sonic Tonic demonstrates that Blake has learned his lessons well while playing for other musicians. He has a vision of what his music should sound like and communicates it well. The version reviewed here is a limited edition release that includes remixes by Carlos Mena, DJ Spinna, Transdud Massiv, Osunlade, and Jahi Sundance. This added bonus was icing on the cake, so to speak. Blake's new CD is eloquent jazz worthy of your hard earned dollars. Give it a listen, its just the tonic for whatever ails you.

© 2005 - Ron Saranich