Brian Blade Fellowship

Brian BladeBrian Bladeブライアン・ブレイド Fellowship (1998) arrived just as Blade had established himself as one of the most sought-after sidemen in jazz. The band blended New Orleans gospel, folk, and free improvisation — redefining what a drummer's own group could be.

Kenny Garrett's 1996 tribute record Pursuance has no pianist: the chords are carried by Pat Metheny's guitar, in a quartet of sax, guitar, bass and drums. The drum chair went to Brian Blade, then in his mid-twenties and still two years away from his own first album as a leader. By 2013 he was the drummer on Wayne Shorter's Without a Net.