Versatility is a mixed blessing for any serious musician, as Ron Blake can probably attest. The Virgin Islands–reared saxophonist has lately made his wage playing hectic fusion with bassist Christian McBride, hypnotic funk with Meshell Ndegeocello, and whatever else with the Saturday Night Live band. He’s been busy and hard to pin down. Even his strong last album, 2005’s Sonic Tonic (Mack Avenue), suggested the work of a transient soul.
Shayari, Blake’s latest, holds still long enough to make a solid impression. It’s an acoustic record, but with deep undercurrents of groove, thanks to master drummer Jack DeJohnette, who saunters through some tracks, and McBride, who swaggers through others. Michael Cain, the album’s hands-on producer, improvises fluently on piano, sometimes in duets with Blake—a format more engaging here than anyone might expect, especially on “Remember the Rain,” one of several casually arresting original tunes.
Blake, playing tenor, sounds tenacious and loose, like a middleweight contender. Trading jabs with DeJohnette on “Hanuman,” he could almost pass for a young Charles Lloyd, carrying the Coltrane torch for a Fillmore crowd. But what distinguishes Shayari is the powerful sense that Blake, turning inward, is finally playing for no one but himself.
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