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Brian Blade

Brian Blade is a drummer, composer, bandleader, and singer-songwriter whose work centers on the Fellowship Band and wide-ranging collaborations.

DrumsComposerBandleaderSinger-songwriter0 current shows
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Photo source · Photo: Dbeck03, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Career Overview

About Brian Blade

Blue Note's artist biography traces Blade from Shreveport into recording work with Joshua Redman, Kenny Garrett, Joni Mitchell, Bill Frisell, Wayne Shorter, and others. It also distinguishes his ensemble writing from Mama Rosa, his singer-songwriter recording.[2]

Blade's own site documents the Fellowship Band as a long-running writing and performing partnership with Jon Cowherd, Christopher Thomas, Myron Walden, and Melvin Butler. Its artist-run release pages connect that ensemble history to a catalog extending from the 1998 debut through Kings Highway in 2023.[1][2]

Ensembles and Career Threads

Bands & Projects

Leader, drummer, composer, and producer

Brian Blade & The Fellowship Band

Formed 1997

The Fellowship Band is Blade's central leader project. His official site lists seven studio and archive releases through Kings Highway and documents the core musicians' long association.[1][2]

Singer-songwriter, instrumentalist, and producer

Mama Rosa

Mama Rosa presents Blade's songs and voice in an Americana-oriented setting. The artist site dates the sessions to 2006 and 2008 and identifies Blade and Adam Samuels as producers.[1][2]

Drummer

Collaborative and sideman work

Blue Note's biography situates Blade's leader catalog beside recording relationships with artists including Wayne Shorter, Joshua Redman, Kenny Garrett, Joni Mitchell, and Bill Frisell.[2]

Selected, Not Exhaustive

Recordings to Know

1998 · Blue Note Records

Brian Blade Fellowship

Fellowship Band leader and drummer

Blade's first album as a leader introduced the Fellowship Band on Blue Note.[2]

Release details

2014 · Blue Note Records / Mid-City Records

Landmarks

Fellowship Band leader, drummer, and composer

The Fellowship Band's fourth recording marked its return to Blue Note and included sessions recorded in Blade's hometown of Shreveport.[2]

Release details

2023

Kings Highway

Fellowship Band leader, drummer, composer, and producer

The artist site identifies Kings Highway as the Fellowship Band's seventh studio album and supplies its personnel, compositions, and recording details.[1]

Release details

Artist-Authorized Destinations

Start Listening

Brian Blade Fellowship

Open Blue Note's official listening destination for Blade's 1998 Fellowship Band debut.

Landmarks

Hear the Fellowship Band's 2014 Blue Note release through the label's official destination.

Official release archive

Explore Fellowship Band, Mama Rosa, Lifecycles, and other releases documented on Blade's site.

Live Calendar

Upcoming Jazz DateBook Shows

No current Jazz DateBook dates are listed for Brian Blade. The career guide remains available while the calendar changes.

Evidence-Based Connections

Related Musician Guides

Connections below come from shared current Jazz DateBook bills or normalized documented performance roles—not subjective similarity.

Anthony FungDrums · ComposerShared documented roles: Drummer · Composer · BandleaderAnwar MarshallDrums · BandleaderShared documented roles: Drummer · Composer · BandleaderBenny Benack IIITrumpet · VocalsShared documented roles: Vocalist · Composer · BandleaderBill StewartDrums · ComposerShared documented roles: Drummer · Composer · BandleaderBilly MintzDrums · ComposerShared documented roles: Drummer · Composer · BandleaderByron LandhamDrums · BandleaderShared documented roles: Drummer · Composer · Bandleader

Sources

Career copy is original synthesis from the artist, label, and project sources below. Current dates come from Jazz DateBook event inventory.

  1. [1] Official projects and release archive

    Brian Blade

  2. [2] Label biography and Fellowship Band catalog

    Blue Note Records