Fulfillment Michael Blake

• 1 Sea Shanty 07:21
• 2 Perimeters 06:36
• 3 The Ballad of Gurdit Singh 07:06
• 4 Arrivals 04:44
• 5 Departures 05:49
• 6 Battle at Baj Baj 07:34
• 7 Exaltation 09:28
• 8 The Soldier and the Saint 06:10
• Total Runtime 54:48

Info for Fulfillment

Saxophonist Michael Blake’s ambitious new project, a septet + guests, was inspired by the centenary of Vancouver’s tragic Komagata Maru incident, where a shipload of East Indian immigrants was denied entry and ultimately forced to depart using racist, exclusionist laws. Blake uses complex and varied arrangements, including two pieces with his own lyrics, to offer a more general musical program around immigration, tolerance, acceptance and assimilation in today’s world. Moving between jazz tradition (a major blues opens the album and a minor blues closes it) and freer, sometimes raga-inspired expression, the music is interpreted with extraordinary skill by his team of Vancouver improvisers, centred around The Variety Hour quartet from In the Grand Scheme of Things. 24/96 recording is of audiophile quality.

„“Blake has long been a mainstay of New York’s progressive-jazz scene, but these players, allies from his native Vancouver, are brilliant at making acoustic and electronic sound worlds intersect.” (David R. Adler, Stereophile)

“Blake…is never wanting for conceptual paths to take…Always a bold texuralist, Blake may have outdone himself this time.” (Lloyd Sachs, Jazz Times)

“Blake gets incredible range from his band here…beautiful stuff for our ears…[not] any less great than Joshua Redman or Banford Marsalis or even Sonny Rollins.” (Will Layman, PopMatters)

Michael Blake, tenor & soprano saxophone
J.P. Carter, trumpet, electronics
Peggy Lee, cello
Chris Gestrin, piano, MicroMoog
Ron Samworth, electric guitar, banjo
André Lachance, bass
Dylan van der Schyff, drums, percussion
Special guests:
Aram Bajakian, acoustic & electric guitar (on tracks 1, 6, 7)
Emma Postl, voice (on tracks 1, 3)
Neelamjit Dhillon, tabla (on track 7)

Michael Blake
For over three decades the saxophonist and composer Michael Blake has managed to stun both critics and audiences alike. His live performances are consistently exciting and unbridled (New York Jazz Record Best Performances of 2014) and his recordings harness that energy into fully realized albums that resonate with personality. Known for his robust tone on tenor and pure soprano sound, Michael is frequently touted by critics as one the most original saxophonists of his generation.

Born in Montreal, Canada and raised in Vancouver, Blake has made New York City his home for over 25 years where he makes music that bristles with originality and vision. As a composer his creative output is constantly in flux, shifting in approach and empathetic for each new program he designs. In 2013 Michael received Chamber Music America's New Jazz Works Grant for which he wrote the music for Tiddy Boom. Last year he was commissioned by the Vancouver organization Barking Sphinx to compose a suite commemorating the 100th Anniversary of Canada's 1914 Kamagata Maru Tragedy. In early 2015 he received a funding from The Canada Council for the Arts to record this music for Songlines Records.

Booklet for Fulfillment