Brian Blade as the 2024 artist in residence at the 45th Detroit Jazz Festival.

It is an honor, a pleasure and a privilege to sit here and talk to you today.

After an incredible workshop with students at Wayne State University.

You are celebrated as one of the greatest jazz drummers playing today.

But I think to call you a jazz drummer doesn't really cut it.

It's sort of myopic.

Your roots are in the church in Shreveport.

Your father was the pastor.

When you talk about the roots and and church and the gospel, it really is the root of everything is coming up from, you know, no matter where I find myself at the school or in that concert hall or in that dive bar, the mission is still the same, you know, touching souls with with your conviction and your what you feel like your calling is, is important to me.

And the music has to speak has to speak that that same praise.

A dear friend in my hometown, Shreveport, Louisiana and gives me two cassettes.

When I started driving at age 16 of Joni's music, Higuera and Mingus.

So I'm listening to these recordings, you know, on these tapes, you know, driving to school.

And it's something I've never, you know, didn't grow up with.

And it's speaking to me a in a in a big way.

And I'm, you know, I'd heard Wayne obviously on weather report music and with Miles Davis essentially and his own record some of the first records I bought but I could have never seen ahead.

All of a sudden sharing time with my heroes, essentially making music with my heroes.

So today, you were here at Wayne State University and running a workshop, and they were playing some challenging material and what was it that you were trying to impart to them?

What's that all about?

I was encouraged just to see to see, you know, everyone playing in a band like, you know, the students with their instruments and present and not not not taking the opportunity for granted.

Mostly today I wanted to encourage the rhythm section and what what I hope is that in terms of approach, of seeing things a different way, that it takes them off the page.

Like if they can internalize all of that and really be looking not only to, to, to Mr. Scott as his conducting, but, you know, to their band mates and, and they can express something else, not just the literal part, like your role, your part in the thing.

Like you're standing in a you're walking in and you're giving it so that everyone else can, can, you know, just be that much more strengthened.

And we've made something greater than what we actually imagined, you know, because we submit it to each other.

And that's, I think, the music.

That's when it takes off and it pierces people's hearts, you know, because because you've you've given something, not taken something.

So the whole dynamic has to come to a place where it's like, okay, our pianissimo is truly that language.

It's it's even more so.

And then our dynamics are also much more dramatic and and impactful and so I hope that the the students here at Wayne State University, they would, you know, also see see through the page, so to speak, know, read between the lines so that they can inspire inspire something else in the ensemble.

I love that.

So coming up as the artist in residence at the Jazz festival this year, you're going to have a few performances and bring some sensibilities to what can we look forward to?

Well, initially a fellowship band concert.

Then I'm collaborating with two dear friends of mine, Edward Simon, pianist from Venezuela.

I've known a very long time, and Scott Colley, bassist.

We have a project called Three Visitors, appropriately titled for this for this occasion and will feature Becca Stevens, great singer and songwriter and and and a string octet composed of Detroit, symphonic musicians.

Looking forward to that.

And then a big band that is in its core is the Fellowship band conducted by Jim McNeely and his arrangements of some of my my music and John's music for the Fellowship Band.

The fact that this festival is is, you know, open to the public free.

It's it's a really incredible, you know, to me in the world, it's unique not just in the country.

I must say, I'm excited about sharing all this with the community here in Detroit.