John Blackwell Jr.(September 9, 1973 – July 4, 2017) was an American contemporary R&B, funk, jazz, fusion, and pop drummer, best known for his work withPrince.[1]Later, he was a member ofD'Angelo's backing band, The Vanguard.
John Blackwell | |
|---|---|
| Born | September 9, 1973 Columbia, South Carolina,U.S. |
| Died | July 4, 2017(aged 43) Land o' Lakes, Florida,U.S. |
| Genres | R&B,pop,funk,jazz fusion,jazz |
| Occupation | Drummer |
| Instrument | Drums |
| Years active | 1995–2017 |
Career
editBlackwell was born and raised inColumbia, South Carolina,and started playing drums at age 3. He learned from his father, John Blackwell Sr., a drummer himself, who played withMary Wells,King Curtis,Joe Simon,J.J. Jackson,The Drifters,The Spinners,and others.[2]Blackwell stated that he experiencedsynesthesiasince he was a child, seeing colors formusical notes,and was identified as havingperfect pitchwhile in high school.[3]
As a teenager, Blackwell played in both his high-school jazz and marching bands. He began playing in jazz clubs at age 13. At 17, he landed his first professional gig backing jazz singer and bandleaderBilly Eckstine.After high school, he attendedBerklee College of Musicand worked steadily in localBostonjazz clubs. He left Berklee in 1995 to play with the funk bandCameo,a gig which lasted for three years.[2]
Blackwell moved toLos Angelesin 1998 to look for more drumming work, and got a job playing withPatti LaBellefor three years. He appeared on her 1998 albumLive! One Night Only,which won theGrammy AwardforBest Traditional R&B Vocal Performance.Blackwell metPrincewhile performing with LaBelle in Minneapolis. Blackwell toured with Japanese singerHikaru Utada,and then joined Prince's band,The New Power Generation,in September 2000.[2]
Blackwell played with Prince on and off for 12 years, appearing on numerous releases, including the 2001 album,The Rainbow Children,the 2003Live at the Aladdin Las VegasDVD, the 2003 instrumental album,N.E.W.S,which was nominated for aGrammy Award for Best Pop Instrumental Album,and 2004'sMusicology.Blackwell performed withJustin Timberlakeon hisFutureSex/LoveShowtour.[4]He has also played withCrystal Kay,P Diddyand Charlie Singleton. Blackwell played at the 2008Buddy RichMemorial Concert.
Blackwell played withMaze,featuringFrankie Beverly.He released his debut album in December 2009, titledThe John Blackwell Project.He has released two educational drumming DVDs:John Blackwell - Technique, Grooving and Showmanship,andJohn Blackwell.He joined the European leg of singerD'Angelo'sThe Second Coming Tourin 2015, as a member of his band, The Vanguard.[5]He also toured as a member of bassistWilliam "Bootsy" Collins' Bootsy's Rubber Band that year.[6]
He had endorsements fromDixon Drums,RemoDrumheads,Regal TipDrumsticks, and Turkish Cymbals. Previously, he endorsedTama Drums,YamahaDrums,Evans Drumheads,SabianCymbals,Zild gianCymbals and Drumsticks, and Vater Drumsticks.
Blackwell joined Chinese musicianXu Wei's band for his tour named "At This Moment" in 2013. They performed in cities such as Beijing (May 17), Shanghai (July 13), Harbin (August 10), Hangzhou (August 24) and Shenzhen (September 7).
Death
editIn July 2016, Blackwell announced that he had lost the use of his left arm and leg due to abrain tumor.[7]On July 4, 2017, his wife announced his death.[8]John Blackwell was 43.
References
edit- ^"Drummerworld: John Blackwell".Drummerworld.RetrievedOctober 6,2011.
- ^abc"John Blackwell '95: Putting it in the Pocket".Berklee Today.Berklee.RetrievedFebruary 18,2013.
- ^"Podcast 095 – Prince's John Blackwell tells all"(Podcast). Drummer's Resource. March 30, 2015. Event occurs at 29:00.RetrievedJuly 2,2016.
- ^"Pop: Justin Timberlake, Hammersmith Palais".The Guardian.July 15, 2006.RetrievedJuly 2,2016.
- ^"D'Angelo Announces 'The Second Coming' European Tour".Okayplayer.2014.RetrievedJuly 2,2016.
- ^Nowlin, Rick (August 3, 2015)."Concert review: Bootsy Collins Rubber Band brings the funk".Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.RetrievedJuly 2,2016.
- ^Prince Drummer John Blackwell Loses Use of Left Arm and LegArchived2017-07-05 at theWayback Machine,at Vintage Vinyl News; published June 2016; retrieved July 4, 2017
- ^Yaritza Blackwell [@JohnBlackwellJr] (July 4, 2017)."My husband incredible drummer John Blackwell Jr. passed the way peacefully in my company today.…"(Tweet) – viaTwitter.