Alex Blake, (Alejandro Blake Feuron Junior) was born in 1951 in Panama City, Panama. The region's rich infusion of cultures influenced him at an early age and would later be echoed in his flair for numerous styles of music. When he was seven years old, Blake moved to Brooklyn where he began musical studies on the trumpet and the bass with his musician father. At the age of 12 he began touring in a Latin band with Carlos "Patato" Valdéz, and at 15 toured Europe with Sun Ra, continuing to study privately with some of the great teachers of stringed instruments, composition, theory and arranging. A year later, his keen musical instinct and devotion to rhythm perked the ear of Dizzy Gillespie with whom he played in 1968. Blake also performed with such greats as Freddie Hubbard, Lee Morgan, Stan Getz, McCoy Tyner, Pharoah Sanders and others. His career has spanned countless styles of music, including Afro-Cuban, Puerto Rican and Latino Jazz styles, collaborating with such artists as Mongo Santamaria, Machito and Celia Cruz. Blake became one of the major proponents of the fusion movement in the late 70's with his own compositions and performances with Lenny White and Billy Cobham. He has played bass with Randy Weston’s African Rhythms for the last decade. |
