Cindy Blackman Music For The New Millennium CD

Cindy Blackman's first release on her own is a bit of a departure for her, as she no longer restrains herself to the hard bop/bop genres. With tenor saxophonist JD Allen, bassist George Mitchell, and Carlton Holmes on Fender Rhodes and synthesizer, Blackman leans a bit toward fusion without entirely giving up her more mainstream roots. She wrote and arranged most of the music for this two-CD set, laying down a heavy beat behind Allen's warm sax in "Insight (Past Wisdom)" and coming right out front during "For Wayne (Shorter That Is)." Allen and Holmes also contributed originals. The mix of instruments seems a bit odd at times, particularly when Allen is relegated to the background, while the electric keyboards don't always carry enough weight. Blackman obviously wanted to expand her musical horizons, but only time will tell if she remains with this instrumentation or returns to her roots. ~ Ken Dryden

About CindyBlackman: Cindy BlackmanBorn in Ohio and raised in Connecticut, Cindy began her musical career as a New York street performer. She spent three semesters at Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts and also studied with legendary teacher Alan Dawson. Cindy moved to New York City in the 80's and since that time, she has been seen and heard by millions of people all over the world performing with her own group and during her 15 year stint with retro funk rocker Lenny Kravitz, since 1993. In 1998, Cindy released her first drumming instructional video entitled, "Multiplicity" through Warner Brothers publications.Miss Blackman has been touted as "one of the hottest drummers in the business, by the Star-Gazette and is regarded as one of the top drummers in the world. She is a solid, dependable and inventive drummer who can easily move from straight-ahead jazz to rock to funk and back again. She's upheld the backbeat and created texture for a veritable "Who's Who" in jazz: Jackie McLean, Joe Henderson, Wallace Roney, Don Pullen, Hugh Masekela, Pharaoh Sanders, Sam Rivers, Cassandra Wilson, Angela Bofill, Bill Laswell, Buckethead, Jean-Paul Bourelly Ron Carter and many more., And, during her stint with Kravitz, she has also performed with rock & funk greats like James Brown, Jon-Paul Jones (bassist from Led Zeppelin), Iggy Pop, Prince and Mick Jagger to name a few.In early 2000, Cindy released one of her several highly acclaimed solo albums entitled "Works on Canvas." She released her seventh solo release "Someday" in 2004. And, in 2005 under her own production, released her first independent album entitled “Music For The New Millennium.” "Some drummers act, some react. Some keep time, others create it. Cindy Blackman is among the few who can...." says Mike Zwerin of the International Herald Tribune. One listen to her latest release, “Music For The New Millennium” (featuring J.D. Allen-Tenor Saxophone, Carlton Holmes-Piano/Fender Rhodes, George Mitchell-Bass) and you'll agree! "Music For The New Millennium" is Creative Jazz with a kaleidoscope of colors, textures & rhythms played on the cutting edge! This record pushes the envelope of improvisation while still being beautifully melodic, sensitive & musical.Talking Drum said, "You can be assured that Ms. Blackman will be around for a long time to come..." She is thunder. She is fire. She is energy. She is passion. She is Cindy Blackman. According to Cindy herself, "The life of music is bigger than all of us."

Personnel: Cindy Blackman (drums); J.D. Allen (saxophone); Carlton Holmes (Fender Rhodes piano, synthesizer); George Mitchell (bass instrument).

Down Beat (p.70) - 3.5 stars out of 5 -- "Blackman's sympathetic quartet captures the era's vibrations...spinning dark, dense lines over her furious stick work."