Ran’s June 13 performance at The Bleecker Street Theater in New York City went well. The show, titled “La Copa,” nearly sold out, and the audience enjoyed two strong sets from Ran and his band, which included Sara Serpa (voice), Aaron Hartley (trombone) and David “Knife” Fabris (guitar). All three are New England Conservatory alumni.

The show was especially meaningful for Ran because it occurred the night before the wedding of Knife and his fiancee Stacie in Brooklyn. About 30 members of wedding party came to the show, many of whom had never seen Ran perform.

You can download the program here.

Top of the issue: Ran during the soundcheck before his December 2007 performance at Casa Jazz in Italy. Thanks to Luciano Linzi for sending this one in. Luciano Vitt took the picture, which is titled “Double Ran”.

Photo #1 (above): Sara and Ran looking very French right after the New York show. Photo by Kristin Slipp.

Photo #2 (right, above): The quartet rehearses at Ran’s place in advance of the show. From left to right, it’s Ran, Sara, Aaron and Knife (obscured). Photo by Andre Matos.

Photo #3 (right, below): Aaron, Sara and Ran relaxing after a rehearsal. Photo by Andre Matos.

Ran was saddened to learn of the passing of Michael Jackson, whose music and dancing he enjoyed. Ran’s 2005 album, Indian Winter, includes an interpretation of MJ’s “Baby Be Mine” (from Thriller). Here’s an mp3.

Allaboutjazz.com posted a lengthy feature about Ran and his most recent album, Driftwoods, earlier this month.

Tod Smith’s story, titled “Lurking in the Shadows,” includes Ran’s reflections on his career, film and many of the album’s songs. An introductory excerpt follows:

“If you close your eyes while listening to Driftwoods, you may find yourself transported into the grainy, low-key black and white world of a 1940s or ’50s classic noir film. Try to leave the theater and something quietly, without much fanfare draws you back into the story. This is the music of Ran Blake. While the vaguely familiar exists, there’s enough hidden in the shadows of Driftwoods to make each listen seem like a world premiere.”

Read the whole story here.

Regrettably, Ran’s July course on Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald had to be canceled due to insufficient enrollment.

If you haven’t ordered your copy of Driftwoods yet, you can do so through ranblake.com, Amazon, Tompkins Square, and other retailers. You can also download it from iTunes.

Thanks for reading. As always, you can reach Ran directly at ran@ranblake.com, and you can read back issues here.

We’ll see you in July.
–Steve
Vol. 5, No.6