Johnathan Blake

After graduating from George Washington High School, he studied jazz at William Paterson University with Rufus Reid, John Riley, Steve Wilson and Horacee Arnold.

During this time he began to work as a professional musician, among other things in the Oliver Lake Big Band, with Roy Hargrove and David Sánchez.

[1] His first recordings were made in 1996 by Norman Simmons; Blake then worked in the Mingus Big Band in the 2000s and appeared on their Grammy-nominated albums Tonight at Noon (2002) and I Am Three (2005).

In 2012, Sunnyside Records released Blake's debut album The Eleventh Hour, which featured saxophonists Mark Turner and Jaleel Shaw.

He can also be heard on recordings by Omer Avital, George Colligan, Wayne Escoffery, Tom Harrell, Brian Lynch, Donny McCaslin, Monday Michiru, Alex Sipiagin, Jack Walrath and Greg Abate (Magic Dance: The Music of Kenny Barron).