John Blackwell (musician)

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John Blackwell
Born(1973-09-09)September 9, 1973
Columbia, South Carolina, U.S.
DiedJuly 4, 2017(2017-07-04) (aged 43)
Land o' Lakes, Florida, U.S.
GenresR&B, pop, funk, jazz fusion, jazz
Occupation(s)Drummer
Instrument(s)Drums
Years active1995–2017
John Blackwell Jr. was an early adopter of electronic drums.

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 with Prince.[1] Later, he was a member of D'Angelo's backing band, The Vanguard.

Career

Blackwell was born and raised in

perfect pitch while 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 bandleader Billy Eckstine. After high school, he attended Berklee College of Music and worked steadily in local Boston jazz clubs. He left Berklee in 1995 to play with the funk band Cameo, a gig which lasted for three years.[2]

Blackwell moved to

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,

P Diddy and Charlie Singleton. Blackwell played at the 2008 Buddy Rich
Memorial Concert.

Blackwell played with

William "Bootsy" Collins' Bootsy's Rubber Band that year.[6]

He had endorsements from

Zildjian
Cymbals and Drumsticks, and Vater Drumsticks.

Blackwell joined Chinese musician Xu 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

In July 2016 Blackwell announced that he had lost the use of his left arm and leg due to a brain tumor.[7] On July 4, 2017, his wife announced his death.[8] John Blackwell was 43.

References

  1. ^ "Drummerworld: John Blackwell". Drummerworld. Retrieved October 6, 2011.
  2. ^ a b c "John Blackwell '95: Putting it in the Pocket". Berklee Today. Berklee. Retrieved February 18, 2013.
  3. ^ "Podcast 095 – Prince's John Blackwell tells all" (Podcast). Drummer's Resource. March 30, 2015. Event occurs at 29:00. Retrieved July 2, 2016.
  4. ^ "Pop: Justin Timberlake, Hammersmith Palais". The Guardian. July 15, 2006. Retrieved July 2, 2016.
  5. ^ "D'Angelo Announces 'The Second Coming' European Tour". Okayplayer. 2014. Retrieved July 2, 2016.
  6. ^ Nowlin, Rick (August 3, 2015). "Concert review: Bootsy Collins Rubber Band brings the funk". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved July 2, 2016.
  7. ^ Prince Drummer John Blackwell Loses Use of Left Arm and Leg, at Vintage Vinyl News; published June 2016; retrieved July 4, 2017
  8. ^ Yaritza Blackwell [@JohnBlackwellJr] (July 4, 2017). "My husband incredible drummer John Blackwell Jr. passed the way peacefully in my company today.…" (Tweet) – via Twitter.

External links

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