John Blackwell (musician)
Encyclopedia
John Blackwell is a contemporary R&B, funk, jazz, fusion, and pop drummer, best known for his work with Prince
.
and started playing drums at age 3, learning from his father John Blackwell Sr, a drummer himself, who played with artists such as Mary Wells
, King Curtis
, Joe Simon
, J.J. Jackson, The Drifters
and many others.
As a teenager, John played in high school marching and jazz bands. He played in jazz clubs from age 13 until he graduated from high school. At 17, he played his first big high profile show with singer and swing bandleader Billy Eckstine
. After high school, he attended Berklee College of Music, graduating in 1995.
From 1995 until present, John has played with many successful pop, funk, hip-hop, jazz and fusion stars, including Prince
, Justin Timberlake
, Cameo
, Patti Labelle
, Utada Hikaru
, Crystal Kay
, P Diddy and Charlie Singleton. He played at the 2008 Buddy Rich Memorial Concert.
John is currently with Maze
, featuring Frankie Beverly
. He released his debut album in December 2009, called The John Blackwell Project. He has two educational drum DVDs. The first is two-disc set entitled "John Blackwell-Technique, Grooving and Showmanship" the second is self-titled "John Blackwell" and is part of the Hudson Music Masters Series.
He has endorsements from Tama drums and Zildjian cymbals and sticks. After a long co-operation with Sabian and Vater, he moved to Zildjian.
Prince (musician)
Prince Rogers Nelson , often known simply as Prince, is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and actor. Prince has produced ten platinum albums and thirty Top 40 singles during his career. Prince founded his own recording studio and label; writing, self-producing and playing most, or all, of...
.
Career
John grew up in Columbia, South CarolinaColumbia, South Carolina
Columbia is the state capital and largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The population was 129,272 according to the 2010 census. Columbia is the county seat of Richland County, but a portion of the city extends into neighboring Lexington County. The city is the center of a metropolitan...
and started playing drums at age 3, learning from his father John Blackwell Sr, a drummer himself, who played with artists such as Mary Wells
Mary Wells
Mary Esther Wells was an American singer who helped to define the emerging sound of Motown in the early 1960s...
, King Curtis
King Curtis
Curtis Ousley , who performed under the stage name King Curtis, was an American saxophone virtuoso known for rhythm and blues, rock and roll, soul, funk and soul jazz. Variously a bandleader, band member, and session musician, he was also a musical director and record producer...
, Joe Simon
Joe Simon (musician)
Joe Simon is an American chart-topping, Grammy Award winning, soul and R&B musician. Amongst other chart singles, Simon secured three number one hits on the US Billboard R&B chart between 1969 and 1975.-Career:...
, J.J. Jackson, The Drifters
The Drifters
The Drifters are a long-lived American doo-wop and R&B/soul vocal group with a peak in popularity from 1953 to 1963, though several splinter Drifters continue to perform today. They were originally formed to serve as Clyde McPhatter's backing group in 1953...
and many others.
As a teenager, John played in high school marching and jazz bands. He played in jazz clubs from age 13 until he graduated from high school. At 17, he played his first big high profile show with singer and swing bandleader Billy Eckstine
Billy Eckstine
William Clarence Eckstine was an American singer of ballads and a bandleader of the swing era. Eckstine's smooth baritone and distinctive vibrato broke down barriers throughout the 1940s, first as leader of the original bop big-band, then as the first romantic black male in popular...
. After high school, he attended Berklee College of Music, graduating in 1995.
From 1995 until present, John has played with many successful pop, funk, hip-hop, jazz and fusion stars, including Prince
Prince (musician)
Prince Rogers Nelson , often known simply as Prince, is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and actor. Prince has produced ten platinum albums and thirty Top 40 singles during his career. Prince founded his own recording studio and label; writing, self-producing and playing most, or all, of...
, Justin Timberlake
Justin Timberlake
Justin Randall Timberlake is an American pop musician and actor. He achieved early fame when he appeared as a contestant on Star Search, and went on to star in the Disney Channel television series The New Mickey Mouse Club, where he met future bandmate JC Chasez...
, Cameo
Cameo (band)
Cameo is an American soul-influenced funk group that formed in the early 1970s. Cameo was initially a 13-member group known as the New York City Players; this name was later changed to Cameo to avoid a lawsuit from Ohio Players, another group from that era. Since then, Cameo has recorded several...
, Patti Labelle
Patti LaBelle
Patricia Louise Holte-Edwards , better known under the stage name, Patti LaBelle, is a Grammy Award winning American singer, author and actress who has spent over 50 years in the music industry...
, Utada Hikaru
Utada Hikaru
, known by her stage name Utada in America and Europe, is a Japanese-American singer, song writer, arranger, and producer. Since the release of her Japanese debut album First Love, which went on to become the best-selling album in Oricon history, Utada has had three of her Japanese studio albums...
, Crystal Kay
Crystal Kay
Crystal Kay Williams , known by her stage name Crystal Kay, is a singer and songwriter from Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan...
, P Diddy and Charlie Singleton. He played at the 2008 Buddy Rich Memorial Concert.
John is currently with Maze
Maze (band)
Maze a soul / quiet storm band, also known alternately as Maze featuring Frankie Beverly and Frankie Beverly and Maze, was established in San Francisco, California in the early 1970s.-Career:...
, featuring Frankie Beverly
Frankie Beverly
Frankie Beverly is an American singer, musician, songwriter, and producer, known primarily for his recordings with the soul and funk band, Maze.-Early life and career:...
. He released his debut album in December 2009, called The John Blackwell Project. He has two educational drum DVDs. The first is two-disc set entitled "John Blackwell-Technique, Grooving and Showmanship" the second is self-titled "John Blackwell" and is part of the Hudson Music Masters Series.
He has endorsements from Tama drums and Zildjian cymbals and sticks. After a long co-operation with Sabian and Vater, he moved to Zildjian.