Search - Cindy Blackman :: Works on Canvas

A consistent highlight of rocker Lenny Kravitz's live show is the explosive drumming of the big-hair, sticks-flashing powerhouse Cindy Blackman. Despite her rock & roll prowess, she is first and foremost remarkable jazz drummer, and Works on Canvas shows why. A disciple of the late polyrhythmic drum genius Tony Williams, Blackman has moved beyond being a mere Williams mimic to using his approach as the core of her own evolving aesthetic. In this case, that evolution is more in service to her as bandleader and producer, exhibiting decidedly more substance than trap-drum flash. Her compact quartet of tenor saxophonist J.D. Allen, pianist-keyboardist Carlton Holmes, and bassist George Mitchell operates as a true ensemble unit, rather than as a soloist and backing band. Case in point is the subtle opener, the familiar "On Green Dolphin Street." The evergreen is given a fresh arrangement with a decidedly subtle feel. The trio of interludes, "The Three Van Goghs," neatly tie the program together. There's a well-calculated shrewdness in the way Blackman and company navigate this material, and the incendiary bandleader remains a force behind the drum kit. --Willard Jenkins