Seamus Blake

Seamus Blake is an up-and-coming saxophonist who has mostly worked as a sideman. Raised in Vancouver, British Columbia, Blake played violin at the age of nine, but it was not until he was 14 and started playing alto in his high school stage band that he became serious about music. Soon switching to tenor, Blake attended Berklee College in Boston a few years later, where he had the opportunity to interact with many of the Young Lions. After moving to New York in September 1992, Blake recorded with Victor Lewis (for Red), Franco Ambrosetti, Billy Drummond, Darrell Grant (the latter two for Criss Cross), and Kevin Hayes (Blue Note), and led his own Criss Cross sets. Seamus Blake has toured with John Scofield, worked regularly with the Mingus Big Band, and headed his own electronic group, the Bloomdaddies.