Ran Blake is beyond superlatives. His musical language -- a patois of dream-logic, fragmented narratives, and brilliantly strange juxtapositions of character and setting, -- is rich, evocative, and utterly unique. He has built an unconventional but stunning technique tailored the precise demands of his music. Nobody uses the pedals like he does, nobody responds to the sound in the room like he does, nobody has the sonic palette he does. While Ran loves to engage people in musical dialogue, he's at his very best when playing solo, and notwithstanding his many excellent recordings, they are wispy shadows of his inspired live playing.
Ran appears Friday night in a rare and all-too-brief NYC appearance at The Stone -- 8 PM.
ALSO: Tompkins Square Records offers a free download of the title track from Ran's latest disc -- his first solo piano recording in 20 years.
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