A really fine band today featuring Buster Williams on bass with Mulgrew Miller on piano, Stefon Harris on vibraphone and Cindy Blackman on drums. Hard to go wrong with a lineup like that !
The influence of Tony Williams on Blackman's drumming is undeniable, however I think she sounds really great and she plays with a lot of passion and emotion. I had the opportunity to see her band at the Distillery Jazz Festival in Toronto in 2008 and was really impressed with the forward momentum and energy she brought to the bandstand (which included once Montreal bassist George Mitchell)
Here's another clip of Blackman doing her thing:
I played the set immediately before them at Lake George that day and was able to stick around and check out Buster's group. The whole set was great, and Cindy was killer!
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