Ron Blake


Ron Blake is an American saxophonist, band leader, composer, and music educator. Born in the Virgin Islands, he attended Northwestern University, and now lives in New York City. Blake began studying guitar at 8 and turned to the saxophone at 10. He taught at the University of South Florida before moving to New York, where he spent five years in trumpeter Roy Hargrove's quintet, and seven years in flugelhornist Art Farmer's group. He completed a master's degree at NYU in 2010. Blake co-founded the 21st Century Band and the Tahmun record label with Dion Parson in 1998. He is a member of NBC's Saturday Night Live Band, and the Grammy award-winning Christian McBride Big Band. He is a professor of Jazz Studies at The Juilliard School. He has more than sixty credits on his discography as a sideman and continues to work as a performer.

As leader

With Bobby Broom
With David Byrne and St. Vincent
  • Love This Giant
With Marc Cary
  • Cary On
  • Listen
  • The Antidote
With Joey DeFrancesco
  • Organic Vibes
With Cucu Diamantes
  • Cuculand
With Denise Donatelli
  • When Lights Are Low
With Kat Edmonson
With Art Farmer
With Tia Fuller
  • Healing Space
With Tobias Gebb & Unit 7
  • Free At Last
With Benny Golson
  • Remembering Clifford
  • Brown Immortal
With Benito Gonzalez
  • Circles
With Roy Hargrove
  • Of Kindred Souls
  • With the Tenors of Our Time
  • Approaching Standards
  • Family
With Morgan James
  • Hunter
With Sean Jones
  • Gemini
With Cornelius Claudio Kreusch & Black Mud Sound
  • Scoop
With Steve Kroon
  • Señor Kroon
With Oliver Lake Big Band
  • Cloth
With Axel Tosca Laugart
  • Axel Tosca Laugart
With Ric Mandell
With Armin Marmalejo
  • Boarding Pass
With Christian McBride
  • Sci-Fi
  • Vertical Vision
  • Live at Tonic
  • Conversations with Christian
  • The Good Feeling
  • Bringin' It
With Jorge Moreno
  • Moreno
With Meshell Ndegeocello
With Nicole
  • Viaje Infinito
With Organissimo
  • Waiting for the Boogaloo Sisters
With Dion Parson and 21st Century Band
  • People Music
  • Live at Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola, Vol. 1
  • Live at Dizzy's Club Coca Cola, Vol. 2
  • St. Thomas
With Clarence Penn
  • Penn's Landing
  • Play-Penn
With Katy Perry
  • Prism
With Tony Reedus
  • Minor Thang
With Diane Reeves
With Justin Robinson
  • The Challenge
With Reuben Rogers
  • The Things I Am
With Matthew Rybecki
  • Driven
With Stephen Scott
  • The Beautiful Thing
With Terell Stafford
  • Centripetal Force
With Mary Stallings
With Sunny Sumter
  • Rite of Passage
With Jimmy Smith
  • Damn!
With Teraesa Vinson
  • Opportunity Please Knock
With Rodney Whitaker
With Pharez Whitted
  • Mysterious Cargo
With Vanessa Williams
  • Sweetest Days
With Gerald Wilson
  • In My Time
  • Monterey Moods
  • Detroit
  • Legacy
With Anthony Wonsey
With Yerba Buena!'