Cindy Blackman - Influences

Influences

When Blackman was 11, she moved to Bristol, Connecticut and studied at the Hartt School of Music in Hartford, Connecticut. Blackman began to have an interest in jazz at age 13 after listening to Max Roach and got her first professional drum kitset at 14. "Jazz was the thing that was most intriguing because of the challenge that was involved," says Blackman. "When I was shown that the drummers on these records were playing independently with all four limbs, I was like: 'Really?! Is that what they're doing? Is that what Max Roach is doing on that record? Oh! Okay!'"

Drummer Tony Williams was an early influence. "The first drummer I ever saw, where I got to feel the impact up close, was Tony Williams," Blackman said. "When I was 16, Tony came to my local drum store with a bassist and did a clinic that left a powerful impression on me. And that's what I thought drumming should be: drummers should have a lot of impact and a great sound, without being limited to a conventional role in the band--the drums should speak just as freely as anybody." Blackman says that the way the Williams used all four limbs to attack the drums strongly influenced her. "I just love and loved everything about Tony," says Blackman. "To me, not only was he a master technician, a master drummer, the innovator of the age, but also, he was a sound innovator. He had so many things that elevated the sound and the level of skill required to play this kind of music." But although Blackman is sometimes referred to as a disciple of Tony Williams, she follows her own path. "On the one hand, it doesn't bother me at all to be associated and in line with a master of the instrument like that – Okay, I might not be where I want to be, but I'm on the right track," says Blackman. "On the other hand, I don't plan on being a clone. What I'm doing is always looking to expound on something that he's done, or push the music in a different way."

Blackman moved to Boston to study at the Berklee College of Music with Alan Dawson, one of Tony Williams' teachers. "Alan's method was incredible in terms of getting your independence together, getting your hands together," says Blackman.