Cindy Blackman - Work With Lenny Kravitz

Work With Lenny Kravitz

In 1993, Blackman had an opportunity to work with Lenny Kravitz. In New York, Blackman talked with in Los Angeles on the phone, played drums for him over the phone, and Kravitz asked Blackman to fly out to LA. "Lenny asked me can you play something for me over the phone," Blackman says. "So I put the phone down and I started playing something like, BOOSH-bat-bat, BOOSH-BOOSH-BOOSH-bat, and I went back to the phone and I said, 'Can you hear that?' He said, 'Yeah. Can you fly out to L.A. right now?'" "I flew out the next morning. While I’m downstairs waiting for the instruments to come from the studio, these people started coming in. First 12, and then like 30 more. I was like, 'whoa, this is an audition'. I ended up playing and instead of staying for one or two days, I stayed for two weeks and did the first video that I did with him, Are You Gonna Go My Way. Apart from 2004, I played with him ever since."

Blackman had previously only played jazz shows and was unprepared to play for an entire arena. "The first time I played in a really large concert with Lenny was at an outdoor festival called Pinkpop. We played for like 70,000 people. It was in the summer so most people had just t-shirts or tanks, a lot of guys had their shirts off, so you just see skin and hands and they’re doing this wave thing. I almost lost it, my equilibrium was teetering. I wasn’t used to seeing that many people; I was disoriented; I just had to stop looking and start focusing."

Blackman says that playing with Kravitz and playing jazz are different. "My job with Lenny is a different thing. My job is to play a beat for hours, and make it feel good, and add some exciting fills and exciting colors, when it fits tastefully," Blackman says. "My job in my band or in a creative situation is a totally different thing. We may start with a groove that feels great, I may play that for hours too, but I’m going to explore and expand and change that, play around with the rhythm and interject with the soloists." "I like dance music and I like making the music feel good," says Blackman. "To drive an audience of 100,000 into complete oblivion by playing a groove so strong ... I love doing that. I love the chance to show versatility."

In an article published May 1, 2004, NPR reported that Blackman had recently left Kravitz's group to focus on her own music. "I love danceable music, and I love big fat beats and I really dig rock 'n' roll," says Blackman. "But jazz is my heart, it's my love, and I've never left jazz in mind or spirit."