Happy Birthday Ran Blake! Here's to more years of playing the piano in your eccentric lovable way!
Ran Blake Age, Background
Ran Blake was born on April 20, 1935 in Springfield, Massachusetts. He's now 87.
He earned a bachelor's degree in music from the New England Conservatory of Music and began his professional career in the early 1960s. Blake is well-known for his distinctive approach to jazz piano, which incorporates aspects of classical music with jazz improvisation. He has recorded widely and worked with a number of prominent jazz performers, including Archie Shepp and Milford Graves.
Ran Blake Net Worth 2022
What is Ran Blake's current net worth? Ran Blake's current net worth is $1.5 million, as reported by various sources. But one can feel that the musician was never about the money but the craft.
At one interview, he said he began playing his instrument when he was three or four years old. He revealed that his earliest hobbies were already quite music-oriented: listening to Prokofiev and Gospel church music and developing an appreciation for films such as Robert Siodmak's "Spiral Staircase" and Alfred Hitchcock. He said the way he plays the piano was influenced by discord and the human voice.
Priding on Originality, a Day in His Life
He once said that even his competitors would agree that he is oriignal. He argued that he never wanted to be stuck with one rhythmic style. Apart from being original, he's very meticulous, such that he wonders how others can rehearse only for one or two times.
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He said he was the most influenced by his mentors such as Gunther Schuller and Jeanne Lee, who would meet with him on weekends.
No doubt he has a roomful of pianos, but he holds quite a few to his heard. He shared that he owns several upright pianos, including three at one point in a closed-in patio at his parents' Springfield home. But his favorite is the one Dorothy Wallace generously gave him, the Falcone.
This instrument holds the most sentimental importance for him, having been with him for at least 35 years. It possesses the sense of touch, the range, and the vibrancy. The sole disadvantage is that the tenor/baritone section of the keyboard is the difficulty of tuning it.
A day in the life of this seasoned pianist is quite hectic. Age is just a number, it seems.
He said he frequently gets up early during the summer and vacations to undertake routine digital practice or other exercises that keep his body away from the piano. There are some busy weekdays when he had to change his routines and patterns.
His secret to his musical prowess? His creativity fueled by evening alone time and his persistent hard work at keeping a routine. He said he makes a concerted effort to maintain a pattern and get off the piano by 10 a.m. or so to begin preparing for his lessons, classes, and other engagements.
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