Johnathan Blake: My Life Matters

American jazz drummer Johnathan Blake comes to LantarenVenster with his quintet Pentad, presenting My Life Matters, a powerful suite exploring identity, family and the importance of speaking out against injustice.

Inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement, the project began as a commission from The Jazz Gallery in New York and was released as an album on Blue Note Records in 2025. Blake uses jazz to explore personal responsibility and social justice, combining expressive rhythms, improvisation and melodic compositions. The music also reflects his upbringing in Philadelphia and the values passed down by his father, jazz violinist John Blake Jr.

Blake has performed with major jazz figures including Pharoah Sanders, Ravi Coltrane, Chris Potter and Kenny Barron, while his work has also taken him into hip-hop through collaborations with Q-Tip. With Pentad, he brings together saxophone, vibraphone, piano, bass and drums for an adventurous contemporary jazz sound built around collective improvisation and musical dialogue.

Details

Event: Johnathan Blake: My Life Matters Date: Saturday 10 April 2027 Start: 20:30 Location: LantarenVenster, Rotterdam Address: Otto Reuchlinweg 996, 3072 MD Rotterdam Tickets: €25, including €3 service costs Genre: Contemporary jazz, modern jazz and improvised music Album: My Life Matters (2025, Blue Note Records) Format: Seated concert with free choice of seats.

Line-up:

• Johnathan Blake, drums and cymbals
• Morgan Guerin, saxophone and EWI
• Jalen Baker, vibraphone
• Fabian Almazan, piano and electronics
• Dezron Douglas, bass