Jazz drummer Johnathan Blake was born on July 1, 1976, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The son of jazz violinist John Blake, young Johnathan learned to play the drums at the age of 10. After graduating from high school, he studied jazz at William Peterson University and studied under Horacee Arnold, John Riley, Rufus Reid, and Steve Wilson. He also began his career as a professional musician, playing with the Oliver Lake Big Band alongside saxophonist David Sánchez and trumpeter Roy Hargrove. In 2006, Johnathan Blake was the recipient of the ASCAP Young Composers Award before graduating from Rutgers University in New Jersey in 2007. He began a busy period where he collaborated with Norman Simmons, Ronnie Cuber, Russell Malone, and Randy Becker while also playing in the Mingus Big Band. In 2012, Johnathan Blake released his first album as a leader, The Eleventh Hour, which featured Robert Glasper, Tim Warfield, Tom Harrell, and Grégoire Maret. His next solo album, Gone, But Not Forgotten, was released in 2014 and was followed by the double live album Trion (2018). He signed with Blue Note Records and released the albums Homeward Bound (2021) and Passage (2023), which climbed to number 4 on the British Jazz and Blues chart. Johnathan Butler has also been featured on albums with the Oliver Lake Organ Trio, Paco Charlin, the Kenny Barron / Dave Holland Trio, and others.
