Don (Donald) Blackman (September 1, 1953 – April 11, 2013) was an American

jazz-funk Jazz-funk is a subgenre of jazz music characterized by a strong back beat (groove), electrified sounds, and an early prevalence of analog synthesizers. The integration of funk, soul, and R&B music and styles into jazz resulted in the creatio ...

pianist, singer, and songwriter. He performed with

Parliament-Funkadelic Parliament-Funkadelic (abbreviated as P-Funk) is an American music collective of rotating musicians headed by George Clinton, primarily consisting of the funk bands Parliament and Funkadelic, both active since the 1960s. Their distinctive fu ...

;

Earth, Wind and Fire Earth, Wind & Fire (EW&F or EWF) is an American band whose music spans the genres of jazz, R&B, soul, funk, disco, pop, big band, Latin, and Afro pop. They are among the best-selling bands of all time, with sales of over 90 million ...

;

Louis Hayes Louis Hayes (born May 31, 1937) is an American jazz drummer and band leader. He was with McCoy Tyner's trio for more than three years. Since 1989 he has led his own band, and together with Vincent Herring formed the Cannonball Legacy Band. He i ...

; and Nicolas Dietz.

Biography

Blackman was born and raised in Jamaica, Queens, NY. A childhood neighbor was Charles McPherson, and while still a teenager he played in McPherson's ensemble with Sam Jones and

. At the beginning of the 1970s, he played with

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

Funkadelic Funkadelic was an American funk rock band formed in Plainfield, New Jersey in 1968 and active until 1982. The band and its sister act Parliament, both led by George Clinton, pioneered the funk music culture of the 1970s.John, Bush. Funkadeli ...

, and

Roy Ayers Roy Ayers (born September 10, 1940) is an American funk, soul, and jazz composer, vibraphone player, and music producer. Ayers began his career as a post-bop jazz artist, releasing several albums with Atlantic Records, before his tenure at Pol ...

, before becoming a member of

Lenny White Leonard "Lenny" White III (born December 19, 1949) is an American jazz fusion drummer who was a member of the band Return to Forever led by Chick Corea in the 1970s. White has been called "one of the founding fathers of jazz fusion". He has won ...

's group

Twennynine Twennynine, also known as Twennynine with Lenny White, was an American R&B band founded in 1979. Overview Twennynine was founded by jazz fusion drummer Lenny White in 1979 after he left Return to Forever. White formed the band to explore commerci ...

, for whom he penned songs such as "Peanut Butter" and "Morning Sunrise". He released his self-titled debut solo album in 1982 on

Arista Records Arista Records () is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. The label was previously handled by BMG Entertainmen ...

, including the songs "Holding You, Loving You", "Heart's Desire" and "Since You've Been Away So Long" that became minor hits in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

. Blackman also worked as a

session musician Session musicians, studio musicians, or backing musicians are musicians hired to perform in recording sessions or live performances. The term sideman is also used in the case of live performances, such as accompanying a recording artist on a ...

, appearing on albums by

Kurtis Blow Kurtis Walker (born August 9, 1959), professionally known by his stage name Kurtis Blow, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record/film producer, b-boy, DJ, public speaker and minister. He is the first commercially successful rapper a ...

(''

Kingdom Blow ''Kingdom Blow'' is the seventh studio album by the American hip hop music, hip hop musician Kurtis Blow, released in 1986. The album peaked at No. 196 on the Billboard 200, ''Billboard'' 200. Production The album was produced by Kurtis Blow. It ...

''),

Bernard Wright Bernard Wright (November 16, 1963 – May 19, 2022) was an American funk and jazz keyboardist and singer who began his career as a session musician and later released four solo albums. Biography Wright was born in Jamaica, Queens, New York. ...

Najee Jerome Najee Rasheed (born November 4, 1957, New York City), known professionally as Najee, is an American Jazz-Smooth jazz, Smooth Jazz saxophonist and flautist. Early life Najee was born in the lower west side of Manhattan in New York City and ...

David Sanborn David William Sanborn (born July 30, 1945) is an American alto saxophonist. Though Sanborn has worked in many genres, his solo recordings typically blend jazz with instrumental pop and R&B. He released his first solo album ''Taking Off'' in 1 ...

Sting Sting may refer to: * Stinger or sting, a structure of an animal to inject venom, or the injury produced by a stinger * Irritating hairs or prickles of a stinging plant, or the plant itself Fictional characters and entities * Sting (Middle-eart ...

('' Brand New Day''),

World Saxophone Quartet The World Saxophone Quartet is an American jazz ensemble founded in 1977, incorporating elements of free jazz, R&B, funk and South African jazz into their music. The original members were Julius Hemphill (alto and soprano saxophone, flute), ...

Janet Jackson Janet Damita Jo Jackson (born May 16, 1966) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and dancer. She is noted for her innovative, socially conscious and sexually provocative records, as well as elaborate stage shows. Her sound and choreog ...

's " That's the Way Love Goes" (Remix) and

Wayman Tisdale Wayman Lawrence Tisdale (June 9, 1964 – May 15, 2009) was an American professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and a smooth jazz bass guitarist. A three-time All American at the University of Oklahoma,

. He wrote the composition "Haboglabotribin", which appeared on

's album '' Nard'' and was sampled by

Snoop Dogg Calvin Cordozar Broadus Jr. (born October 20, 1971), known professionally as Snoop Dogg (previously Snoop Doggy Dogg and briefly Snoop Lion), is an American rapper. His fame dates back to 1992 when he featured on Dr. Dre's debut solo single, " ...

in the song "G'z and Hustlaz",

Tupac Shakur Tupac Amaru Shakur ( ; born Lesane Parish Crooks, June 16, 1971 – September 13, 1996), also known as 2Pac and Makaveli, was an American rapper. He is widely considered one of the most influential rappers of all time. Shakur is among the Li ...

's album ''

R U Still Down? (Remember Me) ''R U Still Down? (Remember Me)'' is the sixth studio album and second double album by American rapper, 2Pac, released on November 25, 1997. It is his second posthumous release and the first to be released without his creative input and contains p ...

'', and is a featured song in the video game ''

Grand Theft Auto V ''Grand Theft Auto V'' is a 2013 action-adventure game developed by Rockstar North and published by Rockstar Games. It is the seventh main entry in the Grand Theft Auto, ''Grand Theft Auto'' series, following 2008's ''Grand Theft Auto IV'', and ...

''. Other performances include lead vocals on "Morning Sunrise", written by Weldon Irvine, which was sampled on the track "Dear Summer" for

Memphis Bleek Malik Deshawn Cox (born June 23, 1978), known by his stage name Memphis Bleek, is an American rapper who was a protégé of fellow New York rapper Jay-Z. Cox started his own labels: Get Low Records in 1998, and #Warehouse Music Group, Warehouse M ...

's album ''

534 __NOTOC__ Year 534 ( DXXXIV) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Iustinianus and Paulinus (or, less frequently, year 128 ...

'' featuring

Jay-Z Shawn Corey Carter (born December 4, 1969), known professionally as Jay-Z, is an American rapper, record producer, entrepreneur, and founder of Manhattan-based conglomerate talent and entertainment agency Roc Nation. He is regarded as one of ...

, and "Holding You, Loving You", which appeared on

Master P. Percy Robert Miller Sr. (born April 29, 1967), known by his stage name Master P, is an American rapper, record executive, record producer, actor, and entrepreneur. He is the founder of the record label No Limit Records, which was relaunched as ...

's album ''

I Got The Hook Up ''I Got the Hook-Up'' is a 1998 American crime comedy film, starring Anthony Johnson, Master P, Ice Cube, C-Murder and directed by Michael Martin. This was No Limit Records' first theatrical release. The movie was distributed by Dimension Films. ...

''. On television, he scored and wrote music for commercials, TV shows, and movies, appearing on

Fox Network The Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly known simply as Fox and stylized in all caps as FOX, is an American commercial broadcast television network owned by Fox Corporation and headquartered in New York City, with master control operations an ...

's ''

New York Undercover ''New York Undercover'' is an American Police procedural, police drama that aired on the Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox television network from September 8, 1994, to February 11, 1999. The series starred Malik Yoba as Detective J.C. Williams and ...

'', producing and writing the theme song for

Nickelodeon Nickelodeon (often shortened to Nick) is an American pay television television channel, channel which launched on April 1, 1979, as the first cable channel for children. It is run by Paramount Global through its List of assets owned by Param ...

's show "

Gullah Gullah Island ''Gullah Gullah Island'' is an American musical children's television series that was produced by and aired on the Nick Jr. programming block on the Nickelodeon network from October 24, 1994, to April 7, 1998. The show was hosted by Ron Daise - n ...

", as well as producing songs for the

MTV Network MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

movie ''

Joe's Apartment ''Joe's Apartment'' is a 1996 American musical black comedy film written and directed by John Payson (in his feature directorial debut), based on his 1992 short film of the same name, and starring Jerry O'Connell and Megan Ward. The first MTV Films ...

''.

Death

Don Blackman died, aged 59, from

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

, on April 11, 2013. Blackman is survived by his son Kyle Blackman, who is a DJ in New York, NY, and daughter, jazz-funk singer Irene Blackman, who toured with Blackman throughout the years.

Discography

*''Don Blackman'' (

, 1982) *''Listen'' (Expansion UK, 2002) With C. I. Williams *''

When Alto Was King ''When Alto Was King'' is the final album recorded by American saxophonist Charles Williams (musician), C. I. Williams released in 1997 on the Mapleshade Records, Mapleshade label a quarter century after his previous album. Reception AllMusic aw ...

'' (Mapleshade, 1997) With

*'' Presents The Adventures Of Astral Pirates'' (Elektra – 6E-121, 1978) *''

Streamline Streamline may refer to: Business * Streamline Air, American regional airline * Adobe Streamline, a discontinued line tracing program made by Adobe Systems * Streamline Cars, the company responsible for making the Burney car Engineering ...

'' (Elektra – 6E-164, 1978)

References

Sources

Don Blackman Don (Donald) Blackman (September 1, 1953 – April 11, 2013) was an American jazz-funk pianist, singer, and songwriter. He performed with Parliament-Funkadelic; Earth, Wind and Fire; Louis Hayes; and Nicolas Dietz. Biography Blackman was bor ...

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

External links

* – official site *
Don Blackman
– notice of death {{DEFAULTSORT:Blackman, Don 1953 births People from Jamaica, Queens American funk musicians American jazz pianists American male pianists American session musicians 2013 deaths GRP Records artists Musicians from Queens, New York Deaths from cancer in New York (state) 20th-century American pianists Jazz musicians from New York (state) 20th-century American male musicians American male jazz musicians