JD Blair is an American

drummer A drummer is a percussionist who creates music using drum The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel-Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one mem ...

who plays

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

, Christian music and other genres. He has released four solo albums, and is mentioned as an influential character in Victor Wooten's book ''The Music Lesson'' as well as Wooten's DVD ''Groove Workshop''. He is an AFM #369 member and a founding member of Mu Phi Sigma, National Percussion Fraternity.

Early life

Blair was born in

Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

. Blair's formal music training started at Lee High School in

Huntsville, Alabama Huntsville is a city in Madison County, Limestone County, and Morgan County, Alabama, United States. It is the county seat of Madison County. Located in the Appalachian region of northern Alabama, Huntsville is the most populous city in t ...

, with Bob Baccus as his instructor. Afterwards, Blair was recruited by John Paul Lindberg to attend

Norfolk State University Norfolk State University (NSU) is a public historically black university in Norfolk, Virginia. It is a member of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund and Virginia High-Tech Partnership. History The institution was founded on September 18, 1935 a ...

. He also attended Alabama A & M University as a Telecommunications Major. Before playing music professionally, Blair worked as a disc jockey at a Christian radio station (WNDA).

Career

Blair has played with Wynonna Judd,

Lyle Lovett Lyle Pearce Lovett (born November 1, 1957) Lyle Lovett Pageat Allmusic – Lovett's Genre and Styles. Retrieved February 2, 2007 is an American singer, songwriter, actor and record producer. Active since 1980, he has recorded 13 albums and relea ...

, Shelby Lynne, Big and Rich, and

Shania Twain Eilleen Regina "Shania" Twain ( , ; née Edwards; born August 28, 1965) is a Canadian singer and songwriter. She has sold over 100 million records, making her the best-selling female artist in country music history and one of the best-s ...

. He has received the

Drum! Magazine {{italic title ''DRUM!'' is a North American educational drumming magazine. It features artist profiles, product reviews, lessons and advanced transcriptions covering rock, pop and related styles of music. The magazine was launched in 1991 wi ...

’s 2000 Country Drummer of the Year award and the

Louis Armstrong Louis Daniel Armstrong (August 4, 1901 – July 6, 1971), nicknamed "Satchmo", "Satch", and "Pops", was an American trumpeter and vocalist. He was among the most influential figures in jazz. His career spanned five decades and several era ...

Jazz Award. In 2013, Blair played dates on Victor Wooten's "Sword and Stone, Words and Tones Tour". J.D. was the drummer for Shania Twain's "Still the One" show in

. Wooten and Blair were to perform as 2 Minds, 1 Groove.

Partial artist discography

Yolanda Adams Yolanda Yvette Adams (born August 27, 1961) is an American gospel singer, actress, and host of her own nationally syndicated morning gospel show. She is one of the best-selling gospel artists of all time, having sold over 10 million album ...

Chalmers Alford Chalmers Edward "Spanky" Alford (May 22, 1955 – March 24, 2008) was an American jazz guitarist. Alford was born in Philadelphia. He was well known for his playing style and use of arpeggiations. He had an illustrious career as a gospel quartet ...

, Sam “Shake” Anderson, India Arie,

Bob Babbitt __NOTOC__ Robert Andrew Kreinar (November 26, 1937 – July 16, 2012), known as Bob Babbitt, was a Hungarian-American bassist, most famous for his work as a member of Motown Records' studio band, the Funk Brothers, from 1966 to 1972, as well a ...

, A Special Blend, Ayla Brown,

Larry Carlton Larry Eugene Carlton (born March 2, 1948) is an American guitarist who built his career as a studio musician in the 1970s and 1980s for acts such as Steely Dan and Joni Mitchell. He has participated in thousands of recording sessions, recorde ...

, Jeff Carruthers,

Bootsy Collins William Earl "Bootsy" Collins (born October 26, 1951) is an American bass guitarist and singer. Rising to prominence with James Brown in the early 1970s, and later with Parliament-Funkadelic, Collins established himself as one of the leading n ...

George Duke George M. Duke (January 12, 1946 – August 5, 2013) was an American keyboardist, composer, singer-songwriter and record producer. He worked with numerous artists as arranger, music director, writer and co-writer, record producer and as a pr ...

First Call "First Call" is a bugle call with three distinct meanings. U.S. military use At a U.S. military installation it is a pre-reveille "courtesy" signal, sounded around 05:50, originally to assemble the trumpeters to deliver the reveille that would b ...

, Tommy Emmanuel, The Eternal Chariot Singers,

Anthony Gomes Anthony Gomes (born May 14, 1970, Toronto, Ontario, Canada) is a Canadian blues and blues rock guitarist and singer. He was born to a Portuguese father and a French-Canadian mother. After his 1998 debut album release ''Blues in Technicolor'', he ...

, Heirborne, Richard “Groove” Holmes, Paul Jackson, Jr., Wynonna Judd,

Phil Keaggy Philip Tyler Keaggy (born March 23, 1951) is an American acoustic and electric guitarist and vocalist who has released more than 55 albums and contributed to many more recordings in both the contemporary Christian music and mainstream markets. H ...

, Chris Kent,

Matthews, Wright & King Matthews, Wright & King was an American country music group formed in 1991. The band, Raymond Matthews (born October 13, 1956), Woody Wright (born October 10, 1957) and Tony King (born June 27, 1957), was put together by Columbia Records producer L ...

, Erin Leahy, Jeff Lorber,

, Shelby Lynne, Yo-Yo Ma,

Natalie MacMaster Natalie MacMaster (born June 13, 1972) is a Canadian fiddler from Troy, Inverness County, Nova Scotia who plays Cape Breton fiddle music. MacMaster has toured with the Chieftains, Faith Hill, Carlos Santana, and Alison Krauss, and has recorded ...

, Donnie McClurkin, Donna McElroy, Rod McGaha, Gary Motley, Point Of Grace, Riapsedon, Mike Stern,

Take 6 Take 6 is an American a cappella gospel music, gospel sextet formed in 1980 on the campus of Oakwood University, Oakwood College in Huntsville, Alabama. The group integrates jazz with spiritual and inspirational lyrics. Take 6 has received seve ...

, Takana, Shane Theriot, Shania Twain,

Malcolm Jamal Warner Malcolm-Jamal Warner (born August 18, 1970) is an American actor. He rose to prominence for his role as Theodore Huxtable on the NBC sitcom ''The Cosby Show'', which earned him a nomination for Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Ac ...

, Kirk Whalum, BeBe & CeCe Winans, Joseph, Regi, Roy, & Victor Wooten.

Video credits

*'' Still the One: Live from Vegas'' - Shania Twain *"Fake ID" - Big and Rich *"Holiday On Ice" - Natalie MacMaster *'' "Up!" Live in Chicago'' – Shania Twain *"

She's Not Just A Pretty Face "She's Not Just a Pretty Face" is a song recorded by Canadian country- pop singer Shania Twain. It was the fourth country single, and sixth overall, from her fourth studio album '' Up!''. The song was written by Twain and her then-husband Robert Jo ...

" – Shania Twain *"

Come On Over ''Come On Over'' is the third studio album by Canadian country music singer Shania Twain. It was released on November 4, 1997, by Mercury Records. Produced by Robert John "Mutt" Lange, the album became the best-selling country album, the best s ...

" – Shania Twain *"

Honey, I'm Home "Honey, I'm Home" is a song co-written and recorded by Canadian country music artist Shania Twain. It was released in August 1998 as the sixth single from her album ''Come On Over'', and the fifth to country radio. The song was written by Twain an ...

" - Shania Twain *"Open Praise" – Madison Mission Mass Choir *"I Hung It Up" – Junior Brown *"No Way Out" – Suzy Bogguss *"Slow Me Down" – Shelby Lynne *"I Got A Love" - Matthews, Wright, & King *"Come Together" – Delbert McClinton *"One More For The Road" – Suzy Bogguss & Chet Atkins *"Church Song" – Lyle Lovett *"Crazy When It Comes To You" – Margaret Bell *"Walls" – DC Talk

Tours

*2015 - Solo Artist, & Victor Wooten *2014 - Shania Twain, & Victor Wooten *2013 - Artist, Shania Twain, & Victor Wooten *2012 - Artist, Natalie MacMaster, Shania Twain & Victor Wooten *2011 - Natalie MacMaster & Victor Wooten *2010 - Natalie MacMaster & Victor Wooten *2009 - Natalie MacMaster & Victor Wooten *2008 - The Ascenxion Project, Digby, & Natalie MacMaster *2007 - The Ascenxion Project, Digby, & Natalie MacMaster *2004 - Shania Twain & Victor Wooten *2003 - Shania Twain & Victor Wooten *2002 - Wynonna Judd & Shania Twain *2001 - Point Of Grace & Victor Wooten *2000 - Shelby Lynne, Take 6, & Victor Wooten *1999 - Shania Twain & Victor Wooten *1998 - Shania Twain & Victor Wooten *1997 - Rod McGaha & Victor Wooten *1996 - Take 6 & Victor Wooten *1995 - Shelby Lynne & Take 6 *1994 - Shelby Lynne *1993 - Matthews, Wright, & King *1992 - Lyle Lovett’s Large Band

Film credits

*“America’s Dumbest Criminals” (Nationally Syndicated) Role: Undercover Cop & Uniformed Policeman. Prod. Co. & Director: Enthos/Scene Three, Inc; Glenn Petach *“Finally Gets Wings!” Role: Krystal Patron. Prod. Co. & Director: Ogilvy & Mather/Atlanta *“Crocodile Shoes” Role: Chester the Drummer. Prod. Co. & Director: Big Boy Productions; Robert Knights

Recordings as a solo artist

*"Grace" (2016 release.) *“2012?” on Vix Records, LLC. *“3HREE” *“Come On!” *“Regulated!”

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Blair, J. D. American drummers Musicians from Nevada Living people African-American country musicians Year of birth missing (living people)