name	KCRW
city	Santa Monica, California
area	Southern CaliforniaGreater Los Angeles Area
slogan	Tuned In
frequency	89.9 MHz
repeater	KCRI 89.3 IndioKCRU 89.1 OxnardKCRY 88.1 Mojaveplus 9 low-power translators
share	2.0
share as of	FALL 2007
share source	RRC
format	Public Radio
erp	6,900 watts
haat	338 meters
class	B
facility id	59086
coordinates
callsign meaning	College Radio Workshop
owner	Santa Monica Community College District
webcast	Listen Live
website	www.kcrw.com
affiliations	}}

KCRW (89.9 MHz FM) is a public radio station broadcasting from the campus of Santa Monica College in Santa Monica, California, carrying a mix of National Public Radio news, talk radio and freeform music format. A network of repeaters and broadcast translators allows the station to serve the Los Angeles metropolitan area and other communities in Southern California. The station has also become widely known because of nationally distributed programming, streaming Internet radio broadcasts, and podcasts .

KCRW is known for broadcast of cutting edge music, as well as originating numerous news-talk-information and cultural programs that are distributed nationwide.

History

KCRW was founded as the College Radio Workshop in 1945 to train servicemen returning from World War II in the then-new technology, FM broadcasting. Ruth Hirschman, who changed her name to Ruth Seymour, became General Manager in 1978 and developed a mix of music, news, and other spoken-word programming that now attracts over 500,000 listeners each week. Seymour retired in February 2010. The new General Manager is Jennifer Ferro.

The station airs programs from NPR, Public Radio International (PRI), American Public Media, and the BBC, along with its own mixture of eclectic music shows with frequent live in-studio performances by new and emerging talent, locally-produced cultural programs, and a wide-ranging line up of local commentators, political analysis and debate. A new initiative, ''The Independent Producers Project,'' has been launched to showcase storytelling and documentary work by independents. The station has been a leader in adopting new technologies, which offers three program streams, on-demand listening and an extensive lineup of podcasts, featuring talk programs and live performances by unsigned independent musical artists.

Programming

News and information programs dominate weekday early morning and daytime schedules from 03:00 to 09:00 PST with NPR's ''Morning Edition'', and from 12:00 to 8:00pm PST ending with ''Which Way, L.A.?''. Music programming is broadcast from evening to early morning, and again from 09:00 to 12:00 PST with the station's signature music program ''Morning Becomes Eclectic''. Weekends feature music from noon to 5pm, and 6 pm to 3 am.

Warren Olney hosts the station's signature news and public affairs programs, ''To the Point'' (nationally distributed by Public Radio International) and ''Which Way, L.A.?'' which began after the riots in response to the Rodney King beating trial verdicts in 1992.

With Southern California being, arguably, the epicenter of the international film industry, KCRW covers the industry in several dimensions: Pulitzer Prize winning ''Wall Street Journal'' film critic Joe Morgenstern reviewing movies; getting past the headlines and digging deep into the deals and deal-makers with Kim Masters on ''The Business''; getting past the cover page and deep into pop culture matters on "The Treatment" Elvis Mitchell, and commentator Rob Long looks deep beyond the set with his behind-the-scenes look at Hollywood life on Martini Shot.

Music programs feature an eclectic array of music from around the globe, especially on the daytime daily music program ''Morning Becomes Eclectic'' and the daytime weekend line-up. At night, music such as house, progressive, and electronic dance music are the main styles on shows formerly known as ''Metropolis'' and ''Nocturna''. KCRW dropped all program names except Morning Becomes Eclectic and Strictly Jazz in 2008. Three of the station's previous music directors currently have programs on the air at KCRW.

Local and regional touring artists can send recordings to KCRW for consideration of airplay. Two weeks after submitting music, followups can be made by calling the KCRW tracking line on Wednesdays between noon and 3pm Pacific time.

KCRW airs Santa Monica City Council meetings live from 8:00 pm to midnight PST, on the Tuesdays when they are held. Because of the nature of the repeater network, Santa Monica City Council meetings can be heard throughout the Southern California region reaching out to approximately 150 mi (240 km).

Before its current host, Evan Kleiman, took over as host, the KCRW show ''Good Food'' was parodied on Saturday Night Live in a recurring skit, ''Delicious Dish'', with Ana Gasteyer and Molly Shannon.

Program !! Format !! Presenter
''Art Talk''	Talk: Art Reviews	Edward Goldman
''Bookworm (KCRW)	Bookworm''	Talk: In-depth author interviews
''DnA: Design & Architecture''	Talk: culture/civic aesthetics
''Good Food (KCRW)	Good Food''	Talk: cuisine
''Le Show''	Satire and commentary
''Left, Right & Center''
''Morning Becomes Eclectic''	Music: adult album alternative
''Garth Trinidad''	Music: Electronic
''Raul Campos''	Music: Eclectic
''The Business (radio)	The Business''	News/talk: Hollywood/entertainment industry
''The Treatment (radio program)	The Treatment''	Talk: Pop culture, film/tv, more
''To the Point''
''Which Way, L.A.?''
''Anne Litt''	Music: Eclectic
''Chris Douridas''	Music: New Music
''Liza Richardson''	Music: Eclectic
''Gary Calamar''	Music: Eclectic
''Henry Rollins''	Music: Wild Ride
''Dan Wilcox''	Music: Eclectic
''Jason Kramer''	Music: Eclectic
''Eric J. Lawrence''	Music: Eclectic
''Mario Cotto''	Music: Eclectic
''Chuck P.''	Music: Eclectic
''Anthony Valadez''	Music: Eclectic
''Travis Holcombe''	Music: Eclectic
''Jeremy Sole''	Music: Eclectic
''Aaron Byrd''	Music: Eclectic
''Mathieu Schreyer''	Music: Eclectic
''Strictly Jazz''	Music: Jazz
''The Lab''	Music: Eclectic

Influence in music

KCRW's flagship program is ''Morning Becomes Eclectic'', a three hour daily music program that has been on the air for more than 30 years. Historically, the show host is also the station's music director. Isabel Holt created the show in 1978. Tom Schnabel hosted the show from 1979 to 1990. In November 1990, Chris Douridas took over the show, hosting until April 1998. Nic Harcourt was in the seat from 1998 until December 1, 2008. He is also previously known in his home country for discussing on a regular basis emerging music with hosts at BBC Radio 1. Longtime KCRW DJ Jason Bentley is the current host and music director.

Along with WFMU in the New York City market and 3RRR in Melbourne Australia, KCRW lays claim as one of the most influential independent music radio stations around the globe, with its tastemaker DJs populating various cultural outlets with their musical loves. Through extensive involvement in film, TV, commercial and radio work, KCRW program hosts have introduced their audiences to many artists, including Beck, Adele, Gillian Welch, Florence & the Machine, Fiona Apple, Coldplay, Dido, Massive Attack and Norah Jones, among many others. It was the appearance of an unknown artist named Beck on KCRW's ''Morning Becomes Eclectic'' in July 1993 that instantly turned the show into essential listening for record labels and A&R; scouts. In addition to playing previously unknown artists, KCRW program hosts often invite artists to visit their Santa Monica basement studios for live recording sessions and interviews, typically before they've had any exposure to the US listening audience. KCRW also helps nurture the careers of emerging bands and musicians by inviting them to perform at live events and benefit concerts in Los Angeles, and across the country.

Several hosts have extended their careers into music supervision for both film and television, notably, Liza Richardson (Friday Night Lights), Chris Douridas (American Beauty) and Gary Calamar, the music supervisor for HBO's ''True Blood'' and Six Feet Under.

Streaming media is now very important for the station, and it has gained a wide audience from this technology, streaming thousands of hours of content each week. KCRW provides three different live streams: the live broadcast, a 24-hour music service, and a 24-hour news service. Streams are available using Adobe Flash played through web browsers, with alternate streams offered using the PLS file format, which can be played using software such as iTunes, Winamp and RealPlayer. The music service and news service are also included as channels in AOL Radio. The station also archives its talk and music programs for listeners to stream at their convenience, and offers podcasts of in-studio performances and talk programs.

From 1986 to 2002 KCRW was the on-air home of Joe Frank, hosting his groundbreaking shows ''Work in Progress'', ''In The Dark'', ''Somewhere Out There'', and ''The Other Side''. Joe Frank produced over 200 radio shows for KCRW, which consisted of a series of monologues full of ironic, humorous and absurdist wit. Frank's work will be heard again ("Joe Frank: Return Engagement" briefly for five weeks only on Sundays at 11 am beginning October 10, 2010.

KCRW boasts members across the country and the station regularly sponsors live music events throughout the United States and in Canada. Giveaways to areas outside of the station's listening area are commonly found on its website.

Events

KCRW promotes a great deal of live music events nationally, featuring both established and emerging artists. In April, 2011, KCRW promoted and sponsored the controversial graffiti exhibit entitled "Art in the Streets" at The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles (MoCA). The Los Angeles Times reported an increase in tagging around MoCA after the exhibit opened to the public.

Stations

KCRW programming is relayed by three full-power stations.

{|class="wikitable" |- !Location !Call sign !Frequency |- |Indio/Palm Springs |KCRI |89.3 FM |- |Oxnard/Ventura |KCRU |89.1 FM |- |Mojave/Antelope Valley |KCRY |88.1 FM |}

The call letters of KCRI, KCRU and KCRY are identified at the top of each hour alongside those of KCRW, as are the frequencies of those stations and their transmitters.

KCRW also directly feeds five low-power translators .

In addition, the other three stations collectively feed four more translators.

{|class="wikitable" |- !Call sign !Frequency !Location |- |K225BA |92.9 FM |Borrego Springs, California |- |K272DI |102.3 FM |Fillmore, California |- |K271AC |102.1 FM |Ojai, California |- |K261AC |100.1 FM |China Lake, California |}

KCRW also has applications pending for new translators on 88.5 in Mojave, 89.9 in Temecula, 90.1 in Baker, 90.3 FM in Barstow, and 105.7 FM in Julian.

Previous translators (now off the air and licenses returned to the FCC) operated on 88.3 FM in Palmdale, 89.1 FM in Camarillo, 90.9 FM in Palm Springs, and 100.1 in China Lake. Another former translator, K296AI, was the only KCRW translator not owned by the station. It is operated by Indian Wells Valley TV Booster, Inc., which also operates translators that rebroadcast Los Angeles-area television stations in the Ridgecrest area. That translator currently rebroadcasts KMZT.

References

External links

KCRW Radio official website

Santa Monica College

KCRW Presents

''The Urban Man Commentaries on KCRW''

KCRW's page on StylusCity

KCRW music iGoogle Gadget

* CRW Category:NPR member stations CRW

de:KCRW ko:KCRW nl:KCRW pl:KCRW

name	Yann Tiersen
background	solo_singer
birth name	Yann Pierre Tiersen
birth date	June 23, 1970
origin	Brest, Brittany, France
instrument	Piano, violin, accordion, guitar, toy piano, voice, and various others
genre	Minimalist, avant-garde
occupation	Musician, songwriter
years active	1995–present
label	Sine Terra Firma, Ici, d'ailleurs..., EMI, Virgin, Mute, ANTI-
associated acts	Claire Pichet, Dominique A, Françoiz Breut, Natacha Régnier, Shannon Wright
website
notable instruments	}}

Yann Tiersen (born 23 June 1970) is a musician from France. His musical career is split between studio albums, collaborations and film soundtracks with a distinctive sound that is always involved. It can be recognized by its use of a large variety of instruments; primarily the guitar, synthesizer or violin together with instruments like the melodica, xylophone, toy piano, harpsichord, accordion and typewriter.

Tiersen is often mistaken as a composer of soundtracks, himself saying "I'm not a composer and I really don't have a classical background", but his real focus is on touring and studio albums which just happen to often be suitable for film. His most famous soundtrack for the film ''Amélie'' was primarily made up of tracks taken from his first two studio albums.

Biography and career

Tiersen was born in Brittany, France, in 1970 and received classical training at several musical academies, including those in Rennes, Nantes, and Boulogne. In the early 1980s as a teenager he was influenced by the proto-punk and post-punk culture of bands like The Stooges and Joy Division. He has Belgian and Norwegian origins.

Before releasing scores under his own name, Tiersen recorded background music for a number of plays and short films, such as ''La Vie Rêvée des Anges'' (1998, Erick Zonca), ''Alice et Martin'' (1998, André Téchiné), ''Qui Plume la Lune?'' (Christine Carrière, 1999).

He rose to domestic fame upon the release of his third album, ''Le Phare'', but remained relatively unknown outside France until the release of his score for the film ''Amélie'' in 2001, which was a mixture of both new and previously released material.

Tiersen favors the piano, accordion, and violin, but is also known for his experimentation and use of obscure and found instruments like the ondes martenot and the typewriter.

Yann Tiersen's list of collaborators continues to grow album after album (see discography below for details). While composing his fifth album, ''L'absente'', Tiersen lent his musical talent to Françoiz Breut and Les Têtes Raides for their own albums. His 2005 album, ''Les Retrouvailles'', featured vocals from Stuart Staples of Tindersticks, Jane Birkin, and Elizabeth Fraser, formerly of Cocteau Twins. Tiersen also played piano on Staples' solo album, ''Lucky Dog Recordings 03-04''. In 2004 he also released a collaborative CD with American singer-songwriter Shannon Wright.

His live performances vary greatly. Sometimes he is accompanied by an orchestra and many guest collaborators, like Dominique A. Other times, he offers the more frequent minimalistic sessions, usually accompanied only by a drummer/bassist and a guitarist, with Tiersen switching seamlessly between piano, accordion, and violin for his lighter songs, and electric guitar for his louder pieces (where his Avant-Garde Music meet some rock sonorities). Lately, however, he has almost banished piano, accordion and violin and focused more on his electric guitar instead, as visible in his 2009-2010 Live Tours.

Yann Tiersen was married to Belgian actress Natacha Régnier, but they have since been divorced. They have a daughter, Lise born in 2002.

''Dust Lane'' and ''Skyline'': 2010–present

October 2010 saw the release of Tiersen’s sixth studio album titled ''Dust Lane''. The album was two years in the making and was largely recorded in Ushant, France. Further parts were recorded in the Philippines. The album is preoccupied with mortality; during the recording sessions Tiersen lost his mother and a close friend. The recordings started out as simple song based tracks with Tiersen playing acoustic guitar, mandolin and bouzouki. New layers were added to the recordings creating a more complex sound. Then an array of vintage synthesisers and electric guitars were added to create further textures. The album was released by Mute Records in Europe and ANTI- Records in the US. The record was promoted in a tour beginning in October 2010, starting in New York. October 2011 saw the European release of his seventh studio album, ''Skyline''. The nine-track album, a follow on from his ''Dark Lane'', was once again recorded at Tiersen's home on the island of Ushant in the south-western end of the English Channel, with further parts recorded in Paris, San Francisco, Berlin, and Nashville. It was subsequently mixed by producer Ken Thomas in Leeds, and mastered by Ray Staff in London. Tiersen was chosen by Jeff Mangum of Neutral Milk Hotel to perform at the All Tomorrow's Parties festival on March 2012 in Minehead, England. ''Skyline'' was released in North America via ANTI- Records on 17 April 2012, and it was followed by the ''Skyline Tour'' with dates in the United States, Canada, Iceland, Spain, Portugal, France, Slovak Republic, Austria, Finland, and the United Kingdom.

Discography

Studio albums

''La Valse des monstres'' (1995)

''Rue des cascades'' (1996)

*featured performer: Claire Pichet.

''Le Phare'' (1998)

*featured performers: Claire Pichet, Dominique A.

''L'Absente'' (2001)

*featured performers: orchestral group Synaxis, Lisa Germano, Sacha Toorop, Dominique A, Neil Hannon, Natacha Régnier, Têtes Raides

''Les Retrouvailles'' (2005)

*featured performers: Stuart Staples of Tindersticks, Jane Birkin, Elizabeth Fraser of Cocteau Twins, Christophe Miossec, Dominique A.

''Dust Lane'' (2010)

''Skyline'' (2011)

Soundtracks

''Amélie Original Soundtrack'' (2001)

''Good Bye Lenin! Original Soundtrack'' (2003)

*featured performer: Claire Pichet.

''Tabarly'' (2008)

Live albums

''Black Session: Yann Tiersen'' (1999)

*Black Session radio performance

*featured performers: Neil Hannon (of The Divine Comedy), Bertrand Cantat (of Noir Désir), Françoiz Breut, The Married Monk, Têtes Raides and a string quartet.

''C'était ici'' (2002)

*live compilation album

*featured performers: 35-member orchestral group Synaxis, conducted by Guillaume Bourgogne. Claire Pichet, Christine Ott, Christian Quermalet, Marc Sens, Nicholas Stevens, Jean-François Assy, Renaud Lhoest, Oliver Tilkin, Ronan le bars, Têtes Raides, Dominique A, Lisa Germano.

''On Tour'' (2006)

*featured performers: Elizabeth Fraser of Cocteau Twins, Diam's, Katel, DD la Fleur

Singles and EPs

''Rue des cascades'' (7" vinyl EP) (1996)

''Black Session'' (EP promo) (1998)

"La vie rêvée des anges" (CD single) (1998)

"Les grandes marées" (1999)

"A quai" (CD single promo) (2001)

"Bagatelle" (CD maxi promo) (2001)

''3 titres inédits au profit de la FIDH'' (part of the ''On Aime, On Aide'' collection, composed to raise funds for the FIDH, sold exclusively at Fnac) (2003)

"Kala" (2005)

"La mancha" (2006)

"La rade" (2006)

''PALESTINE'' (vinyl EP) (2010)

"Ashes" (2010)

"Monuments" (2011)

"I'm Gonna Live Anyhow" (2011)

Collaborations

"Monochrome" (by Yann Tiersen and Dominique A) (1998; reissued in 2002)

''Bästard'' (EP) (1998)

*collaboration with Bästard

''Tout est calme'' (1999)

*collaboration with The Married Monk

*other featured performers: the Vienna Symphony Orchestra, Lisa Germano, Neil Hannon (of The Divine Comedy), Dominique A, Françoiz Breut, Têtes Raides, Sacha Toorop (of Zop Hopop), the actress Natacha Regnier, Christian Quermalet (of The Married Monk), Marc Sens (a Serge Tessot-Gay collaborator), Christine Ott and a string quartet.

''Yann Tiersen & Shannon Wright'' (2004)

*collaboration with Shannon Wright.

This Immortal Coil - ''The Dark Age of Love'' (2010)

*a tribute album to Coil

*other members: Yaël Naim, Bonnie Prince Billy, Matt Elliott, DAAU, Chapelier Fou, Sylvain Chauveau, Christine Ott, Oktopus, Nightwood, David Donatien, and Nicolas Jorio.

Contributions

''One Trip, One Noise'' (by Noir Désir) (1997)

*"A ton étoile" (arrangements, strings, vibraphone, bell, mandolin, electric guitar and bass)

"Gin Soaked Boy" (by The Divine Comedy) (1999)

''Vingt à Trente Mille Jours'' (by Françoiz Breut) (2000)

*"Porsmouth" (vibraphone), "Vingt à trente mille jours" (vibraphone), "L'heure bleue" (violin), "Le verre pilé" (vibraphone); arrangements

''Gratte-poil'' (by Têtes Raides) (2001)

*"Cabaret des nues" (violin)

''The Married Monk'' (by The Married Monk) (2001)

*"Roma Amor" (strings, vibraphone), "Holidays" (strings) and "Cyro's Request" (vibraphone)

''Les oiseaux de passage'' (tribute to Georges Brassens) (2001)

*cover of "Le parapluie" with Natacha Régnier

''Absent Friends'' (by The Divine Comedy) (2004)

*"Sticks & Stones" (accordion); "Anthem for Bored Youth" (accordion), a track appearing only on the French limited edition

''The Endless Rise of the Sun'' (by Smooth) (2006)

*"The Endless Rise of the Sun" (keyboards)

''Raides à la ville'' (by Katel) (2006)

*"La Vielle" (violin)

''13m²'' (by David Delabrosse) (2006)

*production and arrangements

''Solitude Nomade'' (by Christine Ott) (2009)

*"Pensées sauvages" (violin)

''Finistérien'' (by Miossec) (2009)

*music and arrangements

''Li(f)e'' (by Sage Francis) (2010)

*production and arrangements on "The Best of Times"

DVDs

''La Traversée'' (2005) (by Aurélie du Boys, about the recording and composition of ''Les Retrouvailles'' in Ouessant)

''On Tour'' (2006) (by Aurélie du Boys, about the tour)

See also

Tiersen

References

External links

Yann Tiersen Sheet Music Archive compiled by Vladimir Yatsina

Concert photos by Laurent Orseau (Black Session)

Concert photos by Laurent Orseau (La Route du Rock 1998)

Music Video for La Noyée from the ''Amelie'' soundtrack

Article on Yann Tiersen at Everything2.com

Article on Yann Tiersen and piano at Scribd

Yann Tiersen in Lebanon Event Review

Red Alert - Live Review

Category:1970 births Category:ANTI- Records artists Category:Breton musicians Category:French film score composers Category:French people of Belgian descent Category:French people of Dutch descent Category:French people of Norwegian descent Category:Living people Category:Mute Records artists Category:People from Brest, France Category:Virgin Records artists

bg:Ян Тиерсен bar:Yann Tiersen br:Yann Tiersen ca:Yann Tiersen cs:Yann Tiersen de:Yann Tiersen et:Yann Tiersen el:Γιαν Τιρσέν es:Yann Tiersen ext:Yann Tiersen eu:Yann Tiersen fa:یان تیرسن fr:Yann Tiersen gl:Yann Tiersen hsb:Yann Tiersen it:Yann Tiersen he:יאן טירסן hu:Yann Tiersen ms:Yann Tiersen nl:Yann Tiersen ja:ヤン・ティルセン no:Yann Tiersen nn:Yann Tiersen pl:Yann Tiersen pt:Yann Tiersen ro:Yann Tiersen ru:Тьерсен, Ян simple:Yann Tiersen sk:Yann Tiersen sr:Јан Тјерсен fi:Yann Tiersen sv:Yann Tiersen tr:Yann Tiersen uk:Ян Тьєрсен zh:扬·提尔森

name	Ane Brun
background	solo_singer
birth name	Ane Brunvoll
birth date	March 10, 1976
origin	Molde, Norway
genre	Singer-songwriter
years active	1998–present
label	DetErMine, Balloon Ranger Recordings
	V2 Music (Benelux)
	Cheap Lullaby (USA)
website	www.anebrun.com
notable instruments	}}

Ane Brun () (born Ane Brunvoll on 10 March 1976 in Molde, Norway) is a songwriter, guitarist and vocalist. Since 2003 she has recorded eight albums, four of which are studio albums, a live DVD and a collection of duets. She has lived in Stockholm, Sweden since 2001, where she writes, records and runs her own label (Balloon Ranger Recordings) when not on tour.

History

After growing up in Molde, Norway she moved from her home town in 1995 and spent the next few years moving between Barcelona, Oslo and Bergen. In Bergen she began writing her own material while at university (jumping between courses in Spanish, law and music) as well as making a living working in record shops and bars.

After playing a few minor shows and recording her first demos in Bergen in 1999, she moved to Sweden, first to Uppsala and then to Stockholm in 2001, where she started to take her musical career seriously.

Ane recorded her debut album ''Spending Time with Morgan'' in 2002 in both Stockholm and back in Uppsala, with engineers and producers Katharina Nuttall, Cécile Grudet and Kim Nelson. It was released on the label, DetErMine, which she formed with Ellekari Larsson from Swedish band The Tiny. The debut album came out in 11 European countries in 2003 through a licence/distribution deal with V2 Music.

After releasing the first album Ane toured around Europe but soon took some time out. She had been working intensively for two years and felt somewhat burnt out and in need of a break. After a six month breather she started touring around Europe again and within the next year had her second album ready. ''A Temporary Dive'' was again produced by Katharina Nuttall and was released in 2005 throughout Europe, followed by the UK and the US in 2006, and in Japan in 2007. This album took the darker themes of ''Spending Time With Morgan'' further, through songs like "The Fight Song" and title track "A Temporary Dive", but there was also space for the lighter "Song No. 6", a duet with Ron Sexsmith.

''A Temporary Dive'' was well received all over the world, picking up good reviews in magazines and newspapers from ''Time Magazine'' to ''The Independent''. She received award nominations from all over Europe too, and that year took home the Spellemannpris, the equivalent of the Norwegian Grammies, for Best Female Artist.

After enjoying the collaboration on the previous few duets she had recorded, Ane was inspired to ask some artists whom she adored to sing with her on a full album called ''Duets''. This album was released in November 2005 and besides another recording with Ron Sexsmith it also included songs with artists such as Syd Matters and Teitur. The collaboration with the band Madrugada on the single "Lift Me" gained her another Norwegian Grammy.

Ane spent much of the next couple of years touring the world in many different stage arrangements. She has played with a full band including string section, just herself and string section at times, sometimes just a cello, perhaps with one backing vocalist – or maybe three. Of course it all started with her and the acoustic guitar, so she often ends up coming back to these solo performances too. "There is something about the focus in playing by myself that fascinates me", she says. "There’s nothing to hide behind when I’m alone on stage and it becomes almost meditative for me when I play."

One of her tours was with a string quintet, and it was recorded and released as ''Live in Scandinavia'' (2007) and featured Nina Kinert and the guitarist Staffan Johansson. The album includes songs from Ane's first two albums with new string arrangements by Malene Bay-Foged.

In 2008 she released her third studio album, ''Changing of the Seasons'', which was produced by Valgeir Sigurðsson (Bonnie 'Prince' Billy, Múm, Coco Rosie). It included string arrangements by American composer Nico Muhly (Antony and the Johnsons, Grizzly Bear, ''The Reader'' soundtrack). Later the same year came the album ''Sketches'' which included acoustic, demo versions of the songs on ''Changing of the Seasons''. The ''Sketches'' tour featured a stripped down, sparse sound and now touring with musicians Rebekka Karijord, Jennie Abrahamson and Linnea Olsson, there were memorable gigs in places such as the Union Chapel in London.

Back on the road, a concert at the Stockholm Concert Hall was filmed and released as an album and live DVD in 2009. Late in 2009, Ane organised the ''No More Lullabies'' concert to bring attention to the issues of climate justice. She assembled 24 well-known Swedish artists such as Robyn, Loney, Dear, Titiyo and Benny Andersson of ABBA to take part in seven hours of live music and visuals to mark the International Day of Climate Action on October 24, 2009. They succeeded in drawing attention to the issue before the upcoming COP15 conference.

Ane featured as one of the guests on Peter Gabriel's 2011 studio album ''New Blood'', singing on the re-recorded version of "Don't Give Up", recorded in 2010. She was subsequently invited to perform with him as support act and back-up singer on the ''New Blood'' tour throughout 2010.

In late 2011 Ane released her fourth studio album ''It All Starts with One'', produced by Tobias Fröberg.

Discography

artist	Ane Brun
studio	4
live	2
compilation	2
video	1
music videos	10
ep	1
singles	10 }}

Albums

''Spending Time with Morgan'' (2003) (#19 NO)

''A Temporary Dive'' (2005) (#1 NO) (#12 SWE) - Platinum

''Duets'' (2005) (#2 NO) - 2× Platinum

''Live in Scandinavia'' (2007) (#11 NO) (#12 SWE)

''Changing of the Seasons'' (2008) (#1 NO) (#2 SWE) - Gold

''Sketches'' (2008)

''Live at Stockholm Concert Hall'' (2009) (#2 NO DVD) (#7 SWE)

''It All Starts with One'' (2011) (#1 SWE #1 NO)

EPs

"My Lover Will Go" (2004)

Singles

"Are They Saying Goodbye" (2003)

"Humming One of Your Songs" (2003)

"I Shot My Heart" (2004)

"Song No. 6" (2005)

"Lift Me" - Madrugada feat. Ane Brun (2005) (#1 NO)

"Rubber & Soul" feat. Teitur (2006)

"Balloon Ranger" (2006)

"Headphone Silence" (Henrik Schwarz/DF Remix) (2008)

"Big in Japan" (2008) (#3 SWE)

"True Colors" (2008) (#5 SWE)

"To Let Myself Go" (Malkyl Remix) (2009)

"Do You Remember" (2011)

Also appears on

"Beginner's Guide to Scandinavia" 3CD-album (Nascente, 2011)

External links

Official web site

Category:1976 births Category:Living people Category:Norwegian female singers Category:Norwegian singer-songwriters Category:Spellemannprisen winners Category:People from Molde

de:Ane Brun el:Ane Brun es:Ane Brun fr:Ane Brun fy:Ane Brun nl:Ane Brun no:Ane Brun nn:Ane Brun pl:Ane Brun pt:Ane Brun fi:Ane Brun sv:Ane Brun tr:Ane Brun

name	Brendan Benson
background	solo_singer
birth date	November 14, 1970
Birth place	Royal Oak, Michigan, United States
instrument	Vocals, guitar, bass guitar, keyboard, drums
genre	Rock, indie rock, power pop, alternative rock
years active	1996 to present
label	Readymade Records, Lojinx, ATOV2 Records (previous)
associated acts	The Raconteurs, The Waxwings, The Greenhornes, Jape, Ashley Monroe, Cory Chisel and The Wandering Sons
website	www.brendanbenson.com
notable instruments	1959 Guild Aristocrat Fender Telecaster }}

Brendan Benson (born November 14, 1970, in Royal Oak, Michigan) is an American musician and songwriter. He sings and plays guitar, bass guitar, keyboard, and drums. He has released five solo albums and is a member of the band The Raconteurs.

Recording career

''One Mississippi''

His debut album, ''One Mississippi'', was released in 1996 on Virgin Records. The album featured several contributions with Jason Falkner and gained many favourable reviews in the music press but failed to sell in sufficient numbers and Benson was dropped by Virgin. Brendan toured the states with the first incarnation of The Well Fed Boys featuring long time friend Woody Saunders on the drums and Topper Rimel (Robots In Disguise, The Origin) on Bass. The group shared a headline spot on their second US tour with Heatmiser, a Portland based group that included Elliott Smith, Tony Lash, Neil Gust and Brandt Peterson. Brendan and The Well Fed Boys also played several shows in Japan and a live performance on television in Paris before disbanding in '97.

''Lapalco''

In 2002 the follow-up to ''One Mississippi'' was released, ''Lapalco''. Again the critical plaudits poured in, but this time the record enjoyed a certain degree of commercial success, selling more than three times as many copies than that of ''One Mississippi''. The song "Good To Me" from this album appeared on the British show ''Teachers'' during series three and was included on the series soundtrack; it was also covered by The White Stripes for the B-side of the single Seven Nation Army. The song "Tiny Spark" featured on an episode from the fourth series and was also played in the movies ''Along Came Polly'', and "World's Greatest Dad"

While touring this record Benson played the Reading and Leeds Festivals and finished his Leeds set with a performance of the track "Jet Lag" featuring guest appearances from Meg White of The White Stripes along with members of The Datsuns and Soledad Brothers.

In 2003 Benson re-released his debut album along with bonus tracks including the unreleased six-track extended play ''Wellfed Boy EP'', featuring songs from a demo session with Falkner.

Also in 2003, Benson released an EP, ''Metarie'', with his then band The Wellfed Boys. The EP featured a cover of Paul McCartney's "Let Me Roll It" which featured back-up vocals by friend and later fellow member of The Raconteurs; Jack White. This was the first song written completely by another artist to be featured on a Benson release. Another cover, this time "Strong Boy", from Gram Parsons International Submarine Band's 1968 album, ''Safe at Home'', was released as a b-side in 2005.

''The Alternative to Love''

In 2005, Benson released his third album, ''The Alternative to Love'', and toured extensively in the US, UK, and Europe with his new touring band, The Stiff Tissues.

"Spit It Out" was the first single and reached the UK Top 75 for the first time (peaking at #75 in April), and also generated some buzz for Brendan.

Two further singles were released from the album. "Cold Hands Warm Heart" has appeared in many commercials and TV shows and "What I'm Looking For" was used in multiple national advertising campaigns. This album charted at #70 in the UK Albums Chart.

The Raconteurs

Benson is also a member of The Raconteurs, a collaboration with Jack White, of The White Stripes and The Dead Weather, and two members of The Greenhornes, Jack Lawrence and Patrick Keeler. Benson and White work together in writing the songs. The group's debut album, ''Broken Boy Soldiers'', was released in the U.S. on May 16, 2006, with "Steady, As She Goes" the first single.

He has also worked as a producer for The Greenhornes, The Nice Device, The Mood Elevator (a permutation of The Wellfed Boys), Whirlwind Heat, and Stiff Tissues member Dean Fertita's former band, The Waxwings.

The Raconteurs released their second album, ''Consolers of the Lonely'' in March 2008.

They have no plans for another record, but are not ruling out the possibility.

''My Old, Familiar Friend''

Brendan Benson's fourth album, ''My Old, Familiar Friend'', has gone through a long process of discovery and change before coming to its current polished form.

In March 2007, a handful of demos from Benson's upcoming album were posted on his Myspace. "Feel Like Taking You Home" was the first of these demos to appear. Around the same time the demos of "Forget", "Poised And Ready" and "Go Nowhere" leaked onto the internet.

Later he posted more songs on his MySpace including "Lesson Learned," "Eyes On the Horizon," and "Untitled." Dean Fertita, who played keyboards with the Raconteurs on tour and now is with Queens of the Stone Age and The Dead Weather, plays piano on all the Benson demos, with all other instruments played by Brendan.

In October 2007 two new songs, "Purely Automatic" and "Will it Keep," were published on Brendan's official web site, presumably finished songs from the album. In November 2008, Brendan uploaded a new song entitled "Playdown" on his myspace, but it was quickly taken down. He soon put it back up along with another new song called "No One Else But You." Soon after, the songs "O My Love" and "New Words Of Wisdom" were added to his page. Later he added "I'll Never Tell", "Happy Most of the Time", "Only In A Dream" (cover of Young Hines), and "Diamond" on his official MySpace page and he also added "Open Your Eyes" on his Reverb Nation page. In mid March 2009 Brendan put a collaboration with his girlfriend Britt entitled "The Hunter Gets Captured By The Game" (cover of The Marvelettes) on his Myspace page. On March 18, 2009 KRCW played a new song "A Whole Lot Better" and on May 10, 2009 KRCW played another new song entitled "Garbage Day" both presumably finished songs off his fourth album. The title "My Old, Familiar Friend" and the track list were revealed on June 4, 2009. The album was released on August 18, 2009.

"My Old, Familiar Friend" was produced by Gil Norton according to his MySpace page. He is backed by the Features on some of the record.

Collaboration with Ashley Monroe

In late 2008, Ashley Monroe collaborated with The Raconteurs and Ricky Skaggs on The Raconteurs single, "Old Enough", which was released in bluegrass form, and as a music video which is currently in rotation on CMT.

Then in early February 2009 two songs entitled "The Things I Do" and "Grey" appeared on Monroe's MySpace along with this message:

"Hey everyone! I just wanted to write ya a quick note to tell you I have put up some new songs you guys haven't heard. I have been working with Brendan Benson ... who I met on the set on The Raconteurs video shoot... and I am SOOO EXCITED about the music we have been making. I can't wait to share more! The two songs I posted of ours are "The Things I Do" and "Grey"... hope you love them as much as I do!"

In March 2009 Benson posted more collaborations with Monroe on his official MySpace entitled "Ballad of Pretty Baby", "Consider Me", and "On The Fence". Around the same time, he put up one more collaboration entitled "I Don't Want To See You Anymore" on his Reverb Nation page.

Well & Goode

Benson teamed with Raconteurs touring member Mark Watrous (Gosling, Loudermilk) in October 2010 to release a single as the fictional duo "Midas Well" and "Upton O. Goode". Well & Goode's debut single was a 7" vinyl record and digital download, and featured the songs "Spray Tan" and "Two Birds".

What Kind Of World

Brendan's new album ''What Kind of World'' is due out in April 2012. It will be released on his own new label Readymade Records in the US and on indie label Lojinx in Europe. The album was recorded at "Welcome to 1979" Studios in Nashville, TN and was recorded entirely in analog.

Readymade Records

Readymade Records was announced by Brendan Benson in early 2012. The label was started with Brendan Benson and Young Hines as the first two signed artists. Both of their albums will be released in April 2012. The following was posted on Brendan Benson's website to announce the label.

FIFTH STUDIO ALBUM ''What Kind of World'' DUE OUT APRIL 21st

UPCOMING U.S. ALBUM RELEASE SHOWS AND SXSW APPEARANCE

ANNOUNCES NASHVILLE’S YOUNG HINES FOR RELEASE OF DEBUT ALBUMGIVE ME MY CHANGE TO BE RELEASED APRIL 10th

Beloved musician, songwriter/producer and co-founder of The Raconteurs, Brendan Benson is thrilled to announce the launch of his own record label and publishing company, Readymade. This spring, Readymade will make its debut on the international stage with new releases from Benson (What Kind of World - 4/21 through BrendanBenson.com to coincide with his son’s 2ndbirthday with a 4/24 street date) and the first artist signed to the label, Young Hines (Give Me My Change - 4/10). Benson will be showcasing his new album at SXSW 2012 as well as on May tour dates where Young Hines will support in the U.S.

Readymade was born in the 90′s when Benson released the Wellfed Boy demos under the imprint as a 12″ vinyl. At the time Readymade was merely a concept due to a lack of resources to build a proper record label. Over a decade later Benson partnered with manager Emily White, who brought the idea to fruition, making Readymade a legitimate label around Benson’s musical output. Says White, “Brendan produced 5 albums in 2011, including his own. Launching Readymade gives us the option of a release platform tailored to each album under the same home. We wanted a way for Brendan to be able to create music when and how he wants and be able to put out the music sans any barriers. The answer to what we were looking for is Readymade.”

Influences

Benson's major musical influences include The Cars, David Bowie, Electric Light Orchestra, Elvis Costello, The Kinks, Robyn Hitchcock, Paul McCartney, The Who, and Todd Rundgren.

Personal

Benson and his wife Brittany (née Harris) currently live in Nashville, Tennessee. They welcomed son Declan April 21, 2010.

Musical equipment

;Electric guitars:

1959 Guild Aristocrat

1965 Epiphone Casino

Fender Telecaster

James Trussart SteelCaster

Gibson Flying V

Vox Guitars

MotorAve Belaire

;Acoustic guitars:

Gibson Country and Western

;Amplifiers:

1963 Vox AC30

Marshall 1974x

Discography

;Albums

''One Mississippi'' (1996)

''Listen Up!'' (as part of The Mood Elevator) (2000)

''Lapalco'' (2002)

''Married Alive'' (as part of The Mood Elevator) (2003)

''The Alternative to Love'' (2005) #70 UK

''Broken Boy Soldiers'' (as part of The Raconteurs) (2006)

''Consolers of the Lonely'' (as part of The Raconteurs) (2008)

''My Old, Familiar Friend (2009) #110 US

''What Kind of World'' (2012)

;EPs

''Folk Singer'' (2002)

''Metarie'' (2003)

;Singles

"Folk Singer" (April 22, 2002)

"Tiny Spark" (July 8, 2002)

"Good To Me" (October 28, 2002)

"Metarie" (April 14, 2003)

"Spit It Out" (March 28, 2005) – UK #75

"Cold Hands (Warm Heart)" (July 4, 2005)

"What I'm Looking For" (November 7, 2005)

"A Whole Lot Better" (August 2009)

"Feel Like Taking You Home"

"Bad For Me"

; Videos

"Crosseyed" (1996)

"Tiny Spark" (2002)

"Metarie" (2003)

"Spit It Out" (2005)

"Cold Hands (Warm Heart)" (2005)

"A Whole Lot Better" (2009)

Steady as she Goes (2006) Broken Boy Soldier (2006) Hands (2006) Level (2006) Salute your Solution (2008) Old Enough (2008)

;B-sides and covers

''Son Of A Welder (B Side from Folk Singer 7" / EP)

''Unfortunate Guy (B Side from Folk Singer EP)

''Feel Like Myself (B Side from Folk Singer EP)

''Metarie (Wellfed Version from Metarie EP)

''Metarie (Uk Version from Metarie EP)

''Alternative To Love (Early version from Metarie EP)

''You're Quiet (Well Fed Boys Version from Metarie EP

''Let Me Roll It (Cover of Paul McCartney from Metarie EP)

''Meaning To Write (B Side from Tiny Spark Single)

''No Dial Tone (Recorded Live @ Bowery Ballroom 8/04/2002 from Tiny Spark Single)

''Old Fashioned (B Side from Good To Me Single)

''Pleasure Seeker (Recorded Live @ Bowery Ballroom 8/04/2002 from Good To Me Single)

''Left And Right (B Side from Spit It Out Single)

''Baby On A Rug (B Side from Spit It Out Single)

''Some Day (B Side from Cold Hands (Warm Heart) Single)

''Christopher's Revolt (B Side from Cold Hands (Warm Heart) Single)

''Cold Hands (Warm Heart) (Live Acoustic Version from Cold Hands (Warm Heart) EP)

''Cold Hands (Warm Heart) (Chris Shaw Mix from Cold Hands (Warm Heart) EP)

''Strong Boy (Gram Parsons Cover from Cold Hands (Warm Heart) Single)

''What I'm Looking For (Michael Brauer Mix from What I'm Looking For EP)

''Them And Me (Alternative Version from What I'm Looking For EP)

''Floating (Jape Cover Recorded Live in Newcastle, 22/03/06)

''I'll Never Tell (iTunes Bonus Track)

''New Words of Wisdom (Bonus Track from My Old, Familiar Friend)

''Playdown (Bee Gee's Cover, from Feel Like Taking You Home 7")

''Maybe So Hard (Lapalco era outtake, bundled with the 2011 Lapalco reissue.)

References

External links

Brendan Benson at V2 Records

Brendan Benson at VH1.com

Brendan Interview with Jarrod Dicker (2010)

Category:Musicians from Michigan Category:1970 births Category:Living people

da:Brendan Benson de:Brendan Benson fr:Brendan Benson gl:Brendan Benson it:Brendan Benson pl:Brendan Benson pt:Brendan Benson ru:Бенсон, Брендан sv:Brendan Benson

Name	James Blake
Country	United States
Residence	Saddlebrook Florida , Tampa, Florida, United States
Birth date	December 28, 1979
Birth place	Yonkers, New York
Height
Weight
Turnedpro	1999
Plays	Right-handed (one-handed backhand)
Careerprizemoney	$7,350,311
Singlesrecord	349–231 (at ATP Tour-level, Grand Slam-level, and in Davis Cup)
Singlestitles	10
Highestsinglesranking	No. 4 (November 20, 2006)
Currentsinglesranking	No. 92 (April 30, 2012)
Australianopenresult	QF (2008)
Frenchopenresult	3R (2006)
Wimbledonresult	3R (2006, 2007)
Usopenresult	QF (2005, 2006)
Othertournaments	Yes
Masterscupresult	F (2006)
Olympicsresult	SF - 4th place (losing bronze-finalist) (2008)
Doublesrecord	109–104 (at ATP Tour-level, Grand Slam-level, and in Davis Cup)
Doublestitles	6
Highestdoublesranking	No. 31 (March 31, 2003)
Currentdoublesranking	No. 214 (November 22, 2010)
Grandslamsdoublesresults	yes
Highestdoublesranking	No. 31 (March 31, 2003)
Australianopendoublesresult	QF (2005)
Frenchopendoublesresult	2R (2002)
Wimbledondoublesresult	SF (2009)
Usopendoublesresult	2R (2000, 2001)
Updated	April 13, 2012 }}

James Riley Blake (born December 28, 1979) is an American professional tennis player. Blake is known for his speed and powerful, flat forehand. As of April 2012, Blake is ranked World No. 74 among active male players with 24 career finals appearances (10–14 record), whilst his career-high singles ranking is World No. 4. His career highlights include reaching the final of the 2006 Tennis Masters Cup, the semifinals of the Beijing Olympics and the quarterfinals of the Australian Open (2008) and US Open (2005, 2006). His two titles for the United States at the Hopman Cup are an event record. Blake was a key performer for the United States 2007 Davis Cup championship team, going 2–0 in the championship tie vs. Russia at second singles. In 2005, Blake was presented with the Comeback Player of the Year award for his remarkable return to the tour. Later, in 2008, Blake was awarded another honor by the ATP where he was named the Arthur Ashe Humanitarian of the Year. On July 3, 2007, Blake's autobiography ''Breaking Back: How I Lost Everything and Won Back My Life'', which discussed his comeback after his unlucky 2004 season, was released and debuted at No. 22 on the New York Times Best Seller list. He co-wrote this book with Andrew Friedman.

Early life

Blake was born in Yonkers, New York to an African American father Thomas Reynolds Blake and a British mother Betty. He has a brother Thomas, who is also a professional tennis player, and three older half-brothers: Jason, Christopher and Howard, and a half-sister Michelle.

Blake started playing tennis at age five alongside his brother Thomas. When he was 13, he was diagnosed with severe scoliosis and for five years as a teenager he was forced to wear a full-length back brace for 18 hours a day, though not while playing tennis. Blake attended Fairfield High School in Fairfield, Connecticut, where a schoolmate and childhood friend was future musician John Mayer. Blake was inspired to pursue tennis after hearing his role model Arthur Ashe speak to the Harlem Junior Tennis Program. Brian Barker was his first (and longtime) coach. He left Harvard University, where he was a member of the A.D. Club, after his sophomore year to pursue a career in professional tennis.

Playing style

Blake's style of play is primarily that of an aggressive offensive baseliner. He generally prefers to hit winners from the baseline, but his solid net volley and transition game give him an effective all-court game. His forehand (along with Del Potro and Fernando González) is considered to be one of the best in the game. However, his one-handed backhand is known to be suspect. Another major strength is his great foot speed. Blake tends to return serves (especially second serves) with great pace, and also makes contact with the ball earlier (on the uprise) when hitting ground strokes. Combined with his relatively flat strokes, these techniques (despite being riskier in terms of making errors) allow him to put more pace on the ball, giving opponents less time to react. Blake likes to take control of points and will usually attempt to hit an outright winner earlier in the rally than many others. He is known as a shot maker. His go-for-broke style makes him one of the most entertaining players on the tour, though this also makes him an inconsistent player, evidenced by his recent slide in the rankings. Since hiring new coach and doubles specialist Kelly Jones, Blake has begun to incorporate more serve-and-volley play into his game.

Career

2000–2001

At the age of 21, Blake saw his first Davis Cup action in 2001 against India and became the third person of African-American heritage to play for the Davis Cup for the United States (after Arthur Ashe and MaliVai Washington).

Ranked no. 120 in the world, Blake accepted a wild card into Cincinnati. He beat a qualifier and Arnaud Clément to reach the round of 16, where he met Patrick Rafter. Blake came close to winning the first set (falling in a tiebreak), and after dropping the second set, Rafter, according to Blake's autobiography, complimented him at the net and boosted his confidence immeasurably by saying "Now do you believe you can beat someone like me, or even me?"

2002–2003

In January, Blake won the 2002 USTA Waikola Challenger in Hawaii. A month later in Memphis he posted his first win over a top-10 ranked opponent, Tommy Haas, who was then ranked no. 5, and reached the finals, losing to Andy Roddick. He reached the quarterfinals at the ATP Masters Series (AMS) event in Rome in May and the finals at Newport in July.

In August, in Cincinnati, he won his first career ATP Tour title and his first ATP Masters Series title: it came in doubles with Todd Martin, making Blake the first African-American male to win a title of any kind in Cincinnati's 101-year history. He was also the first African-American to reach a final in Cincinnati since 1969, when Arthur Ashe reached the doubles finals with Charlie Pasarell. The next week in Washington, he won his first ATP Tour singles title, beating Andre Agassi in the semifinals and Paradorn Srichaphan in the final.

At the US Open, he reached the third round, before falling to top-ranked Lleyton Hewitt in five sets.

In 2003, his best results were a quarterfinals appearance at Indian Wells; a round of 16 finish at the Australian Open, Cincinnati, and Miami; a semifinal appearance at San Jose, and a finals appearance at Long Island.

2004

While practicing with Robby Ginepri for the Masters event in Rome, he broke his neck when he slipped on the clay and collided with the net post. In July, his father died of stomach cancer. At the same time, Blake developed shingles, which temporarily paralyzed half his face and blurred his sight.

2005

Blake's injuries and personal issues caused him to post relatively poor results for the first half of 2005. By April his ranking was 210. He decided to play the Challenger circuit, the "minor leagues" of tennis, in order to gain confidence and get more matches. In May he entered events in Tunica, Mississippi and Forest Hills, New York, winning both. He rejoined the ATP circuit and by August reached the final at the International Series event in Washington, D.C. where he fell to Roddick.

He was given a wild card into AMS Cincinnati, drawing Federer in the first round. He then won the Pilot Pen Tennis tournament in New Haven, Connecticut, defeating Feliciano López in the final.

After New Haven he was ranked 49.

He then accepted a wildcard into the US Open, defeating No. 2 Rafael Nadal 6–4, 4–6, 6–3, 6–1 in the round of 32. He beat Tommy Robredo in four sets to reach the quarterfinals, succumbing to Andre Agassi in a fifth-set tiebreak, losing 3–6, 3–6, 6–3, 6–3, 7–6.

In October at the Stockholm Open, Blake won his third ATP tour title, defeating Srichaphan in the final. Blake finished 2005 ranking 22.

2006

Blake won the title at Sydney, taking his fourth ATP tour title defeating Russian Igor Andreev in the final.

At the Australian Open he was seeded twentieth, losing in the third round to Spaniard Tommy Robredo. He broke into the Top 20 for the first time in his career.

In March he beat Hewitt in the final at Las Vegas for his fifth ATP tour title.

At the first AMS event of the year Indian Wells, Blake defeated Robredo in the third round and world No. 2 Nadal in the semifinals, reaching his first career ATP Masters Series singles final, losing in the final to Federer. By reaching the final, Blake became the first African-American man since Arthur Ashe to reach the world's top 10.

On clay, Blake defeated former world No. 1 Carlos Moyà in the first round at AMS Hamburg before losing to Mario Ančić in the third round.

At the French Open he defeated Spaniard Nicolás Almagro in four sets in the second round, to become the last remaining American man at the French, then was beaten by Frenchman Gaël Monfils in five sets.

Beginning the grass court season at the Stella Artois Championships, he defeated Andy Roddick in the semifinals, losing to Lleyton Hewitt in the final.

At Wimbledon, Blake progressed to the third round but lost to Max Mirnyi in five sets.

Now ranked No. 5, Blake's next tournament was the International Series at Indianapolis. He won the singles title, defeating Roddick (for the second time in 2006).

In Washington, D.C. he lost in the third round to Marat Safin and in New Haven in the first round to Rubén Ramírez Hidalgo.

At AMS Canada he fell to Richard Gasquet (who would reach the final that week before losing to Roger Federer). At AMS Cincinnati he lost to Juan Carlos Ferrero (who lost in the final to Andy Roddick).

At the US Open he reached the quarterfinals, losing to top seed and defending champion Roger Federer. In that match Blake won his first set against Federer, winning the third set in a tiebreaker 11–9.

In his debut appearance at the Thailand Open in Bangkok, Blake won his seventh singles title, defeating Jarkko Nieminen in the quarterfinals, Marat Safin in the semifinals, and Ivan Ljubičić (for the first time) in the final.

Two weeks later Blake won his fifth title of 2006, defending his 2005 title in Stockholm, defeating Jarkko Nieminen.

For the first time, Blake qualified for the Tennis Masters Cup in Shanghai. He went 2–1 in the Gold Group, defeating No. 2 Nadal and No. 3 Nikolay Davydenko, while losing to No. 6 Tommy Robredo. He qualified for the semifinals, beating defending champion David Nalbandian 6–4, 6–1, losing the final to Federer 6–0, 6–3, 6–4.

Blake finished 2006 at a career-high World Number 4 and as the highest-ranked American tennis player.

2007

Blake won at the Sydney International for the second consecutive year. However, he then suffered a disappointing loss in the Round of 16 at the Australian Open, losing to tenth seed and eventual finalist Fernando González 7–5, 6–4, 7–6. He followed that up with a loss to Tomáš Berdych in Davis Cup play and a second round loss in the SAP Open (San Jose) to Number 103 ranked Ivo Karlović.

At the 2007 Tennis Channel Open in Las Vegas, as the defending champion, he was involved with a deep controversy. It was one of the several tournaments experimenting with the new round robin format, and Blake had lost his first match to Evgeny Korolev. Korolev lost his other match to Juan Martín del Potro. In order for Blake to advance to the quarters, he had to defeat Del Potro in straight sets while losing five games or less. This would result in a three-way tie, with Blake losing the fewest games. With Blake leading 6–1 3–1, Del Potro retired. This eliminated Del Potro from the three-way tie as he failed to complete one of his matches. Korolev then moved on to the next round, breaking the tie because he had defeated Blake in their match.

That caused a big uproar among fans, James Blake, and commentators, as they felt James Blake deserved to advance. After a press conference of many hours, the ATP, led by Etienne de Villiers, decided that, since Blake would have met the guidelines the way the match was going, and since neither player knew the consequences of retiring (Del Potro said he would have finished the match had he known), Blake would have advanced anyway. They overruled the tournament guidelines, giving Blake a place in the quarterfinals.

The following morning, De Villiers reversed his reversal deeming that it was unfair to Korolev as you should not change the rules in mid-tournament, regardless of what happened. As a result, Korolev re-advanced to the quarterfinals, sending Blake to Indian Wells without a 3rd consecutive title defense. Shortly after this incident, the ATP decided to cancel the round robin format, reverting any tournaments planning a round robin draw to the standard single-elimination draw.

Roland Garros 2007 was a disappointment for Blake, losing in the first round to Ivo Karlović 4–6, 6–4, 7–5, 7–5. Blake was one of nine American men to lose in the first round of Roland Garros. This was the first time in the open era where an American male had not made it into a Grand Slam second round.

In Wimbledon 2007, James reached the third round, matching his best showing there (2006), but was unable to get past former World Number 1 Juan Carlos Ferrero, losing 3–6, 6–3, 6–3, 7–6.

During the summer hardcourt season, he advanced to his second career ATP Masters Series event and won a singles title. At AMS Cincinnati, he beat Alejandro Falla, Nicolas Kiefer, Juan Carlos Ferrero, Sam Querrey and Nikolay Davydenko en route to the final before falling to Roger Federer. He won the singles title at Penn Pilot in New Haven, CT, and started the North American hardcourt season by reaching the finals at Los Angeles, losing to Radek Štěpánek in three sets 7–6, 5–7, 6–2 after having three set points in the first set.

In the second round of the 2007 US Open, he won his first career five-set match against Fabrice Santoro, whom he defeated 6–4, 3–6, 6–2, 4–6, 6–4. Blake made it to the fourth round, where he lost to No. 10 Tommy Haas in five sets 4–6, 6–4, 3–6, 6–0, 7–6, despite having match points in the fifth set.

Blake and the rest of the US Davis Cup team defeated Sweden in September to reach the finals against Russia.

James also participated in Madrid and Basel. In Madrid, he fell to former top ten star Mario Ančić in the second round. In Basel, he fell in the second round to Ivo Karlović. However, Blake teamed with former number one doubles player Mark Knowles of the Bahamas to make the final. In the first round, he and Knowles upset US Open champions Simon Aspelin and Julian Knowle in three sets. In the semifinals, the team bore match points twelve times, and finally defeated Paul Hanley and Kevin Ullyett, the second seeds 7–5, 6–7, [12–10] with thirteen needed match points. Their luck, however, was halted by top seeds and top ranked Bob and Mike Bryan, who are Blake's Davis Cup teammates. Blake and Knowles lost 6–1 6–1. After the match, James quoted: "'Yes, they played as well I have seen them play in a while. It's tough. I have seen them do it to a lot of guys in Davis Cup from the sidelines and know how little fun it is to face them. That's the reason why they are the best doubles team in the world right now. [At the start of the week] I told Mark I had not won a lot of doubles matches this year, so I was glad to have him get me through a couple of wins. I had a great time and a lot of fun. Getting a chance to play with one of the best doubles players, really ever, was exciting for me. I learnt plenty and hopefully we’ll be better next time.'"

Blake lost in the third round of Paris to Richard Gasquet and thus finished outside the top eight players, losing his chance to defend the points he gained as finalist in the 2006 Tennis Masters Cup.

James Blake won his match in the 2007 Davis Cup finals against Mikhail Youzhny 6–3, 7–6, 6–7, 7–6 (and also against Dmitry Tursunov). Andy Roddick won his match versus Tursunov and Bob and Mike Bryan won the doubles rubber over Igor Andreev and Nikolay Davydenko, sealing the Davis Cup win for the United States.

2008

James Blake began 2008 hoping to win his third consecutive Medibank International title. However, the defending champion bowed out of the tournament in the first round, losing to French veteran Fabrice Santoro 6–7, 2–6. The third seed (Blake) was said to be "uncharacteristic" in reference to his frustration.

At the Australian Open, Blake defeated his first round opponent, Chilean Nicolás Massú. He then defeated compatriot Michael Russell 6–3, 6–2, 6–2. In the third round, he fought back from two sets down to beat French veteran Sébastien Grosjean 4–6, 2–6, 6–0, 7–6, 6–2 who had beaten him in each of their three previous meetings.

In the fourth round, Blake beat Marin Čilić in three sets to advance to the quarterfinals, his best showing yet down under. In the quarterfinal, James Blake faced world No. 1 Roger Federer, and fell in straight sets 7–5, 7–6, 6–4. Although out of the Australian Open, Blake's ranking jumped back into the Top 10 to No. 9 following his best performance in the tournament yet.

In Davis Cup, the USA played Austria on clay. James defeated Stefan Koubek in four sets 5–7, 7–5, 6–2, 6–2. Despite being down 2–5 in the second set, James turned things around, helped in part by unforced errors by Koubek.

In Delray Beach, James made it to the final for the second consecutive year, but fell to No. 244 Kei Nishikori of Japan in three sets in the final 6–3, 1–6, 4–6. At the 2008 SAP Open, he rebounded from that loss by defeating compatriot Sam Warburg in straight sets in the first round 6–3, 6–1 and Jesse Levine in straight sets in the second round 6–3, 6–4. However, he lost to Robby Ginepri 2–6, 2–6 on the following round.

At the 2008 Pacific Life Open, Blake, the ninth seed, received a "bye" in the first round, before defeating Marc Gicquel 6–3, 6–7, 6–1 in the second round. In the third round, Blake beat former World Number 1 Carlos Moyà 6–3, 6–4. He then defeated Frenchman Richard Gasquet in the fourth round in straight sets 6–4, 6–2, before losing to Rafael Nadal in the quarterfinals 5–7, 6–3, 3–6.

At the 2008 Miami Masters, Blake reached the quarter-finals, but again lost to Rafael Nadal in three sets 6–3, 3–6, 1–6.

In Davis Cup, Team USA played France. Unfortunately for France, they were missing two of their best players, Richard Gasquet and Jo Wilfried Tsonga due to injuries. So Michaël Llodra and Paul-Henri Mathieu were the players playing singles for France. After Andy Roddick defeated Llodra, James would play Mathieu. James won in a three-hour, 48-minute, five-set match against the Frenchman 7–6, 6–7, 6–3, 3–6, 7–5. He had to save two match points to defeat the number 12 Mathieu.

Blake then started the clay court season at the River Oaks International tournament in Houston, Texas. He defeated Kei Nishikori in the first round 6–4, 6–4, 15-year-old Ryan Harrison in the second round, No. 5 seed Agustín Calleri of Argentina in the quarterfinals, and Óscar Hernández of Spain in the semifinals 6–3, 7–6. In his second ATP final of the year and his first career clay-court final, Blake fell to Spaniard Marcel Granollers Pujol 4–6, 6–1, 5–7.

James received a wild card to play in the clay tournament in Barcelona, Spain. However, he lost in the first round to German Denis Gremelmayr in straight sets.

Looking for a better performance on clay, James played in the Master Series tournament in Rome. He received a bye in the first round. In the second round, he faced Italian hopeful Andreas Seppi. James won in three sets 7–6, 3–6, 6–1. In the third round, he faced Spaniard Fernando Verdasco. He won in three sets 5–7, 7–5, 6–2. His run was ended in the quarterfinals by Stanislas Wawrinka of Switzerland in three sets 7–6, 6–7, 1–6.

At the French, he made it to the second round before being defeated by Ernests Gulbis in four sets. He fared no better at Wimbledon, losing in the 2nd round to the resurgent semi-finalist Rainer Schüttler in five sets, 3–6, 7–6, 6–4, 4–6, 4–6.

At the Cincinnati Masters, Blake lost to Ernests Gulbis 4–6, 6–1, 3–6 in the third round.

In August 2008, Blake represented the United States as one of its three men's singles tennis players in the Beijing Olympics. In the quarterfinals, he gained one of the biggest wins of his career with his first ever win over Roger Federer 6–4, 7–6. At the time, Federer was ranked as the world's No. 1 men's player. His semifinal match was against Fernando González, the Men's Singles bronze medalist at the 2004 Olympics in Athens. Blake had triple match point in the middle of the final set, but would go on to lose 4–6, 7–5, 11–9. He then lost in the bronze medal match to Serbian Novak Djokovic 4–6, 6–7.

In the US Open, Blake was stretched to a 5 set thriller against American teenager Donald Young 6–1, 3–6, 6–1, 4–6, 6–4 in the first round. Blake easily won his second round match after Steve Darcis retired 4–6, 6–3, 1–0. Blake then lost to friend and fellow American Mardy Fish in the third round in straight sets 3–6, 3–6, 6–7.

In the Madrid Masters, Blake had a first round bye and played Gilles Simon losing it 6–3, 1–6, 4–6. Soon after, he played in the Davidoff Swiss Indoors tournament and made it all the way to the quarterfinals before losing to Feliciano López of Spain 4–6, 6–7. In the Paris Masters Blake got to the semis after a walkover by Roger Federer in the quarters and lost to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France 4–6, 3–6. Because of this loss, Blake was not able to qualify for the year end Masters in Shanghai.

2009

Blake participated in the Hopman Cup, an exhibition tournmanent partnering Meghann Shaughnessy. The team were the top seed, with Blake looking to win his third Hopman Cup. Blake lost to Slovak Dominik Hrbatý but defeated Nicolas Kiefer and Lleyton Hewitt.

Blake defeated Frank Dancevic 6–4, 6–3, 7–5 in the first round of the Australian Open. His success continued in the second round of the Australian Open after deposing of Frenchman Sébastien de Chaunac 6–3, 6–2, 6–3 in a match laden with spectator noise and bad line calls. Blake went on to face the 18th seed, Igor Andreev, in the third round and beat him 6–3, 6–2, 3–6, 6–1. He lost in the fourth round in straight sets to the 2008 runner-up Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, 6–4, 6–4, 7–6.

In the SAP Open in San Jose, Blake defeated fellow American Vincent Spadea 6–3, 6–4 in a first round match, hitting 12 aces and converted his two break point chances to race to the win in 50 minutes. Blake would go on to defeat Frenchman Florent Serra 6–4, 6–3. Blake prevailed in a 20-point first set tie-break against sixth-seeded compatriot Sam Querrey and then eased through the second set with one break of serve to post the 7–6, 6–3 victory in 67 minutes. He then lost to fellow American Mardy Fish 3–6, 2–6.

In his next tournament, the Regions Morgan Keenan Championships in Memphis, Tennessee, Blake was defeated in the first round by Lleyton Hewitt 6–3, 1–6, 4–6.

In the Davis Cup first round tie against Switzerland in Birmingham, Alabama, he lost the opening match to Stanislas Wawrinka in four sets. But he won the fifth match in straight sets to make the final tie 4–1 to book the U.S's place in the quarterfinals.

Blake started the clay season as top seed at the U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships and lost to Guillermo Cañas 6–4 6–4 in the first round. He also then lost in Rome Masters in the first round to Romanian qualifier Victor Crivoi 7–5, 6–3. Blake then played at the 2009 Estoril Open. Blake recorded his first clay-court win of the 2009 ATP World Tour season, earning a confidence-boosting 5–7, 6–4, 6–2 win over Portugal's highest-ever ranked player Frederico Gil. Blake, who improved to 10–8 on the year, next defeated France's Marc Gicquel in the second round 7–6, 6–2 and Florent Serra 6–4, 6–1 in the third. Blake advanced to his first clay-court final on European soil on Sunday, after beating second seed and former Estoril Open champion Nikolay Davydenko 6–7, 7–6, 6–3 in a rain-interrupted semi-final that was carried over due to bad light. Blake won the first and fifth points against serve, courtesy of a Davydenko backhand error and then a forehand volley winner on approach to the net. He quickly opened up a 6–2 lead and won the second set when Davydenko hit a backhand wide. Davydenko managed to save one break point at 15–40 in the fourth game of the third set, with a couple of clever forehands that left Blake stretching outside the tramlines, but the 2003 titlist and 2006 and 2008 runner-up was unable to win the second break point as Blake secured a 3–1 lead. Davydenko almost broke back in the next game, but Blake produced his A-game hitting a cross-court forehand winner on approach to the net that left Davydenko flailing. At 1–4, the World No. 11 found himself 0–40 down but won five straight points – closing out with successive forehand winners. Blake made it 5–2 with successive aces and, minutes later, booked a spot in his 23rd ATP World Tour final (10–12 record) with a service hold to 30. Blake extended his winning streak to 7–0 over Davydenko, in the pair's first clay-court meeting that last two hours and 26 minutes. Blake was defeated by Spain's Albert Montañés later that day in the finals. The 28-year-old Montanes saved two match points at 4–5 in the second set and fought back to beat fourth-seeded Blake 5–7, 7–6, 6–0 in two hours and 14 minutes. Blake fought off one break point for a 5–4 lead, before setting up two championship points on the Montanes serve at 15–40. Blake squandered the first point with a backhand return long of the baseline and the second point went begging when he committed a backhand error. Blake dropped to 12–9 on the 2009 ATP World Tour season. Blake was attempting to become the first American to win a clay-court title since Mardy Fish at Houston in April 2006 and the first American to win on European clay since his Davis Cup team mate Andy Roddick lifted the St. Poelten trophy in May 2003.

At the 2009 French Open, Blake lost in the first round to qualifier Leonardo Mayer 7–6 7–5 6–2.

At the AEGON Championships at Queen's club, Blake defeated Ivan Ljubičić 6–2, 7–6 Sam Querrey 6–4, 4–6, 6–3 and Mikhail Youzhny 7–6, 6–3 to reach the semi-finals. He then reached the final after Andy Roddick retired with an ankle injury in the first set when the score was tied at 4 games all. He then went on to lose in the final to Andy Murray 7–5, 6–4.

At the Wimbledon Championships, Blake, seeded 17th, lost in the first round to Andreas Seppi in straight sets 7–5 6–4 7–6. He was the first seeded player to be knocked out of the tournament. In his post-match press conference, Blake stated that he was battling a stomach virus, having to take painkillers before going on court. He also heavily criticized the ATP Tour, blaming their poor scheduling for his loss of focus, as well as the withdrawal of world number 1 Rafael Nadal.

Blake partnered with compatriot Mardy Fish at the Wimbledon Men's Doubles. In the first round they defeated third seeds Lukáš Dlouhý and Leander Paes and then Marc Gicquel and Arnaud Clément in straight sets. They defeated advanced to the semi-finals after defeating Simon Aspelin and Paul Hanley. They lost to defending champions Daniel Nestor and Nenad Zimonjić in the semi-finals although they won the first two sets.

Following a 3rd Round loss at the 2009 US Open to Spain's Tommy Robredo, Blake split with longtime coach Brian Barker. He is now coached by Kelly Jones.

2010

Blake started his 2010 campaign at the Brisbane International in Australia. Blake came back from a set down to top fifth seeded American Sam Querrey 4–6, 6–3, 6–4. He then defeated Frenchman Marc Gicquel 6–3, 3–6, 7–6, surviving three match points in the deciding set tiebreak to make the quarter-finals. There Blake lost to Gaël Monfils 6–3, 3–6, 4–6. Blake was also entered in the men's double draw with Andy Roddick. The duo defeated fourth seeds Marcelo Melo and Bruno Soares on the way to the semifinals before losing a heartbreaker to eventual champions Jérémy Chardy and Marc Gicquel 4–6, 6–3, 11–13.

At the 2010 Australian Open Blake defeated French veteran Arnaud Clément 7–5, 7–5, 6–2 in the first round. He then faced fourth seed and US Open champion Juan Martín del Potro in the second round, losing a classic in five grueling sets 4–6, 7–6, 7–5, 3–6, 8–10.

Blake then lost in the opening round at the 2010 ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament against a former Australian Open finalist Marcos Baghdatis 4–6, 2–6.

In the first round of the Regions Morgan Keegan Championships in Memphis, Blake fell to top-seeded American counterpart Andy Roddick 3–6, 6–4, 6–7.

At the Delray Beach International Tennis Championships, No. 7 seed Blake won consecutive matches for the second time in 2010, topping fellow American Taylor Dent 6–1, 3–6, 6–3 and the Dutchman Robin Haase 6–3, 6–1. Blake was eliminated in the quarterfinals by 2nd seed Ivo Karlović 3–6, 7–6, 1–6.

Blake returned to action for the third consecutive tournament on American soil at the first Masters event of the year, 2010 BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells, California. An unseeded Blake advanced to the round of 64 with a quick win over Daniel Gimeno-Traver 6–3, 6–2. He then advanced to the Round of 32 with his most impressive win of the season to that point, a 6–1, 6–4 destruction of 13th seed David Ferrer. In the Round of 32, Blake lost a disappointing match to Spain's Nicolás Almagro 4–6, 6–3, 3–6. The loss dropped Blake's three set record to 3–4 on the year.

Blake also played in the doubles draw, teaming with Andy Roddick to reach the Round of 16 where the American duo fell to top-seeded Daniel Nestor and Nenad Zimonjić 4–6, 6–3, 7–10.

At the 2010 Sony Ericsson Open in Miami, Blake defeated Serbian wildcard Filip Krajinović in three sets 6–7, 6–4, 6–4 to advance to the Round of 64. In the second round, he lost to 27th seed Thomaz Bellucci 6–3, 1–6, 2–6.

In July 2010, Blake played for the Boston Lobsters of the World TeamTennis pro league.

On April 14, Blake announced that he would be taking the clay court season off with a serious knee injury. As a result of this injury Blake missed the French Open for the first time since 2004.

Blake returned to action at Wimbledon where he lost to Dutchman Robin Haase 2–6, 4–6, 4–6. The result was surprising considering that Haase lost badly to Blake earlier in the season at Delray Beach. During this match, Blake harshly accused ESPN commentator and former WTA player Pam Shriver of disrupting play due to her overly loud commentary from the box situated above the court behind him. This led to a verbal exchange between the two during the match. After the match, an emotional Blake declared that if his knee problems did not subside he may consider retirement. Blake, who refuses to take any anti-inflammatories for his knee, called his performance "embarrassing" and said "I can't beat these guys at 80 percent."

Despite these comments, Blake chose to continue his rehab to prepare for the U.S. hardcourt season. He opened an official Facebook page where he can communicate better with fans in an announcement made on his website. In the first round of the Atlanta Tennis Championships, an inaugural event previously played in Indianapolis, Blake lost a tough three-set match to Taylor Dent 3–6, 6–3, 4–6. Despite winning 49% of points, Blake could not break Dent in crucial moments. The big-serving Dent saved 12/14 break points in the match. The loss was the seventh that Blake endured in the deciding set in 2010. However, Blake fared much better in the doubles draw, pairing with American up-and-comer John Isner. The duo completed a strong comeback from 6–3, 4–2 down to top fellow Americans Robby Ginepri and Ryan Sweeting 3–6, 6–4, 10–3. In the quarterfinals, Blake and Isner easily dispatched Germans Michael Kohlmann and Rainer Schüttler 6–4, 6–1 before falling in two tiebreaks to Rajeev Ram and Scott Lipsky in the semis.

At the Los Angeles Open, Blake's singles fate took a turn for the better. Prior to the tournament, Blake told the LA Times that retirement was "no longer a thought" and that he was "not done yet". In the opening round, Blake easily dispatched Leonardo Mayer in a rematch from the 2009 French Open first round 6–1, 6–4 before topping Benjamin Becker 7–5, 7–6. In the quarterfinals, Blake got off to a hot start, winning the first set over Spaniard Feliciano López 6–3. However, after dropping the second set in a close tiebreaker 6–7, Blake fell in the third 4–6. Blake also entered the doubles draw of this tournament with American Sam Querrey but the duo fell quickly in the first round 3–6, 3–6 to Lopez and Janko Tipsarević.

Following Los Angeles, Blake appeared at the Legg Mason Tennis Classic in Washington, D.C.. He came into the tournament as a former finalist and champion at this event. His first opponent was the United States' Ryan Sweeting. Despite winning the first set, poor serving hurt Blake in a 3–6, 6–3, 6–4 setback. After the match, Sweeting called the win "the best of (his) career".

The next tournament James Blake faced, was in New Haven, his hometown tournament – the tournament where he claimed an ATP World Tour title when the tournament ran for the first time in 2005, defeating Feliciano López and followed this up by winning the title for a second time in 2007, where he defeated countryman Mardy Fish in the final. Despite an unfortunate draw and a few uninspiring losses in the last few weeks, Blake made and impressive display and ousted World No.76 Pere Riba 6–0, 6–1 in the first round, converting five of eleven break point opportunities. Blake won the lightning quick match in a minuscule 35 minutes, making it the shortest match win of 2010, beating the previous record held by Olivier Rochus who beat Abdulla Hajji in 38 minutes in Doha. This match was also one of the quickest matches in tennis history. In the second round match between Blake and seventh-seed up-and-comer Alexander Dolgopolov Jr., despite playing some great shots, Blake lost 6–4 6–2 in a rain-interrupted match.

At the 2010 US Open, Blake advanced to the third round losing to eventual finalist Novak Djokovic 6–1, 7–6, 6–3. This defeat dropped his singles record to 13–15.

2011

Blake began his 2011 comeback tour ranked out of the Top 150 for the first time since 2005. He ended his partnership with coach Kelly Jones, choosing to travel alone. In a preseason interview, Blake stated he was healthy and carrying a positive attitude and would skip the Australian Open.

In his first match of the year, on February 8 at the SAP Open in San Jose, Blake defeated American qualifier Jesse Levine 7–5, 6–1 after Levine succumbed to an injury late in the second set. The American ran into red-hot Canadian youngster Milos Raonic in the second round and fell 6–2, 7–6 after battling back from a late break down in the second set to force a tiebreaker. Raonic would go on to win the tournament, his first as a pro.

Blake accepted a wild card into the Regions Morgan Keegan Championships and promptly defeated Brazilian clay-court specialist Ricardo Mello 6–4, 6–3. In the round of 16, Blake was defeated by former doubles partner and close friend Robert Kendrick 7–6, 6–3.

He returned to action at Delray Beach International Tennis Championships, drawing No. 7 Benjamin Becker in the first round. Blake broke Becker late in the first set and battled back from a 3–1 hole in the second set to win 7–5, 6–4. In the second round he lost to Kei Nishikori of Japan 6–3, 6–4 in a rematch of the 2008 final.

In the 2011 US Open, Blake hit a forehand winner on match point against Jesse Huta Galung in the first round that was clocked at 125mph, thus making it the fastest forehand ever hit, eclipsing Gael Monfils's earlier record of 122mph against Marcos Baghdatis. Blake won the match 6–4, 6–2, 4–6, 6–4. In the second round he lost to David Ferrer of Spain 6–4, 6–3, 6–4.

Equipment

Blake worked with Prince to create a new racquet with Prince's O3 technology. However, he did not feel comfortable with this racquet. So, he switched back to the Dunlop Sport Aerogel 200, then the 4D 200, for the 2009 season. He changed to Wilson at the start of the 2010 season, using the new Six.One Tour strung with Luxilon Big Banger Alu Power 16L strings at high tension (60+ pounds). He did not feel comfortable with this racquet either. Therefore, he switched back to Dunlop again. After the US Open of 2010, he began to test out rackets for Head. As August 26, 2011, he announced he will use Donnay rackets as his choice and using a customized Donnay X-Dual Pro. His clothing sponsor is Fila, with whom he started working in 2009 after using Nike for most his career. He has his own clothing line named Thomas Reynolds after his father.

Personal life

Blake enjoys golf and basketball and is a fan of the New York Mets. He was featured on Bravo's second edition of ''Celebrity Poker Showdown'' but got 2nd after losing to Maura Tierney.

Blake is also a red pro on Full Tilt poker. He appeared in ''People'' magazine's ''Sexiest Man Alive'' issue. He is good friends with singer/songwriter John Mayer, who also attended Fairfield High School. When Blake was invited by Virginia's Anthem Insurance to do a cancer charity game honoring his late father, he invited John Mayer, Andy Roddick and Gavin DeGraw to perform.

Major Finals

Tennis Masters Cup

Singles: 1 (0–1)

{|class="sortable wikitable" style=font-size:97% !Outcome !Year !width=200|Championship !Surface !width=200|Opponent !width=200|Score |- |bgcolor=FFA07A|Runner-up||2006|| Shanghai||Hard (i)|| Roger Federer||6–0, 6–3, 6–4 |}

Masters Series

Singles: 2 (0–2)

{|class="sortable wikitable" style=font-size:97% !Outcome !Year !width=200|Championship !Surface !width=200|Opponent !width=200|Score |- |bgcolor=FFA07A|Runner-up |2006 | Indian Wells||Hard | Roger Federer |7–5, 6–3, 6–0 |- |bgcolor=FFA07A|Runner-up |2007 | Cincinnati||Hard | Roger Federer |6–1, 6–4 |}

ATP Career Finals

Singles: 24 (10–14)

{| |-valign=top | {|class=wikitable style=font-size:97% !Legend |-bgcolor=e5d1cb |Grand Slam Tournaments (0–0) |-bgcolor=ffffcc |ATP World Tour Finals (0–1) |-bgcolor=dfe2e9 |ATP World Tour Masters 1000 (0–2) |-bgcolor=d0f0c0 |ATP World Tour 500 Series (1–1) |- |ATP World Tour 250 Series (9–10) |} | {|class=wikitable style=font-size:97% !Titles by Surface |- |Hard (10–9) |- |Clay (0–2) |- |Grass (0–3) |- |Carpet (0–0) |} |}

{|class="sortable wikitable" style=font-size:97% !Outcome !No. !width=100|Date !width=230|Championship !Surface !width=200|Opponent !width=200|Score |-bgcolor=d0f0c0 |bgcolor=ffa07a|Runner-up |1. |February 25, 2002 | Memphis, United States |Hard (i) | Andy Roddick |4–6, 6–3, 5–7 |- |bgcolor=ffa07a|Runner-up |2. |July 15, 2002 | Newport, United States |Grass | Taylor Dent |1–6, 6–4, 4–6 |-bgcolor=d0f0c0 |bgcolor=98fb98|Winner |1. |August 12, 2002 | Washington, D.C., United States |Hard | Paradorn Srichaphan |1–6, 7–6^(7–5), 6–4 |- |bgcolor=ffa07a|Runner-up |3. |August 25, 2003 | Long Island, United States |Hard | Paradorn Srichaphan |2–6, 4–6 |- |bgcolor=ffa07a|Runner-up |4. |August 8, 2005 | Washington, D.C., United States |Hard | Andy Roddick |5–7, 3–6 |- |bgcolor=98fb98|Winner |2. |August 22, 2005 | New Haven, United States |Hard | Feliciano López |3–6, 7–5, 6–1 |- |bgcolor=98fb98|Winner |3. |October 10, 2005 | Stockholm, Sweden |Hard (i) | Paradorn Srichaphan |6–1, 7–6^{(8–6) |- |bgcolor=98fb98|Winner |4. |January 9, 2006 | Sydney, Australia |Hard | Igor Andreev |6–2, 3–6, 7–6(7–3) |- |bgcolor=98fb98|Winner |5. |February 27, 2006 | Las Vegas, United States |Hard | Lleyton Hewitt |7–5, 2–6, 6–3 |-bgcolor=dfe2e9 |bgcolor=ffa07a|Runner-up |5. |March 20, 2006 | Indian Wells, United States |Hard | Roger Federer |5–7, 3–6, 0–6 |- |bgcolor=ffa07a|Runner-up |6. |June 19, 2006 | London, United Kingdom |Grass | Lleyton Hewitt |4–6, 4–6 |- |bgcolor=98fb98|Winner |6. |July 17, 2006 | Indianapolis, United States |Hard | Andy Roddick |4–6, 6–4, 7–6(7–5) |- |bgcolor=98fb98|Winner |7. |September 25, 2006 | Bangkok, Thailand |Hard (i) | Ivan Ljubičić |6–3, 6–1 |- |bgcolor=98fb98|Winner |8. |October 15, 2006 | Stockholm, Sweden |Hard (i) | Jarkko Nieminen |6–4, 6–2 |-bgcolor=ffffcc |bgcolor=ffa07a|Runner-up |7. |November 20, 2006 | Shanghai, China |Hard (i) | Roger Federer |0–6, 3–6, 4–6 |- |bgcolor=98fb98|Winner |9. |January 13, 2007 | Sydney, Australia |Hard | Carlos Moyà |6–3, 5–7, 6–1 |- |bgcolor=ffa07a|Runner-up |8. |February 4, 2007 | Delray Beach, United States |Hard | Xavier Malisse |7–5, 4–6, 4–6 |- |bgcolor=ffa07a|Runner-up |9. |July 22, 2007 | Los Angeles, United States |Hard | Radek Štěpánek |6–7(7–9), 7–5, 2–6 |-bgcolor=dfe2e9 |bgcolor=ffa07a|Runner-up |10. |August 19, 2007 | Cincinnati, United States |Hard | Roger Federer |1–6, 4–6 |- |bgcolor=98fb98|Winner |10. |August 25, 2007 | New Haven, United States |Hard | Mardy Fish |7–5, 6–4 |- |bgcolor=ffa07a|Runner-up |11. |February 17, 2008 | Delray Beach, United States |Hard | Kei Nishikori |6–3, 1–6, 4–6 |- |bgcolor=ffa07a|Runner-up |12. |April 20, 2008 | Houston, United States |Clay | Marcel Granollers |4–6, 6–1, 5–7 |- |bgcolor=ffa07a|Runner-up |13. |May 10, 2009 | Estoril, Portugal |Clay | Albert Montañés |7–5, 6–7(6–8), 0–6 |- |bgcolor=ffa07a|Runner-up |14. |June 14, 2009 | London, United Kingdom |Grass | Andy Murray |5–7, 4–6 |}}

Doubles: 8 (6–2)

{| |-valign=top | {|class=wikitable style=font-size:97% !Legend |-bgcolor=e5d1cb |Grand Slam Tournaments (0–0) |-bgcolor=ffffcc |ATP World Tour Finals (0–0) |-bgcolor=dfe2e9 |ATP World Tour Masters 1000 (1–0) |-bgcolor=d0f0c0 |ATP World Tour 500 Series (0–1) |- |ATP World Tour 250 Series (5–1) |} | {|class=wikitable style=font-size:97% !Titles by Surface |- |Hard (3–1) |- |Clay (3–0) |- |Grass (0–0) |- |Carpet (0–1) |} |}

{|class="sortable wikitable" style=font-size:97% !Outcome !No. !width=100|Date !width=230|Championship !Surface !width=200|Partner !width=200|Opponents in the final !width=200|Score |-bgcolor=dfe2e9 |bgcolor=98fb98|Winner |1. |August 5, 2002 | Cincinnati, United States |Hard | Todd Martin | Mahesh Bhupathi Max Mirnyi |7–5, 6–3 |- |bgcolor=98fb98|Winner |2. |March 10, 2003 | Scottsdale, United States |Hard | Mark Merklein | Mark Philippoussis Lleyton Hewitt |6–4, 6–7^(2–7), 7–6^{(7–5) |- |bgcolor=98fb98|Winner |3. |February 16, 2004 | San Jose, United States |Hard (i) | Mardy Fish | Rick Leach Brian MacPhie |6–2, 7–5 |- |bgcolor=98fb98|Winner |4. |April 19, 2004 | Houston, United States |Clay | Mardy Fish | Rick Leach Brian MacPhie |6–3, 6–4 |- |bgcolor=98fb98|Winner |5. |April 26, 2004 | Munich, Germany |Clay | Mark Merklein | Julian Knowle Nenad Zimonjić |6–2, 6–4 |-bgcolor=d0f0c0 |bgcolor=ffa07a|Runner-up |1. |February 27, 2006 | Memphis, United States |Hard (i) | Mardy Fish | Chris Haggard Ivo Karlović |6–0, 5–7, [5–10] |- |bgcolor=ffa07a|Runner-up |2. |October 28, 2007 | Basel, Switzerland |Carpet | Mark Knowles | Bob Bryan Mike Bryan |1–6, 1–6 |- |bgcolor=98fb98|Winner |6. |April 15, 2012 | Houston, United States |Clay | Sam Querrey | Treat Conrad Huey Dominic Inglot |7–6(16–14), 6–4 |}}

Singles performance timeline

''This table is current through 2012 Sony Ericsson Open. {|class=wikitable style=text-align:center;font-size:97% !Tournament!!1998!!1999!!2000!!2001!!2002!!2003!!2004!!2005!!2006!!2007!!2008!!2009!!2010!!2011!!2012!!W–L |- |colspan=17 align=left|'''Grand Slam Tournaments |- |align=left|Australian Open |A |A |Q2 |Q3 |bgcolor=afeeee|2R |bgcolor=afeeee|4R |bgcolor=afeeee|4R |bgcolor=afeeee|2R |bgcolor=afeeee|3R |bgcolor=afeeee|4R |bgcolor=ffebcd|QF |bgcolor=afeeee|4R |bgcolor=afeeee|2R |A |A |21–9 |- |align=left|French Open |A |A |A |Q2 |bgcolor=afeeee|2R |bgcolor=afeeee|2R |A |bgcolor=afeeee|2R |bgcolor=afeeee|3R |bgcolor=afeeee|1R |bgcolor=afeeee|2R |bgcolor=afeeee|1R |A |A | |6–7 |- |align=left|Wimbledon |A |A |Q1 |Q1 |bgcolor=afeeee|2R |bgcolor=afeeee|2R |A |bgcolor=afeeee|1R |bgcolor=afeeee|3R |bgcolor=afeeee|3R |bgcolor=afeeee|2R |bgcolor=afeeee|1R |bgcolor=afeeee|1R |bgcolor=afeeee|1R | |7–9 |- |align=left|US Open |Q3 |bgcolor=afeeee|1R |Q2 |bgcolor=afeeee|2R |bgcolor=afeeee|3R |bgcolor=afeeee|3R |A |bgcolor=ffebcd|QF |bgcolor=ffebcd|QF |bgcolor=afeeee|4R |bgcolor=afeeee|3R |bgcolor=afeeee|3R |bgcolor=afeeee|3R |bgcolor=afeeee|2R | |23–11 |- !style=text-align:left|Win–Loss !0–0 !0–1 !0–0 !1–1 !5–4 !7–4 !3–1 !6–4 !10–4 !8–4 !8–4 !5–4 !3–3 !1–2 !0–0 !57–36 |- |colspan=20 align=left|'''ATP World Tour Finals |- |align=left|Tour Finals |A |A |A |A |A |A |A |A |bgcolor=D8BFD8|F |A |A |A |A |A | !3–2 |- |colspan=20 align=left|'''ATP Masters Series |- |align=left|Indian Wells Masters |A |A |bgcolor=afeeee|1R |Q1 |bgcolor=afeeee|1R |bgcolor=ffebcd|QF |bgcolor=ffebcd|QF |bgcolor=afeeee|3R |bgcolor=D8BFD8|F |bgcolor=afeeee|3R |bgcolor=ffebcd|QF |bgcolor=afeeee|3R |bgcolor=afeeee|3R |bgcolor=afeeee|2R |A |22–11 |- |align=left|Miami Masters |A |A |Q1 |Q2 |bgcolor=afeeee|4R |bgcolor=afeeee|3R |bgcolor=afeeee|1R |bgcolor=afeeee|2R |bgcolor=ffebcd|QF |bgcolor=afeeee|2R |bgcolor=ffebcd|QF |bgcolor=afeeee|3R |bgcolor=afeeee|2R |bgcolor=afeeee|3R |bgcolor=afeeee|1R |15–11 |- |align=left|Monte Carlo Masters |A |A |A |A |bgcolor=afeeee|1R |bgcolor=afeeee|2R |A |A |A |A |A |A |A |A | |1–2 |- |align=left|Rome Masters |A |A |A |A |bgcolor=ffebcd|QF |bgcolor=afeeee|1R |bgcolor=afeeee|1R |A |bgcolor=afeeee|1R |bgcolor=afeeee|2R |bgcolor=ffebcd|QF |bgcolor=afeeee|1R |A |A | |6–7 |- |align=left|Madrid Masters |A |A |A |A |bgcolor=afeeee|1R |bgcolor=afeeee|1R |A |A |bgcolor=afeeee|2R |bgcolor=afeeee|2R |bgcolor=afeeee|2R |bgcolor=afeeee|3R |A |A | |2–6 |- |align=left|Canada Masters |A |A |A |A |bgcolor=afeeee|2R |bgcolor=afeeee|2R |A |A |bgcolor=afeeee|2R |bgcolor=afeeee|2R |bgcolor=ffebcd|QF |A |A |A | |6–4 |- |align=left|Cincinnati Masters |A |A |A |bgcolor=afeeee|3R |bgcolor=afeeee|2R |bgcolor=afeeee|3R |A |bgcolor=afeeee|1R |bgcolor=afeeee|2R |bgcolor=D8BFD8|F |bgcolor=afeeee|3R |bgcolor=afeeee|1R |bgcolor=afeeee|1R |bgcolor=afeeee|3R | |14–10 |- |align=left|Shanghai Masters |colspan=11 style=color:#ccc|Not Masters Series |bgcolor=afeeee|2R |A |A | |1–1 |- |align=left|Paris Masters |A |A |A |A |bgcolor=afeeee|2R |bgcolor=afeeee|2R |A |bgcolor=afeeee|2R |bgcolor=afeeee|3R |bgcolor=afeeee|3R |bgcolor=yellow|SF |bgcolor=afeeee|2R |A |A | |8–7 |- |align=left|Hamburg Masters |A |A |A |A |bgcolor=afeeee|1R |bgcolor=afeeee|1R |A |A |bgcolor=afeeee|3R |bgcolor=afeeee|3R |bgcolor=afeeee|2R |colspan=4 style=color:#ccc|Not Masters Series |3–5 |- !style=text-align:left|Win–Loss !0–0 !0–0 !0–1 !2–1 !9–9 !9–9 !4–3 !4–4 !13–8 !10–7 !12–8 !6–7 !3–3 !5–3 !0–1 !78–64 |- |colspan=20 align=left|'''Career Statistics |- !style=text-align:left|Titles–Finals !0–0 !0–0 !0–0 !0–0 !1–3 !0–1 !0–0 !2–3 !5–8 !2–5 !0–2 !0–2 !0–0 !0–0 !0–0 !10–24 |-bgcolor=efefef |align=left|Year End Ranking |682 |220 |212 |73 |28 |37 |97 |23 |bgcolor=EEE8AA|'''4 |13 |bgcolor=EEE8AA|'''10 |44 |135 |59 | !colspan=2| |}

Notes

Further reading

Blake, James; Friedman, Andrew L. (2007). ''Breaking back : How I lost everything and won back my life''. New York: Harper Collins. ISBN 0-06-134349-8

External links

James Blake Official Website

Category:1979 births Category:Living people Category:African American tennis players Category:American male tennis players Category:American people of English descent Category:Harvard Crimson tennis players Category:Olympic tennis players of the United States Category:People from Fairfield County, Connecticut Category:People from Tampa, Florida Category:People from Yonkers, New York Category:Tennis people from Connecticut Category:Tennis people from Florida Category:Tennis people from New York Category:Tennis players at the 2008 Summer Olympics Category:Hopman Cup competitors

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