by Leo StanleyBrian Blade Fellowship is an impressive debut as a leader for Brian Blade, one of the best young jazz drummers of the '90s. Producer Daniel Lanois doesn't follow jazz conventions, letting Blade run wild and blend genres, as on Folklore, where the adventurous, searching jazz meets pygmy chants. All across the album, there is the sigh of a steel guitar, which adds an unusual, exotic texture to a debut that is uniquely daring and richly rewarding.