Pipe dreams: musician blows smoky grooves.

Peterson, Castello, Savinelli--blue-chip pipe brands. They are the favorite of saxophonist Ron Blake, 38. Since 1988, Blake has also been a pipe enthusiast.

"I picked up my first pipe--a classic bent with a round stem--with the idea it would help me quit smoking cigarettes. And it, looked like my saxophone! I had been performing in Chicago with guitarist Bobby Broom, and he told me about: the [UpDown Tobacco Shop] in his neighborhood."

For Blake, it: became a groove.

"When I bought my first Peterson, I discovered the difference between pipes in the low range and those a step up, At the lower end, you can buy. say, a cheap corn cob pipe or a cheap briar in the $5 to $15 range, and it goes on up into the thousands. I'm aware of one that sold for $9,900 recently.

As for tobaccos. Blake has long smoked aromatics--those treated with flavorings, such as vanilla, rum cherry, and whiskey. "Lately, I've been trying non-aromatics," he offers, "particularly the Longfellow blend." When time permits, Blake visits his favorite New Yolk City tobacconist, De Lu Concha (www.delaconcha.com)--a family run business.

Pipe smoking. Blake says, is a commitment. It requires time. And at the end of a long day, he enjoys smoking his pipe and letting "life's daily routine go up in a puff of smoke!"

Blake's current release, Lest We Forget, is on Mack Avenue Records. Visit his Website at www.ronbalkemusic.com