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Jeff Ballard

Jeff Ballard grew up in Santa Cruz, California. He recalls when he was a child laying in bed listening to the music his father would play every weekend: Count Basie, Ella Fitzgerald, Louie Armstrong, Sergio Mendez, Oscar Peterson, Milton Nascimento; how he loved the sound and the speed of Ed Thigpen’s brushes on the snare. “I remember feeling the power of a Basie big band shout chorus which would then suddenly disappear into some quiet dancing riff. It was the swing in it, which excited me the most. I also remember how it felt traveling thru sounds of the jungle in a Milton Nascimento record. The drums, percussion, and voice, would sound as if they either came from the earth or were made of water. And I was so happy to hear the joy of Ella and Louie singing and playing together. I think that that early exposure has made me part of what I am today, especially in regards to my love for sound.”

In a community college he studied music theory and played in a big band as well as started working in small groups that played music for all kinds of occasions. He realized then that there are ways to play the drums, which are particular for each occasion. Each genre has requirements with needs to be met. “A big band needs a propelling and simple drive, more supportive, for the ensemble to sit in. Brazilian drumming needs that driving bass drum with an insistent yet light dancing quality with the hands. Reggae asks for a sophisticated groove comparable to that of swing. Afro Cuban music I can compare to boxing: something like sparring with an opponent. I think the challenge is in the search for finding the music’s particular needs. The joy is in the discovery.” During this time, while living in and playing around San Francisco, he became absorbed with ‘modern’ jazz. “ Hearing Tony Williams play with Miles completely changed the way I played drums. Hearing John Coltrane and Elvin Jones, and listening to Ornette Coleman’s music changed my whole world. It was like coming home.”

At the age of twenty-five he began playing with Ray Charles. “ We toured 8 months straight every year with the band. Although we often played the same songs and arrangements every night, Ray was always able to make us feel as if it was for the very first time. The drum chair was the best seat in the house really. I only had to watch Ray’s feet to know where and what he wanted the groove to be. What a great school.”

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5
Album Review

Doruzka/Wylezol/Ballard: Andromeda's Mystery

Read "Andromeda's Mystery" reviewed by Doug Collette


Drummer Jeff Ballard has kept himself busy and productive while his long-time collaborator, pianist/composer Brad Mehldau, has been engaged in projects other than the trio in which they share membership. Ballard lent his finely-honed percussion technique and instinctive empathy as a musician to the Fabian Willman Trio's Balance (CYH Records, 2022) as well as appearing on two tracks for Ant Law and Alex Hitchcock's Same Moon Same World (Outside In Music, 2022). Now the one-time tourmate of icon ...

5
Album Review

Chick Corea: The Montreux Years

Read "The Montreux Years" reviewed by Doug Collette


If there is anything more ambitious than curating an extensive, comprehensive collection covering the history of an artist, it is collating selected works which vividly outline a particular timeline or theme. Chick Corea's The Montreux Years is a fine example of the latter; this seventh edition in the archive series devoted to the iconic festival not only reflects the late composer and pianist's technical skills, but also his eclectic stylistic tastes. And that is not to mention his fondness for ...

2
Album Review

Doruzka Wyleżoł Ballard: Andromeda's Mystery

Read "Andromeda's Mystery" reviewed by Tony Ozuna


Drummer Jeff Ballard reoriented the Brad Mehldau Trio from 2005-2018, after replacing Jorge Rossy. Ballard brought a degree of rock and was perhaps the source of a more subversive selection of material, such as covering Soundgarden's “Black Hole Sun" and Radiohead's “Knives Out." Ballard is also key to the fiery Pat Metheny-Brad Mehldau Quartet, and one of his earliest trios, as leader, had Blue Note guitarist Lionel Loueke, from Benin. In this vein, Andromeda's Mystery serves as a complementary cross-cultural ...

4
Album Review

Fabian Willman Trio: Balance

Read "Balance" reviewed by Doug Collette


Based solely on over ten years playing with the brilliant pianist/composer Brad Mehldau, drummer Jeff Ballard brings a certain cachet with him. Aiding in no small measure to retain a purity that mirrors the cover graphics (by Doris Reimann) as much as this album title, he lends as much (more?) distinction to his work on Fabian Willman's Balance as in previous collaborations with keyboardist Chick Corea and saxophonist Joshua Redman. Rightly sublimating his well-honed skills to the Berlin ...

4
Album Review

Jeff Ballard: Fairgrounds

Read "Fairgrounds" reviewed by Roger Farbey


The overture to Fairgrounds, “Grounds Entrance," involves an engaging percussive soundscape leading into “Yeah Pete!," which despite its exclamatory title is a laid-back feast of drums, electric piano and guitar on a similar wavelength to Miles Davis' In A Silent Way (Columbia, 1969). But “The Man's Gone" introduces a funky shift with irrepressibly upbeat wah-wah guitar from the redoubtable Lionel Loueke. At nearly three minutes into the song, Loueke's guitar goes nuclear for around half a minute, clearly signalling that ...

2
Album Review

Jeff Ballard: Time's Tales

Read "Time's Tales" reviewed by Angelo Leonardi


Accanto all'esperienza con Brad Mehldau e Larry Grenadier e l'altra--meno appariscente e quasi cameristica--del Fly (che lo vede con quest'ultimo e Mark Turner) Jeff Ballard affianca dal 2006 un altro trio, di cui è leader, e che ora debutta su disco con questo variopinto ed estroverso Time's Tales. “Sono a metà della mia vita--ha detto Jeff--volevo fare qualcosa di significativo. Così ho pensato di realizzare questo progetto con la band che amo. Time's Tales è un racconto ...

9
Album Review

Jeff Ballard Trio: Time's Tales

Read "Time's Tales" reviewed by Glenn Astarita


World-class drummer Jeff Ballard (Chick Corea's New Trio, Brad Mehldau Trio) goes above and beyond the call of duty on his first album as a leader. Celebrated for his modern jazz drumming, spanning bop and the outside spectrum, he expands his wares on this eventful trio release by flawlessly engineering a consortium of high-spirited pieces. With Ballard's esteemed associates, saxophonist Miguel Zenon and guitarist Lionel Loueke, they frame the jazz idiom on Afro-Cuban, Caribbean, classical and other stylistic genre-hopping forums. ...

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Performance / Tour

Jeff Ballard Fairgrounds Plays One-off Irish Gig

Jeff Ballard Fairgrounds Plays One-off Irish Gig

Source: All About Jazz

It’s not every day that Dun Laoghaire plays host to one of the world’s greatest jazz drummers, so music fans are in for a tremendous evening on Wednesday 10th July when drummer Jeff Ballard swings by The Pavilion Theater with his band Fairgrounds, for one night only. Modern Drummer, the world’s premier drum magazine has said of Ballard: “This much is unanimously agreed upon: In the hierarchy of jazz drummers, Jeff Ballard has climbed so high he can clearly see ...

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Performance / Tour

Drummer Jeff Ballard Will Be Performing with His Group at the Jazz Standard in New York on Wednesday, April 14th, 2010. Sets Are 7:30 PM and 9:30

Drummer Jeff Ballard Will Be Performing with His Group at the Jazz Standard in New York on Wednesday, April 14th, 2010. Sets Are 7:30 PM and 9:30

Source: Two for the Show Media

JEFF BALLARD GROUP Mark Turner - tenor saxophone Miguel Zenon - alto saxophone Hans Glawischnig- bass Ben Monder - Guitar Jeff Ballard - drums Jazz Standard, 116 East 27th Street, New York April 14th, 2010 Set Times 7:30 and 9:30 PM For Reservations & Information CALL 212-576-2232 Admission $20 Jeff Ballard Bio: Jeff Ballard grew up in Santa Cruz, California. He recalls when he was a ...

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Music

Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

Balance

CYH Records
2022

buy

Andromeda's Mystery

Bivak Records
2022

buy

Fairgrounds

Edition Records
2019

buy

Hit

Naive
2016

buy

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