Jazz Articles about Charlie Ballantine
About Charlie Ballantine
Instrument: Guitar, electric
Article Coverage | Calendar | Albums | Photos | Similar ArtistsCharlie Ballantine: Jazz Guitar Without Borders
by Mark Sullivan
jny: Indianapolis-born jazz guitarist/composer Charlie Ballantine has a special relationship with American music of all kinds: jazz, folk, the blues (his father was a blues guitarist, providing some of Ballantine's earliest musical memories) and contemporary rock. He is acclaimed as one of the finest and most versatile young guitarists on the scene today. Yours truly described his style by stating “Jazz, rock, and folk music peacefully coexist in Charlie Ballantine's world." In addition to an impressive body of ...
read moreCharlie Ballantine: Falling Grace
by Robert Middleton
At 33, Ballantine has recorded eight albums and they are all gems. His range is wide and eclectic with tributes to Bob Dylan, Thelonious Monk and Kurt Vonnegut. But his December 2022 release stands out as a masterpiece of artistry, melody, and deep feeling. Falling Grace doesn't hit one over the head right away, but you might find you can't stop playing it over and over again. Ballantine's guitar style is crisp as an autumn morning, bluesy as ...
read moreCharlie Ballantine: Reflections/Introspection: The Music Of Thelonious Monk
by Chris M. Slawecki
Reflections/Introspection... follows-up guitarist Charlie Ballentine's Life is Brief: The Music of Bob Dylan, the guitarist's tribute to another (and very different type of) iconoclastic modern composer and one of the best albums of 2018. He absolutely bounces through this double-LP (one trio, one quartet) on a merry joyride through the compositions of “the onliest Monk." “Monk has such an incredible catalogue that one of the big challenges we faced was what songs to choose and also what instrumentation ...
read moreCharlie Ballantine: Reflections/Introspection: The Music Of Thelonious Monk
by Mark Sullivan
Indianapolis-based guitarist and composer Charlie Ballantine has made thematically organized albums before. Life is Brief: The Music of Bob Dylan (Green Mind Records, 2018) featured creative versions of songs by the iconic songwriter, and Vonnegut (Green Mind Records, 2020), was made up of original Ballantine compositions inspired by the work of novelist Kurt Vonnegut. Here the inspiration is purely musical, and it is one of the pillars of modern jazz: the brilliant composer & pianist Thelonious Monk. Many of the ...
read moreCharlie Ballantine: Vonnegut
by Mark Sullivan
Indianapolis-based guitarist/composer Charlie Ballantine took his inspiration from iconic American novelist Kurt Vonnegut for this project, the most complex set of music in his already lengthy and varied recording career. He was joined by fellow Indianapolis musicians: saxophonist Rob Dixon, saxophonist/clarinetist Amanda Gardier, pianist Mina Keohane, bassist Jesse Wittman and drummer Cassius Goens. Dixon, Gardier and Wittman have appeared on several prior Ballantine recordings, so there is a strong base of shared experience to draw upon. Kurt Vonnegut ...
read moreCharlie Ballantine: Cold Coffee
by Mark Sullivan
Indianapolis-born jazz guitarist/composer Charlie Ballantine has a special relationship with American music of all kinds: jazz, folk, the blues (his father was a blues guitarist, providing some of Ballantine's earliest musical memories) and contemporary rock. His previous album Life Is Brief: The Music Of Bob Dylan (Green Mind Records, 2018) made the inspiration outside of jazz clear, and previous covers had included songs by Leonard Cohen, Tom Waits and the Pixies. This album--a trio with long-time band-mates bassist ...
read moreCharlie Ballantine: Life is Brief: The Music of Bob Dylan
by Mark Sullivan
Indianapolis-based guitarist/composer Charlie Ballantine has included a wide range of covers on his previous albums. Providence (Self Produced, 2016) included Leonard Cohen's modern anthem “Hallelujah" and Tom Waits' “Temptation." Where Is My Mind? (Self Produced, 2017) had the title tune from the Pixies and Sun Kil Moon's “Carissa," plus the traditional “Wayfaring Stranger." But the bulk of both programs was Ballantine's originals, so an entire album of covers (by a single songwriter) represents a significant departure.From the opening ...
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