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Fabian Willman Trio: Balance
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 ...
Continue ReadingJeff Ballard: Fairgrounds
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 ...
Continue ReadingJeff Ballard: Time's Tales
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 ...
Continue ReadingJeff Ballard Trio: Time's Tales
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. ...
Continue ReadingJeff Ballard Trio: Time's Tales
by Dan Bilawsky
Drummer Jeff Ballard sure knows how to pick his playmates. In drafting one-of-a-kind guitarist Lionel Loueke and the focused-yet-irrepressible Miguel Zenon on saxophone, Ballard managed to create the most exciting trio to emerge in recent memory. While this album is Ballard's long-awaited leader debut, it's more tempting to dub it a leaderless or leader-heavy date. Yes, Ballard is technically at the helm, but a collective sense of music making is in the air and each man is ...
Continue ReadingJeff Ballard Trio: Time's Tales
by Ian Patterson
For several decades Jeff Ballard has been the first call drummer for a host of contemporary jazz's biggest names, notably pianist Brad Mehldau, with whom Ballard has played since 2005. Of late, however, Ballard has gone it alone. The 2013 debut shows of his quartet Fairgrounds, featuring electronics musician/bassist Reid Anderson, pianist Tigran Hamasyan and guitarist Lionel Loueke suggested Ballard's desire for greater compositional freedom and experimentation. The Jeff Ballard Trio's debut recording, on the other hand, is a fairly ...
Continue ReadingJeff Ballard: Paid Dues
by George Colligan
[ Editor's Note: The following interview is reprinted from George Colligan's blog, Jazztruth] I recently did some teaching in the U.K. at the Birmingham Conservatoire; I was the lone guest clinician/guest performer. Last year, roughly around the same time of year, I teamed up with drumming great Jeff Ballard. I had kind of forgotten that I had recorded an interview with him. So it's over a year late, but hopefully my jazztruth readers will forgive me.
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