Featuring Guitarist Lionel Loueke
and Saxophonist Miguel Zenón
"Jeff
Ballard is one of the standout jazz drummers of his generation, a
humming engine of polyrhythm and an ace with earthy texture."
- The New York Times
Drummer and composer Jeff Ballard makes his long overdue, much anticipated debut as a leader with the diverse and wide-ranging Time's Tales.
A master of the trio format who anchors the renowned Brad Mehldau trio
and is one-third of the inventive collective group FLY with Larry
Grenadier and Mark Turner, Ballard here documents his own longstanding
trio with guitarist Lionel Loueke and saxophonist Miguel Zenón.
With sounds ranging from forward-looking modern jazz to traditional African and Latin rhythms to heavy metal intensity, Time's Tales
reflects the Jeff Ballard Trio's adventurous, multi-faceted identity,
which has been honed on stages around the world since its formation in
2006. A landmark release in its own right, the album also arrives just
as Ballard is celebrating an important benchmark in his own life, his
50th birthday.
"I'm
getting into the middle of my years. So I think recording this project,
with this band, makes a meaningful statement. It's a telling of my times
up until this point."
A
multi-faceted drummer with a keen interest in rhythms from Africa and
Latin America, Ballard could have found no better partners for this
endeavor than the Benin-born Loueke and Puerto Rico native Zenón. The
two have imbibed the rhythms of their homelands and incorporated them
into their own expansive sonic palettes, making them ideal foils for
Ballard's polyrhythmic approach.
"It's
where we meet, for sure," Ballard says. "Their sophistication and
awareness of rhythm is so high. Lionel's listening to three different
rhythms at the same time; Miguel can hear everything. I pick up
something melodically from what they're playing and put it on the drums,
and they do the reverse."
That
relationship is evident right out of the gate on their buoyant, joyful
take on Loueke's "Virgin Forest," which leaps off from a funky
African-inspired groove in 9/4. Equally bursting with electricity is the
leader's "Beat Street," which begins as a lively parade march in a New
Orleans vein, but takes a few unexpected detours along the way.
Zenón
provided the arrangement for Silvio Rodriguez's bolero "El Reperador de
Sueños," which boasts a subtly modernized take on the original's Cuban
rhythms, inspiring a sinuous, impassioned solo from the saxophonist.
The
trio does not restrict itself solely to the expected sources for its
repertoire, however. The moody "Dal (A Rhythm Song)" is adapted from
Hungarian composer Béla Bártok's "44 Duos for Two Violins," and
showcases Ballard's most coloristic playing as he crafts an atmospheric
environment surrounding the intricate dialogue between Loueke and Zenón.
Most
surprising of all, however, is the trio's hyper-muscular cover of
"Hangin' Tree" by the hard rock band Queens of the Stone Age. Loueke
suddenly channels the distorted ferocity of Jimi Hendrix on the track,
revealing chops that haven't come much into play since his early days
playing in rock bands back in Benin.
"That's
totally me," laughs Ballard about the unexpected choice. "I love that
band and I love that vibe. I like so many different kinds of music and I
can access a lot of stuff, so that diversity is really starting to come
out now."
In
contrast, the trio plays at its most tender and traditional on their
airy ballad treatment of the Gershwin standard "The Man I Love." As
Ballard says, "One might think that musicians from Benin and from Puerto
Rico would play this song with a foreign-sounding influence, bending
the song into another cultural jacket. But that's not the case -
instead, one can hear these musicians' deep knowledge and respectful
embrace of the American music tradition. This is a wonderful example of
how diverse cultural borders can meet and disappear completely within an
embrace."
The
trio's inventiveness is highlighted on the two free improvisations, one a
brief interlude and the other a glimpse into the future of this
still-evolving group that ends the album with a gaze at the horizon of
possibility. That vast potential is also clear on the unusual "Western
Wren," which uses a National Geographic-recorded bird call, transcribed
by guitar great Steve Cardenas, to instigate a round robin of darting,
eccentric improvisation. The piece is never played the same way twice,
but prompts a look to nature for improvisation, as on the fluttering
wings of Ballard's brushes or the echoing forest calls of Loueke's
guitar.
Ballard
met Loueke while playing with trumpeter Avishai Cohen, and knew Zenón
from their work together in Argentinean pianist Guillermo Klein's Los
Guachos ensemble. He immediately recognized the potential of their
combination. "I have a huge love and affection for the music of Africa,
particularly West Africa, and of South America," Ballard says.
"Even
when I'm playing jazz, there's a percussive sensibility coming from
Africa and South America; I have a natural affinity for that. So having
Lionel and Miguel play with me made a lot of sense because of where
they're from and the way they play." In the years since, the trio has
carved out its own unique sound, melding the free-floating malleability
of the classic Paul Motian, Bill Frisell and Joe Lovano trio with the
global rhythmic approaches culled from their varied backgrounds.
Both of
Ballard's bandmates are among the most innovative and acclaimed
musicians on the scene today. Loueke was mentored by Herbie Hancock and
Terence Blanchard, and has worked with legends like Jack DeJohnette and
Charlie Haden as well as peers such as Gretchen Parlato, Esperanza
Spalding, and Robert Glasper. Zenón is a Guggenheim and MacArthur Fellow
who has forged a distinctive blend of jazz and Latin American folkloric
music. He's also a founding member of the SFJAZZ Collective and has
worked with the likes of Bobby Hutcherson, Fred Hersch, David Sánchez,
and Steve Coleman.
Born in
Newport Beach, California, Jeff Ballard moved to New York after a
three-year stint with the legendary Ray Charles, where he immediately
began building a diverse resume with artists including Lou Donaldson,
Buddy Montgomery, Kurt Rosenwinkel, and Mike Stern. In the late '90s he
became a part of the Danilo Pérez Trio and Chick Corea's New Trio and
Origin, and later joined Joshua Redman's groove-oriented Elastic Band.
In 2003, Ballard formed the collective trio FLY with Larry Grenadier and
Mark Turner, which has since released three critically acclaimed
recordings.
 |
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Jeff Ballard - Time's Tales - EPK
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Jeff Ballard · Time's Tales
OKeh · Release Date: February 4, 2014
For more information on Jeff Ballard, please visit:
Sony Masterworks comprises the Masterworks, Sony Classical, OKeh,
Portrait, Masterworks Broadway and Flying Buddha imprints. For email
updates and information please visit www.SonyMasterworks.com
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