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Jeff Ballard Trio

Times Tales

Sony Masterworks | OKeh

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Jeff Ballard Trio - "Time's Tales" EPK
Artist Spotlight: Jeff Ballard
1 Virgin Forest
2 Western Wren (A Bird Call)
3 Beat Street
4 The Man I Love
5 Free 1
6 Hanging Tree
7 Dal (A Rhythm Song)
8 El Reparador De Suenos
9 Mivakpola
10 Free 3
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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 Talesreflects 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 incorporatedthem 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."

  • In-demand drummer Jeff Ballard discusses swing, invention, new album, and how to end a song / JazzTimes
    Posted At: February 2, 2022 12:00 AM
    JazzTimes - ASHLEY KAHN writes….Jeff Ballard—drummer, bandleader, educator, and intrepid spirit—plops himself down into the chair onstage with a smile and a dark beer. Less than an hour after arriving by plane in Barcelona, he’s ready for a full day of activities: a performance with a student big band under the direction of Majorcan composer/arranger Toni Vaquer, as part of the Voll-Damm Barcelona Jazz Fest...
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  • Jeff Ballard plays Dublin / The Irish Times
    Posted At: March 9, 2015 12:00 AM

    Jeff Ballard recently arrived in Dublin. Best known as one-third of the all-conquering Brad Mehldau Trio, Ballard has also worked with - Ray Charles and Chick Corea among others. Ballard will on March 6 n Christ Church Cathedral with his band Fairgrounds, featuring Kevin Hays (piano), Lionel Loueke(guitar), and Reid Anderson (electronics).  Like so many American musicians, his first experi...
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  • Jeff Ballard - Time's Tales gets NPR Music - 50 Favorite Albums Of 2014
    Posted At: December 9, 2014 12:00 AM

    The staff of NPR Music and thier member stations have once again gathered to collect thier' favorite albums of the year.' Out of the thousands of they listened to in 2014, they selected 50 that they feel helped define 2014. One of those was - Jeff Ballard - Time's Tales. Jeff Ballard, the drummer of choice for plenty of major jazz figures, waited many years to release a true solo alb...
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  • Jeff Ballard Trio - Times Tales featured on NPR Music's 25 Favorite Albums Of 2014 (So Far)
    Posted At: June 30, 2014 12:00 AM

    Drummer Jeff Ballard had never led a recording before Time's Tales, which is amazing considering how many recordings he's been a part of. His debut album reflects most of his divergent impulses toward the worldly and the familiar, the knotted bundles of odd-meter asymmetry and the silky-smooth groove - and does so with only three guys. It works because while his two collaborators play guitar (Lio...
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  • Jeff Ballard Trio - Times Tales / WBGO: 'The Checkout' interview
    Posted At: June 25, 2014 12:00 AM

    Drummer Jeff Ballard talks with Tim Wilkins about Time's Tales, his OKeh CD with Lionel Loueke on guitar and Miguel Zenon on alto sax, and the trio's rhythm-driven approach to composition and improvisation. Listen to the Jeff Ballard interview on WBGO: New York....
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  • Jeff Ballard Trio plays at SFJAZZ / Jazz Police review
    Posted At: June 22, 2014 12:00 AM

    Who would have known that the young man banging on drums downstairs in my old Noe Valley neighborhood would have advanced to be one of the great percussionists in jazz? And who would have thought that, after years on the road with Brad Mehldau, he would be opening the new season at SFJAZZ in the Joe Henderson Lab room with his new band on with two searing sets of trio jazz? But I guess I should not h...
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  • Jeff Ballard Trio plays NYC Jazz Standard / The New York Times review
    Posted At: June 6, 2014 12:00 AM

    The jazz drummer Jeff Ballard tends to close the distance between himself and the other musicians he plays with. His drumming is active, busy, rarely loud and constantly shuffling pattern and timbre: He's often trying to connect with, illustrate and magnify whatever else is happening around him. Mr. Ballard's steady job for nearly 10 years has been with Brad Mehldau's trio, but he's been leading anot...
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  • Jeff Ballard Trio - Times Tales / The Wall Street Journal review
    Posted At: June 2, 2014 12:00 AM

    Drummers don't often lead jazz ensembles. But when they do, usually the sound is either bright, hard charging and rhythmically precise, as in the classic recordings of Art Blakey and Arthur Taylor, or big and propulsive, as in the work of contemporary musicians like Jeff "Tain" Watts and Cindy Blackman Santana. Billy Hart and Jeff Ballard defy those stereotypes. Both drummers front bands that lea...
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  • Jeff Ballard Trio - Times Tales / Ottawa Citizen review
    Posted At: May 31, 2014 12:00 AM

    With the release earlier this year of Time's Tales, it's clear that drummer Jeff Ballard is a crucial part of not one, not two, but three top-notch trios in which he can make beautiful music. Ballard, 50, may be best known for his work in pianist Brad Mehldau's trio, which he joined in 2005, completing the group that also includes bassist Larry Grenadier. In addition, since 2003, he's co-led the trio...
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  • Jeff Ballard Trio - Times Tales / JazzTimes review
    Posted At: April 21, 2014 12:00 AM

    It's a testament to Jeff Ballard's skill as a leader-and this, at age 50, is his first official outing in that capacity-that on Time's Tales the drummer brings out some of the most inspired playing to date from his companions, Beninese guitarist Lionel Loueke and Puerto Rican alto saxophonist Miguel Zenón. Ballard understands that he must serve as anchor within this bass-less setup, but h...
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  • Jeff Ballard Trio - Times Tales / Jazz Weekly Review
    Posted At: March 27, 2014 12:00 AM

    Drummer Jeff Ballard is best known for his work with Brad Mehldau's trio as well as his work with FLY, and this is his first as a bona fide "leader." While still in a trio format, this one is quite unorthodox as it includes guitarist Lionel Loueke and alto saxist Miguel Zenon, so there's a lot of intriguing directions with each tune. You get music ranging from luscious ballads such as "The Man I Love" to...
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  • Jeff Ballard - Time's Tales / 'all about jazz' review
    Posted At: February 5, 2014 12:00 AM

    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 for his new Sony/Okeh CD: Time's Tales. READ THE FULL all about jazz REVIEW.  ...
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