The Jeff Ballard Trio performs tomorrow night at Blues Alley.By its nature, jazz demands a great deal of technical skill from the artists that practice it. Because of its sophistication, the genre often attracts the Serious Musician who rightfully sees the inspiration and enlightenment that jazz can evoke, but this may come at the expense of music as a vehicle for entertainment. Throughout jazz history, there have been icons like Dizzy Gillespie and Louis Armstrong who elevated the art form, while recognizing that there is always a place for a smile. Those seminal artists came to mind during my first listen of Time’s Tales, the new album by the Jeff Ballard Trio. Released in January, this is the most joyous jazz recording I’ve heard thus far in 2014.
“The good time we’re having up there is contagious, and it’s not hard to come along for the ride,” said Ballard, who will lead the trio on Tuesday night at Blues Alley. “I always get these comments about how much fun everybody has.”
Ballard tapped two of the finest musicians out there to round out his trio. Guitarist Lionel Loueke hails from Benin, but also spent time in the Ivory Coast and Paris before coming to the United States to complete his music education at the Berklee College of Music. His credits include Herbie Hancock, Cassandra Wilson, Sting, Santana and Terence Blanchard. Loueke has also released five albums of his own. Miguel Zenón has become an important voice in Latin jazz, having spent the past several years exploring the traditional music of his native Puerto Rico. He is a founding member of the SF Jazz Collective and was a 2008 recipient of the MacArthur Foundation’s “genius grant.” The absence of a bass player in the group allows for the three musicians to share the role of connecting the music’s rhythmic and harmonic foundations.
“First and foremost, it was for the musicians, not the instrumentation, that I chose Miguel and Lionel,” Ballard explained.
Ballard himself has spent the better part of 20 years among the world’s top tier jazz drummers. His first big break came in the late ’80s when he toured with the great Ray Charles for three years. He has also recorded and toured with masters Chick Corea and Pat Metheny, as well as with bassist Avishai Cohen, guitarist Kurt Rosenwinkel, pianist Brad Mehldau and saxophonists Mark Turner and Joshua Redman. In addition to a being a virtuoso drumset player, he has long cultivated an interest in world percussion, often augmenting his playing with hand drums and other instruments collected during his extensive travels. For this latest project, Ballard assembled a custom drumkit made out of more exotic instruments. The cymbals and snare drum remain from a standard setup, but the remaining drums come from six different continents.
As one would expect from these players, and the roots from which they come, the music on Time’s Tales is very rhythmic, with a high level of interaction among the three players. The improvisations are at times telepathic, with the musicians engaging in a give-and-take where the playing is dense, but never weighty. There is a lightness to the recording that is uplifting, and which belies the complexity involved. This isn’t musicians’ music; these songs can draw in the most casual listener, even if you take away the excellent take on “Hangin’ Tree” by Queens of the Stone Age.
“We’re all in this room to be with this music,” Ballard said of tomorrow’s performance. “For me man, I’ve got this thing that yes, we’re going to have a great time no matter what. But it’s not ‘us and them.'”
The Jeff Ballard Trio performs 8 and 10 p.m. sets on Tuesday, June 3 at Blues Alley. Tickets $25 plus minimum and surcharge.
