Monday, November 15, 2021

Jeff Ballard and Jorge Rossy with Brad Mehldau and Larry Grenadier in Basel

At his concert with his trio last night in Basel, Brad Mehldau invited the trio's original drummer Jorge Rossy to perform the second tune of the encore in place of his current drummer, Jeff Ballard. The contrast between the two drummers playing separately with pianist Mehldau and bassist Larry Grenadier was striking: Ballard's style is full of explicit drive that highlights the pulse of the music at every tempo, while Rossy focuses on textures that imply the basic beat instead. I was reminded of first hearing the group with Ballard when he replaced Rossy in 2005: the Ballard sound was a surprise after I'd heard the trio with Rossy several times. (Andrew Shields, #111words, 15 November 2021)


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