It took a little time for the Jon Ballantyne Trio to grow on me. And even then, I didn’t leave
Xerox Auditorium impressed.
It is absolutely clear that pianist Jon Ballantyne, drummer
Adam Nussbaum, and bassist Evan Gregor are talented musicians and in certain
moments they worked well together. But that’s what makes the trio’s Sunday early
show confusing. It mostly felt uninspired, and those moments of musical gems —
when the trio felt in a groove and communicated well — were far between.
Individually, each player had their shining moments — Ballantyne and Nussbaum, especially, brought some interesting ideas and
techniques — but it seemed like they were rarely playing off of one another and
pushing the boundaries as a trio. The music wasn’t unpleasant, but it felt
stale and inflexible.
It wasn’t until the group’s third song, “Ballad 4: Thank
Jones,” when the members slowed things down — giving the piece some breathing
room, and showing a little restraint — did they start to click with one another.
Maybe the trio just needed to warm up.
Monday night, I’m really looking forward to seeing Matt
Andersen live, 8:30 p.m., at the Unity Health System Big Tent. The
singer-songwriter’s deep voice and stories of blue-collar heartache have found
a regular home on my iPod.
This article appears in Jun 25 – Jul 1, 2014.
I liked the second set a lot. It did strike me as unusual that they alternated pieces that were out or close to out (usually Ballantyne’s, e.g. Round Again) with pieces that were VERY in (usually Nussbaum’s). I think I have a pretty broad appreciation of the idiom, so I liked them both. They did everything well. But I could see that someone would like just half the set. They demanded a broad taste, or vocabulary, of their audience.