The Loose
Jon Ballantyne
Label: JUST // //
1994-10-01
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McCoy Tyner and Thelonious Monk seem to meet in Jon Ballantyne's style.
Of course that is an oversimplification but the versatile Ballantyne
ranges from the moody "M. Dewey D" and a dissonant "Omithology" to a
tradeoff of blues choruses on "The Loose" (with drummer Billy Hart) has
aspects of both innovators in his own playing. Playing five originals
and such obscurities as Joe Henderson's "Serenity" and Charles Mingus'
"Duke's Choice," Ballantyne constructs a thoughtful and often
introspective but always swinging program of music with the strong
assistance of Hart and bassist Drew Gress.