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 Links BleyAt the age of five, Paul Bley gave his first violin recital and two years later, he began studying the piano. Since then Paul Bley has become one of the greatest contributors to modern jazz. Bley might have been considered a child prodigy. He went through numerous classical teachers - including one that had him play, balancing filled water glasses on his wrists. At age 11 he graduated from the McGill Conservatory - having taken on their musical curriculum in addition to his public school education. Jazz was the allure however, and Bley formed a band and played clubs and summer stints in the Laurentian Mountains at age 13.Four years later he had formed the Montreal Jazz Workshop, brought Charlie Parker, Lester Young and Ben Webster to Montreal and had taken over Oscar Peterson's spot at the Alberta Lounge. He then left for New York City and haunted the clubs while he took the complete course at Julliards School of Music. He sat in with everyone he could and ended up playing for Charles Mingus, who recorded Bley for the first time on his Debut label. BallantyneJon Ballantyne was destined to pursue a career as a jazz pianist. He was fortunate enough to be born into a family that took great interest in this particular art form. The family piano, often played by his father, soon became the focal point of Jon's life. Jon Ballantyne's exceptional talent led him to a scholarship to study music at the prestigious North Texas State University. In 1985, he received Downbeat Magazine's Deebee Student Music Award for Outstanding Individual Performance. The following year Jon's trio won "Best New Jazz Group in Canada" at the Montreal International Jazz Festival.In 1988, he made his debut recording on Justin Time Records. The album Skydance, which featured saxophone great Joe Henderson, won the 1989 Juno Award for Best Jazz Album. His success with Skydance led to extensive touring with Joe Henderson in Japan, Finland, New York and Canada. | Jon Ballantyne - Paul Bley | Discography CD / 1991 Media Files |
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