Jeff Ballard

Jeff Ballard is an American jazz drummer. He has played with Ray Charles and Pat Metheny and played periodically with Chick Corea in many groups such as Origin and the Chick Corea New Trio. He also played with many New York–based jazz musicians such as Reid Anderson, Brad Mehldau, Kurt Rosenwinkel, Mark Turner, Miguel Zenon and Eli Degibri. He has also played with the Joshua Redman Elastic Band.

He is a member of the Brad Mehldau Trio (since 2005) and co-leader of Fly, a collective trio with Mark Turner and Larry Grenadier and leads Jeff Ballard Trio and Jeff Ballard Fairgrounds.

Biography Jeff Ballard was born 17 September 1963 in southern California but grew up and studied in Santa Cruz, California. He began playing drums at the age of 14, attended Cabrillo College where he studied music theory, and toured with many bands, all the time absorbing influences and developing his own approach to drumming. He met Larry Grenadier in 1982, with whom he plays in both Fly and Brad Mehldau Trio. Later on in New York he started to play with Avishai Cohen and Chick Corea. Ballard started the band Fly with Larry Grenadier and Mark Turner around the time Ballard was working with Corea. Best Instrumentalist / International Drums/Percussion, Echo Jazz Awards 2015 Time's Tales

Discography As leader Jeff Ballard Trio, Time's Tales with Lionel Loueke, Miguel Zenón (OKeh, 2013) Fairgrounds (Edition, 2019) – live recorded in 2015

As a member Fly With Mark Turner and Larry Grenadier 2003: Fly (Savoy Jazz, 2004) 2008: Sky & Country (ECM, 2009) 2011: Year of the Snake (ECM, 2012)

SFJAZZ Collective Live: SFJAZZ Center 2013 – The Music of Chick Corea (SFJAZZ, 2013)[2CD]

As a sideman

With Avishai Cohen Adama (Stretch, 1998) – recorded in 1997 Devotion (Stretch, 1999) Colors (Stretch, 2000)

With Chick Corea Change (Rykodisk, 1999) Corea.Concerto: Spain For Sextet & Orchestra / Piano Concerto No.1 (Sony Classical, 2000) Past, Present & Future (Stretch, 2001) Rendezvous in New York (Stretch, 2003) – live 5trios – 3. Chillin' in Chelan (Stretch, 2007)

With Brad Mehldau Day Is Done (Nonesuch, 2005) Metheny/Mehldau (Nonesuch, 2006) Metheny Mehldau Quartet (Nonesuch, 2007) Brad Mehldau Trio Live (Nonesuch, 2008) Highway Rider (Nonesuch, 2010) Ode (Nonesuch, 2012) – recorded in 2011 Where Do You Start (Nonesuch, 2012) – recorded in 2008–11 Blues and Ballads (Nonesuch, 2016) – recorded in 2012–14 Seymour Reads the Constitution! (Nonesuch, 2018)

With Pat Metheny 2005: Metheny/Mehldau (Nonesuch, 2006) 2005: Metheny Mehldau Quartet (Nonesuch, 2007)

With Kurt Rosenwinkel The Enemies of Energy (Verve, 2000) – recorded in 1996 The Next Step (Verve, 2001) – recorded in 2000 Heartcore (Verve, 2003) – recorded in 2001–03 Deep Song (Verve, 2005)

With others Ted Nash, Sidewalk Meeting (Arabesque, 2001) – recorded in 2000 The Herbie Nichols Project, Love Is Proximity (Soul Note, 1996) Joshua Redman, Momentum (Verve, 2005) Chihiro Yamanaka, Madrigal (Atelier Sawano, 2004)