Musician Billie Davies (Drums) @ All About Jazz

Musician Billie Davies (Drums) @ All About Jazz

Billie Davies: All About Love (2012)

By

HRAYR ATTARIAN,

Published: September 21, 2012

Idiosyncratic drummer Billie Davies is mostly an autodidact whose natural talent, relentless, explorative spirit and multifaceted experiences have led to an innovative approach to jazz. Her bold individualism is showcased on All About Love, a collaborative effort that has her democratically guiding an unusual, bottom-heavy ensemble with lyrical trombonist Tom Bone Ralls and versatile bassist Oliver Steinberg.
Davies creates complex motives and blurs the distinction between melody and rhythm on such pieces as John Coltrane's "Naima" and the minimalistic second take of the Mongo Santamaria classic "Afro Blue Too." Her rich harmonies contrast nicely with the atonality of her own "High Noon" that flirts with the avant-garde. The tune also demonstrates the intense camaraderie that drives the intrepid and unpredictable group interplay.
These intelligent three-way conversations, with their musical twists and turns, endow the two short originals, "Green Cheese" and "Burst," with a deliciously surreal atmosphere as Ralls' earthy and expansive trombone blows over the rapidly evolving tapestry of tight bass and drum cadences.
Ralls angular style does not sacrifice any of his warmth and lyricism on "Stella by Starlight," and his bluesy embellishments remain highly cerebral on "Afro Blue." His muted sound still swaggers on Miles Davis' fusion-esque "Jean Pierre." The track also features Steinberg's soulful electric bass and Davies' edgy and swinging kit work.
Steinberg is equally adept on the acoustic version of his instrument, as he amply demonstrates with a complex pizzicato solo on "Stella by Starlight Too." His cool and dependable grooves anchor band mate Ralls' theme, "Downtown in the Rain."
On this third release as a leader, the Belgium native/California-based Davies demonstrates a mature temperament as she skirts the edges of modal and free extemporizations with her delightfully singular trio. The intimate yet progressive music on this too brief album is like modern poetry, mordant yet sublime.
Track Listing: Stella By Starlight; Downtown in the Rain; Jean Pierre; Naima; Afro Blue; Green Cheese; Burst!; High Noon; Afro Blue Too; Stella By Starlight Too.
Personnel: Billie Davies: drums; Tom Bone Ralls: trombone; Oliver Steinberg: bass.
Record Label: Self Produced | Style: Modern Jazz

Billie Davies Trio is reviewed by Something Else... http://somethingelsereviews.com/2012/09/15/the-billie-davies-trio-all-about-love-2012/

Billie Davies Trio is reviewed by Something Else... http://somethingelsereviews.com/2012/09/15/the-billie-davies-trio-all-about-love-2012/

Belgium native Billie Davies first started drumming at the age of three, and even though she dabbled in a number of other artistic endeavors, like singing and DJ’ing, her skills behind the kit were notable enough to garner the attention of Max Roach, who offered her a scholarship at the Berklee School of Music. It was at a time of her life when she was having too much fun to engage in serious studies, so she turned it down.
Eventually though, Davies devoted herself full time toward drumming, picking up innumerable styles that she has mastered, including soul/funk, blues, classical, and all shades of jazz. In the last few year, though, she’s immersed herself into jazz forms exclusively, moving to Hollywood and forming a trio, the Billie Davies Trio. The fruits of her collaboration with trio members Tom Bone Ralls (trombone) and Oliver Steinberg (bass) are set forth in this new CD, all about Love.
all about Love is all about relaxed improvisation, with a hard swing coming from Davies and a distillation of each song’s melody down to only its crucial notes. That leaves vast, wide open spaces in which to stretch out. What sets Davies’ record apart from other drummer-led records is this: she doesn’t have to play so hard nosed to get herself noticed, because there’s only a bass and a tactfully played trombone in front of her. She’s able to attract attention by playing naturally.
Davies, as noted, swings her ass off, but is always layering it with polyrhythms and tasteful fills, a style not terribly afar from the great Elvin Jones’ or the subtle complexity of Peter Erskine. There are a lot of well-worn standards here: “Naima,” “Jean Pierre” (Youtube below) and two renditions a piece of “Stella By Starlight” and “Afro Blue.” That might typically trouble me, but the performances themselves make too much hay for me to pay much mind to what standards have been chosen. In addition to these tunes, Ralls turns in a melodic original “Downtown In The Rain,”(Youtube below) and there are a couple of brief group improvs “Green Cheese” and BUrst!,” as well as a bluesy jam “High Noon.”
The loose feel of all about Love and the effortless mastery of rhythms displayed by Davies make this an easy album to sink your ears into, even though it’s also a record that pushes out the songs to abstract places. Billie Davies has been around a lot of places doing a lot of different things, but on this record, she seems to have settled into the comfy environs of modern jazz.
Author: S. Victor Aaron

all about Love is scheduled for release by Cobra Basement Production Services.
Visit Billie Davies’ website for more info.

Billie Davies Trio Enjoy Their 3rd Week on the CMJ Top 40 Jazz Chart at #14.

Billie Davies Trio Enjoy Their 3rd Week on the CMJ Top 40 Jazz Chart

Peaking at #14 So Far

The Billie Davies Trio: “All About Love”, jazz review by C. Michael Bailey

The Billie Davies Trio: “All About Love”, jazz review by C. Michael Bailey