Billie Davies is reviewed by JazzMusic

JAZZMUSIC
by:  CJ Bond


The Billie Davies Trio: All About Love.
Year: 2012

Style: Jazz

Label: Cobra Basement

Musicians: Billie Davies - drums; Tom Bone Ralls - trombone; Oliver Steinberg - bass.

CD Review: Jazz combos without chordal accompaniment (pianoless) are rareties these days- if they exist at all. Gerry Mulligan's 1950 quartet, with trumpeter Chet Baker, bassist Bob Whitlock, and drummer Chico Hamilton; along with The Sonny Rollins Trio 1957 "Way Out West"  album, featuring Ray Brown on bass, and Shelly Manne on drums, are two of the quintessential jazz aggregations that set the standard for this grouping. The Billie Davies Trio is a pianoless ensemble that manages to overcome the challenges that are inherent in such an arrangement: maintaining stimulating textures and colors without generating chaos; keeping clear harmonic structures; and eschewing loss of place by musicians and listeners. Stripping down the date's selections to their elemental harmonic and melodic form, the trio imbues each song with renewed innovative inventions that emanate from a genuine awareness and respect for their histories. The listener is treated to jazz inclinations within the trio that bristle with cutting-edge freshness.

Familiarity and accessibility ignite the listener's interest and assist the players in rising to the challenge of achieving and maintaining harmonic structure on the opening track (Stella By Starlight), Victor Young and Ned Washington's beautiful jazz standard. Trombonist Tom Bone Ralls raspy, but rounded and melodic opening solo is answered by drummer Billie Davies' tasteful, intricate, progressive polyrhythms.

It falls naturally to drummer Davies and bassist Oliver Steinberg to map out the changes clearly, leaving space for Bone Ralls' trombone to execute the melody and improvise his composition (Downtown In The Rain). However, it is the trio's reading of Miles Davis' (Jean Pierre: We Want Miles; 1981), that showed the highest level of harmonic and melodic magical interplay; achieved around the sound of Davies' Tony Williams-like time signatures and Steinberg's pulsing bass beat; giving the tune a textured, slinky strut, overlayed with Bone Ralls stupefying trombone reprise of Davis' sound, and ethereal, chant-like voicing, culminating in a Milesian, signature Harmon muted-like coda.

Tom Bone Ralls plays the trombone like he's got all the time he needs; not lazy; his phrasing is well rounded, pristine, and is impacted with depth, and an inspired eloquence that is the result of his comprehensive playing experience. His interpretations of John Coltrane's (Naima), and Mongo Santamaria's Afro-Cuban classic (Afro Blue) are soulful, satisfying, and considerably informed by Davies' drumming which eschews self indulgence, instead making space for Bone Ralls to convey each tune's simple, subtle beauty with ravishing, elemental clarity.

Billie Davies stunning drumming technique and style are undoubtedly by-products of the vicissitudes attendant to her existence as a 'lifelong natural musician'; and a creative passionate focus to her music, matched only by a fierce inner muse that shepherds her personal and professional stratagems. But it is her uncanny ability to 'listen,' 'hear,' and communicate a certain emotional, common feeling to listeners, musicians, and audience, that makes her a "jazz drummer" and nourishes her boundless improvisational skills; anticipating the conversations on three of her avant gard compositions, (Green Cheese; BUrst; High Noon) between bassist Steinberg and trombonist Bone Ralls and providing context, energy and drive.

In the end, many elements make this date work; the artists, their talent, and experience; Surely Billie Davies' dream and creative endeavor to produce a sublime, genre-stretching, versatile, committed trio. But when everything is considered, tallied, and summed up; the total indicates, that it's really: "All About Love."

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.

Recording Engineer: George Rada.
Mixing by Mike Davies and Billie Davies.
CD Mastering by John Vestman at Vestman Mastering.
Recording & Sound Technology/Engineering Management: Mike Davies.
A Cobra Basement Production.
Recorded at Mike & Billie Davies Studio, Hollywood, California.

The Billie Davies Trio is reviewed by The Borderland

THE BORDERLAND
by:  John M. Peters


The Billie Davies Trio - All About Love (Cobra Basement)

All About Love could equally have been called All About Improv as this album is all about the spontaneous moment that jazz is created. A trio of musicians set in a circle facing each other in a small recording studio and playing off each others creativity. With Billie Davies on drums, Tom Bones Ralls on trombone and Oliver Steinberg on bass, this is a trio that stretches the boundaries beyond the norm. The album contains a mix of original music by the trio and several covers by the likes of Miles Davis, Mongo Santamaria and John Coltrane. Ms Davies hails from Belgium but is veteran traveler around the world and has been long settled in the USA, where she has absorbed a lot of jazz and mastered the drums. I think this may be her first album as leader, but it has a confidence hewn from much playing of improv and avant-garde jazz. As you would imagine with such a line-up of instruments the sound is spare and sparse, rather raw but refined through the musical experience of the three players. 

All About Love contains ten tracks and their titles are: Stella By Starlight, Downtown in the Rain, Jean Pierre, Naima, Afro Blue, Green Cheese, Burst!, High Noon, Afro Blue Too, Stella By Starlight Too. I don't think this is an album that will appeal to the casual jazz listener - the strong improvisation and avant-garde nature of the music demands serious attention from a committed listener. But if they do commit their time and ears to this album they won't be disappointed by what they hear.

For more information about this artist, album and availability visit:
www.billiedavies.com

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