Templeton, Gavin - Ballast
SKU
Orenda 0029
Gavin Templeton - Alto Saxophone
Joshua White - Piano
Richard Giddens - Bass
Gene Coye - Drums
*****5 STARS***** from All About Jazz
"Listening to this disc, one gets the sense that Templeton is baring his soul, playing as if his very life depends on it. And somehow, he's lined up a band with the same attitude. This is what sets Ballast apart. There's something going on here above and beyond the high quality of Templeton's compositions and the amazing musicianship throughout this disc. This music is raw, unfettered, palpably fearless. Yet, in the midst of this swirl of amazing chops and hip jazz moves, there's vulnerability and warmth."–Dave Wayne, All About Jazz
"BALLAST, the coiled, stimulating album Los Angeles jazzman Gavin Templeton has been crafting for more than a year, was inspired by a range of thought and experience that continues to drive Templeton - and now, thanks to its febrile, probing nature, us.
"This tough, hopeful recording is uncompromisingly modern, mostly hard, but at times unexpectedly, disarmingly sweet. And while most of its source material is uneasy, joy, even jauntiness, peek out.
"'Ballast' refers to the weights seamen place in a ship's hold to keep the keel even. It's the cinder blocks people in colder climes put in their trunks to keep their cars from sliding on ice.
"We all need a ballast, particularly when life, like Templeton's, is so turbulent."