Jazz Journal International
Vol. 45, No. 4

By Barry McRae

Jon Ballantyne/Paul Bley

A Musing  (Justin Time 39-2)

Second Conversation/Zacotic/If You like/Alternate Vision/PolkaDots and Moonbeams/Question/A Musing

Ballantyne is a bright new Canadian piano star. He gets a good sound from the instrument and plays just as much or as little as he needs to get his point across. Nowhere is this better illustrated than on Question, an exploration that discovers all of the melody’s most telling points. On Alternative Vision and Polka Dots he takes a more aggressive stance as befits an amiable piano and drum duel. It is the former that shows off his chops but it is the latter that demonstrates his natural way with a tune.

The duets are beautifully stage-managed. Neither player tries to showboat, the interaction is subtle but there is no loss of creative intent or rhythmic virility. Both men are listeners and they approach each task in their own individual manner. Zacotic finds them at their most reflective. If You Like has some fine treble jousting, while Viattya comes over as if a modern blues march by a single player. Ballantyne is a pianist to watch - and hear.

The TORONTO STAR

JAZZ CD REVIEW
By Geoff Chapman

Saturday, January 4th, 1992

Jon Ballantyne/Paul Bley ‘A Musing’ (Justin Time): …pianist Ballantyne and Bley create five moody duets, rich solos and unexpected phrases here and  lots Riley’s piano, and a big helping of intricately interesting abstractions that nonetheless tend to restrain the more exotic improvisational possibilities on nine numbers.

They both tend to introspective approaches, but Ballantyne comes off best when soloing or playing just with drummer Dave Ling. Indeed, “Polka Dots and Moonbeams” (the one standard in an all-Ballantyne raft of compositions) and “Alternate Vision” with Laing are the best of the bunch by far, with extrovert chordal romps and a heart rather than head target.

THE WINDSOR STAR

SATURDAY NOVEMBER 16, 1991

By: Owen Jones

A MUSING: Jon Ballantyne and Paul Blay (Justin Time)- This recording features Ballantyne and Blay playing dueling pianos on five songs, Ballantyne with drummer Dave Laing on two selections, and Ballantyne solo on two project could fall into a category often referred to as ‘free’ jazz. But there is plenty of structure, with the pianists complementing each other, often sounding like cartoon mice being chased across the keys, proving that a discordant approach can sound beautiful. Stereo separation puts Ballantyne in the left channel and Blay in the right, often the only way to tell when one picks up from where the other left off. Alternate Vision and Polka Dots and Moonbeams feature drummer Laing, a Jack DeJohnette-style percussionist with energy and finesse who is either reading charts or is extremely telepathic.: He always knows where Ballantyne is going. The pianist’s style is almost the opposite of the Oscar Peterson school of playing, leaving lots of space between notes rather than feeling obliged to fill them with technique, of which he has plenty.
RATING:A