David Hazeltine - Ballads and Blues Volume II (2024) [Hi-Res]

It has come to my attention that over 40 + years of recording, fans very much appreciate the way that I arrange and perform ballads. I think my love for ballad playing goes back to my early years as a music student and how much I learned about harmony studying the solo piano recordings of the late great Bill Evans. He has a melancholy joyfulness in his approach to ballads and that sound has never left my ear.

At the sametime, playing the Blues has always come naturally to me perhaps because I understand the feeling so profoundly. So I had the idea to combine these two aspects of my musical character, and record two EPs of ballads and blues, and with a nod to the late great McCoy Tyner, call it Ballads & Blues

The cats on the recording are some of my favorite musicians in the world. I’ve been playing and recording with Neal Miner for decades. His sound, feel, choice of notes, and total dedication to the music make Neal one of the first call bassists in New York. Peter VanNostrand has been part of my trio for the last 6 years plus. Besides loving his sound, beat, and time feel, he is an incredibly musical drummer who not only plays the piano (I’ve given him a few lessons) but writes and arranges his own music. When I bring new music into a recording session, I don’t have to say much to Pete, he always plays the right thing at the right time.

David Hazeltine - piano
Neal Miner - bass
Pete Van Nostrand - drums