Ballini, Ogburn and Baumann

Every Monday night at the Jazz Estate, singer-songwriter Marc Ballini, mandolinist Ryan Ogburn and guitarist Craig Baumann present an informal, free evening of music at the Jazz Estate. The residency has changed markedly since its inception, when the weekly event was billed just to Ballini and Ogburn. Ballini played guitar initially, dueting with Ogburn, who remains best known locally as the mandolin player with the bluegrass band Stealin’ Strings. The 2009 addition of Baumann, the former guitarist of the late jam band Fat Maw Rooney, allowed Ballini to begin playing the keys. Though all three players have ties to the jam scene, they try to keep improvisations concise to focus on songs, most of which are originals, though they’ll throw in the occasional cover of a song by Ray Charles, J.J. Cale or the like.