Comments on: A Post About Ballads

By: Ralph Sands

Ralph Sands — Wed, 06 Jul 2016 20:08:42 +0000

Yusef Lateef, Eastern Sounds, Purple Flower
Roland Kirk, Now Please Don’t You Cry Beautiful Edith (t/t)
Jack Wilson, Something Personal, Harbor Freeway 5PM
Andrew Hill, Judgement, Alfred
Bobby Hutcherson, Happenings, Bouquet
Milt Jackson, Sunflower, What Are You Doing the Rest of Your Life
Art Farmer, The Summer Knows (t/t)
Keith Jarrett, Tokyo ’96, Never Let Me Go
Art Pepper, One September Afternoon, Goodbye Again
Stanley Turrentine & 3 Sounds, Blue Hour, Willow Weep for Me
Herbie Hancock, Maiden Voyage, Little One
Horace Silver, Song for My Father, Lonely Woman
Coltrane, Crescent, Wise One
Charles Lloyd, Forest Flower, Song of Her
Miles, Quiet Nights, Summer Night
Wes Montgomery, Bumpin’
Gerry Mulligan, Night Lights (t/t)
Pete LaRoca, Basra, Lazy Afternoon
Lee Morgan, Vol. 3, I Remember Clifford
Bill Evans, Sunday at the VV, My Man’s Gone Now
Horace Parlan, Speakin’ My Piece, Oh So Blue
Mal Waldron, Mal 4, JM’s Dream Doll

By: don_lucky

don_lucky — Tue, 05 Jul 2016 18:54:30 +0000

…Sorry, the one by Bill Evans was issued in the late 60’s and the Chucho Valdes (bonus Selection) was from 2001. That being said, I ventured beyond the late 50’s in my selections above !

By: don_lucky

don_lucky — Tue, 05 Jul 2016 18:51:35 +0000

…I’ll limit myself to just late 50’s non-vocal Jazz ballads otherwise this could get a bit messy:

(1.) “Here’s That Rainy Day” by Bill Evans
(2.) “Autumn Leaves” by Cannonball Adderley
(3.) “It Never Entered My Mind” by Miles Davis

Bonus selection:
(1.) “Somewhere Over The Rainbow” by Chucho Valdes (Solo-Live In New York)

By: Clifford

Clifford — Tue, 05 Jul 2016 15:58:17 +0000

Ayler, yes — great balladeer with some of the most gutting pathos ever put into a saxophone. “Mothers” off of the Ghosts LP is truly stunning and there is some of that gloomy, wrenching playing in parts of the long form “Bells” suite. I should have mentioned him earlier.

Ascension is a great record although I think of it as such a variegated piece of music that ascribing “ballad” or “free form” to the results doesn’t really do much to explain the breadth of its 40 minutes.

Gayle can play ballads, for sure, though the heat of his playing in the more blistering performances seems to be what gets people going. He’s an interesting person, too.

By: Gregory The Fish

Gregory The Fish — Sun, 03 Jul 2016 15:41:29 +0000

lennib, i like the cut of your gib!

By: Adam

Adam — Sun, 03 Jul 2016 12:59:51 +0000

I’m glad Clifford mentioned Ike Quebec and Grant Green. One of my favorite ballad performances is Count Every Star from Ike’s Blue & Sentimental album.

By: lennib

lennib — Sun, 03 Jul 2016 12:12:39 +0000

Ballads?:
John Coltrane Acension
Albert Ayler Bells
Charles Gayle Jesus Christ and Scriptures

(Perhaps Mr. Clifford might understand the whys of my selections.)

By: Charles Drago

Charles Drago — Sat, 02 Jul 2016 14:49:47 +0000

A long time ago I learned the hard lesson of differentiating between subjective and objective judgments — between “my favorite” and “the best” — in life in general and art in particular. So I offer the following choices that belong in the former category — at least.

The list is pathetically incomplete and in no particular order other than that which my subconscious prepared. Not an “all time” list; these choices are snapshots in time. Artists are selected not just for the tunes noted, but also for their wider ballad oeuvre. Please forgive any duplications of previously noted performances.

Mark Murphy — “Blood Count” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rYD4d4S2fLE&list=PLeDc9-elqxqVhi8hb3vCjYIXU3zuPjXAK&index=4

Mark Murphy — “The Night We Called it a Day”/”There’s No You” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VKpOXHEuj0g

Sonny Rollins — “He’s Younger Than You Are” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PlByLbPnXXI&list=RDPlByLbPnXXI

Clifford Brown — “Where or When” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7a_2w5f8GHg

Shirley Horn — “There’s No You” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qv-xh272Yg0

Phil Woods — “Chelsea Bridge” (Campi) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wml0lP1EY8k

Phil Woods/Mel Torme — “Bye Bye Blackbird” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7CmdnCVBjUA

Phil Woods/Lena Horne — “Someone to Watch Over Me” (from “Lena Horne: a New Album” — can’t find this on the Internet, alas)

Bobby Hacket — “The Eyes of Love” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cdIEalzmdiM

Toots Thielemans/Quincy Jones — “The Eyes of Love” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IA36Anlf1bw

Toots Thielemans/Elis Regina — “O Barquinho” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1-g-mkBpnew

Art Pepper — “Our Song” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jHw8LDqwWjw

Jackie McLean — “Left Alone” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6s5iD-q9FUU

Bill Evans — “Minha” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SMh2BIP9xEQ

Bob Brookyeyer/Stan Getz — “Misty” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AZQXLsE6GXg

Freddie Hubbard — “Moment to Moment” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mdkz6JqVrP8

Wayne Shorter — “Lady Day” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mdkz6JqVrP8

To name a few.

By: what_can_brown

what_can_brown — Fri, 01 Jul 2016 18:25:08 +0000

Mal Waldron’s Warm Canto from The Quest gets my vote. It’s ballad-enough right?

By: Richard

Richard — Fri, 01 Jul 2016 09:55:42 +0000

Who’s your favourite composer of ballads though? My vote is Jimmy Van Heusen – All The Way, But Beautiful (love this on “Open Sesame”, Here’s That Rainy Day, It’s Always You, It Could Happen To You (maybe my fave song), Like Someone In Love, Darn That Dream, Deep In A Dream, just off the top of my head.