|
The eight tracks here are all old tunes popular among jazzmen, such as Phil Silvers' "Nancy (With the Laughing Face)" and Altman and Lawrence's "All or Nothing at All".The performances here are impeccable. The format doesn't allow any of the players to solo to the same degree as elsewhere.
Sure, we get some nice touches like Jones' deft opening on "All or Nothing at All", but everyone seems hobbled, Coltrane most of all. Now, at this time in his career, Coltrane's music was expanding to visionary heights, and it's entirely appropriate that later album titles had to employ outer space metaphors.
On this 1962 record, his second for Impulse, John Coltrane assembled a collection of ballads that might counter the stereotype that he was an "angry young tenor" capable only of blowing his sax furiously. But BALLADS is a fairly minor entry in the Coltrane discography.
Pick this one up after the other Impulse releases. He is joined by the other members of his great early '60s quartet: bassist Jimmy Garrison, pianist McCoy Tyner and drummer Elvin Jones.
This is one of the great jazz groups of all time.
Coltrane achieves this without resorting to exotic chords changes, 16-note scale runs and major-third intervals. And it's a real shame.That John Coltrane didn't go the same path as his other seminal works shows his genius. You won't find much scale runs, and that's a gratifying change-up from his other albums. His soft tone, rhythmic reservation and voice-like inflections reflect a true mastery over his instrument(s).
I reckon a lot of the lower-scored reviews have the wrong mindset with this album--and in process, missed the point of Ballads entirely. To pull off a whole album in that subtle execution is truly sublime.This is easily one of the best jazz ballads ever made, and the album is right up there with his other famed works like Love Supreme. It's been said that a mark of a good musician is his/her ability to play ballads without boring people to death. Jazz-heads are prone to geek out over augmented triads in Coltrane's Giant Steps, or his experimental forays into free jazz.
In spite of his borderline-spartan arrangement (at least, relative to the relentless kinetic energy of say Blue Train), there's no mistake that this is Coltrane. Make no mistake--it's defies your expectations of what Coltrane "should" be, but that's a good thing. Hence there's a certain snobbish expectation of esotericism especially with Coltrane's works, that if it's not "different" enough that it's not great. That Coltrane can take standard tracks--what some may call "conservative"--and make them into his own is truly exemplary.
Pianist McCoy Tyner also demonstrates a nicely lyrical touch, weaving little countermelodies around Coltrane's tenor lines, while Jimmy Garrison provides fluid accompaniment on bass (with one cut featuring Reggie Workman instead) and Elvin Jones is his usual busy but effective presence on drums. What is interesting to me is the way that Coltrane could play lyrically without ever sounding sentimental--the man seems to have been simply incapable of insincerity in his playing. Those not willing to invest in gold can be well-served by the nice SBM-remastered version of this album on Impulse, but for the ultimate listening experience, the MFSL version is the way to go. For the truly hard-core John Coltrane fans who are also hard-core audiophiles, this gold CD is going to be an automatic purchase. Recorded by Rudy Van Gelder in 1962, Ballads presents the softer side of John Coltrane, which for most audiophiles is much more interesting than the softer side of Sears.
They play with utmost confidence making sure that all the tunes are precisely executed starting off with my top choice from this set, a Jimmy McHugh classic standard with a beautiful melody that is deeply felt, "Say It (Over and Over Again)" down to the perfect ender, "Nancy (With The Laughing Face)." Every tune is an exquisite musical moment where Trane shows off his virtuosity, subtlety and finesse in his playing. Don't miss out on this CD.
It is so beautiful that you can even classify it as a Desert Island CD without having second thoughts.With my heartfelt recommendation for your listening pleasure now and forever.P.S. It's one of "the angry tenor's" best recordings.
"I think the main thing a musician would like to do is to give a picture to the listener of the many wonderful things he knows of and senses in the universe." ~ John Coltrane (1926-1967) ~ Gene Lees wrote on Liner Notes that John Coltrane had on occasion expressed puzzlement over such descriptions of himself as "best of the angry tenors." He once said: "I guess they say that because I play the horn hard." And if I may add, he played with love and dedication that shows in every note, his interpretations radiate simple elegance and respect to the material."Ballads" is a collection of eight striking tunes recorded in 1961 and 1962 by John Coltrane Quartet featuring himself on tenor sax, McCoy Tyner on piano, Jimmy Garrison on bass and Elvin Jones on drums, with the special participation of a guest musician, bassist Reggie Workman on "It's Easy To Remember," one of my absolute favorite tunes from one of my favorite composers of all-time, Richard Rodgers. tunes that are soothing and easy on the ears.
For more irresistibly beautiful music, please check these out - My Favorite Things, The Gentle Side of John Coltrane, A Love Supreme and John Coltrane & Johnny Hartman. The quartet's musicianship is unrivaled.
This collection represents some of the sweetest sounds in jazz that music lovers will find irresistibly charming.
Puro, honesto, sincero: eis um discurso perfeito, daqueles que seduzem o auditório universal de todas as épocas e lugares. Vez ou outra, em jazz, surgem discursos sinceros, honestos, alinhados à Ética de Aristóteles onde o silogismo clássico não permite aventuras, blefes ou seduções. Um desses momentos lúcidos do jazz é marcado pela gravação do disco Ballads, de John Coltrane, muito criticado por especialistas em mentir. Chaïm Perelman, pensador francês, dizia que o discurso perfeito é aquele capaz de persuadir o auditório universal. Gravado entre 1961 e 1962, com McCoy Tyner (p), Jimmy Garrison (b) e Elvin Jones (d). Segundo Umberto Eco uma linguagem que não serve para mentir não serve para dizer a verdade, ou seja, é uma linguagem que não serve para nada. E a gente fica pensando: num discurso perfeito podemos utilizar uma linguagem que serve para mentir. Falácias e paradoxos estão bem aí, em todo discurso perfeito, mesmo que nossos olhos, ouvidos e cérebros não percebam.
|
