Ballads
Studio album by
Paul Bley
Released1971
RecordedMarch 31 and July 28, 1967
StudioNew York City
GenreJazz
Length32:37
LabelECM 1010 ST
ProducerManfred Eicher
Paul Bley chronology
Paul Bley with Gary Peacock
(1970)		 Ballads
(1971)		 Improvisie
(1971)

Ballads is an album by Canadian jazz pianist Paul Bley recorded on March 31 and July 28, 1967 and released on ECM in 1971.[1] The sessions' trios feature rhythm sections Mark Levinson and Barry Altschul on side B, and Gary Peacock and Altschul on side A, respectively.

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]

The AllMusic review by Eugene Chadbourne awarded the album 2½ stars stating:

Ballads, which really seems to make ballads out of ballads, has been considered both worthy of hanging on the museum wall alongside the other masterpieces and being accorded special merit as the jazz record most used for background music... What all this adds up to, when not shoved to the background of the listener's psyche, is a beautiful sound indeed, this album being one of several that helped establish the entire concept of the divine "ECM sound," despite actually being one of Bley's own productions... Surely it was fun making this album, but it has not proven to be an album that is that much fun to really listen to. Perhaps the music's magic is marred by the excessive echo and pristine recording quality, or maybe the playing is simply pretentious. A decision can be made at the end of the recording, if the listener is still awake.[2]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Annette Peacock

Side I
No.TitleDate recordedLength
1."Ending"July 28, 1967 (1967-07-28)17:15
Total length:17:15
Side II
No.TitleDate recordedLength
1."Circles"July 31, 1967 (1967-07-31)3:10
2."So Hard It Hurts"July 31, 1967 (1967-07-31)12:12
Total length:15:22 32:37

Personnel

March 31, 1967 (side B)

July 28, 1967 (side A)

  • Paul Bley – piano
  • Gary Peacock – bass
  • Barry Altschul – drums

References

  1. ↑ ECM discography Archived 2012-10-04 at the Wayback Machine accessed August 29, 2011
  2. 1 2 Chadbourne, E. Allmusic Review accessed August 29, 2011
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