Ballads in Blue

Nights of Ballads & Blues is the third album by the jazz pianist McCoy Tyner, released on the Impulse! label in 1963. It features performances by Tyner with Steve Davis and Lex Humphries. The jazz critic Harvey Pekar said in his August 29, 1963, review for Down Beat magazine, "Tyner's playing has many virtues, but one in particular is his tastefulness. There is nothing trivial about his music; he is, to quote an often used phrase, a 'musician's musician'."

On this fantastic audiophile recording, Tyner is accompanied by the formidable pair of drummer Lex Humphries and bassist Steve Davis as the trio performs an eclectic mix of standards and bebop classics. Infused with his unique touch and styling, Tyner reinvents classics such as Parker’s “Star Eyes”, and Ellington and Strayhorn’s “Satin Doll”. Also included is a chilling take on the classic “‘Round Midnight”. This intimate listen is essential for any jazz lover's library.

The multi-award winning, critically acclaimed and best-selling The Idea of North present their brand new studio album: Ballads. Over the past two decades, The Idea of North have become renowned for phenomenal performances – using just the voices of their four members, soprano Sally Cameron, alto Naomi Crellin, tenor Nick Begbie and bass Andrew Piper. They’ve won the ARIA Award for Best Jazz Album, sold out venues throughout the world, and been heard by even more music-lovers globally through their acclaimed recordings.

Kovac says: "Just imagine: The morning after the apocalypse... Are we still alive? We wonder. It would appear so... Thereґs no end to this world... Thereґs no rest for the soul... Thereґs no past... Thereґs no future... Now is eternal... LaDaABa Orchest offers you the ideal entertainment at the end of time: La Danza Apocalypsa Balcanica... Part Two."

Nice compilation by the Storm label with 15 beautiful ballads from Vaya Con Dios albums of the 1986-1996 period, plus 4 more songs with Vaya Con Dios' lead vocalist, Dani Klein with the music band "Purple Prose", from their 1999 album "13 songs by Purple Prose". Enjoy the unique expressive voice of Dani Klein in all her best known ballads, in english and in french.

Like other entries in Blue Note's excellent Ballads series, this collection features Sarah Vaughan on a number of mellow standards. The songs originate from a number of sessions Vaughan completed for Roulette between 1960-1963, and they are uniformly lovely. The settings range from the guitar/bass backing on "All or Nothing at All" to the orchestra backing on "Dreamy." Vaughan sings the tastefully arranged "You Go to My Head" with the help of the Count Basie Orchestra and the intimately quiet "In a Sentimental Mood" with guitarist Mundell Lowe and bassist George Duvivier. She slowly caresses each syllable of "'Round Midnight," "Solitude," and "Lover Man," delivering fresh takes on these commonly sung classics. A certain warmth also permeates "In a Sentimental Mood" and "If I Had You," filling each note with an air of regret. The reflective material seems tailor-made for that late hour when one's guests have departed and the cocktail glasses have been cleared. Ballads gathers 13 exquisite recordings in one place and captures Vaughan in exceptional voice. It's also enlightening to listen to how she approaches similar material when the arrangements are so divergent. To those unfamiliar with her Roulette work, Ballads offers a fine introduction.~Ronnie D. Lankford, Jr.