Ballads (Paul Bley album)

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.

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Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	^[2]

The AllMusic review by Eugene Chadbourne states:

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.	Title	Date recorded	Length
1.	"Ending"	July 28, 1967 (1967-07-28)	17:15
Total length:			17:15

Side II
No.	Title	Date recorded	Length
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

Musicians

March 31, 1967

Paul Bley – piano
Mark Levinson – bass
Barry Altschul – drums

July 28, 1967

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

Technical personnel

ECM – producer
B & B Wojirsch – cover design

References

^ ECM discography Archived 2012-10-04 at the Wayback Machine accessed August 29, 2011
^ ^a ^b Chadbourne, E. Allmusic Review accessed August 29, 2011

v t e Paul Bley
Studio albums	Introducing Paul Bley Paul Bley Solemn Meditation Footloose! Barrage Touching Closer Ramblin' Mr. Joy Paul Bley with Gary Peacock Ballads The Paul Bley Synthesizer Show Open, to Love Paul Bley/NHØP Jaco Alone, Again Quiet Song Tears Tango Palace Sonor Questions Diane My Standard Fragments The Paul Bley Quartet The Nearness of You Blues for Red Notes (with Paul Motian) Partners (with Gary Peacock) BeBopBeBopBeBopBeBop Memoirs (with Charlie Haden and Paul Motian) 12 (+6) In a Row (with Hans Koch and Franz Koglmann) Right Time, Right Place (with Gary Burton) Changing Hands In the Evenings out There Paul Plays Carla Annette Hands On If We May Time Will Tell (with Evan Parker and Barre Phillips) Chaos (with Furio Di Castri and Tony Oxley) Sankt Gerold (with Evan Parker and Barre Phillips) Notes on Ornette Not Two, Not One (with Gary Peacock and Paul Motian) Basics Nothing to Declare About Time
Live albums	Live at the Hilcrest Club 1958 Coleman Classics Volume 1 Improvisie Dual Unity (with Annette Peacock) Japan Suite Axis Hot Live at Sweet Basil Solo in Mondsee Play Blue: Oslo Concert
Related articles	Discography

This page was last edited on 27 January 2024, at 05:51

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