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Ballades
Ballades
Studio album by Ahmad Jamal
Released	September 13, 2019
Genre	Jazz
Length	50:44
Label	Jazz Village JV3357015758
Ahmad Jamal chronology

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllAboutJazz	^[1]

Ballades is the final album by American jazz pianist Ahmad Jamal. Consisting mostly of solo piano recordings, the album was recorded at the same time as the 2016 album Marseille. Jamal wrote of the album, "It includes my solo version of “Poinciana”, recorded between takes during our session for “Marseille”. My original version remains one of the most successful recordings in the history of instrumental music; and one of the most plagiarized."^[2]

Critical reception

In a review for KCRW, Tom Schnabel writes, "Ballades was released only at the insistence of Jamal’s executive producer, Seydou Barry, and we are fortunate to have it. Solo piano distills Jamal’s genius to its essence—a distillation involving a lifetime of creative imagination and superb musicianship. It amounts to the full evolution of a life in music from one of our greatest musical artists."^[3]

Dan Bilawsky writes for All About Jazz, "His calling cards—vamping moorings, dancing lines, intelligent restraint, mastery over time, orchestral visions, a Midas touch—all play a part in the production. Originals like "Because I Love You," with the in-and-out left hand ostinatos lighting the way, and "Whisperings," with both seductive and scampering charms, mark Jamal as a man wholly comfortable in his skin. … he remains a treasure capable of stirring passions without force or forced ambitions."^[1]