Ballads & Blues (Milt Jackson album)

Ballads & Blues
Studio album by
Milt Jackson
Released1956
RecordedJanuary 17 & 21, and February 14, 1956
StudioNew York City and Van Gelder Studio, Hackensack, New Jersey
GenreJazz
Length42:02
LabelAtlantic
1242
ProducerNesuhi Ertegun
Milt Jackson chronology
Jackson's Ville
(1956) 		Ballads & Blues
(1956) 		Fontessa
(1956)

Ballads & Blues is an album by the American jazz vibraphonist Milt Jackson of performances recorded in 1956 and released on the Atlantic label.[1]

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings[3]

The AllMusic review awarded the album 4½ stars.[2]

The authors of The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings called the album "near-perfect Jackson fare," and wrote: "The others mostly keep out of his way and let him blow, although Lucky Thompson is on the final three tracks and in excellent fettle."[3]

Jazz Journal's Derek Ansell stated that the album "makes me want to trot out the tired old cliché – they don't make 'em like this anymore. The trouble is it's true, they really don't."[4]

A reviewer for Billboard commented: "The fans should heartily welcome this 'blowing' session... An excellent set that should sell well."[5]

Track listing

All compositions by Milt Jackson, except as indicated
  1. "So in Love" (Cole Porter) - 3:14
  2. "These Foolish Things" (Eric Maschwitz, Jack Strachey, Harry Link) - 4:25
  3. "Solitude" (Duke Ellington) - 4:43
  4. "The Song is Ended" (Irving Berlin) - 4:40
  5. "They Didn't Believe Me" (Jerome Kern, Herbert Reynolds) - 3:45
  6. "How High the Moon" (Nancy Hamilton, Morgan Lewis) - 6:13
  7. "Gerry's Blues" - 5:02
  8. "Hello" - 3:47
  9. "Bright Blues" - 6:13

Recorded in New York City on January 17 (tracks 6, 8 & 9) and January 21 (tracks 1, 3 & 5) and at the Van Gelder Studio in Hackensack, New Jersey on February 14 (tracks 2, 4 & 7), 1956

Personnel

References

  1. ^ Milt Jackson discography. Retrieved January 16, 2012.
    - "Reviews and Ratings of New Jazz Albums". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. October 20, 1956 – via Google Books.
  2. ^ a b "Milt Jackson - Ballads & Blues". Allmusic. Retrieved January 16, 2012.
  3. ^ a b Cook, Richard; Morton, Brian (2008). The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings (9 ed.). Penguin. pp. 754–755.
  4. ^ Ansell, Derek (November 28, 2019). "Milt Jackson: Ballads And Blues". Jazz Journal. Retrieved September 16, 2022.
  5. ^ "Reviews and Ratings of New Jazz Albums". Billboard. October 20, 1956. p. 46.