Ballads and Blues

Miles Davis, J. J. Johnson | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (March 19, 1996)
• Original Release Date: March 19, 1996
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Blue Note Records
• ASIN: B000005H2J
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #114,022 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars If ya dig 'Kind Of Blue,' you will dig this, February 9, 2000

By 

"wednightprayermeeting" (Bellview, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ballads and Blues (Audio CD)

'Ballads And Blues' is nine cuts from 1950,'52,'53,'54, and '58. This is not bop, rather it shows, in the early '50s tunes, Miles in the process revolutionizing jazz by laying the groundwork for what would become known as Hard Bop. This is modal Miles. His cast of players range from Max Roach (1 track only), Art Blakely, Cannonball Adderley, bassist Percy Heath, trombonist J.J. Johnson.....among others. No Coltrane, though. Nevertheless, it is a nice mellow album with solid, dreamy songs. I especially dig "Weirdo" and "Moon Dreams."

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Great Disc if you are new to Jazz and Miles Davis, July 23, 2002

By 

Tom Ribando (New York, NY USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ballads and Blues (Audio CD)

Ballads and Blues may not be considered one of Miles's masterpieces, although it is one of my favorite in my Miles Davis collection. This is a great album for folks that are new to Jazz and kind of acts as a Bridge to other great Miles Davis albums like Kind of Blue, Sketches of Spain, and of course Porgy and Bess.

The music on this album has a hypnotic subtlty to it that helps me unwind after a rough day at the office, or helps make an unpleasant drive, a little less so. If you are new to Jazz and are looking to add a few discs to your collection, you will certainly get your money's worth with this one because it is worth listening to many times. Other Miles Albums I would Reccomend to first time or new Jazz Buyers are in this Order: Kind of Blue, Porgy and Bess, E.S.P., Miles Smiles, Sketches of Spain and the Birth of the Cool. (People may argue about which of those are the best, but they are all great.) Ken Burns also put out a compilation Miles Davis CD, and other artists as well, that feature essential Miles recordings from his excellent Jazz Mini-Series.

Again, while this album may not be considered one of Miles' great masterpieces, I play it more than I do some of his masterpeices. I hope this review helped you.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Davis: the golden sound!, April 20, 2005

By 

Hiram Gomez Pardo (Valencia, Venezuela) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Ballads and Blues (Audio CD)

When you listen Davis playing the first bars of any random work, you are immediatly transported to another level. That kind touch comes from the soul, the spirit and then his fingers work out according this premise. In Davis you will never listen a wrong note; he owned a internal mood that overpassed every possible adjective.

And consider the presence itself elevated automatically the artistic height of every one of his musical partners; Ron Carter, Bill Evans and so many musicians acquired a new dimension becoming true poets in the real meaning of the word; poetry comes from poyesis that in greek signifies creator.

This a superior CD and a reference album in your treasured collection. Don't miss it under no pretext.