| Nights of Ballads & Blues | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | Early July 1963 [1] | |||
| Recorded | March 4, 1963 | |||
| Studio | Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, NJ | |||
| Genre | Jazz | |||
| Length | 38:48 | |||
| Label | Impulse! A-39 | |||
| Producer | Bob Thiele | |||
| McCoy Tyner chronology | ||||
| ||||
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 on bass and Lex Humphries on drums.
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [2] |
| DownBeat |  [3] |
| The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings | [4] |
| The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide | [5] |
The jazz critic Harvey Pekar said in his August 29, 1963, review for DownBeat , "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.'" [3] The AllMusic review by Stephen Cook states that the album "qualifies as one of the pianist's most enjoyable early discs". [2]
Reviewing the album in 2017, Marc Myers of JazzWax said: "For some strange reason, in late 1962 and the first half of 1963, Tyner was asked by producer Bob Thiele to record more straightforward jazz albums as a leader... Tyner's playing is exciting and exceptional on all of the tracks... On the album, he exhibits a reserved elegance and tenderness that reveals the other side of his personality—a lover of melody and standards. In this regard, there are traces of Oscar Peterson in his playing. Perhaps Thiele was using Tyner to take a bite out of Peterson's vast and successful early-'60s share of the jazz market." [6]
Alfred McCoy Tyner was an American jazz pianist and composer known for his work with the John Coltrane Quartet and his long solo career afterwards. He was an NEA Jazz Master and five-time Grammy award winner. Unlike many of the jazz keyboardists of his generation, Tyner very rarely incorporated electric keyboards or synthesizers into his work. Tyner has been widely imitated, and is one of the most recognizable and influential jazz pianists of all time.
Impressions is an album of live and studio recordings by the jazz musician and composer John Coltrane. It was released through Impulse! Records in July 1963.
Transition is an album of music by jazz saxophonist John Coltrane, recorded in 1965 but released posthumously only in 1970. As its title indicates, Transition was a bridge between classic quartet recordings like A Love Supreme and the more experimental works of Coltrane's last years.
Crescent is a studio album by the jazz musician and composer John Coltrane. It was released in July 1964 through the label Impulse!. Alongside Coltrane on tenor saxophone, the album features McCoy Tyner (piano), Jimmy Garrison and Elvin Jones (drums) playing original Coltrane compositions.
The Real McCoy is the seventh album by jazz pianist McCoy Tyner and his first released on the Blue Note label. It was recorded on April 21, 1967, following Tyner's departure from the John Coltrane Quartet. It features performances by Tyner with tenor saxophonist Joe Henderson, bassist Ron Carter and drummer Elvin Jones. Producer Alfred Lion recalls the recording session as a "pure jazz session. There is absolutely no concession to commercialism, and there's a deep, passionate love for the music embedded in each of the selections".
John Coltrane and Johnny Hartman is a studio album by John Coltrane and Johnny Hartman which was released by Impulse! Records in July or August 1963. It was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2013.
Coltrane Jazz is a studio album by the jazz musician John Coltrane. It was released in early 1961 on Atlantic Records. Most of the album features Coltrane playing with his former Miles Davis bandmates, pianist Wynton Kelly, bassist Paul Chambers and drummer Jimmy Cobb during two sessions in November and December, 1959. The exception is the track "Village Blues", which was recorded October 21, 1960. "Village Blues" comes from the first recording session featuring Coltrane playing with pianist McCoy Tyner and drummer Elvin Jones, who toured and recorded with Coltrane as part of his celebrated "classic quartet" from 1960 to 1965.
The Complete 1961 Village Vanguard Recordings is a box set of recordings by jazz musician John Coltrane, issued posthumously in 1997 by Impulse! Records, catalogue IMPD4-232. It collects all existing recordings from performances by the John Coltrane Quintet at the Village Vanguard in early November, 1961. Five selections had been issued during Coltrane's lifetime on the albums Live! at the Village Vanguard and Impressions. Additional tracks had been issued posthumously on the albums The Other Village Vanguard Tapes, Trane's Modes and From the Original Master Tapes.
Inception is the debut album by jazz pianist McCoy Tyner which was released on the Impulse! label in 1962. It features performances by Tyner with bassist Art Davis and drummer Elvin Jones.
McCoy Tyner Plays Ellington is the sixth album by American jazz pianist McCoy Tyner. It was recorded in December 1964 and released on the Impulse! label in 1965. It features performances by Tyner with his John Coltrane bandmates: bassist Jimmy Garrison and drummer Elvin Jones. Percussionists Willie Rodriguez and Johnny Pacheco appear on four of the tracks. It would be Tyner's last effort for the label, before signing with Blue Note.
Enlightenment is a live album by jazz pianist McCoy Tyner released on the Milestone label. It was recorded at the Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland on July 7, 1973 and features Tyner in performance with Azar Lawrence, Joony Booth and Alphonse Mouzon.
A Jazz Message is a jazz album recorded by Art Blakey's Quartet in 1964. The album was Blakey's second and last album for the Impulse! label.
Trident is a 1975 album by jazz pianist McCoy Tyner (1938–2020), his eighth to be released on the Milestone label. It was recorded in February 1975 and features performances by Tyner with bassist Ron Carter and his former John Coltrane bandmate, drummer Elvin Jones (1927–2004). It is available on CD. Unusually, Tyner plays harpsichord and celesta along with piano.
Supertrios is a 1977 album by jazz pianist McCoy Tyner, his eleventh to be released on the Milestone label. It was recorded in April 1977 and features performances by Tyner with two rhythm sections: bassist Ron Carter and drummer Tony Williams on the first half of the album, and bassist Eddie Gómez and drummer Jack DeJohnette on the second.
Quartets 4 X 4 is a 1980 album by jazz pianist McCoy Tyner, released on the Milestone label. It was recorded in March and May 1980 by Tyner with bassist Cecil McBee and drummer Al Foster and featuring trumpeter Freddie Hubbard, guitarist John Abercrombie, vibraphonist Bobby Hutcherson and alto saxophonist Arthur Blythe, each for one side of the original double LP. The album was digitally remastered and first issued on a single CD in 1993.
Manhattan Moods is an album by pianist McCoy Tyner and vibraphonist Bobby Hutcherson released on the Blue Note label in 1994. It was recorded in December 1993 and features nine duet performances by Hutcherson and Tyner.
Prelude and Sonata is an album by McCoy Tyner released on Key'stone and Milestone label in 1995. It was recorded in November 1994 and has performances of classical and contemporary music by Tyner with the alto saxophonist Antonio Hart, tenor saxophonist Joshua Redman, double bass player Christian McBride and drummer Marvin "Smitty" Smith.
That's All is a solo album by pianist Tete Montoliu recorded in 1971 and released on the Danish label, SteepleChase Records, in 1985.
You Taught My Heart to Sing is an album by saxophonist Houston Person and pianist Bill Charlap recorded in 2004 and released on the HighNote label in 2006.
| Impulse! (1962–1964) | |
|---|---|
| Blue Note (1967–1970) | |
| Milestone (1972–1981) | |
| Various (1981–1989) | |
| Various (1990–1994) | |
| Impulse! (1995–1997) | |
| Telarc (1999–2004) | |
| McCoy Tyner Music (2004–2009) | |
| Related |
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