Archie Shepp Quartet - Blue Ballads (2LP, Edition Japonaise)
ORDER LIMITED TO ONE ITEM PER CUSTOMER
Tenor Saxophone, Soprano Saxophone, Vocals – Archie Shepp [click here to see more products featuring Archie Shepp]
Drums – Idris Muhammad [click here to see more products featuring Idris Muhammad]
Piano – John Hicks [click here to see more vinyl featuring John Hicks]
Bass – George Mraz
Written by Richard Rodgers & Lorenz Hart (A1, D2), Arthur Hamilton (A2), Arthur Schwartz (B1), Howard Dietz (B1), Count Basie (B2), Billy Rose (C1), Edward Eliscu (C1), Vincent Youmans (C1), Bill Evans (C2), Miles Davis (C2), Leo Robin (D1), Ralph Rainger (D1)
2 LP, Gatefold jacket
Limited edition
Original Master tape : YES
Heavy Press : 180g
Record color : black
Speed : 33RPM
Size : 12”
Venus Hyper Magnum Sound Direct Mix Stereo
Studio
Record Press : Japanese Pressing
Label : Venus
Original Label : Venus
Recorded at Clinton Studio "A" on November 24 & 25, 1995 in N.Y
Engineered by Troy Halderson
Produced by Tetsuo Hara
Mastered by Shuji Kitamura
Design by Iruka Studio
Cover photography by Dennis Stock
Originally released in 1995
Reissued in 2024
Tracks :
Side A:
1. Little Girl Blue
2. Cry Me A River
Side B:
1. Alone Together
2. Blue And Sentimental
Side C:
1. More Than You Know
2. Blue In Green
Side D:
1. If I Should Lose You
2. Little Girl Blue - take 2 (Bonus Track)
Reviews:
"Recorded in November 1995, saxophonist Archie Shepp's Blue Ballads is a counterpart to True Ballads and Something to Live For, which date from the same period. All three albums feature pianist John Hicks, bassist George Mraz, and drummer Idris Muhammad. These intimate studies in shared introspection, along with Black Ballads and True Blue, document Shepp's astute exploration of the ballad form during the 1990s. On Blue Ballads Shepp mingled time-honored standards such as Rodgers & Hart's "Little Girl Blue," Arthur Schwartz's "Alone Together," and Vincent Youmans' "More Than You Know" with the Miles Davis-Bill Evans masterpiece "Blue in Green" and "Blue and Sentimental," which had served as the feature number for Count Basie's star tenor saxophonist Herschel Evans some 60 years earlier. Once again and in all the best ways, Shepp shines in parallel with his contemporary Pharoah Sanders. Both are skilled balladeers as well as free spirits who simply cannot be bottled or pigeonholed." Allmusic Review by Arwulf Arwulf.
Ratings :
AllMusic : 4.5 / 5 ; Discogs :4.57 / 5