LINER NOTES by Famke Damste
In the entire kaleidoscope of that unique art form, called jazz, the ballad is an interesting phenomenon. In jazz the ballad represents a slow song, in which the melody and its emotional impact are in the foreground.
Ballad-playing therefore reveals the most important side of the skilled jazz performer: not the artists virtuosity, his ability to keep the swinging fire burning nor his fingering technique are at stake. The ballad invites the jazz musician to make the most sincere musical statement. In other words: he's forced to speak his true mind.
The origin of the term ' ballad' lies in the Latin word 'ballare', which means 'to dance'. Therefore it originally referred to dance-songs. By the 14th century however the word 'ballad' had lost that connotation in English and became a general designation for narrative solo song. The ballad developed from something physically-orientated as a dance-song (with the emphasis on rhythm) into a song in which it is most important what you have to say.
Jazz is neither a variety of European nor African music: it is a fusion of elements drawn from both. Its instrumentation, basic principles of harmony and formal structures descend from European music. As for the social element - playing for an audience which is totally involved in listening and sometimes dancing - jazz shows its African heritage.
The ballad occupies a central position in jazz. Most important in this respect is the fact that jazz partially descends from the African musical tradition, in which (verbal as well as physical) communication forms the key. Most African music has a ritual or a social function: it is meant to provide a framework for, or add intensity to, some other activity. One can say that music plays almost the same role in African society as speech plays in ours.
As the American blacks (with the contribution of many white men) developed jazz from folk music into an art form, there was always one consistent element: somthing that was called vaguely, but appropriatly: 'telling a story'. Whether the 'story' should be taken literally (as is the case with a singer interpreting a lyric) or should be understood in the ligfct of the African roots (music is communication of emotions), 'telling a story' lies at the heart of the art of ballad playing, and therefore at the heart of jazz.
This CD represents a unique choice of jazz ballads, performed by the art's finest instrumentalists and singers. Chet Baker's vocal and trumpet solo on 'Deep In A Dream' may well be the best example of 'telling a story', or better: whispering it directly into your ear.
01. Lionel Hampton & Earl "Fatha" Hines - Misty [5:00]
02. The Art Farmer-Benny Golson Jazztet - I Remember Clifford [3:13]
03. Carmen McRea - My Foolish Heart [7:18]
04. Dexter Gordon - I Should Care [5:13]
05. Bill Evans Trio - What Are You Doing The Rest Of Your Life [5:34]
06. Chet Baker - Deep In A Dream [6:38]
07. Zoot Sims - The Man I Love [5:15]
08. The Ramsey Lewis Trio - Imagination [3:38]
09. Louis Armstrong - Back And Blue [3:28]
10. Barney Kessel - The Look Of Love [4:06]
11. The Stan Kenton Orchestra - Tenderly [4:41]
12. Gerry Mulligan - Moonlight In Vermont [8:02]
13. Roland Kirk - Our Love Is Here To Stay [4:51]
Label: Movieplay
Released: 1992
Codec: Flac
Compression Level: 5
Quality: High
CD-rip by alekow (EAC and Flac)
Covers Included (600dpi)
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