''Blue Ballads'' is an album by saxophonist
Archie Shepp
Archie Shepp (born May 24, 1937) is an American jazz saxophonist, educator and playwright who since the 1960s has played a central part in the development of avant-garde jazz.
Biography Early life
Shepp was born in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, but ...
and his quartet which was recorded in New York City in 1995 and released on the
Venus
Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It is often called Earth's "twin" or "sister" planet for having almost the same size and mass, and the closest orbit to Earth's. While both are rocky planets, Venus has an atmosphere much thicker ...
label.
Discogs:Blue Ballads: Archie Shepp Quartet
accessed October 14, 2018
Reception
The AllMusic
AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...
review by arwulf arwulf called it and its counterparts ''Black Ballads'', and ''True Ballads'' "intimate studies in shared introspection...hat
A hat is a Headgear, head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorpor ...
document Shepp's astute exploration of the ballad form during the 1990s...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".
Track listing
# " Little Girl Blue" (Richard Rodgers
Richard Charles Rodgers (June 28, 1902 – December 30, 1979) was an American Musical composition, composer who worked primarily in musical theater. With 43 Broadway theatre, Broadway musicals and over 900 songs to his credit, Rodgers wa ...
, Lorenz Hart
Lorenz Milton Hart (May 2, 1895 – November 22, 1943) was an American lyricist and half of the Broadway songwriting team Rodgers and Hart. Some of his more famous lyrics include "Blue Moon"; " The Lady Is a Tramp"; "Manhattan"; " Bewitched, Bo ...
) – 6:03
# " More Than You Know" (Billy Rose
Billy Rose (born William Samuel Rosenberg; September 6, 1899 – February 10, 1966) was an American impresario, theatrical showman, lyricist and columnist. For years both before and after World War II, Billy Rose was a major force in entertainm ...
, Edward Eliscu
Edward Eliscu (April 2, 1902 – June 18, 1998) was an American lyricist, playwright, producer and actor, and a successful writer of songs for films.
Life
Eliscu was born in Manhattan, New York City. His parents, Frank and Sofia Eliscu, were ...
, Vincent Youmans
Vincent Millie Youmans (September 27, 1898 – April 5, 1946) was an American Broadway composer and producer.
A leading Broadway composer of his day, Youmans collaborated with virtually all the greatest lyricists on Broadway: Ira Gershwin, ...
) – 7:18
# "Blue in Green
Blue is one of the three primary colours in the RYB colour model (traditional colour theory), as well as in the RGB (additive) colour model. It lies between violet and cyan on the spectrum of visible light. The term ''blue'' generally des ...
" (Bill Evans
William John Evans (August 16, 1929 – September 15, 1980) was an American Jazz piano, jazz pianist and composer who worked primarily as the leader of his trio. His use of impressionist harmony, block chords, innovative chord voicings, a ...
, Miles Davis
Miles Dewey Davis III (May 26, 1926September 28, 1991) was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th century music, 20th-century music. Davis ado ...
) – 7:58
# "Blue and Sentimental Blue and Sentimental is a song written by Count Basie, Jerry Livingston, and Mack David. It was written in 1938 and recorded by the Count Basie Orchestra on June 6th of that year.
Other recordings
*1947 - Count Basie recorded the song again on Octo ...
" (Count Basie
William James "Count" Basie (; August 21, 1904 – April 26, 1984) was an American jazz pianist, organist, bandleader, and composer. In 1935, he formed the Count Basie Orchestra, and in 1936 took them to Chicago for a long engagement and the ...
) – 5:12
# " Cry Me a River" (Arthur Hamilton
Arthur Hamilton Stern (October 22, 1926 – May 20, 2025) was an American songwriter. He is best known for the song " Cry Me a River", first published in 1953 and recorded by Julie London and numerous other artists.
Life and career
Arthur "Ar ...
) – 7:54
# "If I Should Lose You
"If I Should Lose You" is a song composed by Ralph Rainger, with lyrics by Leo Robin. It was introduced in the 1936 film '' Rose of the Rancho''.
Notable recordings
*Geri Allen – '' Twenty One'' (1994)
*Chet Atkins – '' Stay Tuned'' (1985) ...
" (Leo Robin
Leo Robin (April 6, 1895 – December 29, 1984) was an American composer, lyricist and songwriter. He is probably best known for collaborating with Ralph Rainger on the 1938 Oscar-winning song " Thanks for the Memory," sung by Bob Hope and Shi ...
, Ralph Rainger
Ralph Rainger ( Reichenthal; October 7, 1901 – October 23, 1942) was an American composer of popular music principally for films.
Biography
Born Ralph Reichenthal in New York City, United States, Rainger initially embarked on a legal career, ...
) – 7:32
# " Alone Together" (Arthur Schwartz
Arthur Schwartz (November 25, 1900 – September 3, 1984) was an American composer and film producer, widely noted for his songwriting collaborations with Howard Dietz.
Biography
Early life
Schwartz was born to a Jewish family in Brooklyn, New ...
, Howard Dietz
Howard Dietz (September 8, 1896 – July 30, 1983) was an American publicist, lyricist, and librettist, best remembered for his songwriting collaboration with Arthur Schwartz. According to historian Stanley Green, Dietz and Schwartz were "most cl ...
) – 10:51
Personnel
Musicians
* Archie Shepp – tenor saxophone
The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor and the alto are the two most commonly used saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B (whi ...
, soprano saxophone
The soprano saxophone is a small, high-pitched member of the saxophone family of woodwind instruments invented in the 1840s by Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax. Built in B♭ an octave above the tenor saxophone (or rarely, slightly small ...
, vocals
* George Mraz
George Mraz (born Jiří Mráz; 9 September 1944 – 16 September 2021) was a Czech-born American jazz bassist and alto saxophonist. He was a member of Oscar Peterson's group, and worked with Pepper Adams, Stan Getz, Michel Petrucciani, Stepha ...
– bass
* John Hicks
Sir John Richard Hicks (8 April 1904 – 20 May 1989) was a British economist. He is considered one of the most important and influential economists of the twentieth century. The most familiar of his many contributions in the field of economics ...
– piano
* Idris Muhammad
Idris Muhammad (; born Leo Morris; November 13, 1939 – July 29, 2014) was an American jazz drummer and bandleader. He had an extensive career performing jazz, funk, Rhythm and blues, R&B, and Soul music, soul music and recorded with musicians s ...
– drums
Production
* Tetsuo Hara
is a Japanese manga artist. He is best known for co-creating the post-apocalyptic martial arts series ''Fist of the North Star'' (1983–1988) with writer Buronson, which is one of the best-selling manga in history with over 100 million copies ...
– producer
* Troy Halderson – engineer
* Brock South – assistant engineer
* Shuji Kitamura – mastering
* Iruka Studio – design
* Dennis Stock – cover photography
References
{{Authority control
Venus Records albums
Archie Shepp albums
1996 albums