Nights of Ballads & Blues

Nights of Ballads & Blues
Studio album by McCoy Tyner
Released	Early July 1963[1]
Recorded	March 4, 1963 Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs
Genre	Jazz
Length	38:48
Label	Impulse! A-39
Producer	Bob Thiele
McCoy Tyner chronology
Reaching Fourth (1962) Nights of Ballads & Blues (1963) Today and Tomorrow (1963)

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Down Beat	[2]
Allmusic	[3]
The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide	[4]

Nights of Ballads & Blues is the third album by jazz pianist McCoy Tyner which was released on the Impulse! label in 1963. It features performances by Tyner with Steve Davis and Lex Humphries.

Reception

The Allmusic review by Stephen Cook states that the album "qualifies as one of the pianist's most enjoyable early discs".^[5]

Jazz critic Harvey Pekar said in his August 29, 1963 review for Down Beat magazine that "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.'"^[2]

Track listing

1. "Satin Doll" (Ellington, Mercer, Strayhorn) - 5:40
2. "We'll Be Together Again" (Fischer, Laine) - 3:40
3. "'Round Midnight" (Monk) - 6:23
4. "For Heaven's Sake" (Elise Bretton, Edwards, Donald Meyer) - 3:48
5. "Star Eyes" (DePaul, Raye) - 5:03
6. "Blue Monk" (Monk) - 5:22
7. "Groove Waltz" (Tyner) - 5:31
8. "Days of Wine and Roses" (Mancini, Mercer) - 3:21

Personnel

• McCoy Tyner - piano
• Steve Davis - bass
• Lex Humphries - drums

References

1. Billboard July 20, 1963
2. Down Beat: August 29, 1963 Vol. 30, No.24
3. Allmusic Review
4. Swenson, J. (Editor) (1985). The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide. USA: Random House/Rolling Stone. p. 194. ISBN 0-394-72643-X.
5. Cook, S. Allmusic Review accessed February 19, 2009.