Ballads & Blues is a collection featuring many famous musicians, yet it features Miles Davis in every song. Although it was originally released in 1996, the dates these songs were originally recorded are March 9, 1950 to March 9, 1958 and the record label is Blue Note. As stated in the title, you can expect to hear jazz and blues ballads when you listen to Ballads & Blues. I decided to go with an artist I knew, like Miles Davis. When I saw all the different musicians on the album, I thought this would help me get a feel for the genre since I don't listen to much jazz. This way I was able to listen to Miles Davis at different times in his life and observe the different musicians. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Since Ballads & Blues is a compilation, featuring over ten different musicians. Art Blakey, Kenny Clarke and Max Roach are the drummers, while Gil Coggins, Hank Jones and Horace Silver are on piano. Plus, there's Percy Heath, Oscar Pettiford, Sam Jones and Al McKibbon on bass. In Ballads & Blues, musicians like JJ Johnson, Cannonball Adderley, Jimmy Heath and others solo for one or two songs. The unique thing about jazz is that there is so much room for improvisation. Once you learn the basics, you can take them anywhere. These songs show just that, being songs that are basically one solo after another. One of my favorite songs on the album would have to be “One For Daddy-O.” When I first heard it, I could tell it was one of those finger-snapping, mind-boggling songs. Art Blakey starts the piece very soft and gentle, without any ride cymbals. After the introduction he maintains a constant swing rhythm and is very consistent with his compositions. The fact that he is so consistent makes very noticeable changes, allowing you to hear the dynamics very clearly, and the way he changes his compositions, and the slight changes in the way his lick alters the sound of the swing rhythm on his ride cymbal. . This eight-minute song also features Miles Davis on trumpet, Cannonball Adderley on alto saxophone, Hank Jones on piano and Sam Jones on bass. I noticed that in the entire song Art Blakey only had a short fill and didn't do any solos. On the other hand, drum solos are rarely present in the entire album. I've never been a fan of slow songs, but "It Never Entered My Mind" was another song I enjoyed listening to. I especially loved Horace Silver on the piano. Between Miles Davis' breaks in his solos, Horace Silver plays the notes in the “one and two” rhythm that complement his solo so well. This is my favorite part of the entire piece. Additionally, Art Blakey kept things simple as he did in all of his other songs. However one of the main differences in his style was that it wasn't as consistent as his other song. That's not a bad thing as it sounded very light and the cymbal was very distinctive. As the song progressed, he started adding more to his beat on the ride cymbal with extra hits, and added a couple of snare hits towards the end. All in all, his variations complimented the soloists and his style of starting simple and gradually adding more gave me something to look forward to. Please note: this is just an example. Get a custom paper from our expert writers now. Personalize essay Overall, I felt this was a great song arrangement. I would give this album a 5 out of 5. I loved how the album alternated between slow songs and upbeat songs. It is me.