''Dances and Ballads'' is an

album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

by the

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

group the

World Saxophone Quartet The World Saxophone Quartet is an American jazz ensemble founded in 1977, incorporating elements of free jazz, R&B, funk and South African jazz into their music. The original members were Julius Hemphill (alto and soprano saxophone, flute), ...

, released in 1988 and featuring performances by

Hamiet Bluiett Hamiet Bluiett (; September 16, 1940 – October 4, 2018) was an American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, and composer. His primary instrument was the baritone saxophone, and he was considered one of the finest players of this instrument. A mem ...

, Julius Hemphill,

Oliver Lake Oliver Lake (born September 14, 1942) is an American jazz saxophonist, flutist, composer, poet, and visual artist. He is known mainly for alto saxophone, but he also performs on soprano and flute. During the 1960s, Lake worked with the Black Art ...

and David Murray.

Reception

The

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

review by

Scott Yanow Scott Yanow (born October 4, 1954) is an American jazz reviewer, historian, and author.Allmusic Biography/ref> Biography Yanow was born in New York City and grew up near Los Angeles. Since 1974, he was a regular reviewer of many jazz styles an ...

awarded the album 4 stars, stating, "This is an underrated release, recorded between their better-known Plays Duke Ellington and Rhythm and Blues CDs."Yanow, S
Allmusic Review
accessed July 19, 2011 The authors of the ''

Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings ''The Penguin Guide to Jazz'' is a reference work containing an encyclopedic directory of jazz recordings on CD which were (at the time of publication) currently available in Europe or the United States. The first nine editions were compiled by ...

'' commented: "There's a broader big-band sound to ''Dances and Ballads'', achieved without the addition of outsiders... there's a fine version of David Murray's Pres tribute, 'For Lester'... and Oliver Lake's 'West African Snap', 'Belly Up', and 'Adjacent' are among the best of his recorded compositions."

Track listing

# "Sweet D" (Hemphill) - 6:35 # "For Lester" (Murray) - 4:20 # "Belly Up" (Lake) - 6:44 # "Cool Red" (Hemphill) - 5:12 # "Hattie Wall" (Bluiett) - 4:04 # "Adjacent" (Lake) - 4:49 # "West African Snap" (Lake) - 3:41 # "Full, Deep and Mellow" (Bluiett) - 3:16 # "Dance Until Dawn (For Little Anthony)" (Murray) - 7:08 # "Fast Life" (Murray) - 3:01

Personnel

—

baritone saxophone The baritone saxophone is a member of the saxophone family of instruments, larger (and lower-pitched) than the tenor saxophone, but smaller (and higher-pitched) than the bass. It is the lowest-pitched saxophone in common use - the bass, contra ...

* Julius Hemphill —

alto saxophone The alto saxophone is a member of the saxophone family of woodwind instruments. Saxophones were invented by Belgian instrument designer Adolphe Sax in the 1840s and patented in 1846. The alto saxophone is pitched in E, smaller than the B tenor ...

— alto saxophone * David Murray —

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 (while th ...

References

{{Authority control 1988 albums World Saxophone Quartet albums